Chapter Summaries

Key plot points and events

• Lin Yizhou wakes in his rented room and checks on Yuanxiao Mailbox, his independently developed email app. Although it supports the Tangyuan Protocol and works well with Glutinous Rice Ball Chat, it has attracted very few users.
• After watching an interview with AI entrepreneur Han Luyi, Lin realizes he has emphasized the wrong selling point. The app’s key advantage is not simply speed: protocol integration lets AI exchange structured email data directly, avoiding the wasteful screenshot-and-mouse approach and saving users’ quota.
• Lin tests the app on his crowded inbox. Searching and organizing emails uses 80% less quota than the native email client. He revises his promotional posts to highlight this benefit, shares a comparison video, and targets foreign-trade communities—where email is especially important.
• Downloads quickly rise from sixteen to more than two hundred. A foreign-trade sales manager reports that Yuanxiao Mailbox lets Glutinous Rice Ball Chat process over a hundred emails without running out of quota, and becomes Lin’s first paying customer.
• Lin celebrates his first business income with his AI discussion group. When ByteDance and Prosperity Group announce wider Tangyuan Protocol support, he initially fears competition, then realizes their expansion may help his product. Sugar Bun’s new third-party authorization feature lets it call Yuanxiao Mailbox directly, and Lin sees downloads and payments continue to increase.

Character development

• Lin moves from near-discouragement to renewed confidence after identifying a clear, measurable benefit for his product.
• His first sale matters less for its small amount than for what it represents: he has built something of his own and is now handling development, product decisions, marketing, and customer support.
• He remains scrappy and self-deprecating, joking that the industry’s “wind” has arrived and he is a pig ready to fly.

Character interactions

• Han Luyi’s interview indirectly reshapes Lin’s marketing strategy.
• Lin engages with forum users by answering skepticism with recorded test evidence, and adapts his outreach to foreign-trade professionals.
• A sales manager’s detailed feedback validates the app’s practical value.
• Members of Lin’s AI group encourage him and call him “Little Leaf.”
• Sugar Bun’s new integration connects Lin’s app to a larger AI ecosystem, turning the protocol’s wider adoption into a potential advantage.

Significant themes

• Finding the real value of a product: A technical feature matters most when its benefit is explained in terms users care about.
• Small creators and major platforms: Large companies can threaten a startup, but ecosystem growth can also create opportunities for complementary products.
• Entrepreneurial persistence: Lin’s progress comes from testing, listening to users, and changing course.
• Ownership and fulfillment: Even a modest first sale gives Lin pride because the product is his own.

Key plot points and events

• Lu Mingzhou briefs Han Luyi on the planned merger and IPO. Valuation firms estimate Source Code Technology at 58–62 billion yuan. Because Han’s stake in Source Intelligence is larger than his stake in Source Code, a higher valuation for Source Code would reduce Han’s share of the merged Origin Group. At the midpoint valuation, Han would own about 64.6%—below the two-thirds supermajority threshold.
• Lu worries that the ownership structure could limit Han’s control, especially after future fundraising and dilution. Han offers him an Acting-in-Concert Agreement, but Lu immediately accepts; Han declines to treat their partnership as something that needs formal reassurance. He says the companies will use the midpoint valuation and that he will negotiate with Source Intelligence’s investors fairly.
• The chapter explains why Origin Group’s IPO prospects are unusually strong: its scale, technology-sector reforms in Hong Kong, compliant financial records, and government support should spare it many obstacles faced by ordinary companies.
• Zhonghuan International sends a high-powered delegation to discuss the listing. Han attends briefly, then leaves the IPO discussions to Lu, emphasizing that he wants to focus on R&D.
• Lu presents a plan to restructure Source Code, Source Intelligence, Sili-Lumin Semiconductor, Hanlian Microsystems, and related businesses under Origin Group. He tests Zhonghuan’s team on valuation, cornerstone investors, timing, special voting rights, and state-owned shareholders. Their answers are capable and detailed.
• At dinner, Zhonghuan representatives suggest valuing Source Code at 70–80 billion rather than roughly 60 billion, arguing that its AI platforms have substantial growth potential. They also point out that a higher valuation benefits Lu personally because his shares and options are concentrated in Source Code.
• Lu recognizes that Zhonghuan is appealing to his financial self-interest. Though impressed by the firm’s expertise, he decides it should not lead the joint sponsorship team.

Character developments and interactions

• Lu Mingzhou moves from concern over Han’s control to confidence in their partnership. He proves himself as the IPO decision-maker, questioning Zhonghuan closely and weighing both its expertise and its motives. His private calculations about the proposed higher valuation reveal the temptation of personal gain, but he ultimately distrusts the firm’s approach.
• Han Luyi appears secure and principled. He reassures Lu that he will not manipulate valuations to protect his own stake, delegates the IPO work without fuss, and leaves to prioritize research and development.
• Wang Lijun and Zhonghuan’s team are polished, experienced, and capable, but their effort to raise Source Code’s valuation also serves as a way to appeal to Lu’s personal interests.
• Lu and Han’s interaction underscores their trust: Lu offers strong loyalty, while Han treats him as a genuine partner rather than someone who needs to be bound by agreement. Lu also handles practical family arrangements before attending the business dinner, a contrast with his new prominence in finance.

Significant themes

• Control versus growth: A merger and public listing can bring capital and scale while diluting founders’ voting power.
• Trust and partnership: Han’s confidence in Lu and Lu’s loyalty form a counterpoint to the formal protections and self-interested maneuvering of corporate finance.
• Integrity in valuation: A higher number can benefit shareholders, but the motives behind it matter; Lu must distinguish sound advice from personal flattery.
• Changing status: Lu reflects on moving from drinking on behalf of superiors to occupying the guest-of-honor seat and making consequential decisions himself.

