Chapter Summaries

Key plot points and events

• Nexus AI CEO Ryan arrives at work upbeat, encouraged by strong growth in the company’s programming and enterprise businesses.
• Ryan’s strategy—prioritizing business customers and programming rather than competing head-on across the whole AI market—is paying off. Nexus Atlas has gained traction with U.S. companies wary of sending proprietary code to Chinese servers, while demand for the Venus model’s programming API has surged. In two months, API revenue has matched the company’s total earnings from the previous year.
• At an executive meeting, Ryan reveals that developer spending on Venus for pure programming tasks has surpassed OpenAI’s. He argues that programming can deliver substantial cost savings to businesses and that enterprise customers are valuable because revenue is steady and switching costs are high.
• Michael supports the strategy, framing programming as a way for Nexus to become the leader in a distinct field rather than merely “the second OpenAI.”
• Ryan says Venus 2.0 is nearly ready for the June AI conference in Singapore, where he hopes it will regain top-model status. He also plans to promote Nexus’s MCP protocol internationally, while excluding China from its service markets for security reasons.
• Ryan sees competition among Chinese protocols—including Tangyuan and Ling Tai—as an advantage for Nexus, since their rivalry may distract them from establishing international standards.
• After the meeting, Ryan prepares to present the same case to prospective investors, expecting Nexus’s valuation to rise sharply in the funding round.

Character developments and interactions

• Ryan moves from confidence in a risky strategy to renewed assurance as the results validate his judgment. He leads the meeting enthusiastically and seeks to build company-wide commitment, not simply announce decisions.
• Michael, the marketing head, reinforces Ryan’s case by comparing enterprise tools to cloud services and emphasizing the value of a distinctive market position.
• John, the CTO, raises concerns about Chinese competitors, prompting Ryan to explain why he believes their divided efforts reduce the threat.
• The executives, accustomed to tense emergency meetings, respond with relief and excitement as Nexus’s fortunes improve.

Significant themes

• Strategic specialization: A company can compete by excelling in a promising niche rather than trying to match a larger rival across every area.
• Commercial value of AI: Programming tools are presented as worthwhile when they save businesses more than they cost.
• Competition and market access: Security concerns, geographic limits, and rivalries between competitors shape which products and standards can succeed.
• Confidence after setbacks: Strong results restore morale and turn a once-contested strategy into a shared source of optimism.

Key plot points

• Han Luyi meets Dingsheng CEO Zheng Xiaobo at a private restaurant. Zheng apologizes for the Kun Yuan incident, saying he was unaware of it and accepting responsibility for the company’s failure.
• Zheng offers to sell Dingsheng’s Lingang data center to Han’s company, Source Intelligence, on unusually favorable terms: Source can begin installing equipment immediately, and an independent qualified appraiser can determine the price. Han accepts, since his growing computing needs make the data center urgent.
• Han suspects the generous offer is meant to secure something in return. Zheng reveals that Dingsheng wants to abandon its struggling Ling Tai Interconnection Protocol and adopt Source Intelligence’s Tangyuan Protocol instead.
• Dingsheng hopes its services will gain access to the Tangyuan ecosystem—and asks for a seat on the protocol’s Standards Committee.

Character developments and interactions

• Han Luyi remains cautious and observant. He uses his ability, Sight, to recognize Zheng’s outward confidence and enthusiasm conceal anxiety and guardedness. Rather than confront him, Han listens and lets him reveal his real purpose.
• Zheng Xiaobo is deferential and conciliatory, setting aside executive pride because he needs Han’s cooperation. He presents the data-center sale as goodwill, then makes his strategic request.
• Their conversation mixes polite flattery, an apology, and business negotiation. Han accepts Dingsheng’s practical concession but has not yet answered its request for influence over the protocol.

Significant themes

• Leverage and strategic bargaining: Dingsheng’s favorable offer is not pure generosity; it is tied to access and influence.
• The power of standards and network effects: Tangyuan’s rapid adoption leaves Dingsheng’s competing protocol with little prospect of success.
• Ambition and anxiety: Han reflects that powerful business figures often seem more anxious than secure, while Zheng’s guardedness exposes the pressure behind his polished manner.
• Pragmatism over pride: Dingsheng chooses to join a dominant ecosystem rather than continue promoting a failed rival, while Han is willing to accept a useful deal without mistaking it for friendship.

Key plot points and events

• Dingsheng CEO Zheng Xiaobo asks Source Intelligence founder Han Luyi for a meaningful role in the Tangyuan Protocol’s proposed standards committee—not merely a name on its website, but influence over its rules.
• Han proposes that committee standing and voting power be earned through measurable contributions, such as connected services, call volume, open interfaces, stability, and security. Organizations would advance through levels, while Source Intelligence retains a final veto as protocol initiator.
• Zheng accepts the framework, recognizing that Dingsheng’s resources could earn it substantial influence if it contributes in practice.
• Zheng then probes how a joint announcement will be presented. Han makes clear that Source Intelligence will lead and that the partnership will remain under the Tangyuan name; Zheng drops the issue.
• Han shifts the discussion to international standards, noting that the protocol must compete with initiatives from Silicon Valley. He asks who Dingsheng will send to an upcoming AI standards conference in Singapore. Zheng offers to attend and support Tangyuan.

Character developments

• Han Luyi demonstrates strategic maturity: he welcomes cooperation but refuses to grant influence based on corporate prestige alone. He anticipates political maneuvering and protects Source Intelligence’s control while offering a transparent path for partners to gain a voice.
• Zheng Xiaobo is pragmatic and politically astute. Though he initially seeks a powerful committee seat and tests the limits of public messaging, he accepts a contribution-based system when he sees its value to Dingsheng. He reframes the partnership as a larger national and international effort, which will also help justify it to the company’s board and investors.

Character interactions

• The meeting is courteous but firmly transactional. Both men test one another’s intentions, yet neither dwells on failed probes or turns the negotiation into a personal conflict.
• Han sets the terms; Zheng evaluates them and adapts. Their agreement rests on mutual advantage rather than friendship or shared sentiment.

