Chapter Summaries

Chapter Summary: “A Small Breakthrough Against Changye”

Key Plot Points and Events

• Lin Xiaosu and Changye travel to Fusang to pursue traitor Huang Chengwang, arriving at Shido Airport late at night.
• Using his Temporal Reversal ability, Lin Xiaosu retraces Huang Chengwang’s movements from the previous night. He discovers that Huang met a white-haired Fusang elder, who welcomed him as a defector and escorted him toward a nearby island.
• Huang was carrying a purple stone sealed in glass. The elder took the stone away while Huang was transported by boat to an island that appears to be connected to the enemy’s operations.
• Lin Xiaosu and Changye decide not to investigate immediately at night, recognizing that suspicious movement in an isolated area would expose them. They spend the night at a seaside hotel and plan to scout the area during the day.
• At the hotel, Lin Xiaosu and Changye become physically intimate while carefully testing the limits of Changye’s dangerous poisonous condition. Changye monitors Lin Xiaosu with a needle, which changes color as she assesses the danger. They stop before crossing a more dangerous boundary so they can remain focused on their mission.
• The next morning, they separate to gather intelligence. Lin Xiaosu uses a new form of Disguise Art, altering his face through true qi rather than masks, technology, or conventional psychological disguise.
• This ability is connected to the transformation power inherited from the Origin Crystal of the Netherworld Nine-Transformation Beast.
• Disguised as a different young man, Lin Xiaosu mingles with tourists and begins questioning a local fisherman to learn more about the area.

Character Developments

• Lin Xiaosu: Demonstrates increasingly advanced control over his abilities. His Temporal Reversal lets him reconstruct Huang Chengwang’s escape route, while his transformed true qi grants him a supernatural disguise. He also shows strategic maturity by avoiding a reckless nighttime investigation.
• Changye: Acts as both Lin Xiaosu’s partner and protector. She remains cautious and mission-focused, paying for the taxi, assessing the risks of the island, and monitoring the physical danger caused by her own poison. Despite her usual restraint, she allows greater intimacy with Lin Xiaosu, revealing growing trust and affection.
• Huang Chengwang: Is confirmed to have defected to Fusang and possesses or transports a mysterious purple stone important enough for a powerful Fusang elder to personally handle and protect.
• The white-haired Fusang elder: Appears influential and enthusiastic about Huang’s defection. His promise to protect Huang suggests that the traitor has become valuable to the Fusang side.

Significant Themes

• Espionage and intelligence gathering: The chapter emphasizes patience, concealment, route reconstruction, and using ordinary people and daytime crowds as cover.
• Trust and vulnerability: Changye’s dangerous condition forces her to maintain strict boundaries, while her willingness to relax those boundaries with Lin Xiaosu reflects growing emotional trust.
• Transformation: Lin Xiaosu’s new disguise ability mirrors the Netherworld Nine-Transformation Beast’s defining power and marks a major evolution in his cultivation.
• Discipline versus desire: Although Lin Xiaosu and Changye are strongly attracted to each other, they stop themselves to avoid compromising the mission.
• Cross-cultural infiltration: Lin Xiaosu’s fluent Fusangese and convincing disguise allow him to pass as a local and begin gathering information without attracting suspicion.

Character Interactions

• Lin Xiaosu and Changye work closely as partners, with Changye silently supporting practical needs while Lin Xiaosu directs the investigation.
• Their hotel encounter deepens their physical and emotional relationship, but Changye establishes limits because of her poison and the ongoing mission.
• Lin Xiaosu uses his knowledge of Fusangese to interact naturally with locals, beginning with a fisherman after disguising himself.
• The chapter ends as Lin Xiaosu starts uncovering the enemy’s local situation through civilian conversations.

Chapter Summary: “Sudden Incident”

Key Plot Points and Events

• Lin Xiaosu and Changye investigate the military-controlled Etorofu Island, located near Fusang and supposedly defended against the Black Orchid Kingdom.
• Disguised as a cheerful, attractive foreign visitor, Lin Xiaosu flirts with a university student named Keiko and uses the outing to gather intelligence. A sightseeing-boat owner reveals that the island is off-limits because it is a military base and a branch of the powerful Black Dragon Society operates there.
• Lin Xiaosu spends the day changing disguises and moving through different parts of the city, collecting information about Etorofu Island. Dragon Eye helps him and Changye analyze the intelligence.
• They discover that Etorofu is not merely a military installation but a scientific research base protected by over a thousand troops, the Black Dragon Society, underwater detection nets, and strict security measures. Huang Chengwang is believed to be inside.
• Because a direct assault would alert the base and give Huang many opportunities to escape, Changye concludes that they must lure him out.
• Before they can devise a plan, Changye receives urgent intelligence: Qianlong operative Number 65 has failed his SS-rank mission to recover the Purple Demon Stone from the Fusang Imperial Research Institute.
• Television news reports that a mentally ill man jumped from the institute’s roof. Changye and Lin Xiaosu recognize him as Number 65. They interpret the public report as a deliberate insult and declaration of war against Qianlong.
• Lin Xiaosu decides to retaliate by assassinating Watanabe, a key figure at the research institute, while also attempting to recover the Purple Demon Stone and cause enough chaos to aid their own mission against Huang Chengwang.
• Changye agrees to support him despite recognizing that the institute is now more heavily guarded than ever. She trusts Lin Xiaosu because they are comrades and have no better alternative.
• Lin Xiaosu disguises himself as Huang Chengwang, perfectly copying his appearance and mannerisms. He enters the Imperial Research Institute by claiming to be Huang and is escorted inside to meet Watanabe.
• The chapter ends as Watanabe welcomes the disguised Lin Xiaosu into Building Four.