Key plot points and events

• Han Luyi skips Zhonghuan’s dinner to attend a long-planned Dorm 404 reunion with Ma Xiaofei, Zhang Haoran, and Zhang’s pregnant wife, Xu Jing. He brings his girlfriend, Gu Siyue.
• On the drive, Gu asks whether he likes older women. After hesitating, Han admits that he does.
• At dinner, Han introduces Gu as his girlfriend. The group teases them about how they got together: Gu says she pursued him because he would never make a move. She jokes that their relationship is still under review, with Han on probation.
• Ma Xiaofei’s gift for Xu Jing is two enormous durians, an awkward choice given her morning sickness. The group shares a light meal, and Gu pays the bill without realizing they usually take turns treating.
• Han invites Gu to his home to try the durian. There, their banter turns flirtatious: after Han jokes that he has used a “Sunflower Pressure-Point Technique” on her, Gu plays along, claiming she cannot move and challenging him to do something. Han responds by lifting her around the waist.

Character developments

• Han is openly affectionate and proud to be with Gu, though he remains shy and easily flustered by her teasing. His spontaneous invitation home shows he wants more time alone with her.
• Gu reveals a warmer, more playful side around Han’s friends and at his home, rather than her usual cool professional demeanor. She confidently takes the lead in their flirtation.
• Han’s friends welcome Gu into the group, while Xu Jing and Gu quickly find common ground.

Significant themes

• Growing intimacy: The couple move from public introductions and teasing toward private, physical closeness.
• Different sides of a person: Han enjoys seeing Gu’s softer, more relaxed self, while Gu appreciates watching him joke around with his friends.
• Affection through humor: Their teasing and playful awkwardness help them express desire and become more comfortable together.

Character interactions

• Han’s friends tease him about his romance; Gu answers their questions candidly, and Han playfully scolds Ma Xiaofei.
• Zhang and Ma continue their familiar comic contrast, with Zhang handling practical matters and responding dryly to Ma’s jokes.
• Gu and Xu Jing talk together, while Han watches with fond curiosity.
• At home, Gu turns Han’s silly pressure-point joke into an invitation to act on their attraction.

Plot points and events

• Gu Siyue and Han Luyi spend the weekend discovering they both enjoy durian, eating it so enthusiastically that their plans revolve around it. Before they part, Gu Siyue tells Han Luyi to stop drinking cola and join her for weekend workouts, jokingly worried about his abs.
• Han Luyi travels to Beijing with Liu Yu and Zhang Biao. Liu Yu reviews a packed business itinerary, while Han plans to contact two close associates himself because their relationships and positions make a personal approach more appropriate.
• Han asks Zhao Wenyuan to skip a formal restaurant lunch and order takeout instead, preferring to get straight to work. At the research institute, Zhao welcomes him and shares local Beijing foods, leading to teasing about the fermented mung bean juice Zhao was once tricked into drinking.
• In the lab, Han notices the computing cluster is idle. Zhao reveals that post-training for the institute’s AI model, Glutinous Rice Ball 1.0, finished the previous morning. The team has finalized the version after its test scores began to decline slightly, and Zhao promises its performance is “killer.”

Character developments

• Han Luyi balances affection and humor in his relationship with Gu Siyue while remaining practical and focused at work. He handles sensitive professional relationships personally and favors efficiency over ceremony.
• Gu Siyue shows playful affection and concern for Han’s health, turning their shared indulgence into a proposal to exercise together.
• Zhang Biao is working to overcome insecurity about not having attended university by studying for a professional certification and building expertise in his new office role.
• Zhao Wenyuan is excited and proud of the research milestone, though he has to restrain himself from revealing it during lunch.
• Liu Yu efficiently coordinates the trip and engages with the others’ banter.

Significant themes

• The contrast between intimate personal routines and demanding professional work: Han goes from a carefree weekend with Gu to a tightly scheduled business trip.
• Practicality over formality, reflected in Han’s preference for takeout and his direct handling of important contacts.
• Learning and professional growth, especially Zhang Biao’s self-directed effort to build skills.
• Technology and teamwork: the institute’s progress depends on coordinated research, computing infrastructure, and Han’s interest in how the team’s training data translates into model capabilities.

Character interactions

• Gu and Han share affectionate teasing about durian, cola, and exercise.
• Han lightly mocks Liu Yu’s official-sounding itinerary, while Liu Yu and Zhao trade remarks about Beijing foods and fermented mung bean juice.
• Zhao’s warm welcome and dramatic reveal of the completed model underline his close working relationship with Han and the team’s shared excitement.

Key plot points and events

• Han Luyi reviews comparisons between Tangyuan 0.9 and the newly trained Glutinous Rice Ball 1.0. The new model builds on 0.9’s strengths—especially Chinese-language understanding, complex intent, and long-range reasoning—rather than fixing its weaknesses.
• Zhao Wenyuan demonstrates a game generated from the single prompt “Code a Minecraft.” After five or six hours of autonomous iteration through the Riding the Wind framework, the model produces a playable, detailed game with survival mechanics and hostile creatures.
• The demo convinces Han that 1.0’s ability to sustain complex tasks could have major production applications. Its standing against other leading models will be tested at an upcoming AI conference in Singapore.
• Zhao credits Dr. Zhang Wenduo’s ideas for a new asynchronous reinforcement-learning framework that halved training time. He also reveals he promised Zhang 256 L100 cards for world-model research. Han responds by allocating the Research Institute a 500-card cluster in Zhangjiakou.
• The two prepare for a project report on domestic AI acceleration clusters. Although the scheduled meeting is only meant to review plans, Source Intelligence has already completed the technical breakthrough for training models with hundreds of billions of parameters. Zhao asks Han how they should present this unexpected result.

Character developments and interactions

• Han Luyi moves from evaluator to impressed sponsor: he tests the game himself, recognizes the model’s rapid progress, and authorizes substantial computing resources despite pressure from inference demand.
• Zhao Wenyuan confidently presents the model’s capabilities and training advances, then humorously admits he made an ambitious resource promise to secure support for Zhang’s research.
• Zhang Wenduo, though absent, is shown to have influenced the team’s training framework and to be pursuing world-model research.
• Han and Zhao’s exchange combines technical discussion with trust and light teasing; Han ultimately backs Zhao’s team with additional resources.

