Chapter Summaries

Han Luyi met with two senior leaders to discuss domestic AI computing and proposed proving a technical approach through an industrial-scale breakthrough, followed by an industry alliance. After the meeting, Lu Zhengping offered Source Intelligence Technology five billion yuan for a 3.5 percent stake, and Han Luyi left the decision open.

• Lu Zhengping hosted Han Luyi at the Strategic Emerging Fund office, where Mr. Liu and Mr. Wang questioned him about domestic computing power and his plans for the industry.
• Han Luyi argued that domestic AI infrastructure needed real-world industrial testing, proposed a focused breakthrough and a standard-setting alliance, and estimated the work could take six months.
• Han Luyi explained his commercial motives and accepted that he would bear the consequences if his approach failed; Mr. Wang said they would study the proposal further.
• After the leaders left, Lu Zhengping told Han Luyi he wanted to invest and offered five billion yuan for a 3.5 percent stake at a twenty-billion-dollar valuation.
• Han Luyi considered the offer, asked why Lu Zhengping was so eager to invest, and said he needed time to think it over.

Chapter Summary: “Haicheng Got Anxious”

Key Plot Points and Events

• Deputy Mayor Zhu Jianming reviews Haicheng’s preliminary investigation into Source Intelligence Technology and its Tangyuan large-language model.
• Unlike the previously overhyped Dingsheng project, Tangyuan is judged to be genuinely independently developed, technically stable, and significantly stronger than existing domestic models. Its abilities are considered close to the international leading level in some areas.
• The investigation confirms that Source Intelligence Technology shares an owner with Source Code Technology, an established company whose products already have millions of registered users.
• Zhu initially plans to invite founder Han Luyi to the municipal government to discuss the company’s future development.
• His plans change when he learns that Han left for Beijing the previous afternoon—immediately after Haicheng officials investigated the company.
• Zhu and other officials become concerned that Beijing or another locality may attempt to attract the company away from Haicheng.
• A hurried meeting is held with officials who participated in the investigation, including Pudong Deputy District Chief Chen and Director Xu. Professor Jia, the technical expert who verified Tangyuan, is invited but cannot immediately attend.
• The officials agree that Source Intelligence Technology is not fraudulent and may be a major strategic asset for Haicheng. They decide to proactively offer talent, application scenarios, industrial support, and other resources.
• Zhu emphasizes that the government must demonstrate efficiency and support without overwhelming or pressuring the company. He also orders officials to prevent intermediaries, relatives of officials, and other unrelated parties from harassing or exploiting the company.
• Meanwhile, Han informs Su Niannian that Lu Zhengping wants to invest. Shortly afterward, Deputy District Chief Chen calls Su, presumably to discuss Haicheng’s support for the company.

Character Developments

• Zhu Jianming: Moves from cautious skepticism to urgent concern. His earlier disappointment with Dingsheng made him wary of AI hype, but the investigation convinces him that Tangyuan is a genuine breakthrough. He demonstrates political judgment by prioritizing retention, coordination, and protecting the company from excessive government interference.
• Han Luyi: Remains absent and mysterious. His trip to Beijing, described only as a temporary business trip, makes Haicheng officials suspect that he is meeting investors or considering outside opportunities. His calm attitude and failure to ask officials for favors suggest confidence and independence.
• Deputy District Chief Chen: Becomes highly anxious and personally invested in retaining the company because it falls under his jurisdiction. He strongly advocates treating Source Intelligence Technology as a potential symbol of Haicheng’s technological strength.
• Director Xu: Confirms that Tangyuan exceeded his expectations, especially in document generation and engineering integration. He recognizes that the company’s value extends beyond the model itself.
• Deputy Director Liu: Highlights Han’s political and regulatory awareness, noting that he understands compliance, security, and model boundaries rather than focusing only on technical achievements.
• Su Niannian: Learns about Lu Zhengping’s investment interest and is pleased for Han despite not holding shares in the company. Her conversation with Deputy District Chief Chen signals that she may become an important intermediary for Haicheng.

Significant Themes

• The strategic importance of AI: The chapter portrays advanced large models as valuable not only commercially but also politically and industrially. A successful AI company could become a city’s technological “calling card.”
• Competition between local governments: Haicheng fears losing a promising company to Beijing or another region, revealing the intense competition among jurisdictions for high-tech businesses.
• Verification versus hype: Zhu’s skepticism toward exaggerated AI claims contrasts with the investigation’s conclusion that Tangyuan possesses real technological substance.
• Government support versus government pressure: Zhu recognizes that aggressive intervention could drive the company away. Effective governance requires anticipating needs while respecting the company’s autonomy.
• Talent, infrastructure, and policy: The discussion identifies talent, favorable policy, universities, computing power, and industrial ecosystems as the main factors influencing a technology company’s location.
• Political and regulatory awareness: Han’s concern with compliance and security suggests that successful AI development must balance innovation with government and societal responsibilities.

Important Character Interactions

• Zhu consults Secretary Liu and orders him to contact Han and monitor his return.
• Zhu questions Director Xu about Tangyuan’s authenticity and capabilities, using Xu’s firsthand observations to assess the company.
• Deputy District Chief Chen passionately argues that Haicheng must retain Source Intelligence Technology and warns that Beijing has major advantages in talent and policy.
• Zhu and the officials agree to coordinate city and district resources while avoiding excessive pressure on the company.
• Zhu instructs Chen to approach Su Niannian cautiously rather than summoning her directly, showing sensitivity to how government attention might be perceived.
• Su Niannian speaks with Han about Lu Zhengping’s investment offer, then receives Chen’s call, linking the company’s internal affairs with Haicheng’s effort to secure its future.