Character Developments

• Lin Xiaosu demonstrates exceptional disguise, observation, improvisation, and intelligence-gathering abilities. He shifts between multiple faces and identities, uses social charm to extract information, and later adopts Huang Chengwang’s exact appearance and gait.
• His playful and flirtatious behavior with Keiko contrasts with his disciplined professional work. Beneath the humor, he is calculating and highly mission-focused.
• Lin Xiaosu also shows strong loyalty to Qianlong. Number 65’s death affects him deeply, and he views completing the fallen operative’s mission as a more meaningful tribute than simple revenge.
• Changye acts as the cautious strategist and intelligence analyst. She recognizes the danger of the research institute and initially worries that Lin Xiaosu lacks the experience of an official cross-border operative.
• Despite her doubts, Changye’s trust in Lin Xiaosu grows. Their teasing exchange suggests increasing personal intimacy, especially when she hints that she may finally allow him to prove himself romantically after they return to River City.
• Number 65 is established through his death as a highly capable but fallen Qianlong operative whose mission failure exposes the danger of the enemy’s defenses.
• Watanabe is presented as an important and confident figure within the research institute, unaware that the “Huang Chengwang” arriving to meet him is actually Lin Xiaosu.

Significant Themes

• Disguise and identity: Lin Xiaosu repeatedly changes his appearance, showing that identity can be used as a weapon. His impersonation of Huang allows him to bypass defenses built to keep outsiders away.
• Espionage and information warfare: The chapter emphasizes surveillance, intelligence gathering, security systems, and the importance of interpreting hidden messages behind public events.
• Honor, loyalty, and retaliation: Number 65’s death is not treated as an isolated loss. Qianlong regards the mocking news report as an attack on all its operatives, creating a strong desire to answer humiliation with action.
• Mission priorities versus revenge: Changye notes that Qianlong does not normally prioritize revenge, but Lin Xiaosu reframes retaliation as a way to complete Number 65’s more important SS-rank mission.
• Trust under pressure: Changye must rely on Lin Xiaosu despite believing the mission is extremely dangerous. Their partnership is strengthened by mutual dependence and shared responsibility.
• Courage against overwhelming power: Etorofu Island is portrayed as nearly impenetrable, yet Lin Xiaosu chooses deception and calculated risk rather than retreating.

Important Character Interactions

• Lin Xiaosu and Keiko: Their flirtatious encounter provides Lin Xiaosu with cover and information. Keiko becomes attracted to him because of his charm and broad knowledge, but he abandons the romantic opportunity once his reconnaissance is complete.
• Lin Xiaosu and Changye: Their exchange combines humor, romantic tension, and professional cooperation. Changye exposes his disguise because of his clothing and voice, then shifts quickly from teasing him to planning the operation.
• Changye and Lin Xiaosu regarding Number 65: Changye delivers the tragic news, while Lin Xiaosu responds with anger and determination. Their discussion establishes the plan to assassinate Watanabe and recover the Purple Demon Stone.
• Lin Xiaosu and the research institute guards: By impersonating Huang Chengwang, Lin Xiaosu bypasses the first security checkpoint without resistance.
• Lin Xiaosu and Watanabe: Their meeting begins under false pretenses. Watanabe warmly welcomes the supposed Huang Chengwang, unaware that he is receiving the very infiltrator who intends to disrupt the institute and possibly kill him.

Chapter Summary: Stealing the Purple Demon Stone

Key Plot Points and Events

• Lin Xiaosu, disguised as Huang Chengwang, visits Watanabe at the Royal Research Institute under the pretense of revealing a hidden mechanism on the Purple Demon Stone.
• Watanabe escorts him into a heavily guarded laboratory, where the stone is being studied under lasers and sealed beneath reinforced glass.
• Lin Xiaosu suddenly attacks, shattering the glass and seizing the stone—but the action is primarily a diversion and escape attempt rather than a successful theft.
• He kills the young guard accompanying him, several corridor guards, and other pursuers before breaking through a window and escaping into the sea.
• An expert nearly captures him with a retractable dragon-claw weapon, but Lin Xiaosu counters with a flying knife and forces the pursuer to stop.
• Changye, waiting underwater, releases a powerful poison into the surrounding water. Several pursuing experts are incapacitated or killed, allowing Lin Xiaosu to disappear.
• Changye gives Lin Xiaosu an antidote and an Oxygen Pill, enabling them to travel underwater for several miles and escape safely.
• Lin Xiaosu reveals that he killed Watanabe as part of a larger plan. His real objective was not the Purple Demon Stone, but to create chaos and provoke the Royal Research Institute into moving Huang Chengwang off the heavily protected Etorofu Island.

Character Developments

• Lin Xiaosu demonstrates exceptional strategic intelligence, martial skill, adaptability, and willingness to use deception. He recognizes that directly attacking Huang Chengwang on Etorofu Island would be nearly impossible, so he constructs a chain of schemes to force the enemy to create an opening.
• His disguise as Huang Chengwang succeeds because the Royal Research Institute assumes he is protecting his own research and bargaining power. Lin Xiaosu exploits their expectations to gain access to the laboratory.
• Changye proves herself to be an essential partner rather than merely backup. Her poison, antidote, and Oxygen Pill are crucial to Lin Xiaosu’s survival and escape.
• Changye also shows increasing insight into Lin Xiaosu’s methods. She correctly understands that his apparent failure to take the Purple Demon Stone is part of a broader strategy.
• Watanabe is revealed to be overconfident and misled by his assumptions about Huang Chengwang’s motives. He believes Huang Chengwang will gradually trade research secrets for protection, failing to realize that the man before him is an impostor.
• The unnamed experts protecting the institute are shown to be highly capable, but Lin Xiaosu’s speed, surprise, and planning allow him to overcome them.