Significant themes

• Influence must be earned: Participation in a shared standard should depend on tangible contribution, not corporate status alone.
• Cooperation and control: Opening Tangyuan to partners helps grow its ecosystem, but Source Intelligence preserves a final safeguard.
• Business as strategic framing: The same decision can be presented to boards and investors as either surrender or a sacrifice for a broader goal.
• Ambition beyond domestic competition: Han sees Tangyuan’s value in shaping global AI standards, not merely winning at home.
• Purpose over rivalry: Han’s final reflection emphasizes building the market and pursuing his own vision rather than defining success by defeating a particular competitor.

Key plot points and events

• Han Luyi returns from meeting Dingsheng CEO Zheng Xiaobo and brings the company news: Dingsheng intends to stop promoting the rival Spirit Terrace Protocol and join Source Intelligence’s Glutinous Rice Ball ecosystem.
• At the product meeting, Jiang Yixin reports that more than a thousand services now use the Tangyuan Protocol, though larger companies remain wary of being locked into an ecosystem controlled solely by Source Intelligence.
• Su Niannian sees Dingsheng’s support as a way to reassure those companies. The group agrees to establish a standards committee, with Jiang coordinating integration rules, service tracking, and contribution levels. A lawyer will review the committee’s structure and admission rules.
• Han later reflects on his difficulty focusing on work when Su is around, while Jiang privately notices the tension between them.
• At Dingsheng’s Lingang data center, Zhang Biao and Jiang Songran complete the handover. The facility is fully documented and nearly ready to operate; once powered, it can house a substantial GPU deployment. Source Intelligence’s approved green-energy quota and incoming cards mean it can soon ease the company’s computing shortage.
• Jiang reports the successful handover to Han. Zhang then teasingly suggests Jiang could have stayed in Lingang, prompting Jiang to choke and cough.

Character developments and interactions

• Han Luyi is optimistic about Source Intelligence’s prospects despite the global AI investment boom, and delegates partnership work to Jiang Yixin. His lingering feelings or distraction around Su Niannian remain evident.
• Su Niannian handles the Dingsheng deal pragmatically, distinguishing a partnership with Dingsheng from Dingsheng joining Source Intelligence’s ecosystem. Her interaction with Han is formal and businesslike.
• Jiang Yixin takes on responsibility for developing the protocol’s standards framework. Her comic inner commentary suggests she feels caught between her two bosses’ unresolved relationship.
• Liu Bin, previously hostile during the first site visit, is now extremely welcoming because the data center’s transfer gives him a successful project outcome.
• Jiang Songran is relieved that the data center will reduce the strain and expense of rented computing power. Zhang Biao’s teasing at the end catches him off guard.

Significant themes

• Ecosystem trust and governance: Wider adoption depends on reassuring companies that protocol rules will not change arbitrarily; a standards committee offers shared structure and credibility.
• Strategic cooperation: Dingsheng’s reversal gives Source Intelligence a valuable ally, infrastructure, and a boost in legitimacy.
• AI’s material foundations: Ambition in AI depends not just on investment, but also on chips, data centers, energy, and computing capacity.
• Personal tension amid work: Han and Su’s restrained interactions—and Jiang’s humorous awareness of them—contrast with the chapter’s business negotiations.

Plot points and events

• Lu Mingzhou presents Han Luyi with a confidential preliminary plan to restructure the companies into a group.
• The plan places Source Code Technology at the top, with Source Intelligence, Ximing Microelectronics, Hanlian Micro-Interconnect, and a new operating company as subsidiaries. Source Code’s products, staff, contracts, and operations would gradually move into the new operating company, while the parent group would oversee capital and strategy.
• The restructuring would simplify management because Source Code and Source Intelligence share customers, personnel, offices, and administrative systems, while Source Code relies on Source Intelligence’s models.
• Lu Mingzhou warns that merging based on the companies’ most recent funding valuations would severely dilute Source Code shareholders and employees: Source Code was last valued at 2 billion yuan, while Source Intelligence was valued at 140 billion.
• Han Luyi rejects a direct merger at those valuations, saying it would be unfair to Source Code’s shareholders and option holders. They consider commissioning an independent valuation, but Lu Mingzhou says a more serious complication remains.

Character developments and interactions

• Han Luyi shows concern for fairness over personal advantage. Although a low valuation for Source Code could increase his own relative stake in the combined group, he refuses to proceed on terms that would harm other Source Code stakeholders.
• Lu Mingzhou has worked intensely to prepare the proposal under pressure from municipal officials. He brings Han the plan and carefully raises the valuation problem, relieved when Han rejects an unfair deal.
• Su Niannian, Source Code’s second-largest shareholder, has not yet been consulted; Han recognizes that her views must be considered.

Significant themes

• Fairness in corporate restructuring: The proposed merger could distribute gains and losses unevenly, particularly affecting employees with options.
• Corporate integration versus valuation: The businesses are operationally intertwined, but their formal valuations make combining them difficult.
• Leadership and responsibility: Han’s decision suggests that leadership means protecting stakeholders, not simply maximizing personal ownership.
• Pressure around growth and public listing: Officials are eager to advance the restructuring, while the companies must resolve complex financial and organizational questions.

Summary

Key plot points and events

• Lu Mingzhou reviews Source Intelligence Technology’s shareholder structure. Han Luyi owns about 69.5%, while State Grid Investment and the Strategic Emerging Industries Fund are important state-backed shareholders.
• A share-swap merger with Source Code would make the valuation crucial: a higher valuation for Source Code would give its shareholders a larger stake in the new group, but could reduce the holdings of Source Intelligence’s existing investors. State-owned asset reviews would scrutinize the valuation closely.
• Han Luyi tells Lu to hire a valuation firm and says he will speak with Source Intelligence’s shareholders. He then abruptly shifts to choosing a name for the parent company, proposing Origin Group, subject to registry and trademark checks.
• Lu briefs Su Niannian on the restructuring. She takes the confidential documents back to study and calculates that if Source Code is valued above roughly 30 billion, Han’s stake in the merged group could fall below the two-thirds needed for control over major corporate decisions.
• Worried that Han may sacrifice his own control to give employees fair value for their existing shares and options, Su locks away the documents and privately reassures herself that her stake combined with his will be enough.
• Han calls Zhou Han of State Grid Investment. After exchanging thanks for her help with Source Intelligence’s green-energy quota and data-center handover, he raises the proposed merger. Zhou correctly guesses that valuation is the issue and advises him to obtain an independent valuation, ideally with a second firm reviewing it, and to use multiple valuation methods.

