Chapter Summaries

Chapter Summary: “The Three of Us Together...”

Key Plot Points and Events

• Xu Qinghe agrees to help Lin Qi obtain S-level pharmacology certification in exchange for the first S-level Potion he produces. Although Lin Qi claims his success was due to luck, Xu Qinghe recognizes that he is a genuine genius.
• Xu Qinghe is pleased that she completed the Alliance’s assignment quickly and plans to use the achievement to promote herself and earn Credit Points. She offers Lin Qi ten percent of any profits.
• Lin Qi asks her to conceal the fact that he actually created a perfect S-level Potion. He intends to hide his true abilities while secretly developing and selling special Potions from the Doomsday World.
• Xu Qinghe accidentally guesses part of Lin Qi’s real plan, suspecting that he wants to exploit the time before the Alliance realizes how capable he is. Lin Qi is alarmed but distracts her by agreeing with her later, incorrect theory that he wants to “play the pig and eat the tiger” at the upcoming midyear exchange meeting.
• Xu Qinghe decides to remain in Red Fruit City for several days instead of immediately returning to Nanyun Pharmaceuticals. She asks Lin Qi to show her around the city.
• Liu Xuan arrives, congratulates Lin Qi, and subtly asserts control over the situation. She offers to accompany Xu Qinghe herself, provide security, and pay for her expenses through United Pharmaceutical.
• After Xu Qinghe emphasizes the value of exchanging knowledge with another genius, Liu Xuan changes her mind and invites Lin Qi to join them. She suggests that the three of them tour Red Fruit City while discussing pharmacology.
• Lin Qi accepts, recognizing that interaction with other S-level researchers may be essential if he hopes to one day reach the nearly unattainable X-level. The chapter ends with him asking where the three of them will go the next day.

Character Developments

• Lin Qi: Successfully gains S-level pharmacology certification while continuing to conceal the full extent of his abilities. He remains cautious, calculating, and focused on protecting his secrets, but is also genuinely eager to expand his knowledge and reach X-level.
• Xu Qinghe: Shows herself to be energetic, commercially minded, and unusually perceptive despite her playful, “silly” behavior. She values Credit Points over reputation and becomes increasingly excited about working with Lin Qi and profiting from his future achievements.
• Liu Xuan: Demonstrates jealousy, vigilance, and strong possessiveness toward Lin Qi. She monitors the conversation through company equipment, but ultimately prioritizes his growth and agrees to let him spend time with Xu Qinghe under her supervision.

Significant Themes

• Concealed identity and strategic deception: Lin Qi deliberately allows others to underestimate him, hiding his perfect Potion and true goals behind the appearance of an ordinary newly certified researcher.
• Ambition and self-improvement: The unreachable X-level serves as a symbol of the extreme heights Lin Qi and other S-level researchers aspire to reach.
• Corporate control and loyalty: The characters’ careers, resources, and movements are deeply tied to powerful companies and alliances. Lin Qi outwardly presents himself as completely loyal to United Pharmaceutical.
• Competition mixed with cooperation: Xu Qinghe and Lin Qi compete and bargain over credit and recognition, yet both understand the importance of exchanging knowledge.
• Jealousy and companionship: Liu Xuan’s reaction to Xu Qinghe’s invitation reveals personal tension, but the three ultimately form an unusual temporary partnership.

Important Character Interactions

• Lin Qi and Xu Qinghe: They negotiate the reward for Lin Qi’s certification, joke about his hidden motives, and develop a playful partnership based on mutual benefit.
• Xu Qinghe and Liu Xuan: Xu Qinghe’s invitation to Lin Qi creates tension, prompting Liu Xuan to intervene. Their exchange remains polite but carries an unmistakable undertone of rivalry and possessiveness.
• Lin Qi and Liu Xuan: Lin Qi signals loyalty to the company to calm Liu Xuan, while Liu Xuan balances her suspicion with concern for his rest and advancement.
• The three together: Their planned tour combines leisure, corporate supervision, and serious pharmacological discussion, setting up a new relationship dynamic centered on competition, secrecy, and shared ambition.

Chapter Summary: “Obtained the First Fourth-Rank Extraordinary Item”

Key Plot Points and Events

• Lin Qi, Liu Xuan, and Xu Qinghe discuss plans for a recreational outing to Red Fruit City. Liu Xuan promises to arrange the trip and email Lin Qi the details.
• Lin Qi leaves work early to return home and visit the Doomsday World. After clocking out, he receives overtime pay, while his Anxious Knife finishes harvesting anxiety from overworked cyber-workers.
• Lin Qi waits for Liu Xuan at the company’s docking bay to conduct business. He offers her the first perfect S-level Potion he personally made as payment for a standard set of S-level Cybernetic Prostheses.
• Liu Xuan appears displeased, seemingly because Lin Qi treats the extremely valuable potion as a routine transaction. Lin Qi clarifies that it is his first personally crafted S-level Potion, but Liu Xuan remains emotionally distant.
• Lin Qi assumes Liu Xuan’s mood is related to her Cyberpsychosis and resolves to cure her after reaching the Fourth Rank.
• Guangleng informs Lin Qi that Capitalist has sent him a Fourth-Rank Extraordinary Item before receiving the next batch of potions. It arrives in a sealed shielding container.
• Using Psychic Vision, Lin Qi discovers that the container’s inner material can block Spiritual Energy Particles in one direction. The container has accumulated a Spiritual Energy concentration more than three times that of Cyber World.
• Lin Qi realizes the material could be used to create enhanced potions, conceal potion production, or construct high-density Spiritual Energy environments. He becomes more interested in the container’s material than the Fourth-Rank item itself.
• Guangleng reveals that the container is mass-produced by a small company in the European Political Zone. Lin Qi purchases intelligence on the company and considers seeking Arthur’s assistance in acquiring the material and manufacturing process.
• Liu Xuan arranges for the S-level Cybernetic Prostheses to be delivered to the Cybernetic Clinic. Lin Qi moves them to his underground workshop, intending to install them in Wang Qiang and strengthen his Doomsday World operations.
• The chapter ends with Liu Xuan and Liu Li sharing a bed at home. Liu Li criticizes Lin Qi for not replying immediately to Liu Xuan’s email, while Liu Xuan defensively excuses his silence.

Character Developments

• Lin Qi continues balancing his company responsibilities, Doomsday World activities, potion research, and commercial plans. His ability to identify hidden value in the shielding material demonstrates his growing scientific insight and ambition.
• Liu Xuan becomes noticeably colder and more emotionally sensitive toward Lin Qi after he treats their exchange as a purely commercial transaction. Despite her irritation, she still helps him by promptly arranging delivery of the cybernetic prostheses.
• Xu Qinghe establishes herself as sociable and playful, readily accepting the proposed outing and helping create a more relaxed dynamic among the three characters.
• Guangleng continues acting as Lin Qi’s reliable intelligence broker, providing information quickly but charging for even relatively common intelligence.
• Capitalist demonstrates strong trust in Lin Qi by sending a valuable Fourth-Rank Extraordinary Item before receiving the promised potions, reflecting Lin Qi’s reputation among the Mercenary Group.
• Liu Li becomes more openly protective of Liu Xuan and suspicious of Lin Qi’s behavior. Her blunt, humorous comments contrast with Liu Xuan’s attempts to rationalize Lin Qi’s actions.

Significant Themes

• Hidden value and scientific discovery: Lin Qi recognizes that an ordinary commercial product may contain a revolutionary material, emphasizing the importance of insight over appearances.
• Trust and reputation: Capitalist’s advance payment shows that Lin Qi’s previous actions have earned him credibility among powerful figures.
• Commercial ambition: Lin Qi immediately considers how the shielding material could support a new business empire or rival major corporations.
• Workplace exploitation and anxiety: The chapter highlights harsh cyber-worker conditions, low overtime pay, debt, and the anxiety Lin Qi harvests from the system.
• Emotional misunderstanding: Lin Qi and Liu Xuan repeatedly fail to understand each other’s feelings. Lin Qi sees her behavior as Cyberpsychosis, while Liu Xuan appears hurt by his detached attitude.
• Progress through cooperation: Lin Qi relies on Liu Xuan’s corporate resources, Guangleng’s intelligence network, and potentially Arthur’s connections to expand his plans.

Important Character Interactions

• Lin Qi, Liu Xuan, and Xu Qinghe maintain polite but potentially complicated social relations while planning their trip.
• Lin Qi and Liu Xuan negotiate the exchange of an S-level Potion for cybernetic prostheses, with Liu Xuan reacting emotionally to Lin Qi’s businesslike attitude.
• Lin Qi communicates with Guangleng about the Fourth-Rank item and the shielding-container manufacturer.
• Liu Xuan and Liu Li discuss Lin Qi’s failure to respond promptly, revealing Liu Xuan’s concealed concern and Liu Li’s strong skepticism toward him.

Chapter Summary

Key Plot Points and Events

• Lin Qi contacts Arthur through his communication wristband to arrange the purchase of technology from OSTCyber in the European Political Zone. He wants a non-exclusive license for material technology 20770918-221, which Arthur estimates would cost under 200 million Credit Points.
• Rather than pay with scarce money, Lin Qi offers Arthur four S-level Potions. Arthur is astonished by the value of the deal—potentially close to 800 million Credit Points—and agrees to secure the license within three days through a company under her control.
• Lin Qi modifies a large batch of S-level Cybernetic Prostheses so they can be transported through the Gate and implanted in the Doomsday World.
• After reaching Magic University Camp, Lin Qi completes his meditation and prepares to implant the prostheses into Wang Qiang, who is expected to help acquire Fourth Rank Extraordinary Items.
• Lin Qi warns Wang Qiang that S-level prostheses may severely damage the nervous system and cause Cyberpsychosis. Wang Qiang accepts the danger, motivated by his desire to protect Dragon Nation and humanity.
• Lin Qi places a system lock on the prostheses. Their full functions require a physical key, and each authorization lasts only three hours. This both limits the risk of Cyberpsychosis and ensures Wang Qiang cannot misuse his power.
• The five-hour implantation surgery succeeds. Wang Qiang immediately demonstrates extraordinary compatibility with the prostheses, with his Suppressor output at only 11%, far below the danger threshold.
• Lin Qi instructs Wang Qiang to train through combat simulations before confronting Fourth Rank Monsters in Dragon Nation. He realizes Wang Qiang may possess exceptional cybernetic talent and might even be capable of using technology above the S-level.
• Lin Qi returns to the Cyber World, where excessive meditation leaves him temporarily fatigued. While leaving the workshop, he finally notices an email from Liu Xuan, sent five hours earlier. Her brief message—“Remember to rest early”—shows that she is trying to soften their previous tension.
• Lin Qi panics because he failed to reply and expects an awkward meeting with Liu Xuan at dawn.

