Chapter Summaries

Sun Cheng expanded Cybertron Technology Group, secured a research laboratory through Nanjing University of Technology, and worked to recruit talent while restructuring the company. The chapter ended when Human Resources told him an exceptionally qualified applicant wanted to become his assistant.

• Nanjing University of Technology agreed to establish the Intelligent Machinery Laboratory, and Sun Cheng handed the follow-up negotiations to a public relations manager.
• Sun Cheng changed Cybertron Technology Company into Cybertron Technology Group and made storage technology its core business, spinning off other projects into subsidiaries.
• Sun Cheng and the department heads spent several days interviewing candidates to fill the group's staffing needs.
• After interviewing three senior managers, Sun Cheng received a call from Human Resources about an outstanding applicant seeking an unlisted position.
• Sun Cheng asked to review the applicant's resume and learned that the candidate was applying to be Assistant to the President.

Sun Cheng reviewed Lin Rui’s impressive résumé and interviewed her over dinner, deciding to hire her as his executive assistant while he assessed her abilities. Lin Rui agreed to join Cybertron Technology Group after handling personal matters, and Sun Cheng briefly noticed something unusual about her eyes.

• Sun Cheng learned that Lin Rui had a Stanford DBA and had served as executive assistant at three companies that grew rapidly before declining after her departure.
• Sun Cheng called Lin Rui and arranged to meet her at Dandelion when she could not come to the company the next day.
• Sun Cheng met Lin Rui at the restaurant and asked why she had chosen to work for small startups after returning to China.
• Lin Rui said she wanted to prove herself and had grown frustrated with workplace problems and people whose motives were driven by hormones.
• Sun Cheng offered Lin Rui a role as his executive assistant, with the possibility of a more suitable position after he assessed her performance.
• Lin Rui agreed to report to work after taking care of personal matters, and Sun Cheng noticed that her black pupils seemed unusual.

Sun Cheng worked on a sleep pod in the laboratory beneath his villa, using technology derived from alien hibernation pods. The chapter ended when Revenge reported useful clues from a reconnaissance device monitoring a bar.

• Sun Cheng asked Revenge to record and process data from the parts he had disassembled.
• Sun Cheng continued developing a sleep pod intended to improve recovery and reduce the time he needed to sleep.
• Sun Cheng used the extra time gained after delegating work to Lin Rui to research and design the device.
• Revenge informed Sun Cheng that a reconnaissance device monitoring the bar had found useful clues.

Sun Cheng used his mosquito-like scouts to uncover a covert meeting at the By the Danube bar, where three men discussed investigating him and his company. Their conversation convinced him that the people who had followed Ye Qi were agents of the state, though he could not determine which agency they represented.

• Sun Cheng reviewed the footage gathered by his scouts at the By the Danube bar.
• Three men discussed their investigation of Sun Cheng, including his finances, the island he had visited, and their efforts to recruit someone at his company.
• Sun Cheng recognized two of the men as Liu Yiqing and Chen Yin, but could not identify the third.
• Sun Cheng concluded that the people following Ye Qi worked for the state, possibly State Security or the foreign affairs side.

Sun Cheng considered how to approach the intelligence agents watching him and weighed the risks of offering them Cybertron technology. A sudden realization gave him a way to deal with the authorities and address his frail body, though he had not yet acted on it.

• Sun Cheng recognized that the repeated word “COMPANY” suggested the watchers were connected to the CIA and considered contacting them.
• He weighed whether the domestic agents belonged to the National Security Bureau or the Foreign Intelligence Investigation Bureau so he could choose what technology to offer them.
• Sun Cheng considered approaching the state to accelerate his plans and protect himself, but worried that officials might covet the technology he possessed.
• Ye Qi called to ask why Sun Cheng was late, and he told her to start cooking while he headed home.
• Sun Cheng suddenly realized he had overlooked a way to deal with the authorities and solve the problem of his frail body in the real world.

Sun Cheng used an optical camouflage suit to investigate the people monitoring him and confirmed they belonged to the National Security Bureau. He then had Revenge infiltrate their network and plant the materials he had prepared, leaving the next move to wait.