Significant Themes

• Strategy over brute force: Lin Xiaosu avoids directly assaulting Huang Chengwang’s fortified island and instead creates an opportunity by manipulating rival powers.
• Deception and mistaken identity: The entire operation depends on the institute believing Lin Xiaosu is Huang Chengwang. Their assumptions about betrayal, self-preservation, and the Purple Demon Stone are turned against them.
• “Fishing for opportunities amid chaos”: The chapter develops this idea as a deliberate tactic—when no opportunity exists, Lin Xiaosu creates disorder so that his enemies will generate one themselves.
• Sacrifice and misdirection: The Purple Demon Stone appears to be the mission’s main objective, but Lin Xiaosu is willing to abandon it in order to achieve a more important strategic goal.
• Trust and teamwork: Lin Xiaosu and Changye operate with precise coordination, relying on each other’s preparation and judgment.
• The enemy’s assumptions as a weakness: Watanabe’s belief that Huang Chengwang must preserve his value allows Lin Xiaosu to behave convincingly while setting up the escape.

Character Interactions

• Lin Xiaosu and Watanabe engage in a polite but deeply suspicious exchange, each pretending to offer sincerity while attempting to assess and manipulate the other.
• Watanabe assumes Huang Chengwang is negotiating for long-term protection, while Lin Xiaosu uses that expectation to gain access to the Purple Demon Stone.
• Lin Xiaosu’s sudden attack turns the formal meeting into a violent escape, forcing him to fight through the institute’s guards and experts.
• Changye and Lin Xiaosu reunite underwater after the escape. She asks about the mission, and he confirms that Watanabe has been killed.
• Changye quickly understands that the stone was not obtained and that Lin Xiaosu’s true plan was to provoke the Royal Research Institute into pursuing him and, ultimately, moving Huang Chengwang from his island stronghold.
• The chapter ends with Changye recognizing the sophistication of Lin Xiaosu’s “chain of schemes,” reinforcing their partnership and her admiration for his intelligence.

Chapter Summary: “Chain of Schemes, Fishing in Troubled Waters”

Key Plot Points and Events

• Director Noto arrives at the Imperial Research Institute and discovers two corpses, a shattered glass enclosure, and the missing Purple Demon Stone.
• The institute concludes that the intruder may have been Huang Chengwang, Qianlong impersonating Huang, or an agent of the Black Dragon Society.
• Because the Black Dragon Society represents Fusang’s military while the institute represents its government, both factions are competing to control the stone’s advanced technology.
• Noto orders a large force to travel to Etorofu Island, where Huang Chengwang is believed to be staying with Major General Kuofei and Vice President Komura of the Black Dragon Society.
• Lin Xiaosu and Changye observe the approaching convoy from the sea. Lin reveals that his objective was not necessarily to have Huang Chengwang captured, but to create confusion by drawing the institute and the Black Dragon Society into direct confrontation.
• Lin and Changye disguise themselves as soldiers and infiltrate the island among Noto’s people.
• At the council building, Noto claims that Huang Chengwang attacked the institute, killed several people, and stole the Purple Demon Stone. He demands to see Huang face-to-face.
• Kuofei and Komura insist that Huang has remained on the island, creating an apparent contradiction.
• Noto suspects deception and orders Huang to be brought out. A gray-haired man is then presented as Huang Chengwang, leaving the truth of his identity uncertain.

Character Developments

• Director Noto shows himself to be politically shrewd and cautious. Rather than making an immediate accusation against the Black Dragon Society, he uses the stolen stone as leverage and tests their reactions.
• Lin Xiaosu demonstrates exceptional strategic planning. He anticipates the institute’s response, understands the rivalry between the government and military, and uses their competing interests to create an opening for infiltration.
• Changye gains a deeper appreciation of Lin’s abilities. She realizes that his careful planning resembles the calculated strategies taught by Unit 101 and follows his lead in the infiltration.
• Kuofei and Komura maintain convincing composure, but their surprise at Noto’s accusation may either be genuine or carefully performed. Their faction’s involvement remains unclear.
• Huang Chengwang’s identity becomes increasingly suspicious. The chapter emphasizes that the supposed Huang may be an impersonator or part of a larger deception.

Significant Themes

• Political and institutional rivalry: The conflict between Fusang’s government and military drives the plot, with both sides seeking control of the Purple Demon Stone.
• Deception and identity: Nearly every character may be lying, impersonating someone else, or concealing their true motives.
• Strategic manipulation: Lin treats the unfolding events like a chess game, arranging circumstances so that his enemies create opportunities for him.
• Fishing in troubled waters: Rather than confronting powerful opponents directly, Lin exploits their confusion and conflict to infiltrate the island.
• Appearance versus reality: Genuine reactions cannot be trusted, and even apparently verified identities may be false.

Character Interactions

• Noto consults Ito and the institute’s personnel about the possible identities of the intruder, weighing several competing theories.
• Lin and Changye discuss the plan from the sea, with Changye gradually understanding that the institute’s arrival is the opportunity Lin intended to create.
• Noto formally confronts Kuofei and Komura, accusing Huang Chengwang of attacking the institute and stealing the stone.
• Kuofei denies the accusation and claims Huang is still on the island, while Komura focuses on whether the stone was truly stolen.
• Lin and Changye secretly exchange identities with two soldiers and infiltrate the island, positioning themselves to observe the confrontation from within.