Significant themes

• Rapid AI progress: Models are moving from simple assistance to tasks once considered beyond their reach, sometimes crossing a clear boundary between inability and capability.
• Strength through specialization: 1.0 improves areas already central to Tangyuan’s strengths, especially Chinese-language reasoning and sustained task execution.
• Autonomy and practical impact: The generated game illustrates how models may handle complex, open-ended production work with little initial guidance.
• Innovation versus limited resources: Technical breakthroughs create new opportunities, but computing capacity remains scarce and must be balanced against heavy user demand.

Key plot points and events

• At dinner, Han Luyi tells investor He Yunshen that Source Code and Source Intelligence may merge and list together in Hong Kong. The target is to ring the opening bell before June 1 of the following year.
• He Yunshen sees benefits for both companies and Hongyuan, which holds stakes in them. He raises concerns about Han’s ability to retain control and recommends weighted voting rights, along with shareholder-agreement protections governing Hongyuan’s eventual sale of its shares.
• Han explains that he is consulting investors privately before formal shareholder votes, even though he and Su Niannian already hold enough shares to pass the merger resolutions.
• He Yunshen introduces his assistant, Yao Boshi, as someone hoping to start a fund, and suggests Han may support him. Han indicates they already know each other and could work together.
• The next morning, Han and Zhao Wenyuan arrive for a presentation on the domestic computing infrastructure project, part of a national AI initiative. Han recognizes a senior official, Wang, from an earlier meeting. After Wang’s brief remarks, the presentation begins with a diagram of the AI industry’s eight layers, from chip hardware to applications.

Character developments and interactions

• Han Luyi shows strategic foresight and tact: he seeks investors’ views and goodwill before formal votes, while already having considered the merger and control issues. He credits He Yunshen for helping Source Intelligence find an important technical breakthrough.
• He Yunshen responds as both investor and friend, weighing his financial interests while offering practical advice and promising a cooperative exit from Hongyuan’s investment. He also tries to advance Yao Boshi’s career.
• Yao Boshi is presented as capable and ambitious, with plans to establish a fund.
• Han and Gu Siyue share a brief, affectionate video call after dinner, chatting about everyday matters before reluctantly hanging up.
• Zhao Wenyuan accompanies Han to the government presentation and helps with the trip.

Significant themes

• Trust and investor relations: Han handles major decisions through private conversations before formal votes, preserving working relationships.
• Founder control and governance: The proposed listing raises questions about voting rights, investor influence, and future share transfers.
• Mentorship and professional networks: He Yunshen seeks to pass opportunities and connections to his protégé.
• Institutional ambition: The upcoming presentation places the companies’ work within a major national AI program.

Key events

• Han Luyi tells Director Yu that Source Intelligence has completed post-training Glutinous Rice Ball 1.0 on a cluster of 1,024 domestically produced L100 cards. Because the claim is extraordinary, the officials initially suspect it may be false.
• Han Luyi’s colleague Zhao Wenyuan presents training logs and performance data. After nearly an hour of questioning, the experts find the evidence credible but cannot confirm from the documents alone that the hardware is genuinely domestic.
• Director Yu consults his superiors and suspends the scheduled briefing. An inspection team is assembled on the spot, with nearly all the experts eager to join.
• The team travels to Source Intelligence’s Zhangjiakou data center. They inspect the hardware, software, communications, and training setup, then run their own jobs on the cluster.
• The experts confirm that the 1,024-card L100 cluster is real and can train a 100-billion-parameter model. Director Yu reports the verified breakthrough, then tells Han Luyi to return to the ministry the next morning.

Character developments and interactions

• Han Luyi remains composed despite being treated with suspicion. He understands the officials’ caution and welcomes the inspection, though he feels some frustration that even trusted experts doubt him.
• Zhao Wenyuan, who oversaw the training, answers the experts’ detailed questions. He admits to feeling nervous, but Han Luyi reassures him that honest work needs no fear; Zhao’s admiration for his boss grows.
• Director Yu shifts from stern skepticism to respectful cooperation once the evidence is examined. He explains that his caution is about verifying the achievement, not distrusting Han personally, and takes part in the inspection himself.
• Academician Zhuang acknowledges that the results appear credible while joking that the company might have confused its clusters. His humor eases the tension without diminishing the need for verification.
• The experts move from doubt to enthusiastic participation, ultimately delivering a unanimous confirmation.

Significant themes

• Trust must be earned through verification: Past fraud involving domestic chips makes officials cautious, even when presented with convincing evidence.
• Breakthroughs require proof: Logs and claims are not enough; the team verifies the achievement directly on-site.
• Confidence grounded in honesty: Han Luyi’s calm comes from knowing the company has done nothing wrong.
• National pride and accountability: The breakthrough is a source of pride, but its significance makes rigorous scrutiny essential.

Key plot points and events

• Li Yan, chairman of Seek Him Technology, learns that his company’s major agent-platform briefing has been canceled twice. With the Tangyuan Protocol alliance gaining traction, he had hoped official recognition would help his platform compete. The repeated cancellations leave him angry and frustrated.
• Meanwhile, Han Luyi returns to West Chang’an Street for an informal meeting with senior officials Liu and Wang. They congratulate him on achieving in just over a month what they had expected to take three to five years: a working technological breakthrough that could reduce reliance on Nvidia.
• The officials explain that, although Source Intelligence funded the work itself and owns its results, they hope Han will share the reusable technology with other manufacturers—for a fee—so the wider industry can benefit.
• Han agrees immediately. He says he never planned to keep the results exclusive: building a domestic AI ecosystem requires companies to cooperate, and Source Intelligence should earn a reasonable profit rather than capture the entire market.
• The chapter ends with Official Liu asking Han to define what “a reasonable profit” means.

Character developments

• Han Luyi comes across as modest, composed, and strategically minded. His willingness to share reflects a long-term commitment to building an industry ecosystem, not simply maximizing his company’s short-term advantage.
• Officials Liu and Wang move from assessing Han’s breakthrough to recognizing the breadth of his vision. Their request shows that they see him as a potential partner in shaping industry-wide development.
• Li Yan appears increasingly frustrated and vulnerable as his company struggles to attract partners while a rival ecosystem gathers momentum.