Character developments

• Han Luyi is decisive and optimistic, quickly moving from a complex valuation discussion to naming the new group. He is also willing to seek advice from shareholders and appears to trust Zhou’s judgment.
• Lu Mingzhou is cautious and attentive to regulatory and confidentiality concerns. He worries about the state-backed shareholders, the fairness of the valuation, and the secrecy of listing preparations.
• Su Niannian shows strong financial and strategic awareness. Her calculations reveal that the merger could threaten Han’s supermajority, and her concern reflects how well she understands his tendency to put others’ interests first.
• Zhou Han demonstrates political and investment savvy. She supports neither inflating nor suppressing Source Code’s value and focuses on preventing future regulatory or listing problems.

Significant themes

• Fair valuation and accountability: The merger must balance fair treatment of Source Code’s shareholders with the protection of state-owned assets.
• Control versus dilution: A merger and eventual listing may raise the company’s value while weakening Han’s authority, especially over major decisions.
• Trust and loyalty: Han relies on Zhou’s counsel, while Su’s private concern shows her personal investment in protecting him and the company.
• Growth and preparation: The proposed restructuring reflects the company’s ambitions to expand and potentially enter public markets, but also the need for careful governance.

Character interactions

• Lu explains the risks to Han, but Han takes charge and assigns the valuation work while asking Lu to involve Su.
• Su and Lu exchange the confidential restructuring plan; Su promises not to disclose it and studies its implications independently.
• Han and Zhou’s warm, teasing conversation shifts into serious business advice. Zhou’s willingness to give candid guidance reinforces her trust and support for him.

Plot points and events

• On May 14 in Beijing, Zhao Wenyuan checks the training progress of Glutinous Rice Ball 1.0 at the Source Intelligence research institute. Despite the achievement of training on domestic GPUs, he is frustrated by repeated delays: completion has slipped from May 26 to May 28 and then to June 3. The model may miss the Artificial Intelligence Conference’s blind-evaluation deadline.
• Zhao and Jiang Songran have concluded the delay is an algorithmic bottleneck, not a hardware or infrastructure issue. Zhao decides not to ask Han Luyi for help, both because post-training is his specialty and because Han gave him freedom to handle it.
• Reviewing execution data, Zhao notices that cluster nodes are working unevenly. He considers the usual synchronization approach: wait for the slowest task—the “fisherman” gathering fish—before combining results and beginning the next batch.
• Zhang Wenduo arrives requesting an increase from 16 to 64 GPUs for a new experiment. As he explains his approach, Zhao realizes Zhang has developed a different scheduling method: when a task finishes, its worker immediately takes another task rather than waiting for the whole batch.
• Zhao is alarmed that Zhang’s method starts new work before all results from the previous batch have been incorporated. The chapter ends with his concern that this could destabilize training.

Character developments

• Zhao Wenyuan has grown accustomed to major technical breakthroughs, but the looming deadline frustrates him. He is determined to solve the training-speed problem himself and prove his expertise.
• Zhang Wenduo emerges as an inventive researcher. His work on world models has led him to devise a method for avoiding wasted time on long-running tasks.

Significant themes

• Innovation versus established practice: Zhang’s asynchronous approach challenges the standard batch-and-wait framework.
• Efficiency and bottlenecks: The chapter focuses on how uneven workloads can slow a powerful computing cluster.
• Autonomy and proving oneself: Zhao’s choice to tackle the problem without Han’s help reflects his wish to demonstrate his own capability.
• Time pressure: The conference deadline turns technical progress into a race against the clock.

Character interactions

• Zhao and Jiang Songran have already collaborated on diagnosing the delay as an algorithm problem.
• Zhao questions Zhang’s GPU request and listens closely to the technical rationale, shifting from resource manager to engaged problem-solver.
• Their discussion exposes a clash between Zhao’s concern for orderly synchronization and Zhang’s willingness to keep workers productive without waiting.

Key plot points and events

• Zhang Wenduo explains an asynchronous training framework he devised to improve Computing Card utilization. Rather than making actors and learners wait for one another, actors continually generate results for an experience pool, and learners update the model when enough data accumulates.
• The approach risks using outdated model parameters, but Zhang says most action results are relatively unimportant; updating a few marked key steps keeps the accuracy loss small.
• Zhao Wenyuan learns that the framework can exceed 80% utilization in favorable conditions, compared with roughly 40% for Glutinous Rice Ball’s current training and just over 20% for Zhang’s conventional setup.
• Zhao examines Zhang’s experiments. Without key-step marking, accuracy falls by 3–5%; with it, the loss is under 1%, while training takes less than half as long.
• Impressed, Zhao shifts Zhang’s priority to refining the framework for Glutinous Rice Ball and promises computing resources for Zhang’s own project in return. Zhang agrees.
• Zhao expects Glutinous Rice Ball 1.0 to finish training by the end of May and reports the progress to Han Luyi. Han replies briefly, “Not bad,” with a cat thumbs-up sticker, leaving Zhao’s attempt to impress him feeling anticlimactic.

Character developments and interactions

• Zhang Wenduo is technically inventive but initially sees the framework as a by-product of his more important world-model project. He is surprised by how valuable Zhao considers it and accepts the deal for substantial computing resources.
• Zhao Wenyuan moves from questioning the method’s reliability to recognizing its potential. His excitement turns into decisive action: he investigates the data, reprioritizes work, and offers resources to secure the framework for Glutinous Rice Ball.
• Han Luyi appears only through his message, but his restrained response contrasts with Zhao’s eagerness to share the achievement.
• Zhao and Zhang’s exchange shifts from Zhang’s request for 64 cards to a collaboration centered on the training framework; Zhao’s enthusiasm repeatedly catches Zhang off guard.

Significant themes

• Speed versus accuracy: Asynchronous training sacrifices strict synchronization, but careful selection of important updates can preserve accuracy while greatly reducing training time.
• The value of time and efficiency: Zhao emphasizes that faster training lets researchers run more experiments, making time a crucial resource in AI development.
• Unexpected value and recognition: Zhang underestimates his incidental innovation, while Zhao immediately sees its broader importance.
• Ambition and self-presentation: Zhao is eager not only to solve the problem but also to make sure Han notices his success—though Han’s understated reply deflates the intended boast.