Chapter Summary: “Awakened”

Key Plot Points and Events

• Lin Xiaosu and Changye identify the disguised man as Huang Chengwang, their target, using Dragon Eye’s genetic verification.
• Director Noto confronts Huang, accusing him of killing a researcher and stealing the Purple Demon Stone. Before Huang can respond, the council hall’s lights go out and poison fills the room.
• Chaos erupts when someone falsely orders the Etorofu Island soldiers to fire on Noto’s delegation. Gunfire kills several members of the Imperial Research Institute, while Noto’s Gene Human guards retaliate.
• During the confusion, Changye kills Huang Chengwang and confirms through Dragon Eye that he is the genuine target.
• Lin Xiaosu and Changye escape through the Gate, using toxic fog to incapacitate pursuing soldiers. They are intercepted by three powerful opponents: a master marksman, a speed-based Gene Human, and a clawed fighter.
• Lin defeats the marksman by catching and redirecting a bullet, then kills him with the broken fragment of his dagger. Changye defeats the speed expert, while Lin knocks the third attacker away with a single punch.
• As they attempt to flee by sea, a massive, scaled humanoid emerges from the water. The creature easily withstands Lin’s punch and shatters Changye’s Dragon Scales dagger, revealing itself as an Awakened, the second and transcendent tier of Gene Humans.
• Surrounded and facing the Awakened, Lin and Changye prepare to fight. Before the creature can kill them, an unknown person strikes it from above with one punch, crushing its brain and killing it instantly.
• A masked man in white arrives on a small boat without oars. He is identified as the legendary White-Robed Heavenly King.
• The White-Robed Heavenly King reveals that he was responsible for killing the Qianlong operative who infiltrated the Imperial Research Institute the previous night, shocking Director Noto.

Character Developments

• Lin Xiaosu demonstrates exceptional combat ability, especially his precision, physical strength, and ability to remain calm under overwhelming pressure. His punch against the third Gene Human and his defense against Bullet Ambush highlight his mastery.
• Changye proves equally capable, successfully assassinating Huang Chengwang, defeating a speed-based opponent, and reacting quickly against the Awakened. Her recognition of the creature’s identity shows her knowledge of Gene Human classifications.
• Huang Chengwang is portrayed as cowardly and servile after losing his former status. He tries to flatter Director Noto but is killed before he can explain himself.
• Director Noto loses control of the situation when the council meeting becomes a battlefield. He is particularly shaken by the revelation that the White-Robed Heavenly King killed the infiltrator at his institute.
• The White-Robed Heavenly King is established as an immensely powerful and mysterious figure, respected by the Black Dragon Society and hostile toward Qianlong.
• The Awakened is presented as Etorofu Island’s ultimate weapon, possessing overwhelming strength and near-impenetrable defenses—yet it is effortlessly killed by the newcomer.

Significant Themes

• Betrayal and manipulation: The meeting is revealed to be a carefully engineered trap, with false orders and competing factions manipulating events to turn the groups against one another.
• Escalation of power: The chapter moves from ordinary soldiers and Gene Humans to the vastly stronger Awakened, then introduces an even more powerful figure who kills it effortlessly.
• Identity and verification: Dragon Eye’s genetic scan confirms Huang’s identity, emphasizing the importance of distinguishing disguises and impostors in the conspiracy.
• Survival amid chaos: Lin and Changye must constantly adapt, using speed, strategy, and teamwork to escape an increasingly deadly ambush.
• Mystery and factional conflict: The Black Dragon Society, Imperial Research Institute, Qianlong, and White-Robed Heavenly King are connected through hidden rivalries whose full motives remain unclear.

Character Interactions

• Lin Xiaosu and Changye work closely as partners, coordinating their escape and covering each other during combat.
• Director Noto confronts Huang Chengwang, but their exchange is interrupted by the attack on the council hall.
• Kuofei is manipulated when someone impersonates him and orders his troops to fire, causing the battle to begin.
• Lin and Changye fight three Gene Human experts separately, demonstrating complementary combat styles.
• The pair confronts the Awakened together but are initially overwhelmed.
• The White-Robed Heavenly King’s arrival changes the balance of power completely. His direct admission to Noto reveals a personal connection to the previous night’s infiltration and establishes him as a major enemy of Qianlong and a central force in the wider conflict.

Chapter Summary: “The White-Robed Heavenly King’s One Oversight”

Key Plot Points and Events

• The White-Robed Heavenly King arrives after the battle on Etorofu Island and immediately disrupts the established dynamic by speaking only Daxia, forcing everyone else to adapt to him.
• He declares that the mysterious attacker was not Jing Lei. According to him, Jing Lei would have been powerful enough to kill everyone present without needing to flee.
• The Heavenly King identifies the real danger as the strategist behind the attack, not merely the fighter. He explains that the attacker:
  • Disguised himself as Huang Chengwang.
  • Used Huang’s trusted relationship with Watanabe to approach the Purple Demon Stone.
  • Tricked Watanabe into allowing him close access to the stone.
  • Seized the stone by surprise.
  • Predicted that the Imperial Research Institute would pursue Huang Chengwang.
  • Entered the island amid the ensuing conflict, cut the lights, imitated the leaders’ voices, and manipulated both sides into fighting each other.
• President Noto realizes that Huang Chengwang was killed during the chaos and praises the White-Robed Heavenly King’s insight.
• The Heavenly King provides special detectors that can locate the Purple Demon Stone within one thousand meters by sensing its unique energy. He explains that the stone’s energy cannot normally be sealed in any container.
• Noto and Komura launch a massive search of Shido Island, the airport, the docks, and surrounding waters.
• Meanwhile, Lin Xiaosu and Changye disguise themselves as a businessman and his secretary. They successfully pass through the airport and escape to River City.
• Their escape succeeds because Lin Xiaosu stores the Purple Demon Stone inside his Mystic Realm Space, effectively placing it in another world where the detectors cannot sense it. This is the White-Robed Heavenly King’s sole oversight.
• In River City, Changye explains the three categories of Awakened: physical, bloodline, and ability Awakened.
• After returning to their original appearances at the hotel, Lin Xiaosu and Changye relax together and become intimate.