Significant themes

• Cooperation versus monopoly: A breakthrough’s broader value may depend on spreading it rather than keeping it exclusive.
• Ecosystem-building: Catching up technologically requires coordination among companies, researchers, and government—not just one successful firm.
• Profit with limits: Han believes businesses should earn money, but not at the expense of everyone else’s ability or incentive to participate.
• Public and private interests: The officials acknowledge that the technology belongs to Source Intelligence while still asking the company to serve a broader national and industrial goal.

Character interactions

• Li Yan vents to his assistant after learning the briefing is canceled again, but has no clear person to blame.
• Officials Wang and Liu treat Han warmly and informally, praising his achievement before making their request.
• Han responds directly and without bargaining, explaining his reasoning in terms of shared progress. Liu’s final question turns the discussion from principle to the practical terms of cooperation.

Key plot points

• Han Luyi proposes releasing Source Intelligence’s Intermediate Abstraction Layer for free and without patent restrictions, helping domestic chipmakers adapt their hardware. In exchange for scarce engineering support, companies would give Source Intelligence priority access to their production capacity.
• The plan could both strengthen China’s chip ecosystem and ease Source Intelligence’s severe computing shortage, worsened by export restrictions and the surge in Glutinous Rice Ball users.
• Leader Liu agrees to back an industry alliance, provided the resulting standard belongs under state oversight rather than Source Intelligence. Han accepts, affirming that his company does not intend to become “the next Nvidia.”
• Officials ask Source Intelligence to keep its breakthrough secret so the country can conceal its progress from foreign competitors.
• Han learns that his upcoming Singapore AI conference appearance is considered a national mission. He will join a Ministry Expert Delegation, receive security support, and be expected to make an impact.
• After the meeting, Zhao Wenyuan asks whether the Special Project was approved. Han realizes it was never discussed. The chapter ends with Seek Him Technology receiving notice—again—that the Special Project briefing has been canceled.

Character developments and interactions

• Han shifts from pursuing commercial advantage alone to accepting a broader role in coordinating the domestic industry and representing national interests. He remains pragmatic, using technical assistance and state support to address Source Intelligence’s needs.
• Leader Liu backs Han’s proposal while insisting on public oversight of the industry standard; their exchange establishes cooperation alongside clear limits on company control.
• Leader Wang reframes Han’s conference trip from a business opportunity into a protected diplomatic assignment.
• Director Yu offers to coordinate the alliance and remain a point of contact. Zhao’s question highlights the unresolved Special Project and the gap between the meeting’s major strategic outcomes and that original agenda.

Significant themes

• Cooperation over isolation: Sharing technology can help build a domestic ecosystem, even when companies compete.
• Pragmatic exchange: Han offers research and expertise in return for production capacity and government coordination.
• National interest and oversight: Private innovation is welcomed, but strategic standards remain subject to state supervision.
• Secrecy and strategic competition: The breakthrough is to be hidden to prevent rivals from recognizing how quickly progress has been made.
• Personal ambition becoming public duty: Han’s international appearance takes on political significance beyond commercial competition.

Plot and events

• Jiang Yixin travels with President Su Niannian to Beijing to present their company’s AI-agent platform for a major national project.
• At Hongqiao Station, Jiang arrives by subway and squeezes through the crowds, unaware that her business-class ticket gives her access to priority entry and a lounge.
• Su explains that company travel policies allow employees to use a driver or book reimbursable private transport. She teaches Jiang to weigh the value of her time against the cost of outsourcing errands and travel.
• On the business-class train, Jiang worries that the presentation materials may contain errors or fail to answer the experts’ questions. Su reassures her that she will handle the questions and that Jiang won’t be left to face them alone.
• Jiang then asks how to comfort a “friend” whose feelings for a male coworker seemed mutual, only for the friend to discover that he was seeing someone else.
• Su responds with a parable about a boy who thought a dog was his alone, only to learn that it visited another child every day. She concludes that no person belongs to another, and advises Jiang’s “friend” to put career before love.

Character developments and interactions

• Jiang Yixin appears inexperienced with corporate privileges and professional time management, but she is attentive, hardworking, and eager to protect Su from problems at the presentation. Her curiosity about Su’s romantic past leads her to ask a tactful-but-risky personal question.
• Su Niannian acts as Jiang’s mentor, explaining workplace policies and the value of time. She is reassuring about the presentation, but the question about romantic disappointment visibly stirs painful feelings. She chooses to answer indirectly through a story, revealing a more vulnerable side beneath her confident, composed manner.
• Their relationship is warm and supportive: Su teaches without scolding and promises to share responsibility; Jiang helps with Su’s luggage and is concerned about her feelings.

Significant themes

• Time and self-investment: Spending money to save time can be worthwhile when it enables more valuable work, rest, or learning.
• Love and autonomy: Affection does not confer ownership; people remain independent, even in close relationships.
• Career and resilience: Su’s final advice places professional purpose above romantic disappointment.
• Mentorship and care: Practical guidance and emotional support strengthen the bond between the two women.

• Han Luyi begins work in Beijing: The Source Intelligence Research Institute has run out of offices, so Zhao Wenyuan gives Han his own office and uses the moment to ask for a new building. Director Yu also assigns Han a security liaison, Xu Zhengyang, to coordinate protection for Han’s upcoming Singapore trip. Xu quickly recognizes Zhang Biao as a formidable professional, though Han introduces him only as his administrative assistant.
• The merger valuation and confidential breakthrough: Lu Zhengping brings approval to value Source Code Technology at 60 billion yuan, the highest figure available within the official system. Han accepts, explaining that he does not want to let down the people who built the company with him. Lu also confirms that the company’s technological breakthrough could have strategic financial significance and must remain secret. Han says it is already tightly protected.
• The team reunites and shares lunch: Su Niannian and Jiang Yixin return from a briefing and report that everything went smoothly. Su says she has “got revenge” for Han, prompting Jiang’s curiosity, though the chapter does not explain the remark. When Su learns Xu has been assigned to Han, she panics and questions whether he is in danger. Han and Xu reassure her that it is routine; Xu quietly supports Han’s explanation.
• Douzhi becomes a comic test of nerve: Zhao takes the group to try Beijing specialties. Xu, Zhang, Zhao, and Liu Yu drink douzhi, while Su declines after Han discreetly signals her. Liu Yu manages to swallow his bowl and calls it an acquired taste; Jiang tries hers but immediately spits it out. Zhang’s alertness during the meal impresses Xu, who is irritated to find another security-minded man already watching the room.
• A worrying conference result: During lunch, Zhao receives the first results from the Singapore AI conference’s closed model evaluation. Tangyuan 0.9 ranks fourth, but he cannot find Glutinous Rice Ball 1.0 on the list. The chapter ends with his anxious question to Han about whether their model failed to rank.
  Character developments and interactions: Han balances loyalty to his early collaborators with strategic discretion. Su’s alarm at the security assignment reveals how personally concerned she is about him, while Jiang notices the contrast between Su’s behavior and her professed independence. Xu and Zhang quietly assess each other as capable professionals, and Zhao’s cheerful, teasing manner gives way to concern at the unexplained ranking.
  Themes: Corporate growth and loyalty; secrecy around consequential technology; the collision of formal security arrangements with informal expertise; understated affection and gossip; and the tension between comic everyday life and high-stakes competition.