Deputy District Chief Chen offered Su Niannian incentives to keep Source Intelligence in Haicheng, while Han Luyi joined Lu Zhengping for a dinner at Shuimu University with prominent researchers. The introductions revealed Lu Zhengping's academic connections and left Zhang Wenduo doubtful about Glutinous Rice Ball's achievements.

• Deputy District Chief Chen listed possible subsidies, tax breaks, residency quotas, and school arrangements, but Su Niannian made no promises and later messaged Han Luyi and Gu Siyue about Source Intelligence's next move.
• Han Luyi accepted Lu Zhengping's invitation and traveled with him to Shuimu University, where the campus stirred memories of Han Luyi's college entrance exams and competition days.
• Lu Zhengping introduced Han Luyi to Academician Zhuang Zhi, Professor Shao Chiyue, and doctoral student Zhang Wenduo at a small restaurant.
• Han Luyi used Sight to read the three researchers' emotions and realized Lu Zhengping had arranged the meeting to connect him with academic talent.
• Zhang Wenduo appeared reluctant and doubtful, reflecting how difficult it was for researchers to believe Glutinous Rice Ball had surpassed the limits of current AI development.

Han Luyi discussed Glutinous Rice Ball’s data-driven success with professors at a dinner at Shuimu Forum, where Student Zhang challenged the model’s credibility. Before leaving Beijing, Han Luyi agreed to give a lecture and promised Lu Zhengping an answer about his business proposal the next day.

• Lu Zhengping ordered dinner through a mini-app generated by Han Luyi’s Open Things platform, then the professors asked Han Luyi about Glutinous Rice Ball’s development.
• Han Luyi explained that Glutinous Rice Ball’s strong performance came from high-quality pretraining and annotated data rather than a unique architecture or training method.
• Student Zhang privately questioned whether data alone could explain the model’s abilities and pointed out that Glutinous Rice Ball’s API was not publicly available; Han Luyi approved his access request.
• Academician Zhuang told a bubble-tea story that eased the awkward atmosphere at the table.
• Academician Zhuang invited Han Luyi to lecture at Shuimu Forum, and Han Luyi accepted and exchanged contact details with the professors and Student Zhang.
• In the car afterward, Lu Zhengping asked if his surprise had been sincere enough, and Han Luyi promised to give him an answer the next day.

Su Niannian visited Gu Siyue to discuss Beijing and Haicheng’s competing efforts to attract Source Intelligence Technology and prepare advice for Han Luyi. After they finished comparing the options, Han joined a video call and found Su Niannian at Gu Siyue’s home.

• Su Niannian visited Gu Siyue’s apartment with a Want Want Gift Pack to discuss the company’s possible relocation.
• Su Niannian explained Deputy District Chief Chen’s call and Lu Zhengping’s proposal, and she and Gu Siyue weighed the benefits and risks of staying in Haicheng, moving to Beijing, or establishing dual headquarters.
• Su Niannian asked Gu Siyue to help identify the procedures and documents needed for a relocation, and Gu Siyue agreed to provide paid consulting.
• Su Niannian and Gu Siyue spent three hours assembling a chart comparing Beijing’s and Haicheng’s advantages and disadvantages.
• Han Luyi messaged that he was free for a video call, and Su Niannian started the call from Gu Siyue’s apartment.
• Han Luyi noticed Gu Siyue beside Su Niannian on the call, and Gu Siyue greeted him.

Han Luyi decided to split Source Intelligence’s operations between Haicheng and Beijing, keeping commercial and product functions in Haicheng while establishing a Beijing research center. After testing Glutinous Rice Ball, Zhang Wenduo discovered its strong performance and regretted judging it too hastily, then resolved to attend Han Luyi’s lecture.

• Han Luyi, Su Niannian, and Gu Siyue discussed Beijing and Haicheng’s competing interests and concluded that the company could satisfy both with separate headquarters functions.
• Han Luyi assigned Haicheng the decision-making, commercialization, and product teams, while planning a Beijing R&D center for research and university collaboration.
• Han Luyi told Su Niannian he planned to accept Zhan Xin’s investment and had already assigned Lu Mingzhou a task.
• Zhang Wenduo ran his private evaluation set on Glutinous Rice Ball-0.9 and found that it answered 120 of 127 questions correctly, including one with “I don’t know.”
• Zhang Wenduo began drafting a message to Han Luyi to acknowledge his hasty judgment, then remembered he needed to attend Han Luyi’s lecture the next day.

Zhang Wenduo tested Glutinous Rice Ball with his world-model probe and found that it tracked causal states far better than other language models. The results overturned his central research belief, leaving him to face a complete rewrite of his dissertation.

• Zhang Wenduo reviewed the evidence that Glutinous Rice Ball was a genuine, capable model and decided to use his API access for research.
• Zhang Wenduo used Riding the Wind to adapt his world-model probe for Glutinous Rice Ball’s API.
• Zhang Wenduo ran state-tracking tests that varied the wording and order of information to see whether the model maintained consistent answers.
• Glutinous Rice Ball answered the difficult test variants correctly and explained that the final state, not the repeatedly mentioned initial state, determined the answer.
• Zhang Wenduo concluded that high-quality data and semantic annotations could help develop world models, and realized he had to rewrite his dissertation’s conclusion.