Character Developments

• White-Robed Heavenly King: Establishes himself as an exceptionally dominant, intelligent, and perceptive figure. He can reconstruct the entire enemy strategy from limited evidence and immediately organize an effective countermeasure. However, his confidence in the detectors and failure to account for the Mystic Realm Space reveal a small but crucial blind spot.
• Lin Xiaosu: Demonstrates strategic adaptability, disguise skills, and exceptional composure under pressure. His Mystic Realm Space becomes the key factor in evading the search. He also learns that defeating one physical Awakened does not mean he understands the full scope of Awakened powers.
• Changye: Acts as Lin Xiaosu’s experienced guide and partner. She helps him escape, explains the distinctions among Awakened, and cautions him against overestimating his victory over the sea monster. Her relationship with Lin becomes increasingly intimate.
• President Noto and Komura: Shift from hostility and confusion to cooperation under the Heavenly King’s leadership. They accept his analysis and mobilize their forces to recover the Purple Demon Stone.
• Jing Lei: Though absent, he gains greater mystique. The Heavenly King’s description presents him as overwhelmingly powerful, while Changye refuses to speculate about the exact nature of his abilities.

Significant Themes

• Power and authority: The White-Robed Heavenly King’s refusal to accommodate others linguistically symbolizes the confidence and dominance of a truly powerful figure.
• Intelligence versus brute force: The chapter emphasizes that combat strength alone cannot create lasting legends; planning, psychological insight, and decisive execution are equally important.
• Manipulation of human nature: The attacker succeeds by exploiting trust, expectations, fear, and rivalry rather than relying solely on direct combat.
• The limits of technology and certainty: The detectors appear nearly foolproof, but the Mystic Realm Space exposes the danger of assuming that every possibility has been accounted for.
• Expanding supernatural world-building: Changye’s explanation establishes that the Awakened possess varied forms of power, ranging from enhanced physical traits to bloodline abilities and elemental control.
• Partnership and intimacy: Lin and Changye’s successful escape strengthens their personal bond, blending professional cooperation with growing romantic and physical closeness.

Important Character Interactions

• The White-Robed Heavenly King commands the attention of Noto, Komura, and the others, forcing both sides to listen to his deductions.
• He explains the attacker’s layered scheme to Noto and Komura, transforming their confusion into understanding and coordinated action.
• Changye reassures Lin Xiaosu while correcting his overconfidence after defeating the sea monster.
• Changye educates Lin about the different types of Awakened and refuses to reveal what kind of power Jing Lei possesses.
• At the hotel, Lin and Changye’s teasing develops into another intimate encounter, marking the relaxed aftermath of their dangerous mission.

Chapter Summary

1. Key Plot Points and Events

• Lin Xiaosu and Changye take a dangerous step in their physical relationship. Because Changye’s body is highly poisonous and her condition is connected to Genetic Rejection, even intimate contact risks severe consequences.
• They agree that Lin will “make a timely withdrawal” if anything feels wrong, but he ultimately continues despite dizziness and numbness. The silver testing needle on his arm gradually changes from red to pale red and finally faint yellow, showing that his resistance to Changye’s poison has greatly improved.
• The following morning, Changye cleans the bedsheets and prepares to leave. She claims she is returning to Qianlong to apply for Lin’s mission reward and jokes about him finding a proper wife.
• Lin reveals that he secretly obtained the Purple Demon Stone from the Imperial Research Institute—the true target of the mission. This upgrades their achievement from completing an S-grade mission to effectively completing and exceeding an SS-grade mission.
• Changye estimates that Qianlong will award them roughly one million, despite the mission’s extraordinary significance. Before leaving, she kisses Lin, claiming it is thanks on behalf of the deceased agent Number 65.
• Lin then encounters Ding Ruoshui, whom Changye has apparently contacted. Ding proposes renewing their fake romantic arrangement and offers to cover Lin’s expenses in River City.
• Lin suspects Ding’s motives are deeper than simply preserving her allowance. He decides to cooperate for now and investigate until her true purpose becomes clear.
• Meanwhile, Changye returns to Qianlong by plane. She reflects on how extraordinary Lin’s performance was and eagerly anticipates telling Xin Yue that her long-standing “curse” has finally been broken.

2. Character Developments

• Lin Xiaosu: Demonstrates increased resistance to Changye’s poison and greater willingness to take risks. He proves himself highly capable by secretly retrieving the Purple Demon Stone and completing more than the assigned mission required. He also becomes more suspicious and strategically observant regarding Ding Ruoshui’s motives.
• Changye: Moves from caution and restraint to openly accepting intimacy with Lin, despite the danger posed by her Genetic Rejection. She becomes emotionally exhilarated by experiencing an ordinary human relationship for the first time, revealing how deeply isolated and abnormal she has felt.
• Ding Ruoshui: Re-enters Lin’s life under the pretext of renewing their fake relationship. Her financial explanation seems plausible but insufficient, leading Lin to suspect that she has a concealed agenda.
• Xin Yue: Does not appear directly, but Changye’s desire to tell her the news emphasizes their close relationship and the importance of Changye’s apparent recovery.

3. Significant Themes

• Risk and decisive action: The chapter repeatedly contrasts caution with seizing a final opportunity. Changye’s worsening condition motivates her to take a risk she normally would avoid.
• Normalcy and human connection: Changye’s emotional reaction shows that intimacy is not merely physical; to her, it represents briefly living like an ordinary person despite her poison and Genetic Rejection.
• Hidden motives and strategic alliances: Lin recognizes that both Changye and Ding act with purposes beyond what they openly say. Trust is possible, but it must be balanced with vigilance.
• Recognition and reward: The Purple Demon Stone transforms a dangerous mission into a legendary accomplishment, highlighting the gap between official rewards and the true value of Lin and Changye’s achievements.
• Humor amid danger: Teasing, fake relationships, reward negotiations, and romantic misunderstandings lighten the otherwise serious themes of death, illness, espionage, and sacrifice.