Character Developments

• Lin Qi remains pragmatic, calculating, and focused on maximizing resources. He prefers trading potions over spending Credit Points and imposes safeguards on Wang Qiang rather than relying entirely on trust.
• He also demonstrates growing confidence in his cybernetic surgery and medical abilities, completing the implantation quickly while teaching observing medical students.
• Lin Qi’s emotional weakness appears at the end of the chapter: despite handling dangerous negotiations and surgeries calmly, he becomes anxious over neglecting Liu Xuan’s conciliatory email.
• Arthur becomes increasingly impressed by Lin Qi’s wealth and generosity. She views the four-potion offer as an enormous financial opportunity and feels indebted to him for both the potions and his earlier rescue.
• Wang Qiang proves courageous, patriotic, and highly determined. He willingly risks mental illness for greater combat power and displays an unusually high tolerance for cybernetic enhancement.

Significant Themes

• Power comes with risk: S-level Cybernetic Prostheses can let humans fight Fourth Rank Monsters, but prolonged use threatens the user’s mind.
• Trust and control: Lin Qi’s authorization system reflects his reluctance to give others unrestricted power, especially someone connected to the General Headquarters.
• Resource conversion and strategic bargaining: Lin Qi’s potions are more valuable to him as trade goods than as currency, allowing him to obtain rare technology despite lacking Credit Points.
• Human enhancement and sacrifice: Wang Qiang’s willingness to replace his body and risk Cyberpsychosis highlights the sacrifices demanded by the struggle for human survival.
• Emotional communication: Liu Xuan’s simple message represents an attempt to repair their relationship, contrasting with Lin Qi’s serious businesslike interactions and his failure to respond.

Character Interactions

• Lin Qi and Arthur: They conduct a direct, mutually beneficial negotiation. Arthur agrees to act as Lin Qi’s representative in Europe in exchange for four powerful S-level Potions.
• Lin Qi and Wang Ziru: Lin Qi orders Wang Ziru to summon Wang Qiang, and Wang Ziru reacts with surprise at how quickly Lin Qi completed the prosthesis preparations.
• Lin Qi and Wang Qiang: Lin Qi explains the medical dangers and imposes restrictions, while Wang Qiang accepts them without protest. Their relationship is based on cooperation, caution, and shared strategic goals.
• Lin Qi and the medical students: Lin Qi allows them to observe the surgery and explains the process, turning the operation into a practical lesson that strengthens Magic University Camp’s medical knowledge.
• Lin Qi and Liu Xuan: They do not interact directly in the chapter, but Liu Xuan’s conciliatory email and Lin Qi’s failure to answer create the chapter’s final source of tension and humor.

Chapter Summary: Xu Qinghe: Let’s Bet Again

Key Plot Points and Events

• Lin Qi notices Liu Xuan’s late-night email but delays replying because he has been working in a signal-free workshop. He worries she may be upset, though he knows she rarely shows anger.
• The next morning, Liu Xuan sends him the day’s itinerary with Xu Qinghe: breakfast at the Eye of the East Building, a Formula Car dogfight at the Nightless District Alliance Racetrack, a visit to the Liu Physiotherapy Center, and an afternoon tour of the Liu Prototype Machine Exhibition Hall.
• Lin Qi arrives at the luxury restaurant, where he reunites with Liu Xuan, Xu Qinghe, and Liu Li. He apologizes for failing to answer Liu Xuan’s email, but Liu Li reveals that Liu Xuan stayed awake waiting for a response.
• Lin Qi realizes that his silence aggravated Liu Xuan’s cyberpsychosis. He feels guilty after noticing that the suppressor glow in her cybernetic eye had become unusually bright.
• Xu Qinghe takes pleasure in watching the awkward confrontation between Lin Qi and the Liu sisters, treating it like entertaining drama.
• Liu Xuan changes the subject by asking whether Xu Qinghe likes the planned activities. Xu Qinghe reveals that she is fascinated by machinery and cybernetics, despite her father forbidding her from studying them.
• To keep Xu Qinghe occupied and create distance between her and Lin Qi, Liu Xuan assigns Liu Li to accompany her during the race and the prototype-machine exhibition. She presents Liu Li as a skilled researcher and the heir to Liu Heavy Industries.
• Liu Li realizes that Liu Xuan is deliberately “selling her out” as a buffer between Xu Qinghe and Lin Qi. Although she dislikes the assigned activities and exaggerates her expertise, she agrees to play along.
• At the racetrack, Xu Qinghe learns that the race involves one hundred armed Flying Vehicles following dangerous randomized routes. Because the death rate exceeds fifty percent, she becomes intrigued rather than horrified.
• Xu Qinghe proposes another wager with Liu Xuan: each will guess the number of deaths in the race, with the winner receiving an S-level Potion.
• Lin Qi, Liu Xuan, and Liu Li are shocked by her proposal. They recognize that Xu Qinghe’s apparently innocent personality conceals a calculating and morally detached side.
• Lin Qi dislikes treating death as entertainment. Liu Xuan, who does not personally object to the wager, notices Lin Qi’s discomfort and becomes concerned. Her cybernetic eye brightens sharply at the chapter’s end.

Character Developments

• Lin Qi: Shows responsibility and guilt over failing to reply to Liu Xuan. He becomes more aware of how his actions affect her cyberpsychosis and reveals a personal discomfort with the elite’s indifference toward human life.
• Liu Xuan: Demonstrates patience and forgiveness toward Lin Qi, but also strategic awareness in arranging the day’s activities and using Liu Li to manage Xu Qinghe. Her concern for Lin Qi influences her reaction to the death wager.
• Liu Li: Remains blunt, protective of her sister, and emotionally expressive. She discovers Liu Xuan’s plan to use her as a social barrier, yet cooperates to protect Liu Xuan and accommodate Xu Qinghe.
• Xu Qinghe: Reveals a strong interest in cybernetics and machinery. Her playful, curious exterior gives way to a ruthless and pragmatic attitude when she treats mass deaths at the racetrack as the basis for a gambling game.

Significant Themes

• Guilt and emotional responsibility: Lin Qi’s delayed reply is technically minor, but because of Liu Xuan’s cyberpsychosis, it has serious emotional consequences.
• Elite indifference toward ordinary lives: The chapter contrasts Lin Qi’s unease with the corporations’ normalization of violent entertainment and disposable human lives.
• Hidden personalities: Xu Qinghe’s innocent demeanor masks intelligence and cruelty, while Liu Xuan’s gentle behavior conceals strategic manipulation.
• Corporate power and social hierarchy: Luxury entertainment, inherited corporate authority, and access to S-level Potions highlight the enormous privilege of the upper Cyber World.
• Relationships as strategy: Liu Xuan carefully manages the interactions among Lin Qi, Liu Li, and Xu Qinghe, turning personal relationships into a means of protection and control.

Character Interactions

• Lin Qi apologizes to Liu Xuan, while Liu Li criticizes him for keeping her sister awake.
• Liu Xuan defends Lin Qi and stops Liu Li from continuing the confrontation.
• Xu Qinghe secretly enjoys the argument and watches the sisters and Lin Qi with amusement.
• Liu Xuan assigns Liu Li to guide Xu Qinghe, forcing Liu Li into the role of companion and chaperone.
• Xu Qinghe’s enthusiasm for cybernetics creates a potential connection with Lin Qi, making Liu Li worry that she could become a rival for Liu Xuan’s attention.
• At the racetrack, Xu Qinghe’s death wager exposes a moral divide between her and Lin Qi, while Liu Xuan is caught between her own indifference and her concern for Lin Qi.

Chapter Summary: “The Origin of the Letter Grades, and What Happened Back Then”

Key Plot Points and Events

• Liu Xuan declines Xu Qinghe’s suggestion to bet an S-level Potion against Lin Qi, not wanting to pressure him since he has only recently become an S-level potion research fellow.
• Xu Qinghe turns her attention to the Formula Car dogfighting event and places a million Credit Point bet on the Death Lotto, predicting ninety-nine deaths. Only ninety-eight competitors die, leaving her disappointed after narrowly missing a ten-million-credit payout.
• The group visits the Liu Prototype Machine Exhibition Hall. Liu Li serves as their guide, explaining the exhibits and the history of Liu Heavy Industries and cybernetic engineering.
• Xu Qinghe asks why cybernetic engineering and potion grades use the letters M, L, A, S, and X instead of straightforward numerical or alphabetical rankings. Liu Xuan explains that the system was created by several Intercontinental Giant Enterprises, though the true meaning of the letters was never disclosed.
• Liu Xuan shares a rumor that the letters came from clothing sizes, supposedly because the Cybernetic Body Company’s founder considered conventional grades too boring. Neither she nor Xu Qinghe accepts this explanation, but Lin Qi finds it surprisingly plausible given his poor impression of the supposedly powerful leaders he has met.
• Studying the prototypes gives Lin Qi a deeper understanding of cybernetic engineering’s historical development. He realizes that, with his improved knowledge, he could now design at least ten more A-level Cybernetic Bodies than before.
• The group encounters an unlabeled prototype that Lin Qi recognizes as the machine involved in his first meeting with Liu Xuan. Years earlier, it had caused a massive Mental Power storm that nearly overwhelmed Liu Xuan and gave Lin Qi his first clear glimpse of the mysterious Gate in his Spiritual Sea.
• Lin Qi had shut down the machine and rescued Liu Xuan, an act that eventually earned him entry into the Liu Group and set him on the path toward becoming a prominent researcher.
• Lin Qi asks to study the machine’s blueprints. Liu Xuan agrees to provide the mechanical blueprints but warns that the machine’s most important components require her father’s permission.
• Using Psychic Vision, Lin Qi examines the machine and discovers that its numerous modules are individually at least S-level in complexity. Together, they may approach or even exceed X-level technology.
• Lin Qi learns that Liu Xuan designed the machine herself when she was only around seventeen. He is stunned, realizing that her supposed achievement as an L-level researcher had understated her true genius.
• Lin Qi resolves to understand the machine because it caused Liu Xuan’s “illness,” which he is determined to cure. The chapter ends when Xu Qinghe notices Lin Qi and Liu Xuan whispering beside the unlabeled prototype and asks whether the machine is truly impressive.