Chapter summary

Key plot points and events

• At a San Francisco AI conference, Nexus AI CEO Ryan Miller discovers that his keynote has been moved to the closing slot because registrations have exceeded the main hall’s capacity. OpenAI CEO Sam Altman’s multimodal talk is moved earlier.
• Sam presents GPT-VO and argues that AI should serve everyone, not just developers. Ryan watches remotely, then opens his own keynote by highlighting Atlas’s developer adoption and claiming it generated more than twice as many code commits as GitHub Copilot in three months.
• During Q&A, an audience member challenges Ryan about the Chinese coding tool Riding the Wind. Ryan avoids comparing usage figures and instead raises concerns about code privacy, data security, and enterprise compliance—implicitly targeting that tool and its associated products.
• At a private industry roundtable, a live poll finds that 41% of attendees would choose Nexus’s MCP standard, compared with 13% for OpenAI’s GPT Actions; 39% choose another option. Ryan presents MCP as open, simple, and neutral, while Sam argues that openness can create security risks and promotes GPT Actions’ enterprise safeguards.
• Ryan says he would welcome OpenAI adopting MCP, then needles Sam by suggesting OpenAI engineers would be glad to stop maintaining an isolated interface. Google CEO Sundar Pichai offers a diplomatic but clear endorsement of an open ecosystem. Ryan’s confident prediction is that future AI tools will communicate using the same language.
• After the event, investors show increased interest in Nexus AI and its funding round. Sam leaves quickly, while Ryan savors what he sees as a major public victory.
• The chapter then shifts to Haicheng, where Jiang Yixin waits nervously to meet a lawyer with President Su about finalizing the Tangyuan Protocol Standards Committee charter. Su Niannian and Gu Siyue arrive and ask why she is standing outside the conference room.

Character developments and interactions

• Ryan Miller is buoyed by Nexus’s momentum and MCP’s popularity. He uses the conference to promote Atlas and MCP, trade barbs with Sam, and turn investor attention toward Nexus. His triumph is tempered by concern that nearly as many voters chose “other” as MCP.
• Sam Altman remains committed to a broad vision of AI and defends OpenAI’s focus on multimodality and the security of GPT Actions. Ryan’s jabs and the poll results leave him visibly uncomfortable, and he departs soon after the roundtable.
• Sundar Pichai avoids openly taking sides in the rivalry but signals Google’s support for an open ecosystem, strengthening Ryan’s position.
• Jiang Yixin has completed a first draft of the Tangyuan Protocol committee charter but is anxious about the upcoming legal discussion. Su Niannian and Gu Siyue’s arrival interrupts her hesitation.

Significant themes

• Open standards versus closed ecosystems: MCP’s appeal lies in neutrality and interoperability, while GPT Actions is presented as a more controlled, security-focused alternative.
• Competition and strategic framing: Both CEOs use the conference to define what matters—developer adoption for Ryan, broad access and safety for Sam—and to shape perceptions of their rivals.
• Security, trust, and geopolitics: Ryan’s response about data handling indirectly casts suspicion on Chinese AI products, showing how procurement and privacy concerns intersect with competition.
• The uncertainty of winning: MCP leads the poll, but the large “other” share suggests the standard-setting contest is far from settled.

Key plot points and events

• Jiang Yixin presents her first draft of rules for a committee to establish the Tangyuan Protocol standards. The draft sets membership contributions by service use, call volume, API access, stability, and security, while giving Source Intelligence the final veto.
• Lawyer Gu Siyue points out that the charter must account for overseas participation. In the United States, joint standards-setting among competitors can raise antitrust concerns; in the EU, Source Intelligence’s control over both platform access and committee decisions could be viewed as unfair competition.
• Gu recommends limiting committee discussions to technical matters, banning sensitive commercial topics, requiring set agendas and public minutes, and having outside counsel attend. She also proposes dividing veto rights: Source Intelligence keeps a security veto, while commercial rules and seat allocation are handled through weighted voting rather than an unrestricted veto.
• Su Niannian approves revising the draft along those lines and asks Gu to prepare the final wording. Jiang gets Han Luyi’s approval and prepares to negotiate with Dingsheng.
• Jiang discovers Dingsheng is bringing seventeen representatives—not the seven she initially expected—so the meeting must move to a larger room. The delegation arrives led by Dingsheng vice president Liu Bo.

Character developments and interactions

• Jiang Yixin begins focused on protecting Source Intelligence’s influence and limiting Dingsheng’s power. Gu’s advice broadens her perspective to international law and compliance. She appreciates the lawyer’s expertise and playfully embraces keeping the name “Tangyuan” for overseas users.
• Gu Siyue demonstrates calm, practical authority, translating complex US and EU legal risks into concrete changes to the charter. Her competence contrasts with Jiang’s earlier impression of her as simply lovestruck during their previous encounter.
• Su Niannian guides the meeting, asks clarifying questions, and balances Source Intelligence’s need for protection against the need for a defensible governance structure.
• Jiang, Su, and Gu work collaboratively: Gu advises, Su weighs the business implications, and Jiang takes responsibility for revising and advancing the rules.
• Dingsheng’s large delegation signals that the company considers the partnership important and foreshadows a potentially formidable negotiation.

Significant themes

• Growth brings new responsibilities: A domestic technical initiative becomes more complicated when international adoption is considered.
• Power versus fairness: Source Intelligence needs safeguards against a larger partner dominating the committee, but unchecked control could undermine legitimacy and trigger regulatory scrutiny.
• Legal compliance as part of product design: Governance rules, meeting practices, and veto structures are crucial to building a sustainable technical standard.
• Cultural confidence: Jiang’s insistence that overseas engineers can learn to pronounce “Tangyuan” adds a light note of pride amid the legal and business pressures.