Plot points and events

• Zhang Wenduo, a doctoral student reconsidering his research direction, arrives early for a lecture by Han Luyi, founder of Source Intelligence Technology. The auditorium fills with students from many disciplines, some drawn by the topic and others by Han’s popularity.
• Seeing that most attendees are not AI specialists, Han abandons his prepared technical talk and speaks off the cuff about AI’s likely impact.
• He predicts that within five years many internet companies and computer-based jobs will either disappear or be transformed. AI can perform tasks, he argues, but people must still take responsibility for the results.
• Han emphasizes that human value lies less in outperforming AI than in judgment, trust, affection, and personal relationships. His remarks unsettle the audience but prompt reflection.
• During Q&A, Zhang asks whether Glutinous Rice Ball’s training approach could eventually achieve AGI. Han says its gains may be nearing a limit and that true AGI will require an interpretable World Model.
• A journalism student worries that AI will eliminate her career. After learning she wants to be “society’s conscience,” Han argues that trustworthy journalism may become even more important amid AI-generated misinformation.
• The lecture ends with warm applause. Academician Zhuang escorts Han away, disappointing students hoping to meet or photograph him.

Character developments

• Zhang Wenduo is intrigued by Han’s mention of World Models, realizing it overlaps with his own research area and may help guide his academic direction.
• Han Luyi proves adaptable and candid: he changes his talk to suit the audience and shares both concerns about AI’s disruption and his belief in enduring human values. He gives up an opportunity to promote his company or recruit.
• Academician Zhuang approves of the speech overall, though he recognizes that its predictions about jobs may have weighed heavily on the students.
• The journalism student moves from anxiety about employability toward a more purposeful view of her role, though the chapter leaves her reaction unresolved.

Significant themes

• AI’s rapid transformation of work: AI may replace tasks and reshape careers faster than past technological revolutions.
• Human responsibility and judgment: AI can execute work, but people remain accountable for decisions and consequences.
• Human connection and trust: Affection, companionship, and credibility are presented as values technology cannot simply reproduce.
• Adaptation rather than resistance: Halting AI development would not prevent others from advancing it; people must instead find meaningful roles in the new era.
• Research uncertainty: Better data may improve AI only so far; achieving AGI may require a World Model.

Character interactions

• Zhang discusses the lecture with a fellow doctoral student, who reveals that many attendees are attracted by Han’s looks and popularity.
• Han uses the audience’s reactions to adjust his speech, shifting from technical details to broader social consequences.
• Zhang’s question connects Han’s AGI research perspective with Zhang’s own research interests.
• Han responds to the journalism student by asking why she chose her field, then links her sense of purpose to the growing need for trustworthy information.
• Academician Zhuang introduces Han, listens thoughtfully, and later closes the event before escorting him out.

Chapter Summary: “The First Acquisition”

Key plot points and events

• Lu Mingzhou arrives at Sili-Lumin Semiconductor (Ximing) to negotiate the purchase of shares held by early investors, who collectively own 53.6 percent. The struggling chipmaker has strong hardware and engineering assets but weak software, poor sales, and dwindling cash.
• Lu sees strategic value in Ximing for Source Intelligence: its L100 graphics cards, patents, supply chain, inventory, and hardware engineers could help meet Source Intelligence’s need for computing power. Source Intelligence has already adapted the L100 for its own use.
• Investor representative Wang Xian presents an optimistic account of Ximing’s prospects and asks for a company valuation of 1.8 billion yuan. Lu challenges the figures, pointing out that Source Intelligence’s 50-million-yuan purchase made up nearly all of Ximing’s first-quarter sales; without it, external revenue was only about three million yuan.
• Lu questions the durability of government-supported demand, the company’s cash runway, and the value of its unsold inventory. He offers a 480-million-yuan valuation, then agrees to the investors’ counteroffer of 520 million yuan, or 278.72 million yuan for their stake.
• The parties sign a letter of intent, subject to due diligence and possible price adjustments. Lu also requires protection against undisclosed liabilities and a commitment that key team members will not leave within six months.
• Afterward, Xue Zhaoheng, Ximing’s CEO, asks to meet Han Luyi before agreeing to the retention clause. Lu agrees to arrange it.

Character developments

• Lu Mingzhou demonstrates his acquisition and auditing experience, using Ximing’s own sales figures to puncture the investors’ inflated pitch. He remains composed and strategic, balancing a hard bargain with a clear intention to retain the engineering team.
• Wu Tong, a new assistant with little negotiating experience, watches Lu’s performance with admiration and gets his first taste of a real acquisition negotiation.
• Wang Xian begins confidently, presenting Ximing as a promising domestic-chip company, but loses leverage as Lu exposes the weakness behind its headline numbers. He ultimately accepts a far lower valuation to avoid a worse outcome.
• Xue Zhaoheng appears distant and dissatisfied during the negotiations, but proves perceptive: he recognizes that Lu’s retention condition likely reflects Han Luyi’s interest in keeping him and asks to speak with Han directly.