Character Developments

• Lin Qi: Gains significant historical and technical insight from the exhibition. He also re-evaluates Liu Xuan, realizing that her abilities vastly exceed his previous estimation. His personal connection to the prototype resurfaces, strengthening his determination to investigate it and cure Liu Xuan.
• Liu Xuan: Revealed to be the original designer of the extraordinarily advanced prototype. Her past experiment was extremely ambitious: success might have elevated Liu Heavy Industries to the rank of an Intercontinental Giant Enterprise, while failure risked making the company a target for destruction.
• Xu Qinghe: Displays her impulsive, competitive, and gambling-oriented personality. Her questions also introduce the mystery behind the grading system. She remains curious about Lin Qi and Liu Xuan’s private conversation.
• Liu Li: Acts as the group’s guide and maintains polite conversation with Xu Qinghe, though she feels relieved when the questioning about the grading system ends.
• Liu Xuan and Lin Qi: Their shared history becomes central. The prototype represents the origin of their relationship, and Liu Xuan offers to personally help Lin Qi understand its blueprints.

Significant Themes

• The hidden origins of established systems: The chapter questions whether major standards and institutions are based on profound principles or arbitrary decisions made by flawed individuals.
• History as a source of knowledge: Lin Qi learns that studying outdated prototypes can reveal the evolution of entire fields and improve his own designs.
• Genius and underestimated talent: Liu Xuan’s true abilities are far greater than her public achievements suggest, challenging Lin Qi’s assumptions about rankings and titles.
• Fate and turning points: A single encounter with the prototype changed Lin Qi’s entire life, giving him access to the Liu Group, education, and his future career.
• Ambition and risk: Liu Xuan’s experiment carried enormous potential rewards and catastrophic consequences, reflecting the danger of pursuing breakthroughs beyond established limits.
• Personal motivations behind technical research: Lin Qi’s interest in the prototype is not merely academic; understanding it is tied directly to saving Liu Xuan.

Important Character Interactions

• Liu Xuan gently protects Lin Qi from Xu Qinghe’s proposed high-stakes bet.
• Xu Qinghe and Liu Li converse while traveling, with Liu Li mechanically fulfilling her role as companion and guide.
• Xu Qinghe questions Liu Xuan about the grading system, prompting Liu Xuan’s explanation of the rumored clothing-size origins.
• Lin Qi privately asks Liu Xuan for access to the prototype’s blueprints, and she offers to explain anything he cannot understand.
• Their discussion reveals their shared past and Liu Xuan’s extraordinary talent, while also deepening Lin Qi’s emotional commitment to helping her.
• Xu Qinghe interrupts their private exchange at the end of the chapter, shifting the scene back toward the group.

Chapter Summary: “Three Emails, Guangleng’s Notice”

Key Plot Points and Events

• While touring Liu Xuan’s prototype exhibition hall, Lin Qi, Liu Xuan, and Xu Qinghe simultaneously receive highly confidential emails.
• Lin Qi receives three messages:
  1. The Asian Political Zone Large Enterprise Alliance orders him to attend the upcoming World Peace Conference as a representative of Asian pharmacology.
  2. The Eastern Alliance confirms the invitation and emphasizes that he must attend.
  3. Guangleng, through the Highest-Level Secure Mailbox, warns Lin Qi that the conference will determine the scale of the Third Corporate War and hints that the Highest Level Mercenary Group may undertake missions in World City.
• The invitations are presented as mandatory. Lin Qi realizes the conference will gather the world’s most powerful experts and may become extremely dangerous.
• Liu Xuan reveals that she has also been invited to represent three separate fields: prosthetic engineering, heavy industrial engineering, and extraordinary item engineering.
• Liu Li explains the purpose of the Peace Conference: it allows Large Enterprise Alliances to compete for political-zone influence through controlled, supposedly peaceful means rather than direct warfare.
• Lin Qi learns that the conference is connected to the global Corporate War and the growing conflict surrounding the Witch Hunt and Wizard professionals.
• Xu Qinghe warns that Peace Conferences are dangerous events where mercenary groups frequently target participants, especially prominent researchers and geniuses.

Character Developments

• Lin Qi becomes increasingly wary and suspicious. He recognizes that the conference is not a simple academic gathering but a political battlefield connected to the Corporate War. He is particularly troubled by Guangleng’s ominous notice.
• Liu Xuan’s abilities are revealed to be far greater than Lin Qi realized. She is not merely a skilled corporate leader; she is an S-level researcher in three mechanical fields and may eventually lead United Pharmaceutical into becoming a major multinational enterprise.
• Xu Qinghe demonstrates her awareness of the conference’s significance and danger. She also shows admiration for Liu Xuan and tries, somewhat theatrically, to frighten Lin Qi and Liu Xuan about the threats they may face.
• Liu Li regains confidence by explaining the history and political purpose of the Peace Conference. However, she feels excluded and awkward because she is the only person present who did not receive an invitation.
• Lin Qi’s perception of Liu Xuan changes from seeing her primarily as a businesswoman to recognizing her as an exceptional multidisciplinary genius.

Significant Themes

• “Peace” as another form of war: The conference replaces open warfare with political competition, but its participants and the mercenaries surrounding it remain in serious danger.
• Power beyond formal rules: Although the Large Enterprise Alliances claim to regulate global conflict, the intercontinental giant enterprises behind them can act beyond those restrictions.
• The value and danger of talent: Top researchers are treated as strategic resources and political weapons. Lin Qi and Liu Xuan are invited not only because of their achievements but because their expertise can increase their political zone’s influence.
• Hidden power and underestimated individuals: Liu Xuan’s accomplishments have been concealed by her low-profile personality, causing Lin Qi and Xu Qinghe to reassess her.
• Political manipulation and obligation: The supposedly voluntary invitations are actually compulsory orders, showing how little freedom powerful organizations allow their elite members.

Character Interactions

• Liu Xuan modestly explains away her three invitations, emphasizing that her fields are all related to mechanical engineering and less rare than pharmacology. Her words subtly comfort Lin Qi and acknowledge the special importance of his own achievement.
• Xu Qinghe enthusiastically praises Liu Xuan and suggests that United Pharmaceutical could eventually surpass Liu Heavy Industries.
• Liu Li initially feels overshadowed but is prompted by Liu Xuan to explain the Peace Conference, allowing her to demonstrate her status and knowledge.
• Lin Qi questions whether the conference is truly safe, while Xu Qinghe bluntly assures him that it is not and explains the danger posed by mercenaries.
• Xu Qinghe attempts to look intimidating while warning them, but Lin Qi and Liu Xuan remain unimpressed, leaving her embarrassed when she realizes her performance has failed.

Chapter Summary

Key Plot Points and Events

• Xu Qinghe reveals that the Eastern Alliance has invited Lin Qi and Liu Xuan to the World City conference because of their scientific importance. S-level Potion researchers receive secret protection from Fourth Rank extraordinary individuals, while Liu Xuan’s broad expertise and connection to Lin Qi will likely earn her similar protection.
• Liu Xuan explains that the Liu Group cannot provide extensive security because its forces are weakened after the turmoil in Red Fruit City. She is developing a higher-level Suppressor that could allow capable individuals to temporarily use S-level Cybernetic Prostheses, potentially giving her own guards greater strength than the Alliance’s protection.
• Xu Qinghe decides to return early to Nanyun Pharmaceuticals to prepare for the conference, while Liu Li is visibly relieved that the group’s tour and demanding discussions are ending.
• After leaving the Liu Prototype Machine Exhibition Hall, Lin Qi discovers that his Flying Vehicle has accumulated a 390-Credit-Point parking fee. His account contains only 322 Credit Points, leaving him unable to pay or even afford public transportation.
• Lin Qi considers borrowing money from several people but finds each option embarrassing or impractical. He finally calls his younger sister, Lin Xin, intending to borrow one million Credit Points for his upcoming trip.
• Lin Xin assumes Lin Qi has encountered serious trouble and uses her extensive Eastern Alliance authority to investigate him. She reassures him that she may accompany him to World City with her teacher, Baili Xueyuan, a peak Fourth Rank powerhouse.
• When Lin Qi asks for one million Credit Points, Lin Xin refuses, believing he cannot possibly afford such a sum. After he lowers the request to the exact 68 Credit Points needed to escape the parking dock, she becomes suspicious and worries he may be involved in something improper.
• Lin Qi shows her the parking dock and explains the situation. Lin Xin transfers the money—but accidentally sends one million Credit Points rather than 68.
• Lin Qi pays the parking fee, keeps the remaining funds, and resolves to prepare for the World City conference and strengthen himself enough to reach the Fourth Tier.

Character Developments

• Lin Qi: Despite being an influential S-level Potion researcher, major shareholder, and Third Rank Wizard, he remains financially careless and comically dependent on others for money. His embarrassment over borrowing money contrasts with his growing sense of responsibility toward his family. After receiving Lin Xin’s support, he becomes determined to protect his family and possibly advance to the Fourth Tier.
• Liu Xuan: Demonstrates extraordinary scientific ability by simultaneously rebuilding United Pharmaceutical and developing an advanced Suppressor. Her dedication is partly motivated by her desire to create a better platform for Lin Qi, showing her strong personal investment in him.
• Xu Qinghe: Proves perceptive despite her intentionally foolish behavior, correctly recognizing the Alliance’s hidden protection arrangements. She also displays a playful, mischievous personality by teasing Liu Li before returning to prepare for the conference.
• Liu Li: Shows expertise in management and extraordinary power but struggles to maintain the conversation when Xu Qinghe and Liu Xuan discuss specialized technology. She is repeatedly teased and becomes the only unhappy member of the group.
• Lin Xin: Reveals her protective instincts and considerable authority. She immediately assumes responsibility for Lin Qi’s safety, promises to accompany him if possible, and emphasizes that Lin Qi’s wife is also part of the family. Her exasperation at Lin Qi’s poverty adds humor to their sibling relationship.

Significant Themes

• Hidden protection and political power: The Eastern Alliance quietly safeguards valuable researchers, illustrating how scientific achievement translates into political importance and security.
• Genius and sacrifice: Liu Xuan’s ability to manage a corporation while pursuing advanced research highlights her extraordinary talent, but also suggests she is sacrificing some of her potential for Lin Qi and United Pharmaceutical.
• Family support and responsibility: Lin Xin’s willingness to protect and financially assist Lin Qi emphasizes the strength of family bonds, even when those bonds are expressed through irritation and teasing.
• The contrast between status and practicality: Lin Qi is powerful and influential yet unable to pay a modest parking fee, creating a comic contrast between his public reputation and personal financial disorder.
• Preparation for danger: The approaching World City conference raises the stakes, encouraging Lin Qi and the others to make independent security preparations rather than relying entirely on the Alliance.