• Sun Cheng wore his optical camouflage suit to return home after investigating the suspicious [By the Danube] bar.
• Sun Cheng used nearly a thousand micro locators to track two bar visitors to the National Security Bureau headquarters.
• Sun Cheng asked Revenge to infiltrate the National Security Bureau's internal network.
• Revenge located AI-002 and established a connection, and Sun Cheng ordered it to plant his prepared materials and erase all traces.

Sun Cheng decided to leave his surveillance devices inside the bar and prepared to make contact with the NSB. On the morning of his university graduation ceremony, he learned that the NSB had discovered AI-002’s bomb in its internal network and ordered Revenge to follow their plan.

• Sun Cheng considered retrieving his surveillance devices from the bar but decided to leave them in place as he prepared to contact the NSB.
• Ye Qi accompanied Sun Cheng to Nanjing University of Technology for their graduation ceremony.
• Little Five alerted Sun Cheng that Revenge had sent him a message, so he left Ye Qi in the car and went to a secluded spot.
• Little Five reported that the NSB had discovered AI-002’s bomb in its internal network and was trying to crack it.
• Sun Cheng calmed himself and told Little Five to instruct Revenge to proceed according to the original plan.

The National Security Bureau discovered that an unknown file had infiltrated its internal network and was stealing data, but its technicians could not stop it because it exploited an unfamiliar Linux vulnerability. They traced its entry to a USB drive found on a bureau computer, then learned the file had opened as the investigation continued.

• Liu Zhen confronted Wu Qingyuan at the data center, where Wu explained that the suspected Trojan could not be removed or blocked because it exploited a fundamental Linux vulnerability.
• Wu Qingyuan said the file had entered through an internal computer and that shutting down headquarters’ base stations should have limited how much data it could send.
• Liu Jun brought Wu Qingyuan a USB drive found on Computer No. 45, and Zhang Qinglin left to investigate who had planted it.
• Wu Qingyuan sent the USB drive to the secure room for examination while Liu Zhen and other officials discussed whether the intrusion might be linked to the CIA.
• A technician reported that the suspicious file had opened.

Liu Zhen learned that Sun Cheng and P.C.F. had taken responsibility for the Southern Capital incident and offered military intelligence in exchange for cooperation with the state. After the USB drive’s contents were verified as largely genuine, Liu Zhen agreed to pursue contact and report the matter to the president.

• Wu Qingyuan identified Cybertron Technology Group and Sun Cheng for Liu Zhen, who connected them to the Southern Capital incident involving CIA agents.
• P.C.F. said it had acted in response to CIA coercion and kidnapping of its members, apologized, and offered military intelligence and equipment in a deal with the state.
• Zheng Ming and Wu Qingyuan went to inspect the USB drive, which contained information on the MiG-29 and Su-27 fighter series.
• P.C.F. described itself as an overseas Chinese mutual-aid organization with members in foreign companies and research institutions, and asked for compensation for the risks of cooperation.
• Chen Zhong and Tao Dayuan said they had no intelligence confirming P.C.F. existed, but Zheng Ming reported that most of the USB drive’s fighter data was genuine.
• Liu Zhen agreed to make contact with P.C.F., planned to report it to the president, and ordered the investigation of Sun Cheng suspended.

After ai-002 infiltrated the National Security Bureau and Revenge negotiated with Director Liu Zhen, Sun Cheng secured the Bureau’s agreement to cooperate with his fabricated organization, [P.C.F.]. He left the graduation ceremony confident that the fighter-jet data he had supplied would keep the Bureau focused on the organization while he remained intent on conquering [Transformers Multiverse].

• Sun Cheng recalled how ai-002 had infiltrated the National Security Bureau headquarters and helped Revenge gain temporary top-level access to its servers.
• Revenge spoke with Director Liu Zhen, and the National Security Bureau agreed to cooperate with [P.C.F.].
• Sun Cheng reasoned that the fighter-jet data he had provided would make the country investigate [P.C.F.] and take a conciliatory approach toward him.
• A companion nudged Sun Cheng after the graduation ceremony, and he put Little Five into his pocket before leaving.
• Sun Cheng considered the other student entrepreneurs’ businesses and noted that the few successful ventures were mainly apps and games.

After graduation, Sun Cheng returned to his villa with Ye Qi and prepared to deal with the government’s interest in him. When Revenge reported that two people had planted surveillance devices outside, Sun Cheng sent Little Five to remove them so the other side would be pushed to contact him.