Significant themes

• Appearance versus reality: Ximing’s polished presentation and impressive industry narrative conceal weak independent sales and precarious finances.
• Valuation and bargaining power: The company’s previous valuation and inventory count matter less than whether its assets can actually generate sales and cash.
• Strategic value in weakness: Ximing is a poor investment for many buyers, but its hardware and engineers fill a specific need for Source Intelligence.
• People as part of an acquisition: Lu’s goal is not merely to acquire products and patents; keeping Ximing’s core team is essential to making the deal worthwhile.

Character interactions

• Lu’s pointed questions expose the gap between Wang’s optimistic pitch and Ximing’s actual performance, forcing the investors to negotiate from a weaker position.
• Lu treats the founding team more warmly than the investors, signaling that he wants its members—especially Xue—to stay after the acquisition.
• Xue’s request to meet Han reveals his awareness that the deal may offer more than a change of ownership: it may also give the founding team a new source of support.

Chapter Summary: “I Have a Conflict of Interest”

Key Plot Points and Events

• After lecturing at Shuimu University, Han Luyi discusses a potential partnership between Source Intelligence and the university’s AI institute with Academician Zhuang. Han offers access to Glutinous Rice Ball, which would reduce the institute’s dependence on expensive closed-source models. They reach a preliminary verbal agreement, pending a formal report and the establishment of Source Intelligence’s Beijing operations.
• Han meets Gu Siyue at his hotel. She has come to serve as Source Intelligence’s legal representative during negotiations with the Strategic Emerging Fund. Han invites her to dinner, and they share roast duck at Siji Minfu. Liu Huo discreetly leaves them alone.
• The following day, Han, Gu, and Liu attend a formal meeting with Lu Zhengping, the fund’s legal director, and outside counsel to negotiate the framework of a letter of intent.
• Gu negotiates two major points:
  • Use of funds: Source Intelligence seeks flexibility to use investment money for acquisitions and industrial integration related to its AI business, rather than being limited to narrowly defined categories. A compromise permits strategic acquisitions, while purchases exceeding 200 million yuan require board approval and veto power for the fund’s appointed director.
  • Information disclosure: Gu argues that model weights, training data, algorithms, chip-adaptation plans, and engineering architecture must remain confidential. The fund may verify the technology through controlled testing, technical interviews, and third-party assessments, but cannot demand materials that would effectively constitute technology transfer.
• Lu Zhengping supports Gu’s position, acknowledging that investors do not need access to a company’s deepest technical secrets. Both sides agree to use a jointly selected third-party expert for due diligence.
• The negotiation ends with agreement on the core revisions to the letter of intent. Internal approval will follow, after which formal due diligence and further contract negotiations can begin.
• Han leaves for Pengcheng with Liu Huo to inspect Ximing, the company Source Intelligence is acquiring. With new graphics cards and potential investment funds arriving, Source Intelligence may be able to build its own data center much sooner than originally planned.
• During the drive, Han asks Gu whether Source Intelligence needs an in-house legal team. She replies that she has a “conflict of interest,” implying that her personal connection to him may affect her answer. When Han presses her, she instead asks whether he and Nian Nian were university classmates, leaving the question—and the significance of her jealousy or concern—unresolved.

Character Developments

• Han Luyi becomes more strategically confident. He recognizes that Glutinous Rice Ball’s success has accelerated Source Intelligence’s growth and financing prospects, but he also understands that computing power is essential to proving the model’s abilities to the public.
• Gu Siyue demonstrates strong legal judgment and negotiating skill. She protects Source Intelligence’s flexibility while preventing investors from gaining access to its core technology. Her final evasiveness suggests that her feelings toward Han may be personally involved, not purely professional.
• Lu Zhengping is shown to be a sincere and relatively trustworthy investor. His priorities are supporting domestic AI adaptation and achieving political and strategic results rather than controlling Source Intelligence.
• Liu Huo displays tact and social awareness by recognizing that Han and Gu may want private time and removing himself from the dinner invitation.

Significant Themes

• Trust versus contractual protection: Even when investors appear well-intentioned, Han understands that goodwill can change, so favorable intentions must be secured through precise contractual terms.
• Commercial growth and technological sovereignty: Source Intelligence’s ability to control its own computing infrastructure is central to validating Glutinous Rice Ball and maintaining independence from rented resources and foreign closed-source models.
• The value of being first: Glutinous Rice Ball’s top ranking gives Source Intelligence a major advantage, but its reputation will only become credible if enough users can access and evaluate it.
• Professional boundaries and personal feelings: Gu’s “conflict of interest” comment introduces tension between her role as Han’s lawyer and her possible personal feelings for him.
• State investment and corporate autonomy: The negotiations explore how government-backed capital can support a private technology company while still imposing safeguards against misuse of funds and loss of state assets.

Character Interactions

• Han and Academician Zhuang establish a cooperative relationship based on mutual interest in AI research.
• Han and Gu share a more relaxed, personal dinner outside their usual professional environment, revealing growing familiarity.
• Gu firmly debates the fund’s legal representatives, especially Lawyer Song, over investor rights and trade-secret protection.
• Lu Zhengping mediates the tense legal discussion and supports Gu’s defense of Source Intelligence’s confidentiality.
• Han deliberately remains quiet during negotiations, relying on Gu’s expertise and his own ability to assess Lu’s sincerity.
• The closing exchange between Han and Gu shifts from business to personal matters when she asks about Nian Nian, hinting at unspoken emotional tension.