Character Interactions

• Xu Qinghe and Liu Li exchange playful insults over who should be called “little sister,” with Lin Qi and Liu Xuan enjoying Liu Li’s discomfort.
• Lin Qi and Liu Xuan discuss security and the Liu Group’s limited ability to provide protection, revealing their mutual concern for one another.
• Lin Xin initially treats Lin Qi’s call as a possible emergency and offers strategic protection before learning that his immediate crisis is merely an unpaid parking fee.
• Lin Qi’s attempt to borrow money from Lin Xin turns into a humorous misunderstanding: she thinks he needs funds for something serious, while he is literally trapped because of a 68-Credit-Point debt.
• Lin Xin’s accidental one-million-Credit-Point transfer leaves Lin Qi unexpectedly wealthy enough to prepare for the upcoming conference.

Chapter Summary: “Ding Yang Brings Extraordinary Items, Five Third Rank Pieces”

Key Plot Points and Events

• After returning to the Number One Cybernetic Clinic, Lin Qi considers whether to tell Arthur about Guangleng’s mysterious intentions. He decides against it because they lack enough information to verify any theory and concludes that strength and influence are the best safeguards.
• Lin Qi continues training the Anxious Knife, a weapon powered by accumulated negative emotions. He determines that it may already affect Fourth Rank beings and could potentially kill Third Rank opponents with weak willpower.
• He calculates that the Anxious Knife’s strength increases nonlinearly. By the time of the World City Peace Conference, his growing Mental Power should allow him to challenge ordinary Fourth Rank Extraordinary Professionals.
• Seeking more immediate combat power, Lin Qi travels to the Doomsday World once [Gate] finishes cooling. He meditates there, taking advantage of the world’s vastly higher Spiritual Energy efficiency.
• After twelve hours, his rapid Mental Power growth begins triggering his body’s self-protective resistance. Rather than risk harm, Lin Qi stops meditating.
• He discovers that Ding Yang has arrived with five Third Rank Extraordinary Items, which Lin Qi recognizes as valuable potential resources.
• Ding Yang explains that he personally obtained the items from General Headquarters, though securing them was difficult because the Academy of Sciences has claimed many Third Rank items for new research.
• Lin Qi and Wang Ziru deliberately negotiate from a position of dissatisfaction. Wang Ziru plays the aggressive “bad cop,” arguing that Magic University Camp deserves far more than five items because of its contributions to Dragon Nation’s defense.
• Ding Yang reveals that General Headquarters is increasingly interested in using Extraordinary Items to enhance elite fighters, inspired by Wang Qiang’s successful transformation with cybernetic prostheses.
• Many soldiers who implanted Extraordinary Items have suffered unbearable pain and psychological collapse; some have even taken their own lives.
• Since Lin Qi successfully treated Wang Qiang, General Headquarters is likely to send representatives soon to ask him to treat other implanted soldiers.
• Wang Ziru immediately warns Lin Qi not to accept such a burden, emphasizing the enormous Mental Power and soul damage involved, as well as the importance of Lin Qi’s time in producing S-level cybernetic prostheses.
• Lin Qi silently supports Wang Ziru’s stance by tapping his metal fingers on the table, allowing Wang Ziru to present the refusal on his behalf.
• Ding Yang interprets the exchange as proof that Lin Qi has sacrificed greatly for Dragon Nation and begins considering how he might help him.

Character Developments

• Lin Qi becomes increasingly calculating and politically astute. He recognizes that combat power alone is insufficient and that alliances, negotiation, and reputation are equally important. He also demonstrates scientific analysis by modeling the Anxious Knife’s growth and carefully controlling his meditation to avoid bodily damage.
• Wang Ziru proves himself a highly effective political ally. He willingly adopts the role of the aggressive negotiator and protects Lin Qi’s interests without requiring him to state a direct refusal. His loyalty to Lin Qi and Magic University Camp is clear.
• Ding Yang emerges as a trusted intermediary between Lin Qi and General Headquarters. He is willing to provide confidential information and advance warnings because he respects Lin Qi and views him as a selfless contributor to Dragon Nation.
• Wang Qiang, though absent, becomes increasingly important to the larger conflict. His enhanced strength offers General Headquarters a way to fight Fourth Rank Monsters without resorting to nuclear weapons in heavily populated regions.
• General Headquarters is portrayed as pragmatic and increasingly willing to take risks, even allowing promising soldiers to endure dangerous implantations in order to reduce the pressure of the apocalypse.

Significant Themes

• Strength versus information: Lin Qi believes strength is the ultimate solution, but the chapter also emphasizes that influence, connections, and political leverage are essential in the Cyber World.
• The cost of power: Mental Power growth, emotional weapons, and Extraordinary Item implantation all provide great strength but carry serious physical or psychological risks.
• Individual sacrifice versus collective survival: The General Headquarters is willing to sacrifice soldiers—and potentially civilians through nuclear strikes—for the survival of civilization, while Lin Qi and Wang Ziru question whether Lin Qi should personally bear the cost of saving everyone.
• Negotiation and political performance: Lin Qi and Wang Ziru intentionally act dissatisfied despite being pleased with the five items, showing how strategic posturing helps protect their interests.
• Technological and supernatural integration: Cybernetic prostheses and Extraordinary Items are beginning to merge, creating new methods of empowering fighters but also raising questions about scalability, ethics, and control.
• Trust and loyalty: Ding Yang’s willingness to leak information and Wang Ziru’s protective behavior show the growing network of relationships surrounding Lin Qi.

Important Character Interactions

• Lin Qi and Arthur: Lin Qi considers consulting Arthur about Guangleng but chooses not to because neither has enough information to interpret Guangleng’s motives.
• Lin Qi and Ding Yang: Their handshake and negotiation combine friendliness with calculated pressure. Lin Qi ultimately softens his attitude to preserve Ding Yang’s role as an intermediary.
• Lin Qi and Wang Ziru: They operate as a coordinated team. Wang Ziru voices the demands and objections that Lin Qi prefers not to express directly.
• Ding Yang and Wang Ziru: Ding Yang recognizes that Wang Ziru is manipulating the negotiation and recalls that the roles were once reversed when he sought help from Magic University Camp.
• Ding Yang and Lin Qi: Ding Yang praises Lin Qi’s assistance to Wang Qiang and warns him that General Headquarters may soon request mass treatment for implanted soldiers.
• Wang Ziru and Lin Qi: Wang Ziru strongly opposes Lin Qi taking on the treatment burden, stressing that Lin Qi is too valuable to exhaust himself treating soldiers when he is needed to develop cybernetic technology.

Chapter Summary: “Preparing for the Final Breakthrough”

Key Plot Points and Events

• Commander Ding Yang promises to return to General Headquarters and request additional Extraordinary Items for Lin Qi, recognizing Lin Qi’s major contributions.
• Lin Qi escorts Ding Yang out and instructs Wang Ziru to have the newly delivered items transported to his private workshop for study.
• In the Cyber World, Lin Qi assesses his resources: eight Third Rank Extraordinary Items and one Fourth Rank item, enough to support his advancement.
• He plans his next ability analyses, selecting two promising Third Rank items. One particularly powerful item is reserved for a later, fourth analysis because of its high potential.
• Lin Qi considers improving his cybernetic engineering skills so he can eventually create advanced S-level Immortal Cybernetic Bodies. He decides to seek guidance from Liu Xuan while studying her old prototype machine.
• Over the next ten days, Lin Qi assists Liu Xuan with United Pharmaceutical’s management and studies professional knowledge under her instruction. Their frequent private interactions spark rumors among company employees, but neither pays attention to the gossip.
• By April 11, United Pharmaceutical has returned to normal operations. Liu Xuan informs Lin Qi that they will travel with the Liu Group’s team to Antarctica World City the following day.
• Lin Qi returns to his Cybernetic Clinic and prepares for his final meditation and ability analysis before departure. He intends to reach the peak of Third Rank that night.

Character Development

• Lin Qi: Becomes increasingly confident and strategic about his advancement. His growing collection of Extraordinary Items gives him multiple options, while his combat strength has improved enough that he believes he could now challenge Arthur and potentially threaten even Fourth Rank opponents. He also shows humility by seeking Liu Xuan’s expertise and recognizes the importance of expanding beyond his current A-level cybernetic engineering knowledge.
• Ding Yang: Demonstrates loyalty, respect, and willingness to advocate for Lin Qi at General Headquarters.
• Wang Ziru: Continues to function as Lin Qi’s trusted subordinate, efficiently carrying out his instructions while maintaining appropriate public and private forms of address.
• Liu Xuan: Acts as both Lin Qi’s business partner and mentor, guiding him in professional and technological matters. Her close association with Lin Qi fuels workplace rumors, though she remains unconcerned.
• Arthur: Though absent, she is remembered positively by Lin Qi. He acknowledges her previous assistance and the valuable material technology she provided.

Significant Themes

• Preparation before advancement: Lin Qi carefully gathers resources, selects abilities, and strengthens his knowledge before attempting his breakthrough.
• The fusion of technology and the extraordinary: The chapter emphasizes the potential of combining extraordinary abilities with cybernetic engineering, particularly through Immortal Cybernetic Bodies.
• Growth through collaboration: Lin Qi’s progress depends not only on personal power but also on guidance from experts such as Liu Xuan and support from allies like Ding Yang.
• Power and responsibility: Despite his rapidly increasing strength, Lin Qi remains cautious, planning around his limitations and considering how his abilities can protect himself and benefit United Pharmaceutical.
• Professional focus over gossip: Lin Qi and Liu Xuan ignore rumors about their relationship, prioritizing the company’s recovery and their shared work.

Character Interactions

• Ding Yang and Lin Qi share a respectful conversation centered on Lin Qi’s contributions and Ding Yang’s promise to secure more resources.
• Lin Qi gives Wang Ziru operational instructions, reinforcing their boss-subordinate relationship.
• Lin Qi and Liu Xuan spend much of the following days working closely together, with Liu Xuan teaching him cybernetic engineering and helping manage the company.
• During their elevator ride, Liu Xuan reminds Lin Qi about the upcoming Antarctic trip and subtly suggests he need not arrive too early, likely because Liu Xingyuan will be present.
• Lin Qi mentally reflects on Arthur, balancing his confidence in surpassing her with gratitude for her past assistance.
  The chapter ends with Lin Qi entering his workshop to begin the final preparation for becoming a peak Third Rank Extraordinary Profession user.