Key plot points and events

• At the Singapore evaluation center, Professor Lin Weilun discovers that the committee has removed Glutinous Rice Ball 1.0 from the results.
• Internal emails show a sharp change in the committee’s stance: while models were anonymous, it recommended verifying the unusually strong Model 1042; after learning it was a Chinese company’s model, it declared Glutinous Rice Ball 1.0 invalid for suspected cheating.
• At a joint meeting, Lin challenges the decision and asks for evidence. Richard Coleman, AI Foundations’ chairman, argues that Chinese developers have incentives to game leaderboards and suggests a Singaporean partner may have leaked the confidential test suite.
• Lin angrily rejects the accusation and threatens to withdraw NUS from the partnership, though he lacks authority to do so. He leaves the meeting and decides to contact Source Intelligence Technology’s delegates to warn them and offer support.
• Reviewing the scores, Lin sees that Glutinous Rice Ball 1.0 scored 93.5, more than twenty points above the next-best model. The other leading models—Tangyuan 0.9, Gemini, GPT-V-II, and Venus 2.0—cluster around 70–72. The new test heavily weights complex, multi-hour tasks.
• Separately, Richard congratulates his former student Ryan, CEO of Nexus AI, whose Venus 2.0 has narrowly beaten OpenAI’s latest model. Richard assures him of his support in Singapore, while Ryan celebrates the success.

Character developments and interactions

• Lin Weilun moves from confusion to indignation. Though he cannot overturn the decision himself, he refuses to accept what he sees as an unfair, politically motivated exclusion and seeks to help the targeted company.
• Richard Coleman presents the committee’s action as reasonable but offers no concrete proof of cheating. His longstanding mentor relationship with Ryan—and his promise to support Nexus AI—reveals a personal and professional alignment alongside his stated concerns about fairness.
• Ryan is grateful for Richard’s technical guidance and mentorship, and takes Venus 2.0’s result as vindication of Nexus AI’s technological strength.
• The meeting highlights the contrast between Lin’s demand for evidence and Richard’s confidence in an accusation based largely on the model’s identity and score.

Significant themes

• Double standards and bias: The model’s treatment changes once its Chinese origins are known, while its score is treated as suspicious rather than investigated neutrally.
• Power and institutional bullying: Lin sees the decision as academic bullying, but most representatives remain silent and Richard can dismiss Lin’s threat.
• Conflicts of interest and favoritism: Richard supports Ryan, his former student and business contact, while condemning a competitor’s result.
• Fairness, evidence, and competition: The chapter questions whether evaluation standards are being applied consistently—or used to protect favored institutions and companies.

Key plot points and events

• On June 3, Han Luyi travels to Capital Airport with Zhao Wenyuan and his staff, then boards a specially arranged flight to Singapore for an international AI conference.
• Zhao worries that Glutinous Rice Ball 1.0 has vanished from the competition rankings despite its strong performance. Han tells him not to obsess over rankings: the product’s usefulness matters more, and their larger goal is promoting the Tangyuan Protocol. If the organizers favor MCP, they will continue building their own ecosystem.
• At the airport, Han is unexpectedly treated as “Professor Han,” thanks to his appointment as an industry professor and place in a Ministry expert delegation. The VIP travel arrangements surprise most of the group.
• The delegation includes academics, officials, and businesspeople—including competitors—traveling together to the conference. In Singapore, Han and Zhao find the hotel lobby dominated by Nexus AI displays promoting MCP, despite the organizers having rejected their own promotional materials in the name of neutrality.
• Soon after checking in, Professor Lin Weilun of the National University of Singapore approaches Han. He claims Glutinous Rice Ball should have ranked first but was disqualified, and asks Han to help expose what he believes is an academic cover-up. Lin has no concrete plan, so Han proposes using public attention to force an explanation.

Character developments

• Han Luyi remains composed and strategic. He treats rankings as secondary to user value and protocol adoption, and shifts from private appeals to a public-facing response when he sees apparent favoritism.
• Zhao Wenyuan is anxious about the missing ranking, but Han’s confidence and focus help redirect him toward the broader issue of the Tangyuan Protocol.
• Lin Weilun emerges as an unexpected ally, motivated by opposition to discrimination and the suppression of academic work, though he is initially unsure how to act.
• Zhang Biao shows familiarity with the VIP travel process and helps explain the unusual arrangements.

Significant themes

• Substance over status: A product’s real value comes from solving users’ problems, not its rank or score.
• Principles and persistence: Han intends to keep developing the Tangyuan Protocol even if influential organizations refuse to endorse it.
• Fairness and bias: Lin frames the alleged disqualification as discrimination tied to nationality or skin color.
• Public opinion as leverage: Han sees publicity as a way to challenge decisions that private appeals cannot change.
• Unequal treatment: The conference’s stated neutrality conflicts with the prominent promotion of Nexus AI.

Character interactions

• Han steadies Zhao’s worries and explains his strategic priorities.
• Zhao’s mixed feelings about Han’s new professorial title add a lightly comic note to the travel preparations.
• Han reunites with entrepreneur Zheng Xiaobo, while Zhao exchanges greetings with scientist Liu Dahai, underscoring the delegation’s broad professional network.
• Lin approaches Han directly; Han tests his motives, confirms his convictions, and begins considering how they might work together.