Key plot points and events

• After losing at trial in its infringement suit against the major platform Little Blog, Little Duck Dictionary founder Huang Qihang meets with partner Fang Zhengping. Fang explains that the evidence was inadequate and advises against appealing, though Huang insists on continuing.
• Junior lawyer Gu Siyue takes over the appeal. Her colleague Shen Yuwei warns that the struggling startup’s case is risky, but agrees to help after learning Gu believes the team’s rights were violated.
• Huang explains that he is fighting not only for his company but also for the users whose original entries were copied. Gu agrees to represent him after clearly disclosing the appeal’s risks.
• Gu identifies two potential sources of new evidence: a podcast in which Little Blog’s former product lead discusses using content from similar products to solve a “cold start,” and historical webpage data preserved on a blockchain by a third-party evidence company.
• After extensive searching, Gu retrieves the archived data and presents it at the appeal hearing. By comparing it with Little Duck Dictionary’s submission records and cloud logs, she shows that Little Blog reproduced entries—including distinctive wording, errors, examples, usernames, and watermarks—and manipulated timestamps to make them appear older.
• The appellate court reverses the trial judgment, finds Little Blog liable for unfair competition, orders it to stop infringing and publish an apology for fifteen days, and awards Little Duck Dictionary 4.6 million yuan.
• The case attracts attention as a prominent example of blockchain-preserved evidence. Separately, Han Luyi, a Dingsheng employee, says he would quit rather than copy a competitor’s product if ordered to do so.

Character developments and interactions

• Gu Siyue moves from an inexperienced lawyer who has never independently argued in court to a resourceful advocate who succeeds through careful investigation, persistence, and composure. Though outwardly calm, she is nervous during her first hearing.
• Shen Yuwei initially doubts the case and worries about Gu’s prospects, but becomes her research partner and staunch supporter, admiring Gu’s preparation and courtroom performance.
• Huang Qihang remains committed despite the first loss and the company’s precarious position. His determination to defend contributors’ work gives Gu’s appeal a clear purpose; after winning, he thanks her and vows to continue.
• Fang Zhengping views the appeal as too risky and passes the case on. Gu later acknowledges that his team assembled the evidence thoroughly but chose the wrong method.
• Han Luyi’s brief exchange with coworkers reveals a personal willingness to reject unethical copying, even at the cost of leaving his job.

Significant themes

• Evidence and justice: Moral conviction alone cannot win a legal case; claims must be supported by reliable, properly preserved evidence.
• Persistence and ingenuity: Gu finds a way forward by looking beyond the failed trial strategy and combining independent sources of proof.
• Ownership and online sharing: The chapter challenges the idea that freely shared internet content is therefore free to copy; user contributions still deserve attribution and protection.
• Ethical responsibility: Huang’s defense of his users and Han’s refusal to copy a competitor underline the importance of integrity in business and technology.

Key plot points and events

• At the kickoff meeting for the Tangyuan Protocol Standards Committee, Dingsheng representative Liu Bo mistakes Source Code Technology’s Jiang Yixin for a celebrity and then questions whether she is senior enough to lead.
• Jiang Yixin calmly asserts that she is responsible for the protocol preparations and has decision-making authority. She asks Li Wen to present Source Code’s proposal, which emphasizes a clear, substantive integration process.
• Dingsheng presents an ambitious plan to integrate more than forty services in a very short time. Qian Xiaole doubts the schedule is realistic, suspecting Dingsheng may have copied the Tangyuan Protocol in advance.
• In negotiations, Liu Bo asks for founding members to be exempt from a ninety-day observation period and for Dingsheng’s projected contributions to earn voting rights early. Jiang rejects both requests, explaining that voting rights depend on actual usage after services go live.
• Frustrated by her refusal to bargain, Liu Bo threatens to halt progress. Jiang tells him he is free to leave.

Character developments

• Jiang Yixin proves herself composed, authoritative, and unwilling to compromise the protocol’s rules under pressure. She handles Liu Bo’s condescension without losing control.
• Liu Bo begins confident that he can pressure a young negotiator into concessions. As Jiang holds firm, his confidence gives way to irritation and anger.
• Qian Xiaole is perceptive and technically skeptical, recognizing that Dingsheng’s promised integration timeline seems implausibly fast.

Character interactions

• Liu Bo’s mistaken greeting and remarks about Jiang’s appearance create an awkward, patronizing first impression; Jiang Yixin steps in to greet him properly.
• Liu repeatedly challenges Jiang’s authority and tries to use Dingsheng’s size and influence as leverage. Jiang responds with procedural clarity rather than appeasement.
• The meeting shifts from formal presentations to a direct power struggle, ending with Jiang refusing to let Liu dictate the terms.

Significant themes

• Generational and workplace expectations: Liu assumes Jiang will be pliable because she is young, but she subverts his expectations.
• Merit and authority: Jiang establishes her legitimacy through responsibility and sound command of the process, not seniority.
• Rules versus leverage: The protocol’s contribution-based voting system resists attempts to trade promises or corporate prestige for influence.
• Professional respect: Liu’s condescension contrasts with Jiang’s controlled, principled conduct.

Key plot points and events

• Jiang Yixin ends the meeting with Dingsheng after Liu Bo refuses to yield to Source Code’s rules. She leaves him and his delegation in the conference room, making clear that Dingsheng can return only with genuine sincerity.
• Back in the office, Jiang explains that President Su supports her position: partners may accept the terms or walk away, but Source Code will not change its rules. She asks Li Wen to improve the presentation slides.
• Han Luyi meets ByteDance strategy executive Zhu Yuchuan at a café. They overhear an entrepreneur pitching AI-generated webnovels; Han doubts that current AI can create compelling long-form fiction, while Zhu argues that content businesses depend chiefly on distribution and audience reach.
• Zhu reveals that ByteDance wants to join the Tangyuan Protocol’s Standards Committee as a founding member, partly to avoid being disadvantaged if Dingsheng joins. Han gives him Jiang’s contact details, and ByteDance quickly reaches agreement in principle with Source Code.
• Dingsheng executive Zheng Xiaobo reprimands Liu Bo for mishandling the negotiations and orders him to apologize to Jiang personally. Liu returns to Source Code, but Jiang tells him that Dingsheng would now be the third founding member—not the second—if it still wishes to cooperate.