Key Plot Points and Events

• Lin Qi receives a Fourth Rank Extraordinary Item from Capitalist.
• He decides to bring it to the Doomsday World as he can't analyze it yet.
• Lin Qi meditates and breaks through to the peak of Third Rank Mental Power.
• He analyzes a Third Rank Extraordinary Item that enhances other abilities.
• Lin Qi tests his newly acquired ability, "Spatial Tug," on a Second Rank monster.

Character Developments

• Lin Qi becomes more proficient in using his abilities and gains a new one that enhances others.
• He shows concern for his fellow survivors, not wanting to accidentally harm them during tests.

Significant Themes

• The difference between Extraordinary Items in the Cyber World and the Doomsday World.
• The power of Wizards and their abilities.
• The importance of testing and understanding new abilities.

Character Interactions

• Lin Qi interacts with Capitalist through the box containing the Extraordinary Item.
• He thinks about his fellow survivors, Wang Qiang and Xia Chu, but doesn't seek them out for testing.

Key Plot Points and Events

• Lin Qi uses his Blood Manipulation and Psychic Vision abilities to assess his combat capabilities for the journey to World City.
• Lin Qi and Liu Xuan board a Liu Heavy Industries levitating transport, accompanied by Liu Xinglu, to attend the World City Peace Conference.
• The Eastern Alliance's levitating transport, with Lin Xin aboard, flies alongside the Liu family's transport, providing protection and surprising Lin Qi and Liu Xuan.
• Lin Xin communicates with Lin Qi and Liu Xuan throughout the journey, causing a stir among other enterprises following the Eastern Alliance's route.
• The group arrives at World City, located at the South Pole, as the sun sets, marking the beginning of the polar night.

Character Developments

• Lin Qi demonstrates his confidence in his abilities and commitment to advancing to the Fourth Rank before the conference.
• Lin Xin shows her concern for Liu Xuan's safety and her influence within the Eastern Alliance by arranging for their levitating transport to accompany the Lius.
• Liu Xinglu reveals his worry about the Liu family's safety at the conference and entrusts the mission to Liu Xinglu.
• Liu Xuan and Lin Xin's friendship deepens as they chat throughout the journey.

Significant Themes

• The power dynamics and alliances among various corporations and factions in the Cyber World.
• The importance of strength and connections in the Cyber World's political landscape.
• The potential risks and challenges posed by the World City Peace Conference.

Character Interactions

• Lin Qi and Liu Xuan: Lin Qi reassures Liu Xuan about the Eastern Alliance's protection, while they both express surprise at Lin Xin's presence.
• Lin Qi and Lin Xin: Lin Qi feels helpless at Lin Xin's antics but accepts her help. Lin Xin expresses her desire to protect Liu Xuan.
• Liu Xinglu and Liu Xingyuan: Liu Xinglu reassures Liu Xingyuan about the Liu family's safety at the conference, while Liu Xingyuan expresses his worries.
• Liu Xuan and Lin Xin: The two women chat throughout the journey, strengthening their bond.

Key Plot Points and Events

• The protagonist is still recovering from a cold and feels worse after going out in the snow.
• They decide to take the day off from their usual routine and plan to post two updates the next day to make up for the missed one.

Character Developments

• The protagonist shows responsibility and commitment by planning to make up for the missed update, despite not feeling well.
• Their health is deteriorating, indicating a need for rest and self-care.

Significant Themes

• Health and self-care: The protagonist's decision to take a day off highlights the importance of prioritizing one's health and well-being.
• Responsibility and commitment: The protagonist's plan to make up for the missed update demonstrates their dedication to their work or routine.

Character Interactions

• There are no character interactions in this chapter, as it is written from the first-person perspective of the protagonist and focuses solely on their internal thoughts and decisions.

Chapter Summary

Key Plot Points and Events

• Lin Qi, Liu Xuan, Liu Xinglu, Green Hair, and other delegates arrive in World City for the Peace Conference.
• Liu Xuan reveals a major breakthrough: she can temporarily implant S-level cybernetic prostheses into people with insufficient cybernetic compatibility. She has given Green Hair an S-level full-body implantation, turning him into a powerful bodyguard.
• Lin Xin greets Liu Xuan publicly, revealing the Liu Group’s connection to the Eastern Alliance. Her teacher, Baili Xueyuan, then appears through spatial manipulation, exposing herself as a Fourth-Order Extraordinary Professional.
• Baili Xueyuan reveals that Lin Xin holds the twelfth conference seat of the Asian Political Zone Large Enterprise Alliance and will attend the Peace Conference’s main session. She privately emails Lin Qi and Liu Xuan, assuring them that the Alliance has arranged protection and urging them to gain enough influence to enter the main session.
• Lin Qi and Liu Xuan discuss their security arrangements before separating. Liu Xuan will participate remotely in multiple sub-conferences from an exclusive residence, while Lin Qi heads to the pharmacology sub-conference.
• Liu Xuan insists that Green Hair protect Lin Qi rather than herself, believing Lin Qi faces greater danger.
• Lin Qi travels alone with Green Hair to the World City S-level Pharmacology Association building. He reflects on the conference and decides that personal safety matters more than aggressively pursuing influence.
• At the building, Lin Qi encounters Xu Qinghe and several international pharmacology researchers. Xu Qinghe privately emails him, revealing that a European S-level pharmacology researcher had challenged the legitimacy of Lin Qi’s certification because he produced an S-level Potion with only 150 materials.
• The certification was completed only because two Nanyun Pharmaceuticals researchers supported it. Xu Qinghe explains that the European researcher promoted “luck” and “cheating” theories and that she had already arranged a wager connected to the dispute.

Character Developments

• Lin Qi: Becomes more cautious and politically aware. Although confident in his potion-making ability, he recognizes that the Peace Conference involves political maneuvering and possible threats. He prioritizes protecting himself and maintaining a low profile.
• Liu Xuan: Demonstrates her extraordinary scientific talent by developing temporary S-level cybernetic implantation. She also shows loyalty and concern for Lin Qi by assigning Green Hair to protect him instead of herself. Her status as a genius participating in numerous fields makes her a major potential influence in the Asian Alliance.
• Green Hair: Has become a resolute, highly capable bodyguard after receiving S-level cybernetic prostheses from Liu Xuan. His heightened alertness reflects his dedication to protecting Lin Qi.
• Lin Xin: Has advanced rapidly under Baili Xueyuan’s tutelage. She now holds an important conference seat and will attend the main session, placing her in a position of considerable political significance.
• Baili Xueyuan: Reveals herself as a powerful Fourth-Order Extraordinary Professional and acts as Lin Xin’s mentor and protector. She also supports Lin Qi and Liu Xuan through the Alliance.
• Xu Qinghe: Appears friendly in public but is actively manipulating the situation behind the scenes. She has prepared a challenge to defend Lin Qi’s reputation and possibly exploit his abilities for political or professional gain.
• Liu Xinglu: Despite being an experienced hacker who fears retaliation, he appears less intimidating than the other powerful members of the Liu Group and awkwardly asks Liu Xuan for protection.

Significant Themes

• Power, reputation, and political influence: The delegates’ relationships with the Eastern Alliance and powerful Fourth-Order professionals immediately attract public attention. Personal connections carry major political weight.
• Scientific achievement versus perceived luck: Lin Qi’s rapid certification and unusually efficient potion production create suspicion. The chapter sets up a conflict between genuine ability, statistical improbability, and accusations of cheating.
• Family loyalty and protection: Lin Qi, Liu Xuan, Lin Xin, and Baili Xueyuan all prioritize one another’s safety, even while pursuing different political and professional goals.
• Technological advancement: Liu Xuan’s temporary S-level implantation represents an “epoch-making” breakthrough and demonstrates the strategic importance of cybernetic research.
• Competition beneath diplomacy: Although the Peace Conference is presented as a formal international event, rivalries, wagers, surveillance, and hidden agendas operate beneath its surface.

Character Interactions

• Lin Xin publicly embraces Liu Xuan, signaling the Liu Group’s connection to the Eastern Alliance.
• Baili Xueyuan reprimands Lin Xin for behaving playfully despite her new political responsibility, then privately reassures Lin Qi and Liu Xuan through email.
• Liu Xuan and Lin Qi debate who needs Green Hair’s protection, with Liu Xuan ultimately prioritizing Lin Qi’s safety.
• Liu Xinglu’s request for protection creates an awkward contrast between his insecurity and the Liu Group’s broader strength.
• Lin Qi meets Xu Qinghe and the international researchers, presenting himself modestly by attributing his certification to luck.
• Xu Qinghe privately reveals that she has arranged a wager concerning the accusations against Lin Qi, establishing the next major conflict.

Chapter Summary: “Gentleman Sprint”

Key Plot Points and Events

• Lin Qi meets a group of S-level pharmacology researchers, including Kaven, a prominent researcher from McCary Science Company.
• Kaven and the others outwardly praise Lin Qi’s record of creating an S-level Potion with only 150 materials, but their exaggerated compliments reveal that they doubt his achievement and suspect luck or cheating.
• Xu Qinghe introduces Kaven’s challenge: a “Gentleman Sprint” using identical 140-base potions. The competitors must process additional materials simultaneously, with the first to reach the agreed completion number—or produce an S-level Potion—winning.
• Kaven explains that 140-base potions are standardized products designed to help less-experienced S-level researchers produce potions efficiently. He condescendingly suggests that researchers from the Asian Political Zone lack the sophistication of European researchers.
• Lin Qi counters his arrogance by implying that Asian researchers are skilled enough not to need base potions.
• Lin Qi agrees to the contest but admits he lacks enough Credit Points to purchase the expensive potion. Kaven mockingly gives him the base potion for free.
• Lin Qi privately demands fifty percent of Xu Qinghe’s betting profits instead of the originally agreed thirty percent. Xu Qinghe reluctantly accepts because the betting pool is enormous.
• The S-level Pharmacology Association provides a luxurious laboratory and unlimited access to rare Extraordinary Materials. Kaven sets the target at 160 materials, requiring only twenty additional materials to be processed.
• Kaven bets heavily on himself, believing he can finish in eight hours or less. He designed the McCary 140-base potion himself and is confident that no one can handle it faster.
• Lin Qi immediately begins processing the potion in an unconventional manner. He skips the usual property testing and adds materials almost instantly.
• His first material is successfully integrated after only five minutes, and he adds a second by seven minutes, shocking the gathered researchers.
• Kaven, who is still waiting for the base potion’s analysis data, realizes that Lin Qi has taken the lead almost immediately.