Chapter Summary: “The Strategic Significance of Ximing”

Key Plot Points and Events

• Han Luyi and Gu Siyue travel through Capital Airport, with Gu Siyue departing from Terminal 2 and Han Luyi continuing to Terminal 3 with Liu Huo.
• While waiting in the business lounge, Han Luyi quietly handles company affairs through his phone, discussing work with Zhao Wenyuan via Lark.
• He reflects on the unexpected consequences of releasing Glutinous Rice Ball-0.9. The model’s success has brought investors, government officials, industry partners, and strategic funds to Source Intelligence, creating both opportunities and pressure.
• Han identifies Ximing as the crucial next step for Source Intelligence. Ximing’s L100 chips already form a 500-card cluster capable of running Glutinous Rice Ball-0.9 inference and supporting Riding the Wind’s traffic.
• The larger goal is to train future models on domestic hardware. Training requires far more computing power and software integration than inference, making access to thousands of compatible chips essential.
• Ximing’s poor finances, weak software foundation, failed products, and investor problems make it an unattractive company commercially—but strategically valuable to Han.
• Acquiring Ximing would give Source Intelligence more than 8,000 L100 chips, accelerate its computing reserves, and allow it to develop a domestic training ecosystem.
• Han decides that Lu Mingzhou should negotiate with Ximing’s investors, demonstrating his growing willingness to delegate responsibilities.
• As he boards his flight, Han concludes that Ximing represents Source Intelligence’s transition from merely developing AI models to building a complete AI industry chain.

Character Developments

• Han Luyi: Becomes increasingly strategic and industry-minded. Rather than focusing only on Glutinous Rice Ball’s immediate success, he plans for computing infrastructure, hardware-software integration, model training, and commercial adoption. He also shows greater maturity as an executive by delegating major negotiations instead of trying to control every detail personally.
• Liu Huo: Remains a quiet observer, amused by the apparent contrast between youth and responsibility. His internal commentary provides a light, humorous perspective on Han’s intense work habits.
• Lu Mingzhou: Is entrusted with the important task of negotiating Ximing’s acquisition, indicating Han’s confidence in his abilities.
• Zhao Wenyuan: Continues supporting Source Intelligence’s operations and remains part of Han’s broader management network.
• Gu Siyue: Appears briefly as Han’s traveling companion before departing from another terminal.

Significant Themes

• Strategic value versus immediate profitability: Ximing is financially troubled and operationally weak, yet its hardware and potential make it extremely valuable to Source Intelligence.
• The importance of infrastructure: Successful AI development depends not only on models but also on computing power, chips, software ecosystems, and industrial partnerships.
• Domestic technological independence: Training models on domestic hardware is presented as a major challenge and a key step toward overcoming dependence on Nvidia and foreign technology.
• Real-world validation over hype: Han believes Glutinous Rice Ball can only silence doubts about benchmark manipulation by making it widely available through an open API and allowing practical users to test it.
• Growth through delegation: Han’s decision to assign negotiations to Lu Mingzhou reflects his development as a business leader.
• Expansion from product to ecosystem: Source Intelligence is beginning to evolve from a model developer into a company spanning hardware, infrastructure, applications, and industry alliances.

Character Interactions

• Han travels with Gu Siyue and Liu Huo, while Liu quietly observes Han’s behavior.
• Han communicates with Zhao Wenyuan about work while waiting at the airport.
• Han relies on Lu Mingzhou to negotiate with Ximing’s investors, showing trust and a more organized management structure.
• Ximing’s significance is framed through Han’s larger relationship with the domestic technology industry: the acquisition would connect Source Intelligence with chip manufacturing, model training, and future industry partners.

Chapter Summary

Han Luyi arrives in Pengcheng and immediately chooses to visit Ximing rather than rest. Accompanied by Lu Mingzhou and Wu Tong, he meets Ximing’s CEO, Xue Zhaoheng, who is waiting to understand Han’s intentions behind acquiring the company.

Key Plot Points and Events

• Han travels directly from the airport to Ximing’s office.
• Xue questions why Han acquired Ximing, suspecting the purchase may be a speculative maneuver aimed at exploiting government subsidies or the domestic chip trend.
• Xue explains that Han could have used Ximing’s drag-along clause and investor liquidation preferences to force a much cheaper acquisition, wiping out the founders’ and employees’ shares.
• Han reveals that he deliberately bought existing investor shares instead, both to remove the investors and to preserve Xue’s and the core employees’ ownership.
• Xue doubts whether Ximing’s failed L100 chip project can be salvaged. The chip is expensive, inefficient, and unable to run even relatively small AI models effectively.
• Han reveals that the 500 L100 chips his company purchased are currently running Glutinous Rice Ball, his highly successful AI model.
• Xue is stunned upon realizing that the model that recently outperformed major competitors such as OpenAI and Ne.usAI is operating on Ximing’s supposedly unsuccessful domestic chips.

Character Developments

• Han Luyi is shown to be strategic, controlled, and committed to retaining Ximing’s technical team rather than simply acquiring its assets. His actions suggest he sees value in the company’s engineering talent and hardware despite its poor market reputation.
• Xue Zhaoheng moves from suspicion and frustration toward shock and uncertainty. His pessimism about the L100 comes from the project’s financial failure and technical shortcomings, but Han’s revelation challenges his belief that the chip is useless.
• Lu Mingzhou continues to function as Han’s trusted business aide, while Wu Tong observes Han closely and gains a stronger impression of his demanding, work-focused leadership style.