4. Character Interactions

• Lin and Changye’s intimate encounter strengthens their bond while also exposing Changye’s vulnerability. Their banter afterward preserves their familiar teasing dynamic, with Changye blaming Lin for refusing to stop and Lin joking about easier cleanup.
• Changye continues to push Lin toward Ding Ruoshui, pretending to encourage him to find a conventional wife while possibly pursuing her own investigative agenda.
• Lin and Ding resume their playful “boyfriend-girlfriend” arrangement, negotiating it like a business contract. Their joking conversation masks mutual uncertainty and concealed objectives.
• Changye and Lin discuss the mission’s success, with Lin revealing the Purple Demon Stone and Changye recognizing that their achievement may become one of Qianlong’s greatest legends.
• Changye’s final kiss is framed as gratitude for Number 65, leaving Lin amused and frustrated because her gesture carries both personal and commemorative meaning.

Chapter Summary: “Bloodmark and Blue Demon”

Key Plot Points and Events

• Changye reports to the Qianlong Dragon Head that the S-rank mission was completed, along with the unexpected success of an SS-rank mission: obtaining the Purple Demon Stone.
• The Dragon Head is visibly excited and orders Changye to come directly to Qianlong Headquarters rather than stopping at Unit 101.
• The chapter introduces Qianlong Headquarters as a hidden, almost otherworldly martial-arts paradise filled with powerful warriors and supernatural feats.
• At headquarters, the elite agents Bloodmark and Blue Demon discuss Changye’s achievement and the events surrounding the Fusang mission.
• Blue Demon reveals that Changye’s disguise as Huang Chengwang bypassed Fusang’s Ghost Eye System, a technology capable of exposing all known disguises. This suggests that Changye may possess an unknown or highly advanced technique.
• White Water is impressed by the sophistication of Changye’s plan, which manipulated enemy expectations and ensured that every stage of the mission flowed into the next.
• Jing Lei is also shocked—not by Changye’s combat ability, which remains relatively weak, but by his ability to transport the Purple Demon Stone past extensive Spirit Mirror Surveillance.
• The Spirit Mirrors should have detected the stone’s powerful otherworldly energy, yet Changye carried it safely back to River City without being discovered.
• Qianlong’s research division concludes that modern technology could not have concealed the stone. This raises the possibility that Changye used methods connected to Kun Cang, the mystical and unorthodox counterpart to Qianlong.
• Bloodmark and Blue Demon speculate that Changye might have ties to Kun Cang, though his personal development shows no clear evidence of such origins.
• Their discussion expands into a more serious concern: Qianlong may contain an internal mole responsible for the unusually high number of failed missions and casualties in recent years.
• The chapter ends in River City, where Ding Ruoshui and Lin Xiaosu relax in air-conditioned public places after their successful deception of her mother to obtain spending money. Their exchange humorously highlights the difference between ordinary poverty and the standards of the wealthy.

Character Developments

• Changye/Lin Xiaosu: His reputation rises dramatically within Qianlong. Although his direct combat strength is still considered beginner-level by elites such as Bloodmark and Blue Demon, his disguise, planning, and ability to conceal the Purple Demon Stone mark him as an unusually dangerous and talented newcomer.
• Qianlong Dragon Head: His normally calm demeanor briefly gives way to excitement upon learning that the Purple Demon Stone has been secured, emphasizing the artifact’s importance.
• Blue Demon: She demonstrates exceptional curiosity and analytical ability. Her interest centers on Changye’s ability to “change” appearances and evade advanced detection systems.
• Bloodmark: His respect for Changye grows as he recognizes that the newcomer has accomplished something even Jing Lei could not easily achieve. His strong reaction to the White-Robed Heavenly King hints at a personal history or deep hostility.
• Ding Ruoshui: She remains playful and indulgent, sponsoring an extravagant day out while pretending to be poor.
• White Water and Jing Lei: Though they do not appear directly, their reactions establish Changye as someone whose intelligence and techniques have attracted the attention of Qianlong’s highest-level figures.

Significant Themes

• Ability beyond conventional strength: Changye’s physical combat power is modest, but his intelligence, disguises, planning, and unusual techniques allow him to accomplish what stronger people cannot.
• Science versus mysticism: Qianlong represents scientific and technological power, while Kun Cang represents ancient, mysterious, and less regulated traditions. Changye’s unexplained methods blur the boundary between the two.
• Trust and internal danger: The possibility of a mole within Qianlong introduces a theme of institutional betrayal. The greatest threat may not come from foreign enemies but from someone within the organization.
• Reputation and hidden potential: Changye’s actions cause powerful figures to reassess him, suggesting that true ability cannot always be measured by rank or visible strength.
• Wealth and perspective: The closing scene humorously explores how ideas such as “poverty” depend on personal standards and social position.

Character Interactions

• Changye reports directly to the Qianlong Dragon Head, establishing his mission’s importance.
• Blue Demon leads the discussion with Bloodmark, praising Changye’s disguise and strategic achievements while testing Bloodmark’s knowledge of Ancient Martial Arts.
• Bloodmark and Blue Demon jointly analyze Changye’s success, gradually shifting from admiration to suspicion about possible Kun Cang involvement.
• Their conversation becomes tense when Blue Demon raises the possibility of a Qianlong mole; both recognize that investigating the matter could destabilize the organization.
• Bloodmark’s reaction to the White-Robed Heavenly King reveals that the name carries personal and emotional weight.
• In River City, Ding Ruoshui and Lin Xiaosu share a relaxed, mischievous interaction, contrasting the dangerous political and military concerns discussed at Qianlong Headquarters.