Character Developments

• Lin Qi: Remains calm and confident despite the researchers’ mockery. He demonstrates sharp awareness of social manipulation, accepts Kaven’s “gift” without embarrassment, and uses the contest primarily as an opportunity to earn Credit Points. His extraordinary “inspiration” talent allows him to disregard conventional pharmacological procedures while achieving successful results.
• Kaven: Is established as arrogant, elitist, and deeply confident in his own reputation. He looks down on Lin Qi because of his youth, poverty, Asian background, and lack of familiarity with European pharmacological practices. His confidence begins to falter when Lin Qi rapidly succeeds with techniques Kaven considers reckless.
• Xu Qinghe: Acts as Lin Qi’s sponsor and intermediary. She is pleased by the opportunity to profit from the betting pool but becomes annoyed when Lin Qi demands half the earnings. Nevertheless, she trusts his abilities and knows that his “inspiration” talent is genuinely extraordinary.
• The S-level researchers: Initially ridicule Lin Qi and assume his certification achievement was an accident or fraud. Their attitude shifts toward surprise and confusion once his unconventional methods begin working.

Significant Themes

• Prejudice and regional elitism: The European researchers dismiss Lin Qi because he comes from the Asian Political Zone, revealing institutional arrogance and political-cultural prejudice.
• Talent versus established convention: Lin Qi’s success challenges the standardized methods and accumulated habits of experienced researchers. The chapter suggests that rigid expertise can be surpassed by instinctive genius.
• Appearance versus reality: The researchers’ polite praise conceals contempt, while Lin Qi’s apparent poverty and inexperience conceal immense ability.
• Wealth and exploitation: S-level pharmacology is portrayed as extraordinarily profitable, with researchers using gray markets, private connections, and betting pools to increase their fortunes.
• Confidence and reversal: Kaven begins as the unquestioned expert, but Lin Qi’s immediate lead reverses the power dynamic and threatens Kaven’s professional pride.

Character Interactions

• Kaven repeatedly patronizes Lin Qi while explaining base potions and the Gentleman Sprint, using the explanation to emphasize European superiority.
• Lin Qi responds politely but subtly mocks Kaven’s assumptions, suggesting that Asian researchers may simply have stronger fundamentals.
• Kaven gives Lin Qi a base potion while pretending generosity, though his gesture is clearly condescending. Lin Qi accepts it without hesitation, turning the insult into an advantage.
• Lin Qi and Xu Qinghe negotiate their profit split through private messages, with Lin Qi aggressively raising his demand to fifty percent.
• Xu Qinghe supports Lin Qi publicly by defending his talent, while the surrounding researchers remain skeptical.
• During the contest, Lin Qi’s rapid progress leaves Kaven and the other researchers bewildered. Kaven’s confidence is undermined when Lin Qi succeeds without following any of the accepted procedures.

Chapter Summary: “The Return of ‘150,’ Lin Qi’s Bloodline?”

Key Plot Points and Events

• Lin Qi dramatically outpaces Kaven during the Gentleman Sprint, preparing the McCary Science-140 base potion far faster than expected. Kaven and other S-level pharmacologists initially assume Lin Qi’s speed is luck, insisting that handling more than 150 materials will reveal his true ability.
• Veteran researchers encourage Kaven from the sidelines, prompting Xu Qinghe to accuse them of cheating. Her argument leads to a humorous exchange in which the older researchers deny interfering while clearly trying to reignite Kaven’s confidence.
• Xu Qinghe’s father, Xu Zhengming, arrives. His presence unsettles the veteran researchers because his father—the elderly second-generation founder of Nanyun Pharmaceuticals—is still alive and will attend the upcoming conference. The researchers fear the Eastern/Asian Political Zone’s influence and exceptional pharmacologists.
• By the thirtieth minute, Lin Qi has added 149 Extraordinary Materials, while Kaven has only begun processing his second. Lin Qi then adds the 150th material, triggering the legendary “flash of inspiration,” the theoretical minimum required for an S-level Potion.
• Lin Qi uses a First Rank Extraordinary Item as the final catalyst. The potion undergoes a transformation that only he can fully perceive through Psychic Vision, and it becomes a confirmed S-level Potion.
• Lin Qi completes the potion in under forty minutes, shattering the previous Gentleman Sprint record of three hours and eleven minutes.
• Kaven concedes defeat with dignity. Lin Qi learns that he is entitled to keep the potion, though he worries that producing it publicly may violate the agreement he signed with the Large Enterprise Alliance.
• Xu Zhengming reassures him that World City’s laws and Lin Qi’s status as a candidate for the Asian Political Zone’s Peace Conference delegation grant him regulatory exemption.
• The chapter ends with Xu Zhengming suggesting that Lin Qi may be descended from the Eastern Alliance’s Lin Clan, introducing the possibility of a significant bloodline connection.

Character Developments

• Lin Qi: Demonstrates extraordinary speed and control in pharmacology. Although he insists that reaching “150” twice was largely luck, his Psychic Vision gives him perfect awareness of Spiritual Energy flow and prevents mistakes. He remains modest after winning and becomes increasingly concerned about the political and legal consequences of his success.
• Kaven: Initially regains his fighting spirit after encouragement from the veteran researchers, but Lin Qi’s overwhelming lead leaves him stunned. He accepts defeat quickly and courteously, reinforcing his “gentlemanly” character.
• Xu Qinghe: Shows fierce loyalty to Lin Qi and openly challenges the veteran researchers when they support Kaven. Her playful confidence and pride in Lin Qi contrast with her frustration at being outmaneuvered by the older researchers.
• Xu Zhengming: Appears as a calm, influential, and highly capable figure. He immediately recognizes Lin Qi’s achievement, understands the importance of the “150” phenomenon, and possesses enough authority and knowledge to reassure Lin Qi about his legal protection.
• Veteran pharmacologists: Their confidence is shaken by Lin Qi’s performance and by the realization that Nanyun Pharmaceuticals possesses several unusually talented researchers. Their concern shifts from the wager to the upcoming struggle for influence at the conference.

Significant Themes

• Talent versus luck: Lin Qi’s success appears miraculous, but he attributes the crucial 150-material breakthrough to luck. The chapter questions whether extraordinary inspiration can be measured, inherited, or cultivated.
• The “150” phenomenon: Reaching exactly 150 materials represents the theoretical threshold for an S-level Potion and becomes a symbol of rare pharmacological insight. Lin Qi triggering it twice raises the possibility that his talent is unprecedented.
• Political influence and scientific power: The potion contest is not merely a personal competition. The upcoming conference will determine influence in the pharmacology field, making Lin Qi’s achievement politically significant.
• Generational and regional rivalry: The older researchers fear the growing strength of Nanyun Pharmaceuticals and the Asian Political Zone, especially because of Xu Zhengming’s powerful family and long-lived father.
• Humility and sportsmanship: Lin Qi avoids arrogance, while Kaven accepts defeat gracefully. Their interaction contrasts with the veteran researchers’ cynical attempts to manipulate the contest.
• Bloodline and inheritance: Xu Zhengming’s final question suggests that Lin Qi’s abilities may be connected to the Eastern Alliance’s Lin Clan, setting up a mystery about his ancestry.

Important Character Interactions

• Lin Qi and Kaven: Their silent competition becomes an overwhelming demonstration of Lin Qi’s superiority. Kaven’s respectful concession and Lin Qi’s modest response preserve mutual dignity.
• Xu Qinghe and the veteran researchers: Xu Qinghe accuses them of cheating when they encourage Kaven, while they respond with evasive technicalities. This highlights her youthful directness against their practiced political cunning.
• Xu Qinghe and Xu Zhengming: She greets her father warmly and uses his authority to bolster her position among the veteran researchers. Their relationship is affectionate, confident, and somewhat playful.
• Xu Zhengming and the veteran researchers: His arrival immediately changes the atmosphere. The researchers avoid provoking him and become visibly concerned about his family’s influence.
• Xu Zhengming and Lin Qi: Xu Zhengming recognizes Lin Qi’s extraordinary ability, reassures him about the potion’s legality, and ends the chapter by probing his possible connection to the Lin Clan.

Chapter Summary

1. Key Plot Points and Events

• Xu Zhengming concludes that Lin Qi is probably descended from the prestigious Lin Clan of the Eastern Alliance. He bases this on Lin Qi’s extraordinary ability to create S-level Potions with only 150 materials, a feat previously associated with Lin Changshou, one of pharmacology’s founders.
• Lin Qi initially denies having any connection to the Eastern Alliance, believing his family in Red Fruit City to be ordinary. Xu Zhengming urges him to ask his father about his grandfather.
• Lin Qi contacts Doctor Lin, who confirms that their family is connected to the Eastern Alliance. He reveals that Lin Qi’s grandfather was Lin Changshou, a powerful and long-lived member of the Lin Clan.
• Doctor Lin explains that Lin Changshou had an affair with Lin Qi’s grandmother while visiting Red Fruit City, then returned to the Eastern Alliance, leaving her with money but no lasting support. Lin Qi’s grandmother raised Doctor Lin alone, and Doctor Lin later founded the Number One Cybernetic Clinic.
• Doctor Lin also reveals that Lin Changshou may still be alive. Before her death, Lin Qi’s grandmother left an encrypted video intended for Lin Changshou, asking that it be delivered if they ever met. Lin Qi receives the file but chooses not to open it, intending to respect his grandmother’s final wish.
• Lin Qi informs Xu Zhengming that his grandfather was Lin Changshou. Xu Zhengming is shocked because Lin Changshou is nearly 150 years old, a legendary “living fossil” of the Lin Clan who may soon emerge from life support to create an S-level Potion.
• Because Lin Qi is a fourth-generation descendant rather than a fifth-generation one, Xu Zhengming determines that Lin Qi outranks Xu Qinghe in the Eastern Alliance’s traditional seniority system.
• Xu Zhengming asks Xu Qinghe to call Lin Qi “Uncle Lin,” causing her immediate distress at losing seniority. Lin Qi rejects the formality, preferring to be addressed normally in private.
• Xu Zhengming explains that seniority-based forms of address are legally required in public in the Eastern Alliance, part of its broader effort to preserve cultural unity after global decentralization.
• Xu Qinghe suggests bringing Lin Qi to meet the other Asian Political Zone pharmacology researchers, especially those from Nanyun Pharmaceuticals. Lin Qi agrees in hopes of building connections before the upcoming pharmacology sub-conference.