Significant Themes

• Trust and intention: Xue wants assurance that Ximing will not be exploited, while Han must prove that his acquisition has a serious technological purpose.
• Redemption of failure: The L100, considered a commercial and technical failure, may have hidden value when used within the right system.
• Strategic acquisition versus speculation: Han’s refusal to exploit the company’s shareholder agreements demonstrates a long-term investment in people and capabilities rather than a purely financial takeover.
• Domestic technological development: The chapter highlights the tension between ambitious domestic chip production and the difficulty of matching established foreign technology.

Character Interactions

The central interaction is Han’s private conversation with Xue. Xue confronts him directly about the acquisition, expressing distrust of outside buyers and concern for Ximing’s future. Han responds calmly, using the company’s financing structure to explain why he chose not to eliminate the founders’ and employees’ shares. He then overturns Xue’s assumptions by revealing that the L100 is powering Glutinous Rice Ball, leaving Xue frozen in disbelief.

Key plot points and events

• Han Luyi claims that Source Intelligence has adapted Ximing’s L100 chips to run Glutinous Rice Ball, a powerful closed-source model. Ximing’s chief engineer, Xue Zhaoheng, rejects the claim, convinced the work would take years and that Han is trying to deceive him.
• Han shows Xue live performance data, but Xue assumes it is fabricated. Han then proposes testing the software on Ximing’s own 32-card cluster.
• Han supplies Source Intelligence’s runtime and adapted operator library. Xue installs it and runs a 21B open-source model under a stress test. Throughput rises to 250,000 tokens per second, and the L100 cluster achieves an estimated 54.7% MFU—near the performance of Nvidia’s best hardware.
• The test convinces Xue that the L100’s shortcomings were software-related, not a failed chip design. He apologizes and recognizes the adaptation technology as a major breakthrough.
• Xue deletes the files rather than secretly copying them, understanding that Source Intelligence’s technical ability—not merely the software—is the valuable asset. Han intends to bring Xue and Ximing into a partnership, helping secure computing capacity for Glutinous Rice Ball.

Character developments and interactions

• Xue Zhaoheng moves from suspicion and anger to awe, humility, and gratitude. His rigorous skepticism is validated as an important quality for engineering, and he chooses partnership over opportunism.
• Han Luyi remains calm and persuasive, proving his claim through a hands-on test rather than arguing. He also gives Xue a tactful way to recover from his earlier accusations and encourages him to lead future chip development.
• Their relationship shifts from mistrust to mutual respect. Xue sees Han’s trust as meaningful, while Han recognizes Xue’s engineering judgment and commitment.

Significant themes

• Software and hardware are interdependent: Ximing’s chip becomes viable once paired with effective software.
• Proof over assertion: Xue’s skepticism is resolved only by testing the technology directly.
• Trust and partnership over short-term gain: Xue declines to steal or exploit the files, recognizing that long-term collaboration is more valuable.
• National technological independence: The breakthrough suggests a path toward challenging Nvidia’s dominance and strengthening China’s domestic computing industry.

Han Luyi and Lu Mingzhou discussed the Ximing acquisition over dinner, while Wu Tong reflected on what he had learned from Lu Mingzhou’s negotiation tactics. The next morning, Wang Xian withdrew the investors’ support for the deal, and Han Luyi turned to Xue Zhaoheng for an explanation.

• Han Luyi, Lu Mingzhou, Wu Tong, and Liu Huo ate at an open-air seafood eatery and discussed Wu Tong’s lessons from the negotiations.
• Han Luyi said he wanted to acquire Ximing to retain its engineers and continue developing the L200.
• Lu Mingzhou expressed concern that the 280 million yuan cash payment would strain Source Intelligence’s finances.
• The next morning, Han Luyi and Lu Mingzhou found Xue Zhaoheng looking grim in his office at Ximing.
• Wang Xian told Lu Mingzhou that Guanlan Capital and the other investors would no longer sell, claiming the offer was too low.
• Han Luyi turned to Xue Zhaoheng, expecting him to explain what had happened.

Key events

• Ximing’s investors receive a competing offer from Penguin: buy the entire company for 320 million. Though lower than Source Intelligence’s 520-million valuation for the investors’ 53.6% stake, liquidation preferences would let investors recover their capital and returns first—leaving little for Ximing’s founders and employees.
• Wang Xian of Guanlan Capital uses the offer to pressure Lu Mingzhou, dismisses Source Intelligence as inexperienced, and invites it to bid 350 million for the whole company. He says negotiations with Penguin will continue that afternoon.
• Lu recognizes that raising the offer could trigger an unwelcome bidding war. Xue Zhaoheng explains that investor drag-along rights mean the majority can force the founders to sell.
• Han Luyi reviews the shareholder information and uses his Sight ability to identify investor Li Jia Tu, whose fund faces urgent pressure to return money to its limited partners. Han arranges a private meeting with him, believing Li wants a reliable exit.

Character developments and interactions

• Lu Mingzhou stays composed despite Wang’s taunts and recognizes that the investors have not yet signed with Penguin. He considers several ways to stall or counter the deal, but accepts that a straightforward price increase may be strategically unwise.
• Han Luyi shifts the negotiation away from competing on price. By spotting Li’s fund-specific pressures, he seeks leverage through an investor who may not share Wang’s priorities.
• Xue Zhaoheng admits he cannot prevent a sale because of the company’s ownership structure and investor protections. He helps arrange contact with Li.
• Wu Tong reacts angrily to Wang’s hard-nosed tactics and begins to understand how investor incentives can override ideas of fairness.
• Wang Xian is openly confident and manipulative, framing the choice as a matter of fiduciary duty while using Penguin’s offer to pressure Source Intelligence.
• Li Jia Tu is initially wary but agrees to meet Han after Han acknowledges his likely need for a dependable exit.