Character developments and interactions

• Jiang Yixin proves firm and self-assured, enforcing Source Code’s standards despite Dingsheng’s status. Her direct approach earns respect and shifts the balance of negotiations.
• Liu Bo moves from arrogant resistance to embarrassment and forced contrition after Zheng holds him accountable. His attempt to restore Dingsheng’s position comes too late to preserve its original priority.
• Han Luyi thinks strategically about the protocol’s growth. He welcomes ByteDance’s interest, recognizing that its participation can balance Dingsheng’s influence.
• Zhu Yuchuan comes across as decisive and competitive. Though friendly in manner, he is wary of ByteDance’s strategic position and acts quickly to secure a founding-member role.
• Zheng Xiaobo prioritizes Dingsheng’s reputation and cooperation goals, overruling Liu and demanding a personal apology.
• Jiang’s interactions with Li Wen show trust and delegation; Han’s exchange with Zhu turns a casual industry conversation into a concrete partnership opportunity.

Significant themes

• Principled negotiation: Source Code insists on equal rules rather than yielding to a powerful company.
• Power and reputation: Dingsheng’s status does not protect it from losing priority when its representative behaves poorly.
• Competition and coalition-building: ByteDance’s interest is driven partly by the need to counterbalance Dingsheng, while the protocol’s openness encourages broader adoption.
• Limits of AI-generated creativity: The chapter contrasts AI’s growing usefulness in practical tasks with its difficulty conveying the emotional depth required for literature.
• Distribution versus content: Zhu emphasizes that visibility and audience reach can matter more than content quality in digital media.

Key plot points and events

• Cloud Business Unit VP Liu Bo unexpectedly fails to appear at work. His assistant has no explanation, and Wang Hao discovers Liu’s company account has been deactivated.
• CEO Zheng Xiaobo’s secretary summons Wang Hao. Wang assumes Liu’s disappearance may leave the vice-president position open and imagines his own promotion.
• Zheng confirms Liu has left for personal reasons, then tests Wang’s plans for Ling Tai. Wang recommends restarting talks with Source Code and integrating with the Tangyuan Protocol even without a guaranteed founding-member position.
• Zheng appoints Wang VP of the Cloud Business Unit. His immediate priorities are to complete the integration, secure a founding-member slot, and personally coordinate the joint statement. Zheng also warns him not to act arrogantly toward Source Code.
• Wang leaves pleased by his promotion, then recalls rumors that Liu’s negotiations with Source Code collapsed after he allegedly harassed its vice president. He wonders whether the rapid turnover in the VP role makes moving into the office unlucky.

Character developments

• Wang Hao moves from product director to vice president. He is ambitious and quick to imagine the status and influence promotion will bring, but he is also nervous during Zheng’s questions and uncertain whether his answers are right.
• Zheng Xiaobo appears decisive and pragmatic: he appoints a business-focused successor and sets clear priorities, while emphasizing the need for respectful dealings with Source Code.
• Liu Bo is absent from the chapter’s events, but his abrupt departure—and the rumor surrounding his failed negotiations—creates the opening for Wang’s promotion.

Significant themes

• Ambition and office politics: Wang’s hopes for promotion shape how he interprets Liu’s disappearance and how he presents himself to Zheng.
• Pragmatism in business: Zheng prioritizes Ling Tai’s place in the Tangyuan ecosystem over negotiating for ideal terms.
• Rumor and uncertainty: Liu’s departure is unexplained, leaving colleagues to connect it to the Source Code incident.
• Superstition as self-reassurance: Wang jokingly reasons that people surnamed Wang are suited to cloud computing because metal generates water, turning the office’s history into a hopeful omen.

Character interactions

• Wang checks with Liu’s assistant, then contacts Zheng’s office after finding Liu’s account deactivated.
• In his meeting with Zheng, Wang offers a strategy for Ling Tai, receives the promotion and marching orders, and promises to meet expectations.
• Zheng’s secretary immediately begins treating Wang as the new VP, reinforcing how quickly his status has changed.

Key plot points

• Xue Zhaoheng arrives at Source Intelligence headquarters with the former core chip team from Pengcheng. They have been assigned the fourth floor and will spend several months in Haicheng working with Icecore.
• Before coming, Xue helped turn salvaged TSMC chips into usable computing cards. Installed at the Lingang computing center, they doubled its inference capacity and eased Jiang Songran’s workload.
• With the L100 production and delivery complete, the team’s next assignment is the L200 computing card. Xue presents an initial plan: support the HL-Link protocol in hardware, cover both training and inference, reuse the L100 instruction set, and improve image and video processing.
• Han Luyi challenges the team to prioritize these features and assess their costs in chip area, power, and development time. Xue admits he has not yet done that analysis.
• Han argues that Source Intelligence should not try to become “another Nvidia.” Rather than reproduce a general-purpose graphics-card ecosystem, the team should focus narrowly on the computing power its own models need. Xue agrees to revise the roadmap.

Character developments and interactions

• Xue Zhaoheng is proud of his team and eager to prove itself, especially after being placed on a restricted list. He initially favors adding many capabilities, but Han’s reasoning persuades him to narrow the design’s focus.
• Han Luyi shows concern for the visiting team’s welfare as well as their technical work, asking how they are adjusting and inviting them to the welcome party. As a leader, he balances Xue’s ambition with practical discipline.
• Liu Yu supports the meeting by making coffee, then quietly replaces Xue’s painful iced Americano with water.
• The arriving engineers settle in enthusiastically, bringing familiar work equipment and a God of Wealth statue from Pengcheng. The welcome party is intended to help them connect with their new colleagues.

Significant themes

• Focus over feature creep: A narrowly designed chip may better serve its core purpose than one burdened with features intended for every potential customer.
• Strategic independence: Rather than imitate Nvidia, Source Intelligence can exploit its lack of legacy constraints and design hardware specifically for its own AI models.
• Practical leadership and teamwork: Technical ambition must be grounded in trade-offs, while successful collaboration also depends on supporting people through a major workplace transition.