2. Character Developments

• Lin Qi: Learns that his exceptional pharmacological talent may come from the Lin Clan. He is forced to reconsider his family history and possible connection to a powerful Eastern Alliance lineage. Despite this revelation, he remains practical and cautious, choosing not to decrypt the video immediately and seeking information before deciding how to approach the clan.
• Doctor Lin: Reveals the painful truth about his childhood and parentage. His past explains why he devoted himself to protecting and supporting Lin Qi and Lin Xin, creating the stable family environment he himself lacked.
• Xu Zhengming: Demonstrates strong knowledge of Eastern Alliance genealogy and takes pride in identifying Lin Qi’s origins. He eagerly tries to establish a closer relationship with Lin Qi and offers to introduce him to important researchers.
• Xu Qinghe: Shifts from curiosity and amusement to emotional discomfort when she discovers that Lin Qi is technically her senior. She quickly recovers and shows goodwill by suggesting that Lin Qi meet influential researchers.

3. Significant Themes

• Heritage versus personal achievement: Lin Qi’s success appears to be both the result of his own effort and possibly inherited talent from the Lin Clan. The chapter questions how much identity and ability are shaped by bloodline.
• Family abandonment and loyalty: Lin Changshou’s neglect contrasts sharply with Doctor Lin’s devotion to his own children. Doctor Lin consciously breaks the cycle by giving Lin Qi and Lin Xin the family support he never had.
• Tradition versus modern society: The Eastern Alliance preserves ancient seniority customs through formal laws, while Red Fruit City’s culture is more informal and individualistic.
• The consequences of hidden history: Lin Qi’s previously ordinary family background is revealed to conceal ties to one of the most influential clans in the Eastern Alliance, potentially bringing both allies and complications.
• Respect for elders and obligations: Lin Qi’s decision not to decrypt the video reflects his respect for his grandmother’s wishes and his willingness to honor family responsibilities despite the painful history involved.

4. Character Interactions

• Xu Zhengming questions Lin Qi about his origins and attempts to connect him with the Lin Clan.
• Xu Qinghe jokes with her father about Lin Qi possibly being an illegitimate descendant, treating the situation as entertaining family drama.
• Lin Qi’s phone conversation with Doctor Lin exposes the emotional history behind his family’s origins and deepens the understanding between father and son.
• After learning Lin Qi’s true ancestry, Xu Zhengming changes the way he addresses him and orders Xu Qinghe to call him “Uncle Lin.”
• Lin Qi resists the imposed hierarchy, reassuring both Xu Zhengming and Xu Qinghe that they can speak casually in private.
• Xu Qinghe then takes a supportive role by arranging for Lin Qi to meet prominent pharmacology researchers, helping him expand his network in World City.

Chapter Summary: “Hear the Uncles’ Voices All Around”

Key Plot Points and Events

• Xu Qinghe settles the betting results from the Gentleman Sprint wager. Although 442 S-level pharmacology researchers wagered over 1.026 billion Credit Points, many members of Nanyun Pharmaceuticals’ older generation bet on Lin Qi’s victory, reducing Xu Qinghe’s profit to just over 140 million.
• Xu Qinghe transfers half the profit—73.2 million Credit Points—to Lin Qi. Combined with his anonymous chip funds, Lin Qi’s wealth surpasses 100 million Credit Points.
• Xu Zhengming takes Lin Qi to Nanyun Pharmaceuticals’ Seed guidance meeting on the sixty-sixth floor of the S-level Pharmacology Association building. The gathering includes senior researchers, talented younger pharmacologists, and members of the Lin Clan.
• Xu Zhengming explains that Nanyun Pharmaceuticals received 86 invitations for S-level pharmacology researchers, though fewer than 40 actually came. Many of the nearly 400 attendees are younger researchers brought along for education and exposure.
• Lin Qi questions why Nanyun Pharmaceuticals’ reported annual S-level Potion production is so low despite having many S-level researchers. Xu Zhengming reveals that researchers are only legally required to produce potions until age 65 because inspiration and talent generally decline after researchers reach their sixties.
• Lin Qi learns that S-level Potion production depends heavily on inspiration and talent rather than knowledge alone. Most researchers can produce potions for only 20–30 years, while rare talents such as Lin Qi and his grandfather may retain their abilities far longer.
• Lin Qinghong greets Lin Qi and initially assumes he is an illegitimate child of one of the Lin Clan’s younger-generation elders. After learning that Lin Qi is descended from Lin Changshou, he formally acknowledges Lin Qi as “Granduncle” and prepares to introduce him to the younger Lin Clan members.

Character Developments

• Lin Qi: Gains substantial wealth and greater security from the wager. His curiosity deepens regarding the mysterious decline of pharmacological talent and its connection to the Extraordinary Profession system. He also begins to assume a more prominent position within the Lin Clan.
• Xu Qinghe: Shows her reluctance to part with the betting profits, jokingly viewing the payment as a painful “tribute” to her elders. Her relationship with Lin Qi remains playful and competitive.
• Xu Zhengming: Acts as Lin Qi’s guide and potential familial ally. He explains the hidden realities of S-level pharmacology and deliberately teases Lin Qinghong by forcing him to recognize Lin Qi’s seniority.
• Lin Qinghong: Moves from confusion and alarm to relief and acceptance when he learns Lin Qi’s lineage. He enthusiastically embraces the opportunity to claim the famous young S-level researcher as part of the Old Lin Family.

Significant Themes

• Family hierarchy and absurd traditions: The Eastern Alliance’s complicated kinship customs create humorous misunderstandings, especially when people much older than Lin Qi must address him as an uncle or granduncle.
• Talent, aging, and the limits of mastery: S-level pharmacology depends on inspiration that normally fades with age, emphasizing that even extraordinary professionals face biological or supernatural limitations.
• Knowledge gaps and inherited privilege: Lin Qi’s isolated upbringing in Red Fruit City left him unaware of important laws and customs, while established families possess generations of accumulated knowledge and guidance.
• Wealth and social power: The enormous betting profits highlight the financial influence of S-level pharmacology researchers, while Lin Qi’s new fortune strengthens his independence.
• Family reputation and legitimacy: Lin Qinghong’s reaction reflects the Lin Clan’s chaotic reputation, while formally accepting Lin Qi allows the family to associate itself with a globally celebrated genius.

Character Interactions

• Xu Qinghe reluctantly pays Lin Qi his share of the wager while privately resenting how much money he has taken from her.
• Xu Zhengming and Lin Qi converse warmly, with Xu Zhengming treating Lin Qi as family because of his connection to the Lin Clan.
• Xu Zhengming educates Lin Qi about retirement laws and the decline of pharmacological inspiration, revealing both mentorship and admiration for Lin Qi’s exceptional talent.
• Lin Qinghong initially addresses Lin Qi casually as “Brother,” but Xu Zhengming publicly corrects him and insists that Lin Qi is his senior.
• Lin Qinghong’s misunderstanding about Lin Qi’s parentage produces a comedic exchange before Lin Qi identifies Lin Changshou as his ancestor. Lin Qinghong then proudly greets him as “Granduncle,” emphasizing the Lin Clan’s desire to claim him.

Chapter Summary

Key Plot Points and Events

• Lin Qi visits Nanyun Pharmaceuticals’ Circular Experimental Field with Xu Qinghe and Xu Zhengming before the Eastern Alliance’s sub-conference.
• He meets the enormous Old Lin Family and becomes overwhelmed by the complicated family hierarchy and numerous younger relatives.
• Xu Zhengming introduces Lin Qi to the four powerful families that dominate Nanyun Pharmaceuticals: the Lin, Li, Xu, and Nan families. Their ancestors were the foundational figures of modern potion research.
• Lin Qi infers that:
  • The Lin Clan is likely a Wizard family.
  • The Xu Family is probably connected to Shaman Practitioners, though Xu Qinghe’s x-ray ability suggests mixed ancestry.
  • The Li Family is associated with x-ray-related abilities.
  • The Nan Family controls the corporation’s leadership despite having fewer members.
• At the conference table, Lin Qinghong asks Xu Zhengming and Xu Qinghe to guide the younger researchers. Xu Zhengming instead recommends Lin Qi, believing Lin Qi’s extraordinary talent may succeed where traditional instruction has failed.
• Xu Qinghe proposes that Lin Qi should be paid rather than provide guidance for free. The four families agree to pay him two million Credit Points for every participant he mentors.
• Although Lin Qi publicly hesitates because he cannot guarantee results, he privately promises Xu Qinghe thirty percent of his earnings.
• A total of 336 young researchers sign up, generating 672 million Credit Points for Lin Qi.
• Lin Qi gives Xu Qinghe thirty percent, helping compensate her for the money she previously lost to the older generation.
• The chapter ends with Lin Qi agreeing to teach and asking whether Nanyun Pharmaceuticals has a standard guidance procedure he can follow.

Character Developments

• Lin Qi: Becomes recognized as an exceptionally gifted potion researcher, potentially more talented than even Nanyun Pharmaceuticals’ established experts. He also shows increasing cleverness in business and social maneuvering, turning an uncertain teaching opportunity into a massive financial gain.
• Xu Qinghe: Demonstrates quick thinking and a strong sense of fairness—or at least self-interest—by insisting that Lin Qi be compensated. She is delighted when Lin Qi shares thirty percent of the profits with her.
• Xu Zhengming: Publicly supports Lin Qi and acknowledges his superior talent. He also takes responsibility for arranging payment from the Xu Family.
• Lin Qinghong: Initially approaches Xu Zhengming for guidance but quickly supports Lin Qi’s appointment and ensures the Lin Clan will pay him.
• The senior researchers: Though they claim the guidance is voluntary, they pressure the younger generation into signing up, using the enormous potential profits of becoming an S-level researcher as justification.
• The young researchers: Even those unlikely to surpass A-level participate because the chance to advance early is too valuable to ignore.

Significant Themes

• Talent versus effort: S-level potion research depends not only on hard work but also on age-related inspiration and innate talent. Lin Qi’s unusual abilities may allow him to bypass conventional limitations.
• Family inheritance and professional power: Nanyun Pharmaceuticals is controlled by four hereditary families whose research traditions and abilities have been passed down for generations.
• Profit and exploitation: The chapter humorously presents mentorship as a financial transaction. The older generation initially tries to benefit from Lin Qi’s expertise, then shifts the cost onto the younger researchers.
• Social obligation versus personal gain: Lin Qi appears reluctant to profit from others, but he accepts payment once the families insist. Xu Qinghe similarly frames her demand as proper etiquette while clearly seeking compensation.
• Innovation versus tradition: Lin Qi’s potion-making methods differ radically from established procedures, relying on Psychic Vision rather than conventional experimentation. His unconventional approach may offer breakthroughs that traditional experts cannot achieve.