Chapter Summary: “Ding Lizhong’s Promotion”

Key Plot Points and Events

• Lin Xiaosu and Ding Ruoshui return to the Ding Family villa after spending the day together. To reassure Ding Ruoshui’s mother, they continue pretending to be a couple, with Ding Ruoshui affectionately holding Lin Xiaosu’s arm.
• Ding’s mother is overjoyed to see them together and enthusiastically treats Lin Xiaosu like a precious son-in-law. Her relief comes from believing her previously indifferent daughter has finally begun pursuing a normal romantic relationship.
• Ding Lizhong has been promoted to First Executive Vice President of Changsheng Group, but instead of celebrating, he remains in his study, visibly troubled and refusing to go to work.
• Lin Xiaosu visits him and discovers that the Jadeite given to Ding Lizhong by Huang Chengwang contained a surveillance device. This confirms that the Ding family had been monitored and that the study may no longer be secure.
• Lin Xiaosu and Ding Lizhong move to the rooftop, where they discuss the promotion and the earlier conspiracy against Ding Lizhong.
• Lin Xiaosu argues that Huang Chengwang was probably only a scapegoat—a sacrificial piece used to protect a more powerful figure within Changsheng Group. The real threat remains active and could endanger countless people in Daxia.
• Ding Lizhong reluctantly shares confidential information about Changsheng Group. Lin Xiaosu spends two hours analyzing it, using his Humanity Orchidheart ability and later Dragon Eye to process the information and check for surveillance.
• During dinner, Lin Xiaosu continues performing the role of an affectionate son-in-law, drinking heavily with Ding Lizhong and praising Ding’s mother’s cooking. His behavior greatly pleases her, though it may create future complications.
• Later, Lin Xiaosu checks his guest room for hidden surveillance devices using the Silver Fish in his consciousness and confirms that the room is safe.
• He then uses Dragon Eye to contact Changye through a holographic projection. Changye tells him that headquarters has approved his reward of 1.5 million, which should arrive within three days. She then asks whether he learned anything important from entering the Ding family.

Character Developments

• Lin Xiaosu becomes increasingly involved in the Ding family’s internal and corporate troubles. He moves beyond merely pretending to be Ding Ruoshui’s boyfriend and begins acting as Ding Lizhong’s investigator and strategic adviser.
• Ding Ruoshui continues to play the role of Lin Xiaosu’s girlfriend, though her affection and dependence appear convincing enough to satisfy her mother. Her unusual lack of romantic awareness remains a source of humor and frustration.
• Ding’s mother becomes deeply invested in Lin Xiaosu as her ideal son-in-law. Her attitude toward him is unusually deferential, reflecting her anxiety over Ding Ruoshui’s late development in romantic matters.
• Ding Lizhong is revealed to be distressed by his promotion. Rather than viewing the position as an honor, he sees it as removal from scientific research and possibly part of a larger political maneuver. He also begins trusting Lin Xiaosu with sensitive information.
• Changye remains playful and provocative but also serves as Lin Xiaosu’s link to the larger organization supporting him. Her announcement of the reward confirms that his recent actions have been formally recognized.

Significant Themes

• Promotion versus displacement: Ding Lizhong’s new position appears prestigious, but he experiences it as being forced away from the work he values. The chapter questions whether advancement is always genuine success.
• Betrayal and hidden surveillance: The Jadeite and its concealed monitoring device symbolize how friendship, trust, and personal spaces have been compromised.
• Surface appearances versus hidden motives: Lin Xiaosu’s cheerful son-in-law performance conceals his investigation into a dangerous conspiracy. Similarly, Huang Chengwang’s apparent guilt may conceal a larger mastermind.
• Generational succession: Ding Lizhong considers stepping aside for younger researchers, but Lin Xiaosu challenges whether this transition is natural or the result of manipulation.
• Family affection and social expectations: Ding’s mother’s exaggerated concern over her daughter’s marriage highlights the pressure placed on Ding Ruoshui to behave according to conventional expectations.
• Strategic patience: Lin Xiaosu emphasizes understanding the situation and planning before acting, rather than rushing to confront the remaining enemy.

Important Character Interactions

• Lin Xiaosu and Ding Ruoshui: They banter about pretending to be a couple, with Lin Xiaosu joking about kissing her in front of her mother. Ding Ruoshui warns him not to become too immersed in the act.
• Lin Xiaosu and Ding’s mother: She warmly welcomes him and treats him as the family’s treasured son-in-law. Lin Xiaosu’s performance further wins her approval.
• Lin Xiaosu and Ding Lizhong: Their rooftop conversation shifts from family matters to corporate conspiracy. Lin Xiaosu challenges Ding Lizhong’s assumptions and persuades him to reveal sensitive information.
• Lin Xiaosu and Changye: They communicate through Dragon Eye. Changye teases him about marriage, announces his large reward, and asks whether his visit to the Ding family produced useful intelligence.