• Sun Cheng skipped the university’s group dinner and drove Ye Qi home, where she began preparing hot pot.
• Sun Cheng activated a disposable detector to check for electronic bugs and asked Revenge for the villa’s security records.
• Revenge reported that two unidentified people had planted suspected surveillance devices around the villa that morning.
• Sun Cheng told Revenge to send the devices’ locations to Little Five and ordered Little Five to remove them.

After Sun Cheng’s surveillance cameras were destroyed, Liu Zhen reviewed evidence linking Sun Cheng to Isla Nublar, Cybertron Technology Group, and a powerful force behind the CIA agents’ deaths. He treated the destroyed cameras as a warning and decided to contact the President’s Secretary’s Office.

• Little Five destroyed the surveillance cameras near Sun Cheng’s villa, leaving the National Security Bureau agents’ monitors showing static.
• The agents reported the destroyed cameras to their superiors, and the report reached Liu Zhen.
• Liu Zhen considered Sun Cheng’s trip to Isla Nublar, the founding of Cybertron Technology Group, and the unexplained deaths of the CIA agents in Southern Capital.
• Liu Zhen concluded that the force behind Sun Cheng was too powerful to handle through ordinary means and called the President’s Secretary’s Office.

Sun Cheng completed Cybertron Technology Group’s restructuring, organized its four subsidiaries, and worked to conceal the origins of his technology while planning for artificial intelligence and intelligent robots. After Wang Lu returned and became the group’s CEO and Executive Vice President, Sun chaired a senior executives’ meeting to choose a headquarters site and assign the acquisition of New Sea Technology.

• Sun Cheng kept control of the finance, legal, and human resources departments as Cybertron Technology Group established four subsidiaries focused on cloud services, storage, artificial intelligence, and machinery.
• Sun Cheng planned to use the fictional P.C.F. organization and Storage Technology No. 1 Laboratory to hide the origins of his technology until both could be made real.
• Sun Cheng pursued artificial intelligence and intelligent robot development because he had few AllSpark fragments and the Decepticons could not mass-produce new creations.
• Wang Lu returned to Southern Capital after spending half a month handling the Weiyun acquisition and became Cybertron Technology Group’s CEO and Executive Vice President.
• Sun Cheng chaired the group’s first full senior executives’ meeting, where they discussed choosing a new headquarters site and assigning responsibility for acquiring New Sea Technology.

Sun Cheng and the Cybertron Group executives agreed to lease a larger office building and assigned Wang Lu to lead the acquisition of New Sea Technology. After the meeting, Lin Rui told Sun Cheng that visitors from the State Asset Control Administration wanted to see him.

• Sun Cheng and the executives discussed the need for more office space, Cybertron Storage's rapid sales, and the plan to acquire New Sea Technology.
• Sun Cheng decided to inject at least 500 million US dollars into Cybertron Group and move shares into funds or companies under P.C.F. to reduce attention on his public stake.
• The meeting agreed to lease a larger nearby office building and have the group's subsidiaries work together there.
• The executives assigned Wang Lu to lead the New Sea Technology acquisition with senior managers from Cybertron Storage.
• Lin Rui told Sun Cheng that visitors from the State Asset Control Administration had come to speak with him.

Sun Cheng met officials from the State Asset Control Administration, the Equipment Department, and the National Security Bureau after they came to discuss his company’s access to special equipment and technology. He learned they had been sent to assess what his company could obtain and invited them to explain the state’s needs.

• Sun Cheng recognized that the visitors were likely from the State Asset Control Administration after hearing that the National Security Bureau had reported his situation to the President.
• Sun Cheng’s assistant told him that four officials had been waiting in the reception room for more than half an hour.
• Sun Cheng entered the reception room, assessed the visitors, and asked whether they needed to procure hardware from his company.
• Yuan Yicheng introduced himself as a deputy director of the State Asset Control Administration’s Procurement Division and identified Wang Yuan, Sun Long, and Liu Yunqing as the other visitors.
• Yuan Yicheng explained that the group had been sent to investigate the special equipment and technologies Sun Cheng’s company could acquire for the state.
• Sun Cheng placed Little Five, disguised as a smartphone, on the coffee table and asked what equipment and technology the state wanted.