Important Character Interactions

• Lin Qi and Xu Qinghe: Xu Qinghe protects Lin Qi from being exploited for free, while Lin Qi secretly rewards her with thirty percent of his earnings. Their exchange reflects mutual trust and playful financial cooperation.
• Lin Qi and Xu Zhengming: Xu Zhengming openly praises Lin Qi’s talent and hands him responsibility for mentoring the younger researchers.
• Lin Qi and Lin Qinghong: Lin Qinghong initially seeks guidance from the Xu Family but ultimately supports Lin Qi’s role and promises payment from the Lin Clan.
• Lin Qi and the four families: The families collectively recognize Lin Qi’s exceptional abilities and compete to secure his instruction for their younger members.
• Senior and junior researchers: The older researchers pressure the younger generation into paying for the opportunity, presenting the expense as a necessary investment in their futures.

Chapter Summary

Key Plot Points and Events

• Lin Qi is assigned to observe and guide Nanyun Pharmaceuticals’ potion researchers as they use [100 Base Potion] to produce potions. Xu Qinghe volunteers to assist him, while Lin Qinghong organizes the researchers into groups of thirty.
• Lin learns that base potions are widely used within Nanyun Pharmaceuticals, suggesting that producing them may be strategically important for United Pharmaceutical’s future.
• Xu Qinghe explains that researchers with red nameplates possess potential S-level talent, particularly the ability to formulate potions through instinctive “inspiration” rather than theory alone.
• Lin struggles to offer practical guidance because the researchers already know more formal potion theory than he does. Xu Qinghe helps by providing conventional, literature-based advice.
• While observing the potion-making process, Lin enters a researcher’s meditative state and activates enhanced Psychic Vision. He discovers that Spiritual Energy Particles possess different colors and arrangements, and that Extraordinary Materials have distinct “phase states.”
• Lin theorizes that creating an S-level potion is essentially assembling compatible phase states like pieces of a puzzle. The “inspiration” experienced by S-level researchers is an instinctive perception of how to complete that puzzle.
• He further speculates that a fully completed spiritual-energy puzzle might produce an even higher-level potion.
• Realizing the potential importance of his discovery, Lin considers using it to gain the Eastern Alliance’s support and strengthen his position against future political threats, including the Witch Hunt and Guangleng.
• Lin presents his ideas to Xu Zhengming and the veteran S-level researchers, warning that the research could revolutionize potion-making but might also make United Pharmaceutical and Nanyun Pharmaceuticals targets.
• Nan Jujun promises the Eastern Alliance’s full backing. Lin then explains that he will need assistance from heavy industrial engineers and Extraordinary Item engineers to develop equipment capable of detecting phase states.
• Silly Roe Deer suggests contacting “Sister Liu,” implying that she may be the specialist Lin needs.

Character Developments

• Lin Qi demonstrates his growing ability to combine potion research with his scientific and engineering mindset. Rather than merely following established formulas, he seeks the underlying mechanism behind S-level potion creation.
• His enhanced Psychic Vision and researcher meditation lead to a major breakthrough: the discovery of material phase states.
• Lin also becomes increasingly politically strategic. He recognizes that the discovery could provide him with institutional protection and leverage within the Eastern Alliance.
• Xu Qinghe acts as Lin’s assistant and social buffer. She understands the difficulty geniuses have in explaining instinctive insights and provides practical theoretical guidance to the researchers.
• Lin Qinghong efficiently organizes the long experimental session, while the veteran S-level researchers initially worry that Lin may be taking payment without contributing.
• Nan Jujun reveals strong confidence in the Eastern Alliance’s power and assures Lin that the alliance will protect and support his research.
• Silly Roe Deer helps identify a possible next contact who can contribute to Lin’s project.

Significant Themes

• Science versus inherited experience: Potion literature is revealed to consist largely of accumulated methods and discoveries from earlier S-level researchers rather than a complete scientific theory.
• Talent and inspiration: Advancement to S-level depends heavily on instinctive perception, but Lin’s discovery suggests that inspiration may eventually be translated into measurable, reproducible science.
• The hidden structure of extraordinary materials: Spiritual Energy Particles are shown to possess distinct configurations, and material fusion may involve completing compatible phase states rather than simply causing chemical reactions.
• Scientific revolution and political power: A method for detecting and manipulating phase states could overturn the entire potion industry and significantly increase the influence of the Eastern Alliance.
• Knowledge as protection: Lin views the discovery not only as a scientific achievement but also as a means of securing alliances and protecting himself from powerful enemies.
• Collaboration across disciplines: Progress will require cooperation between potion researchers, heavy industrial engineers, and Extraordinary Item engineers.

Character Interactions

• Xu Qinghe reassures Lin that his instinctive judgments are valid even when they cannot be fully explained through theory, then steps in to guide the researchers.
• The veteran S-level researchers criticize Lin’s silence but gradually recognize that extraordinary talent can be difficult to communicate to less gifted researchers.
• Lin approaches Xu Zhengming with his breakthrough and asks for collective assistance.
• Nan Jujun responds with immediate political and institutional support, emphasizing Lin’s connection to the Lin Family and the Eastern Alliance.
• Silly Roe Deer redirects the discussion toward contacting Sister Liu, setting up the next stage of Lin’s research.

Chapter Summary

Key Plot Points and Events

• Xu Qinghe explains that Liu Xuan is the chairwoman of United Pharmaceutical, Lin Qi’s fiancée, and a genius working across three fields. The S-level Pharmacology Association researchers are impressed by United Pharmaceutical’s talent and potential.
• Lin Qi asks to postpone his promised guidance session for a few days so he can organize his theories and prepare an experimental framework. The researchers agree, since three days remain before the peace conference.
• Lin Qi moves into a secure S-level suite on the Eastern Alliance’s sixty-sixth floor. Green Hair is assigned a nearby bodyguard room.
• Xu Qinghe directly reminds Lin Qi to pay her the thirty percent share of the 672 million Credit Points he received. Lin Qi immediately transfers her 201.6 million Credit Points.
• Lin Qi contacts Liu Xuan to reassure her about his safety and explain the situation at the conference. He awkwardly insists that he has no improper relationship with Xu Qinghe, revealing his growing sensitivity about Liu Xuan’s feelings.
• Lin Qi invites Liu Xuan to join him at the Pharmacology Association and help design a machine for his upcoming experiment. Liu Xuan agrees to arrive the next morning, though she must later move to the Remote Conference Building before the conference.
• While waiting, Lin Qi studies Spiritual Energy Particles with his enhanced Psychic Vision. He develops a clearer theory of their “phase states” and the mechanism behind their aggregation.
• He concludes that ordinary particles act like basic puzzle pieces, while unusual particles released by Extraordinary Materials interlock with them. These bonds increase the number and effective unit mass of Spiritual Energy Particles, producing the aggregation effect.
• Lin Qi further theorizes that the gradual release of Spiritual Energy Particles may explain why Extraordinary Materials eventually expire.
• During his observation, Lin Qi notices the Pharmacology Association’s huge warehouse of Extraordinary Materials and Items, including a Fourth Rank item guarded by a Fourth Rank extraordinary being. Although he briefly considers taking advantage of possible chaos, he rejects the idea and prioritizes safety.
• The chapter also mentions Wang Qiang’s continuing mission in the Doomsday World: after killing a Fourth Rank Monster and recovering its extraordinary crystal, he quickly sets out again to gather more resources for civilization and Lin Qi’s plans.

Character Developments

• Lin Qi becomes increasingly confident in his scientific reconstruction of pharmacology. Rather than relying on traditional intuition and experience, he uses direct observation, mathematical thinking, and engineering principles.
• Lin Qi also shows emotional growth regarding Liu Xuan, having begun to openly acknowledge his feelings. His awkward explanations and concern about appearing too close to Xu Qinghe reveal his desire to reassure Liu Xuan.
• Liu Xuan is portrayed as calm, capable, and deeply trusting. She accepts Lin Qi’s explanation without suspicion and willingly agrees to help develop the experimental machine.
• Xu Qinghe remains bold and straightforward, openly demanding the money Lin Qi owes her while playfully treating him as family.
• Wang Qiang is characterized by strong responsibility and self-sacrifice. He believes his abilities obligate him to continue fighting for Dragon Nation and civilization without resting.
• Lin Qi demonstrates restraint by rejecting the temptation to exploit the Association’s warehouse, reinforcing that he is not driven solely by power or wealth.

Significant Themes

• Science versus empiricism: Lin Qi seeks to transform pharmacology from an experience-based discipline into a measurable, theory-driven science.
• Observation and hidden structure: Enhanced Psychic Vision allows Lin Qi to perceive the previously invisible “phase states” and interlocking behavior of Spiritual Energy Particles.
• Cooperation and institutional legitimacy: Although Lin Qi may be able to solve much of the problem himself, he deliberately involves Liu Xuan and the Eastern Alliance to gain support and credibility.
• Trust and emotional honesty: Lin Qi and Liu Xuan’s conversation shows their growing mutual trust, while Lin Qi’s awkwardness reflects his struggle to confront romantic feelings.
• Responsibility and sacrifice: Wang Qiang’s continued missions emphasize the burden carried by powerful individuals in a dangerous world.
• Restraint amid opportunity: Lin Qi’s decision not to pursue the warehouse’s treasures highlights his preference for safety and long-term goals over reckless gain.

Character Interactions

• Xu Qinghe introduces Liu Xuan’s importance to the researchers, linking her professionally and romantically to Lin Qi.
• Lin Qi negotiates with the S-level researchers, receiving their agreement to delay the guidance session.
• Xu Qinghe and Lin Qi interact familiarly over the repayment of Credit Points, with Green Hair silently admiring her directness.
• Lin Qi and Liu Xuan share a reassuring but emotionally charged phone call. Lin Qi explains Xu Qinghe’s presence, denies any improper relationship, and invites Liu Xuan to collaborate.
• Liu Xuan gently defends Xu Qinghe against Lin Qi’s insult and later reassures Lin Qi that she trusts him.
• Lin Qi’s thoughts about Liu Xuan’s engineering talent frame their relationship as both romantic and intellectually collaborative.