Key plot points and events

• Han Luyi and the Source Intelligence team attend the Singapore AI Conference, where they notice that Chinese companies are conspicuously absent from the sponsors and the evaluation panel.
• The organizers announce the closed-model rankings: Nexus AI’s Venus 2.0 takes first, OpenAI’s GPT-V-II second, and Source Intelligence’s Tangyuan 0.9 fourth. Glutinous Rice Ball 1.0 is missing.
• During Nexus CEO Ryan Miller’s presentation, reporters reveal leaked emails showing that Glutinous Rice Ball 1.0 scored 93.5 in anonymous testing—well ahead of Venus 2.0’s 72.3—but was later disqualified. Ryan claims he has never heard of the model; organizer Richard Coleman says its results were anomalous.
• Richard suggests the model may have benefited from stolen test questions. Lin Weilun challenges him to make the accusation directly to Source Intelligence. Han takes the stage and rejects the insinuation, pointing out that the short preparation period made targeted training implausible.
• Rather than try to prove Glutinous Rice Ball 1.0’s innocence, Han proposes a public, live model challenge. Ryan agrees to a shared sandbox, a five-hour limit, and a task chosen by audience vote.
• Han quickly builds and publishes a voting program using the Riding the Wind agent tool and Dingsheng Cloud, demonstrating both products. The audience’s selected task is: “Build me a Minecraft.”

Character developments and interactions

• Han Luyi remains composed in the face of exclusion and public suspicion. He turns an attempt to discredit his company into an opportunity to showcase its model and tools.
• Zhao Wenyuan voices the group’s frustration and questions why Source Intelligence was invited despite being sidelined. He backs Han’s confident response and recognizes the challenge prompt.
• Liu Dahai initially wonders whether Source Intelligence has failed to produce a newer model, but becomes caught between his former employer’s interests and the revelations about Glutinous Rice Ball 1.0.
• Ryan Miller begins the event confident that Venus 2.0 is the leading model. The leaked results unsettle him, but he regains confidence by proposing a live test he expects Venus to win.
• Richard Coleman tries to defend the evaluation’s credibility, but his explanation falters under questioning. His suggestion of possible misconduct creates the confrontation Han must answer.
• Lin Weilun directly challenges Richard’s insinuation and brings Han into the dispute, helping turn the controversy into a public demonstration.

Significant themes

• Fairness versus institutional bias: The conference presents itself as neutral, yet its panel and sponsorship choices exclude Chinese organizations, and Glutinous Rice Ball’s result is withheld.
• Reputation and evidence: Accusations and rankings shape public opinion, but the leaked scores raise doubts about the official process.
• Performance over claims: Han and Ryan both recognize that a shared, observable task may be more persuasive than rankings or speeches.
• Composure under pressure: Han’s restraint allows him to seize control of a hostile situation and redirect attention toward practical capability.

Key plot points and events

• At the AI conference’s live challenge, more than a dozen models are asked to build a Minecraft-like game from the vague prompt “Write me a Minecraft.” The models work in isolated sandboxes, so spectators can see only their displays.
• Venus 2.0 quickly produces polished-looking 3D terrain and a first-person character. Its progress attracts attention, and Nexus AI’s Ryan becomes confident that Venus is winning.
• Kun Yuan gets stuck in an infinite loop. Meanwhile, Han Luyi and Zhao Wenyuan remain calm about Glutinous Rice Ball’s progress, though they do not reveal which sandbox belongs to it.
• At five o’clock, the models’ work is frozen and attendees try the games that can run. Venus’s game looks impressive but offers little beyond walking around its map.
• Another game, made by Glutinous Rice Ball, initially attracts less attention because it showed no graphics during development. Once people play it, they discover substantial gameplay: crafting, combat, death and respawning, recovering items, and monster loot. Players quickly crowd around its demo stations.
• Ryan approaches Han Luyi expecting to celebrate Venus’s victory and argues that practical usefulness matters more than rankings. After Glutinous Rice Ball’s stronger result becomes clear, Han repeats Ryan’s own words back to him, turning Ryan’s boast into a public humiliation.

Character developments and interactions

• Zhao Wenyuan quietly knows Glutinous Rice Ball’s potential and trusts that completeness will reveal its identity. He teases Liu Dahai by bringing back flatbread without the beef Liu wanted.
• Liu Dahai begins by dismissing the prompt as unreasonable, but becomes absorbed in watching the contest. He recognizes the difference between impressive visuals and a genuinely playable game.
• Han Luyi stays composed throughout, even while working on his computer rather than watching the screens. His calm contrasts with Ryan’s confidence, and he delivers the final, pointed reversal.
• Ryan moves from satisfaction and certainty to doubt, then boasts to Han and claims Venus has transformed software development. The demo results expose the gap between Venus’s polish and Glutinous Rice Ball’s gameplay, leaving him visibly embarrassed.
• Han Luyi and Gu Siyue exchange pictures of their lunches without words, a small, affectionate moment amid the competition.

Significant themes

• Substance versus appearance: Venus wins attention with attractive graphics, but Glutinous Rice Ball succeeds through depth and interactivity.
• Practical usefulness over rankings: Ryan’s argument becomes ironic when users flock to the model that actually delivers a satisfying experience.
• Competition and hubris: Public confidence can quickly become humiliation when results contradict expectations.
• The importance of evaluation criteria: A broad, underspecified prompt tests models’ ability to infer the task’s essential features—not merely produce a convincing surface.