Sun Cheng explained his connection to [P.C.F.] to the officials and demonstrated that his phone, Little Five, could access the organization’s marketplace. The group received confirmation that his marketplace access had been approved, leaving Sun Cheng in control of the meeting.

• Captain Sun Long asked Sun Cheng for details about the organization behind him.
• Sun Cheng asked Little Five to apply for marketplace access, and the phone requested his confirmation.
• Sun Cheng told the officials that he worked for the [Progressive Overseas Chinese Association] and managed some of its assets in the Xia Kingdom.
• Sun Cheng described how he joined [P.C.F.], its clearance levels, and its links to [Cybertron Technology Group].
• Little Five announced that Sun Cheng had temporarily obtained the privilege of accessing the marketplace.

Sun Cheng demonstrated the technologies and equipment available through the marketplace to four state officials, using Little Five’s holographic projections to impress them. After Captain Sun Long questioned the F100 engine’s capabilities, Director Wang Yuan asked about the marketplace’s EUV lithography machines and how they were sold.

• Sun Cheng had Little Five display 143 military and industrial technologies and products as holographic projections.
• Captain Sun Long examined the F100 turbofan engine listing and asked whether Sun Cheng could obtain it and how it compared with the original.
• Sun Cheng said the marketplace’s improved F100 was on par with the F100-PW-229EEP, but Sun Long doubted that claim.
• The officials browsed marketplace listings, and Director Wang Yuan asked whether Sun Cheng had more advanced lithography machines and whether the 14nm-class EUV machine was sold as technology or as a finished product.

Sun Cheng offered Wang Yuan and the Xia Kingdom officials 14nm EUV lithography machines and their production technology through P.C.F. Wang Yuan agreed to buy two machines first, leaving the state to assess P.C.F. after they arrived.

• Sun Cheng explained that P.C.F. members could buy 14nm EUV lithography machines for $500 million each and the full production technology for $2.8 billion.
• Wang Yuan and the other officials reacted to the prices, while Sun Cheng recommended buying machines before considering the technology package.
• Wang Yuan consulted Yuan Yicheng and agreed to purchase four machines, asking about delivery and payment.
• Sun Cheng said two machines were in stock and would arrive within a month, while the other two would arrive within three months.
• Wang Yuan arranged payment for two machines, and the officials requested product catalogs while waiting to judge P.C.F. by the machines’ performance.

Sun Cheng checked hidden surveillance footage after meeting the four visitors and found no sign that Liu Qingyun had planted anything in the reception room. Meanwhile, Xia Kingdom officials began a high-level meeting about the Progressive Overseas Chinese Association and Sun Cheng, whose investigation had uncovered personal details but no leads on P.C.F.

• Sun Cheng retrieved the sub-hive from his desk and reviewed footage of the four visitors waiting in the reception room.
• Sun Cheng saw that Liu Qingyun had searched the room with his eyes but had not taken any further action.
• Wang An opened a meeting attended by senior officials, including General Chen Jichang and Liu Zhen.
• Liu Zhen explained how the Progressive Overseas Chinese Association had infiltrated the National Security Bureau's network and linked the incident to an investigation of Sun Cheng.
• Liu Zhen reported that the bureau had learned personal details about Sun Cheng but still had no leads on P.C.F.

Liu Zhen and officials from several ministries reported on Sun Cheng, the suspicious funds behind Cybertron Technology Group, and the advanced technologies he offered in the name of [P.C.F]. After nearly two hours, the officials agreed that the state should consider buying equipment to test the organization’s capabilities, and Wang An promised to relay their views to the President.

• Liu Qingyun reported that Sun Cheng seemed psychologically trained and wary, then played a recording of their conversation.
• Liu Zhen said investigators could not confirm [P.C.F], but traced more than 6.3 billion Xia yuan in suspicious funds and found evidence of advanced technology at Cybertron Technology Group.
• Yuan Yicheng described Sun Cheng as unusually composed, while Sun Long reported that his phone used advanced interactive projection technology and that his marketplace listed 143 products, including military equipment.
• Sun Long urged the state to pursue key technologies from [P.C.F], and Wang Yuan recommended purchasing four 14nm-class EUV lithography machines offered by Sun Cheng.
• The meeting reached a consensus to consider buying equipment and technology to test [P.C.F], and Wang An said he would report the officials’ views to the President.