Key plot points and events

• Source Intelligence holds a welcome party for employees who have relocated from Pengcheng to Haicheng. The office’s God of Wealth statue becomes an amusing talking point: chip engineer Luo Dingding says it was brought from Boss Xue’s hometown and “worked” because the company was acquired soon after.
• Operations director Li Ting introduces herself to Luo, who explains the story behind his unusual name. He is briefly intrigued by Jiang Yixin, but learning she is the company’s vice president of product makes him give up on the possibility of romance.
• Just as Jiang is enjoying the buffet, a company-wide notice reminds staff that open flames—including incense—are prohibited. Shen Congyun enforces the rule, while Luo points out that the incense is electronic.
• Han Luyi addresses the chip team. He emphasizes that they are tackling unprecedented technical challenges and that employees must raise problems rather than hide them, while collaborating across former company boundaries. The employees respond enthusiastically.
• Han slips away from the party with boxes of food and visits his girlfriend, Gu Siyue, at her law firm. While she finishes work, he sits waiting—but his thoughts return to the chip project’s technical obstacles.

Character developments and interactions

• Luo Dingding is sociable and uses the story of his misrecorded name to put strangers at ease. His playful interest in Jiang quickly turns into resigned humor when he learns her seniority.
• Li Ting welcomes Luo and introduces him to Jiang, helping bridge the new and local staff.
• Jiang Yixin is pleased by the progress of negotiations with Dingsheng and ByteDance, but is also ready to reward herself with local food.
• Han Luyi comes across as an approachable but respected leader. His speech encourages openness, shared purpose, and cooperation; afterward, he quietly leaves so staff can relax without him present.
• Han and Gu Siyue share a warm, familiar relationship. He brings her food, and she softens when she sees him, though both remain occupied with work. Gu senses his stress when she notices his furrowed brow.

Significant themes

• Shared purpose over old divisions: Han urges employees from different companies to see themselves as one team.
• Honesty and collaboration: Problems should be surfaced early, and people should seek help across organizational lines.
• Work’s personal cost: Even during a celebration and a private visit, Han cannot stop thinking about the project’s daunting technical challenges.
• Humor and warmth amid pressure: The statue, Luo’s name, and the electronic incense lighten the atmosphere, while Han’s visit shows the care that supports him outside work.

Key plot points and events

• Han Luyi confides in Gu Siyue about the pressures behind Source Code Technology’s apparent success. Its model relies on a finite supply of high-quality labeled data, the future direction toward AGI is uncertain, competitors threaten its products, and its effort to develop independent chips faces technical and ecosystem challenges.
• Gu Siyue reassures him with the lesson of Sisyphus: the value lies in pursuing a path one believes is right, not in guaranteeing success. She describes taking an uncertain legal case because defending what was right mattered more than winning.
• Her story reminds Han of his own earlier decision to report Flash despite uncertain odds. He regains his resolve, concluding that if breaking through the restrictions on China’s AI development needs to be done, he can be the one to do it.
• The next morning, Han reviews a revised technical roadmap for the L200 chip. After seeing that it is clearer and more focused, he asks Liu Yu to arrange a meeting with Icecore’s leadership and engineer.

Character developments

• Han Luyi moves from privately questioning whether his ambitious work is possible—even with Sight—to accepting that uncertainty does not make the effort meaningless. His determination returns, and he turns back to concrete action.
• Gu Siyue serves as a trusted confidante, offering empathy rather than easy assurances. Her account of her first case reveals the conviction behind her willingness to take risks.

Character interactions

• Gu gently invites Han to share burdens he feels unable to discuss with investors or employees. She links his present doubts to their past conversations and his earlier decision to challenge Flash.
• Han listens closely, holds her hand, and thanks her. Their exchange is warm and intimate, with Gu teasingly calling herself his “big sister.”
• They discover neither can cook, so Han suggests ordering takeout. The following morning, he works with his team to move the chip project forward.

Significant themes

• Meaning in the struggle: Like Sisyphus, a person can find purpose in pursuing a chosen path, regardless of its outcome.
• Courage amid uncertainty: Important actions are often taken without confidence of success.
• Leadership and isolation: Han bears risks and doubts that he believes he cannot share with those who depend on his confidence.
• Persistence against overwhelming forces: The Little Duck legal case and Han’s efforts against technological restrictions both represent doing what seems necessary even when the odds are poor.

Key plot points and events

• On his flight to Haicheng, Zhao Wenyuan answers an online question about whether Chinese-made chips can train large AI models. He argues that software, memory bandwidth, interconnects, and specialized design can compensate for manufacturing limits, predicting that domestic chips will support both inference and training within a year.
• Zhao travels to Source Intelligence’s headquarters for an in-person planning meeting, even though he could have joined remotely. He believes the model team’s face-to-face input is essential to defining the next chip’s requirements.
• Over lunch, Han Luyi and the senior team discuss their planned collaboration with Icecore to develop the L200 chip. The central issue is who will control technical decisions: Icecore’s manufacturing expertise is indispensable, but Source Intelligence holds the model, compiler, design, and interconnect knowledge.
• Han argues that Source Intelligence must prove its new technical approach is viable—and accept responsibility if it fails—in order to earn the right to lead. Jiang Songran warns that chip design and training-framework requirements are deeply interdependent, so the team must first define what the next generation of Glutinous Rice Ball will need.
• The chapter ends with the team anticipating a difficult negotiation with Icecore representative Liao Botao. They must arrive with concrete evidence to persuade Icecore to accept their approach.

Character developments

• Zhao Wenyuan is confident in domestic technological progress and committed to representing the model team in person. His pride in his Beijing assignment is softened by playful envy of Source Intelligence’s impressive new headquarters.
• Han Luyi shows both ambition and practical judgment: he wants Source Intelligence to lead the project, but recognizes it must take responsibility for the risks.
• Jiang Songran contributes experience from Google’s TPU work while candidly acknowledging its limits; he emphasizes the need to define the model’s training needs before designing the chip.
• Xue Zhaoheng highlights the practical costs of abandoning the L100’s proven path, including longer validation and demands on Icecore’s production resources.

Significant themes

• Technological independence: The chapter challenges pessimism about Chinese chips, suggesting focused engineering can overcome ecosystem and manufacturing disadvantages.
• Specialization over generality: Source Intelligence’s constraints may require a chip tailored specifically to Glutinous Rice Ball rather than a conventional general-purpose GPU.
• Authority and accountability: Leadership should belong to the party willing to bear the consequences of its technical decisions.
• Collaboration and interdependence: Chip design, manufacturing, compilers, and model training cannot be developed in isolation; decisions in one area affect the others.