Key events

• Glutinous Rice Ball 1.0 takes over the conference demo area after outperforming the other models. Attendees are amazed by the quality of its Minecraft-like game, built in just five hours, and eagerly share clips and reactions online.
• Ryan leaves after the audience turns against him. A video of his earlier exchange with Han Luyi spreads online, while Han and Source Intelligence staff are besieged with questions about the model’s release, pricing, and partnerships.
• Liu Dahai recognizes how far Glutinous Rice Ball has advanced beyond his own Kun Yuan model. Rather than feeling defeated, he is energized by the challenge and sends a message at Han Luyi’s request.
• The conference closes its first day amid confusion. An article draws attention to the central controversy: Glutinous Rice Ball scored highly in testing and excelled in the live demo, yet was missing from the rankings.
• Facing growing public criticism, the organizing committee holds an emergency meeting. That evening, it apologizes to Source Intelligence and restores Glutinous Rice Ball 1.0 to the top of the evaluation rankings.
• Ryan visits Richard and asks why he was not told about the model’s strong evaluation results. Richard gives a vague, motivational reply, then urges Ryan to focus on the next day’s meeting to choose an international AI interconnection standard.
• Han Luyi video-calls Gu Siyue, discovers she is working late without having eaten, and firmly tells her to stop and get dinner.
• The next morning, Zhao Wenyuan’s technical talk is moved from a small breakout room to the main hall due to unexpected demand. He deliberately presents in Chinese, making a pointed response to the conference’s treatment of Chinese companies.
• As Zhao speaks, a closed-door meeting begins to select an international interconnection protocol. The possible contenders include MCP, GPT Actions, and the Tangyuan Protocol.

Character developments and interactions

• Liu Dahai moves from believing Kun Yuan had nearly caught up to recognizing a widening technological gap. His reaction is professional excitement rather than discouragement, and he takes action by contacting someone at Han’s request.
• Richard shifts from trying to contain the controversy by avoiding the press to acknowledging that the committee must correct the rankings. He then reassures Ryan and tries to redirect him toward the protocol decision.
• Ryan is shaken by Glutinous Rice Ball’s unexpected success and asks Richard why he was left uninformed. His question exposes how little either man understood about the model’s capabilities.
• Han Luyi and Gu Siyue show a warm, familiar relationship: Han notices her exhaustion and neglect of dinner, while she playfully accepts his insistence that she leave work.
• Zhao Wenyuan uses his language choice as a deliberate act of defiance, turning his presentation into a response to what he sees as bias against Chinese companies.

Significant themes

• Innovation and uncertainty: Glutinous Rice Ball’s leap in capability reveals how quickly assumptions about competing models can become outdated.
• Public accountability: Social media attention forces the conference committee to reverse an unfair or indefensible ranking decision.
• Power and recognition: The chapter contrasts the model’s technical achievements with the institutional processes that determine whether those achievements are acknowledged.
• National representation: Zhao’s Chinese-language presentation highlights tensions over the treatment and visibility of Chinese companies at an international conference.
• Competing standards: The upcoming protocol meeting raises the stakes beyond model rankings, suggesting a struggle to shape the infrastructure of future AI services.

Plot points and events

• Before the standards vote, Nexus AI’s Ryan expects its MCP protocol to win. With help from conference chair Richard, he has secured advance support from 20 of the 47 invited organizations.
• The conference considers three proposals: Nexus’s MCP, OpenAI’s GPT Actions, and Source Intelligence Technology’s Tangyuan Protocol. The supplied comparison data favors MCP by selectively highlighting its reach and ease of integration.
• Ryan presents MCP as open and neutral, but Dingsheng representative Zheng Xiaobo challenges that claim: Nexus employees have made nearly all the changes, and Nexus controls the merge permissions. He contrasts this with Dingsheng’s substantial contributions to the Tangyuan Protocol.
• Han Luyi describes Tangyuan’s low-cost, developer-friendly design and its committee-based governance, which gives participating companies a say in its future. He also counters concerns about data security and the protocol’s China-heavy user base.
• Sam Altman shocks the room by announcing that OpenAI will discontinue GPT Actions within six months and begin integrating its products with Tangyuan immediately.
• In the vote, Tangyuan wins 27–20. MCP receives no support beyond its 20 prearranged votes. Attendees applaud, and Sam congratulates Han and pledges OpenAI’s participation in Tangyuan’s Standards Committee.

Character developments and interactions

• Ryan begins confident that political maneuvering and advance commitments guarantee victory. Zheng’s challenge and Sam’s announcement unsettle him; the final result leaves him stunned and ominously resentful.
• Han Luyi remains composed under pointed questions, defending Tangyuan’s openness and turning Ryan’s criticisms back on MCP. His calm presentation culminates in victory.
• Zheng Xiaobo openly challenges Ryan’s claims and provides evidence that Tangyuan’s governance is more genuinely collaborative.
• Sam Altman shifts the balance decisively by abandoning OpenAI’s own protocol in favor of Tangyuan, then publicly supports its committee.
• Richard, despite chairing the session, appears aligned with Ryan’s expectations and is visibly surprised by Sam’s announcement and the outcome.

Significant themes

• Openness versus control: A protocol’s branding matters less than who actually contributes to and governs it.
• Coalition-building and trust: Tangyuan’s inclusive committee and contributions from rival companies help it win support.
• Politics versus substance: Ryan relies on advance votes and selective statistics, but the wider coalition ultimately favors Tangyuan.
• The changing balance of power: OpenAI’s decision to join Tangyuan turns a standards contest into a major shift in the AI ecosystem.

Plot points and events

• Li Wen meets his former Dingsheng manager, Old Wen, for dinner. Old Wen reveals that layoffs may threaten his job and asks Li Wen for an internal referral to Source Code Technology.
• Remembering his own difficult job search and sympathizing with Old Wen’s family obligations, Li Wen agrees to ask around—but makes clear he cannot promise anything. He later submits Old Wen’s résumé through the referral system and honestly answers that he cannot assess Old Wen’s professional ability.
• At Source Code, the Tangyuan Protocol and Glutinous Rice Ball model’s success at an AI conference brings a surge of partnership requests and open-source contributions, including a large batch from OpenAI.
• Jiang Yixin assigns Li Wen to arrange professional translations of the protocol documentation. She explains that AI translation should be checked by people who understand the language, since users may not recognize mistakes in areas beyond their expertise.
• Li Wen notices Jiang’s growing confidence and authority, seeing her as increasingly like the company’s senior leader, President Su.