Significant themes

• Investor protections versus founders’ interests: Liquidation preferences and drag-along rights can protect investors while stripping founders and employees of much of a company’s sale value.
• Power and pragmatism in business: Negotiations are shaped less by stated valuations than by who gets paid first and what each investor needs.
• Strategic leverage over brute force: Han avoids an expensive bidding war and instead targets a shareholder whose personal and fund pressures may create an alternative path.

Plot points and events

• Han Luyi meets investor Li Jia Tu, whose Jiatu Fund is struggling and urgently needs cash. Li assumes the meeting concerns Sili-Lumin Semiconductor, but Han’s calm manner leaves him uncertain.
• Lu Mingzhou explains why the proposed 320-million-yuan acquisition arranged by Wang Xian may not help Li in time: lengthy reviews, complex terms, and installment payments could delay most of the proceeds for years.
• Han offers Li 30 million yuan immediately for his 4.7% stake—well above the amount Li might recover through liquidation or the proposed sale. Because other shareholders have rights of first refusal, Li will transfer the shares to Xue Zhaoheng, who will hold them while Source Intelligence supplies the money.
• Li’s lawyers review the documents, and the parties sign the transfer, payment, and loan agreements. Source Intelligence sends the 30 million yuan, giving Li enough to meet his fund’s obligations. Han then asks Li for one more favor, leaving the chapter on a cliffhanger.

Character developments

• Han Luyi shows composure and strategic confidence. He uses Li’s financial distress and the likely delays in Wang Xian’s deal to secure a quick transaction favorable to Source Intelligence.
• Li Jia Tu moves from wary politeness to relief. Though he recognizes the arrangement carries risks, his fund’s urgent cash needs make the certain, immediate payout more valuable than a potentially larger but delayed return.
• Lu Mingzhou supports Han by laying out the practical weaknesses of the competing acquisition and managing the transaction.
• Xue Zhaoheng serves as the formal buyer and collateral provider, though his role in the wider plan is not fully explained here.
• Gu Siyue, communicating remotely, helps with the paperwork and is asked to prepare the subsequent acquisition agreement.

Themes

• Liquidity versus paper value: A delayed, higher valuation may be less useful than immediate cash when obligations are due.
• Power and leverage in business: Han’s knowledge of Li’s circumstances turns a negotiation into a calculated opportunity.
• Risk, trust, and legal structure: The parties use layered agreements to navigate shareholder rights and allocate risk.
• Appearance versus reality: Li initially seems to be negotiating over Sili-Lumin’s sale, but the real issue is his fund’s survival.

Character interactions

• Han’s measured questions gradually reveal that he knows about Li’s financial trouble, while Li tries to maintain a professional front.
• Lu Mingzhou’s blunt account of the rival deal’s delays and conditions shifts Li’s view of his options.
• Han and Li reach a pragmatic agreement, exchanging handshakes first on the deal and again after payment arrives.
• Han’s friendly messages with Gu Siyue briefly contrast with the tense, high-stakes negotiations.

Wang Xian’s attempt to sell Ximing to Penguin collapsed when Xue Zhaoheng secured majority support for a forced sale to Source Intelligence. Han Luyi took control of Ximing, arranged to deploy its inventory of L100 cards, and received an invitation to the Singapore AI Conference as he headed back to Haicheng.

• Wang Xian and Ma Jin agreed in principle to Penguin’s 280-million acquisition terms, but Xue Zhaoheng’s meeting notice revealed that shareholders holding 51.1 percent of voting rights supported selling Ximing to Source Intelligence.
• Li Jia Tu confirmed to Wang Xian that he had transferred his shares to Xue Zhaoheng for a better, more certain exit, and Ma Jin withdrew Penguin’s offer.
• Xue Zhaoheng’s extraordinary shareholders’ meeting approved the sale to Source Intelligence and invoked the drag-along provisions, forcing Wang Xian and the other shareholders to cooperate.
• Source Intelligence acquired all of Ximing for 250 million, with an additional 30 million paid to Jiatu Fund, while Han Luyi promised to preserve the R&D team and expand its budget.
• Han Luyi inspected Ximing’s warehouse, found 8,360 L100 accelerator cards, and told Zhang Biao to prepare Yunyin for a deployment of 8,500 cards.
• Han Luyi flew back to Haicheng, where Zhao Wenyuan sent him an invitation to the Singapore AI Conference.

Han Luyi returned to Haicheng after settling the Ximing matter and discussed Source Intelligence’s plans with Su Niannian on the drive from the airport. They learned that a deputy mayor’s delegation would inspect the company next Monday, and Han Luyi agreed to give Su Niannian more authority over recruitment while considering how Glutinous Rice Ball could improve employee placement.