Character interactions

• Zhao’s online response establishes his confident, slightly showy public persona before he reunites warmly with Han.
• Han and Zhao exchange friendly teasing about the new headquarters and Zhao’s Beijing assignment, reflecting mutual respect and their shared technical backgrounds.
• The lunch discussion brings Han, Zhao, Xue, and Jiang into a strategic debate: Xue stresses manufacturing risks, Jiang offers a cautionary lesson from Google, and Zhao’s model expertise is positioned as essential to defining requirements.
• The team’s upcoming negotiation with Liao Botao represents the next major test of their ability to align Source Intelligence’s technical vision with Icecore’s manufacturing priorities.

Key plot points and events

• Icecore’s team reports that porting Source Intelligence’s L100 design to its own nominal “seven-nanometer” process would increase die area by over 30% and reduce target clock speeds by 10–20%.
• Process engineer Ding Yaoxian explains that Icecore’s seven-nanometer process is not equivalent to TSMC’s: without access to EUV lithography, Icecore must use multiple DUV exposures, resulting in lower transistor density, poorer leakage control, and reduced performance.
• Icecore recommends porting the existing L100 first, then pursuing improvements later. Han Luyi rejects this as the main plan, fearing that incremental progress will leave Source Intelligence further behind overseas competitors.
• Xue Zhaoheng presents a preliminary L200 concept: four specialized compute chiplets connected to a mature-node input/output chiplet. The design would discard functions Source Intelligence does not need and aim to recover useful training performance through specialization rather than process density.
• Icecore’s packaging and verification leaders point out serious risks, including lower package yields and the difficulty of keeping specialized hardware compatible with rapidly changing software. Liao Botao says Icecore cannot accept the risk.
• Han asks whether Icecore would reconsider if Source Intelligence could demonstrate that the architecture compensates for the process gap. Zhao Wenyuan then presents the company’s training-efficiency simulator, showing the L100 at a little over 60% of Nvidia’s flagship and offering to model the proposed design. The chapter ends before the estimate is shown.

Character developments

• Han Luyi remains firm on pursuing an ambitious design rather than settling for a safer but slower port. He uses his ability, Sight, to understand that Liao’s refusal comes from genuine concern about technical failure and wasted resources, not simply reluctance to spend money.
• Xue Zhaoheng turns the team’s bold concept into a concrete architecture and explains how it could address Icecore’s process limitations.
• Zhao Wenyuan contributes Source Intelligence’s strongest evidence: its specialized training simulator, shifting the discussion from theory toward measurable performance.
• Ding Yaoxian voices frustration at the constraints imposed by Icecore’s tools and process, while remaining focused on engineering realities.
• Liao Botao shows both admiration for Source Intelligence’s ingenuity and caution about risking Icecore’s resources and the partner company’s future.

Significant themes

• The difference between a label and reality: Two processes both called “seven nanometers” can have very different capabilities.
• Innovation under constraint: Source Intelligence proposes specialization and chiplets as ways to work around restricted access to advanced manufacturing.
• Risk versus pragmatism: Icecore favors a reliable first product; Source Intelligence believes playing safe could worsen its competitive position.
• Collaboration and trust: The partnership depends on whether Source Intelligence can prove its design is viable enough for Icecore to share the risk.

Character interactions

• Han and Icecore’s engineers clash over whether to prioritize a safe L100 port or attempt the new L200 architecture.
• Xue’s proposal surprises Icecore’s department heads, who respond with concrete concerns from their respective fields.
• Liao politely but firmly refuses the proposed risk, prompting Han to seek a way to change his mind.
• Zhao’s simulator presentation gives Han a chance to answer Icecore’s skepticism with data rather than persuasion alone.

Plot and key events

• Source Intelligence demonstrates its chip-efficiency simulator to Icecore executives. Though Ding Yaoxian initially doubts its credibility, he tests it using confidential data from Icecore’s B7 validation chip—with Liao Botao’s approval. The predicted results are within five percent of actual measurements.
• A second test confirms the simulator’s estimate that adapting Nvidia’s L100 architecture to Icecore’s process would substantially reduce performance.
• Zhao Wenyuan then models Source Intelligence’s proposed L200 heterogeneous-chip design. Even with conservative manufacturing assumptions, it delivers about 80% of Nvidia’s flagship card’s computing power. More strikingly, the same training task finishes in 1.77 seconds, compared with 6.84 seconds on the L100.
• Zhao explains the advantage: the L200 is designed around Glutinous Rice Ball’s specific training pipeline. By coordinating hardware and software in advance, it keeps most computation within each chiplet and minimizes data movement.
• Impressed, Liao Botao agrees that Icecore will manufacture the L200 and make it a core project. The teams aim for a first tape-out by year’s end and a test cluster before April 1 of the following year. Icecore will also work with Source Intelligence on the simulator.
• After the meeting, Zhao updates his skeptical online audience with a cryptic post: “Ladies and gentlemen, listen to the dragon’s roar.”

Character developments and interactions

• Ding Yaoxian moves from skepticism to excitement and acceptance as the simulator repeatedly matches Icecore’s data. He becomes interested in using it for Icecore’s own development and helps set a demanding project deadline.
• Zhao Wenyuan confidently presents the simulator and L200 design, privately enjoying the chance to take credit for explaining the team’s work. He also relishes teasing online doubters.
• Liao Botao recognizes the strategic importance of designing software and hardware together, then formally commits Icecore to the partnership.
• Han Luyi helps build trust between the companies, offers software support, and pushes for a faster schedule, while recognizing the practical limits of chip development.
• The meeting shifts from a tense evaluation of Source Intelligence’s claims to a cooperative R&D discussion, with the teams jointly setting plans and milestones.

Significant themes

• Hardware–software co-design: Tailoring a chip to a specific workload can outperform more general-purpose designs, even with less advanced manufacturing.
• Evidence over skepticism: Accurate, reproducible simulations turn doubt into confidence and make the partnership possible.
• Innovation rather than imitation: The L200 is presented as a genuinely new approach, not merely a domestic substitute for an existing product.
• Ambition and showmanship: Zhao’s playful online bravado contrasts with the serious technical achievement behind it, giving the chapter a humorous close.