Character developments and interactions

• Li Wen responds to Old Wen with empathy but maintains professional boundaries. Though Old Wen once helped carry out Li Wen’s layoff, Li Wen recognizes their shared vulnerability in a difficult job market. His candid referral reflects both fairness and caution.
• Old Wen shifts from a once-commanding manager to an anxious job seeker, revealing the financial pressures behind his request. His warmth toward Li Wen is partly motivated by need, though he expresses gratitude for even the chance of an interview.
• Jiang Yixin demonstrates stronger leadership as Source Code handles rapid growth. She gives Li Wen a new task and offers practical guidance on referrals, while showing sound judgment about AI’s limitations.
• Qian Xiaole briefly suggests using the company’s AI for translation, then accepts Jiang’s caution and returns to her technical work. She is also adjusting to the Tangyuan Protocol becoming an industry-wide project.

Significant themes

• Layoffs and age discrimination: Old Wen’s situation echoes Li Wen’s past and highlights the insecurity facing experienced workers.
• Empathy with boundaries: Li Wen helps a former manager but refuses to overstate what he knows about Old Wen’s abilities.
• Responsible use of AI: AI can be valuable, but human expertise is essential for verifying its output.
• Growth and changing status: Source Code’s sudden influence expands its workload, while Jiang and Qian adapt to new responsibilities and prominence.

Key plot points and events

• Jiang Yixin meets with Su Niannian to request additional staff and hiring funds. Su approves the positions and proposes creating two director roles beneath Jiang, asking her to recommend candidates.
• Jiang questions whether adding management layers conflicts with the company’s flat structure. Su explains that as a team grows, managers need subordinates to serve as “interfaces” for updates, so leadership can manage effectively without tracking every detail.
• After Jiang leaves, Gu Siyue arrives for a legal consultation about the upcoming merger of Source Code Technology into Origin Group.
• Su asks how Han Luyi might retain control after the merger. Gu distinguishes between advice for the company and advice for Su as an individual; Su chooses the latter.
• Gu outlines special voting rights, acting-in-concert agreements, and voting proxies. She warns that agreements with Han could make Su a joint actual controller, extending her share lock-up from twelve to thirty-six months and bringing stricter oversight. She recommends that Su do nothing for her own interests.
• Su insists her concern is corporate stability, but privately recognizes that asking Gu specifically may carry emotional significance. She begins to explain that she respects the boundaries around Han, but Gu reassures her before she can finish.
• Su asks Gu to represent her in discussing an acting-in-concert agreement or voting proxy with Han. Gu accepts, leaving the decision to her client.

Character developments

• Jiang Yixin is growing into her expanded leadership role. She is eager to learn management theory, and Su helps her see that delegation and hierarchy can support—not undermine—effective management.
• Su Niannian balances her responsibilities as CEO and shareholder with unresolved feelings for Han. Her concern for company stability appears sincere, though she questions whether it is also a way to remain involved in his affairs.
• Gu Siyue maintains professional boundaries while offering candid legal advice. Her reassurance—“You don’t need to explain”—signals trust and emotional closeness beneath the formal business exchange.
• Han Luyi is absent, but the proposed measures center on preserving his control of the merged group.

Significant themes

• Leadership and delegation: A flat structure has limits; managing through trusted subordinates can make a growing organization more effective.
• Duty versus personal interest: Su’s choices sit between protecting the company and pursuing a personal wish to support Han.
• Trust and boundaries: Su worries about overstepping, while Gu’s calm reassurance suggests confidence in both Su and Han.
• Control and cost: Legal tools can preserve influence, but each carries consequences for ownership, oversight, or personal freedom.

Character interactions

• Su guides Jiang through a practical management question while expanding her authority.
• Jiang’s admiration for Su and Gu’s beauty briefly turns into a playful fantasy about which woman Han would choose.
• Su and Gu’s formal legal consultation becomes emotionally charged as Su struggles to explain her motives and Gu responds with quiet trust.

Key plot points and events

• On the final evening of the Singapore AI Conference, Source Intelligence founder Han Luyi skips the official banquet to dine privately with Chu Zhuang, ByteDance’s former CEO and founder.
• Chu warns Han that winning an international AI standard will not guarantee success overseas. ByteDance’s experience with political pressure, bans, and forced compromises shows how foreign markets can restrict Chinese companies regardless of their products’ success.
• Han argues that advanced AI is a different kind of contest: the priority is investing everything in research and talent to reach AGI, whose self-improvement could create a winner-takes-all advantage.
• The two bond over their shared faith in technology, even as Chu remains more cautious about the power of foreign governments to change the rules.
• During dinner, they set business aside and discuss exercise, perseverance, solitude, and whether short videos undermine concentration.
• After Han leaves, Chu reveals that he had hoped to learn whether Source Intelligence planned to enter text-to-video generation, a field ByteDance wants to dominate. Han never directly addressed the question, but Chu believes he gave a clear indication that he is not interested.

Character developments

• Han Luyi comes across as ambitious and idealistic, convinced that technological breakthroughs—not merely compliance or commercial success—can shift the balance of power. He also shows perceptiveness by apparently understanding Chu’s unspoken business concern.
• Chu Zhuang is revealed as modest and sharp, but shaped by the painful experience of ByteDance’s overseas setbacks. His confidence in technology is tempered by realism and uncertainty; nevertheless, he is willing to trust Han.

Character interactions

• Han and Chu begin with polite business compliments, then speak candidly about overseas expansion and the limits of technological success under political pressure.
• Their disagreement remains respectful: Chu challenges Han’s optimism with ByteDance’s experience, while Han insists that AGI could fundamentally change the contest.
• Shared tastes—especially full-sugar cola—and their later conversation about health and ideas create an easy rapport. Chu calls Han a true “believer in technology,” and the two share a playful cola toast.
• Their farewell carries mutual respect, though Chu is left wondering how Han inferred the question he never asked.

Significant themes

• Technological idealism versus political realism: Innovation may be powerful, but governments and market gatekeepers can still obstruct companies.
• AGI as a strategic turning point: Han sees self-improving AI as the route to a decisive, potentially winner-takes-all advantage.
• Trust and unspoken understanding: Chu’s willingness to believe Han’s implied answer suggests the beginnings of a connection between two technology-minded leaders.
• Perseverance and discipline: Chu emphasizes health and stamina as essential to enduring the demands of entrepreneurship.