• Han Luyi researched the Singapore Artificial Intelligence Conference and told Zhao Wenyuan to attend in his place and promote the company’s research.
• Han Luyi planned to adapt the L100 for inference and training, then use the remaining labeled data to complete Glutinous Rice Ball 1.0.
• Su Niannian met Han Luyi at the airport, and he drove them through Haicheng while recounting the complications in the Ximing deal.
• Su Niannian told Han Luyi that a deputy mayor would lead an inspection delegation next Monday and that Director Xu wanted him to stay in Haicheng.
• Han Luyi authorized Su Niannian to handle non-executive hiring decisions in his absence and considered using Glutinous Rice Ball to assess how people fit their roles.
• Han Luyi asked Su Niannian if she wanted to have dinner with him.

Jiang Yixin presented ideas for using the Tangyuan Large Model in human resource management, but Han Luyi rejected employee-monitoring features as inherently prone to surveillance. He proposed a private, gamified personal growth tool for Source Code and Source Intelligence employees, leaving Jiang Yixin wondering whether she would use it herself.

• Jiang Yixin presented research arguing that existing HR tools served managers and burdened employees with monitoring and reporting.
• Han Luyi warned that recording employee activity would intensify surveillance, even if access permissions were limited.
• Su Niannian reflected that tools could become instruments of organizational power regardless of their designers’ intentions.
• Han Luyi proposed an internal personal growth tool that let employees track their own development without leaderboards or manager access.
• Jiang Yixin considered whether private AI feedback could help her overcome her sense of inadequacy at work.

Chapter Summary: “Not a Skill Tree, but a Star Map”

Key Plot Points and Events

• After a product meeting with Han Luyi, Jiang Yixin becomes energized about designing a new workplace product: a personal growth system inspired by RPGs and “system” web novels.
• She tests the concept on her colleague Li Ting, imagining workplace tasks being converted into quests, experience points, and achievements. The goal is to give employees immediate feedback for work that normally provides little visible satisfaction.
• Jiang realizes the system cannot depend on manual check-ins, since users would eventually stop recording their activities. Instead, it should identify growth events automatically from existing workplace data.
• She establishes strict principles: the system must not monitor employees, use crude metrics such as hours or message counts, expose raw data, or influence performance evaluations. Feedback should be private, challengeable, and able to be disabled by users.
• Glutinous Rice Ball identifies three major design conflicts:
  1. Automatic recognition versus privacy.
  2. Accurate feedback versus emotional safety.
  3. Gamification versus distorting behavior.
• Jiang studies how gamification can become exploitative. She concludes that experience points must be informational feedback rather than rewards, and that fixed rules would encourage employees to “grind” meaningless tasks.
• She decides AI should interpret complex work patterns holistically instead of assigning points mechanically. Traditional levels and rankings are rejected because they invite comparison and hierarchy.
• Jiang designs personalized titles and achievements that reflect each user’s individual growth, rather than placing everyone on the same scale.
• Qian Xiaole, a highly accomplished developer and veteran World of Warcraft player, joins the project enthusiastically.
• When Qian suggests a skill tree, Glutinous Rice Ball proposes an “Emergent Constellation” system instead: meaningful behaviors become stars that gradually form a unique constellation reflecting each user’s actual development.
• Qian volunteers to work on the project over the weekend, leaving Jiang to wonder whether she is expected to work overtime too.

Character Developments

• Jiang Yixin demonstrates strong product instincts and creative enthusiasm, but also recognizes the risks of overengineering, surveillance, and gamification. She moves from imagining a fun RPG-like interface to developing a nuanced AI-native product philosophy.
• Li Ting serves as Jiang’s first informal user tester. Though initially unfamiliar with the concept, she quickly becomes interested once Jiang explains the quest-and-feedback model.
• Qian Xiaole is revealed as an exceptional AI-era programmer and passionate gamer. Her enthusiasm brings practical development support and pushes Jiang’s concept toward a more flexible structure.
• Glutinous Rice Ball functions as both an analytical assistant and design collaborator, helping Jiang identify contradictions and generate the constellation framework.
• Han Luyi’s earlier insistence that the system remain separate from HR management proves significant: Jiang realizes this protects user autonomy and emotional well-being.

Significant Themes

• AI-native product design: The system should actively infer meaningful information from existing work traces rather than depend on user input or rigid rules.
• Privacy versus convenience: Automation becomes valuable only if it avoids turning into employee surveillance.
• Intrinsic versus extrinsic motivation: Feedback should explain growth, not act as a reward that pressures or controls users.
• The dangers of gamification: Points, badges, levels, and leaderboards can encourage meaningless behavior, competition, and workplace exploitation.
• Individual growth over comparison: Progress should be measured against one’s former self, not against colleagues.
• Reality’s complexity: Fixed systems cannot adequately represent diverse career paths, whereas AI can interpret emergent, individualized patterns.

Character Interactions

• Jiang and Li Ting have a humorous brainstorming exchange in which Jiang struggles to explain her idea to someone outside the target user profile.
• Jiang uses Li’s reactions to clarify that the product should provide timely accomplishment feedback for invisible or delayed workplace contributions.
• Jiang consults Glutinous Rice Ball repeatedly, treating it as a design partner rather than merely a tool.
• Qian watches Jiang work, learns about the project from Li, and immediately asks to join. Her gaming background leads directly to the skill-tree discussion.
• Jiang and Qian react differently to the “Emergent Constellation” idea: Jiang finds the name embarrassing, while Qian considers it exciting and innovative.
• Their final exchange humorously highlights the tension between Jiang’s idealized growth system and the very real possibility of weekend overtime.