Chapter Summary: “Changye Faces Her Trial”

Key Plot Points and Events

• Lin Xiaosu explains to Changye what he learned from entering the Ding family and investigating Changsheng Group.
• After Huang Chengwang’s escape, Changsheng Group underwent a major reshuffle:
  • Ding Lizhong was promoted to first executive vice president, outranking Li Changsheng’s own son.
  • Tong Yadong replaced Ding as technical director despite having no notable scientific accomplishments.
• Changye and Lin Xiaosu infer that Tong Yadong may be a figurehead concealing an unseen research faction within Changsheng Group. They suspect Li Changsheng is secretly controlling this faction and has promoted Ding Lizhong to sideline him without appearing malicious.
• Lin Xiaosu raises a more dangerous possibility: Li Changsheng himself may be controlled by Hydra. Since Tong Yadong studied in Europa, a major center of Hydra activity, Changsheng Group could potentially have been infiltrated and transformed into a Hydra super-branch.
• Changye and Lin Xiaosu agree that suspicion alone is insufficient. They must gather conclusive evidence before Qianlong can legally act.
• Changye reveals that her annual Genetic Rejection will begin the next day. She asks Lin Xiaosu to stop investigating for a month and wait for her. He reluctantly agrees after she promises to let Number 88 take over temporarily.
• Their conversation becomes playful and affectionate, showing the intimacy and teasing nature of their relationship.
• After ending contact, Changye visits Xin Yue in a basement before undergoing the rejection process. She leaves behind her equipment and two letters—one for Xin Yue and one for Lin Xiaosu.
• Changye removes her bionic skin and enters a pool of dark green liquid designed for the rejection treatment. A glass barrier seals off the poisonous gas.
• The chapter reveals that Changye is an extraordinary and fragile Gene Human whose condition makes her unlikely to survive beyond her next rejection, though Lin Xiaosu does not know how serious the danger is.
• Lin Xiaosu, unaware of the true risk, assumes Changye is safely protected at Unit 101 Base and goes to sleep, intending to begin investigating Changsheng Group the following day.

Character Developments

• Lin Xiaosu: Demonstrates sharp investigative reasoning and growing concern for Changye. He recognizes the potential Hydra threat but remains unaware that Changye’s rejection may be fatal. His confidence and affection are expressed through teasing.
• Changye: Reveals both strategic caution and emotional vulnerability. Although she jokes about her rejection and reassures others, she secretly prepares for possible death by leaving letters and surrendering her belongings. Her relationship with Lin Xiaosu has clearly become romantic, though she does not occupy a formal “wife slot.”
• Xin Yue: Shows deep emotional attachment to Changye and fear of losing her. Despite crying, she encourages Changye with humor and determination.
• Ding Lizhong: Gains major authority within Changsheng Group, apparently as part of a political maneuver designed to remove him from control of research.
• Tong Yadong: Emerges as a suspicious, possibly artificial appointment whose lack of achievements suggests he may be a puppet.
• Li Changsheng: Becomes a central suspected antagonist, potentially manipulating Changsheng Group—or possibly being manipulated by Hydra himself.

Significant Themes

• Hidden power and institutional deception: Promotions and organizational changes may conceal a struggle for control over Changsheng Group’s research.
• Hydra infiltration and national security: The possibility that a major genetic research company has been compromised raises the stakes beyond personal investigation.
• Law versus suspicion: Qianlong cannot act merely on intuition; it needs legally defensible, irrefutable evidence.
• Love, sacrifice, and concealed danger: Changye hides the severity of her condition while Lin Xiaosu remains optimistic, creating dramatic irony.
• Mortality and uncertainty: Changye’s rejection symbolizes an unavoidable life-or-death trial, and her preparation of farewell letters suggests she expects the worst.
• Human identity and artificiality: Her bionic skin and status as an exceptional Gene Human emphasize the chapter’s concern with what separates ordinary humans, altered humans, and engineered beings.

Character Interactions

• Lin Xiaosu and Changye analyze Changsheng Group together, balancing professional cooperation with romantic teasing.
• Changye asks Lin Xiaosu to delay his investigation, prioritizing his safety and ensuring she can face her rejection without him interfering.
• Their flirtatious exchange reveals mutual affection and comfort, even while Changye privately confronts possible death.
• Changye comforts Xin Yue before entering the rejection pool, while Xin Yue pleads for her survival and tries to encourage her through jokes.
• The contrast between Changye’s private farewell preparations and her lighthearted behavior highlights her protective, self-sacrificing nature.

Chapter Summary: “Ambushed on a Lake Tour”

Key Plot Points and Events

• Lin Xiaosu spends the day touring South Lake with Ding Ruoshui and her parents. The outing initially appears playful and relaxed, with Lin and Ding continuing their fake-romantic arrangement.
• Lin notices unusual details about Ding Ruoshui: she does not sweat in the intense heat, suggesting she possesses advanced Ancient Martial Arts abilities despite having no visible training history and not being a Gene Human.
• Their speedboat is suddenly attacked from underwater. A hidden blade cuts through the hull, and a powerful impact launches the boat into the air. Lin and Ding survive and reach the shore safely.
• The attacker, Du Qi, emerges from the lake. He is a reckless Gene Human working for Li Songtao, the spoiled third son of Changsheng Group’s chairman, Li Changsheng.
• Du Qi refuses to apologize and instead demands that Lin kneel, compensate him, and hand Ding Ruoshui over for two days. He further threatens Lin’s mother and the two women working at Lin’s detective agency.
• Lin identifies Li Songtao at a nearby teahouse, where he is surrounded by several Gene Humans. Li Songtao attempts to distance himself from the attack while clearly directing the confrontation.
• The threats reveal that the incident was carefully planned. In a private room, Li Ziyi—Li Changsheng’s daughter—and Liu Qianxun discuss their strategy: they intend to provoke Lin into killing Du Qi, creating a confrontation between Lin and the “first great detective of River City.”
• Li Ziyi believes Lin’s confidence in his own investigative and murder-concealment abilities will eventually push him into accepting the challenge.

Character Developments

• Lin Xiaosu: Remains observant and composed despite the ambush. He quickly recognizes that Du Qi is only a subordinate and deliberately shifts attention toward Li Songtao, showing strategic confidence. His concern for his mother and agency employees also exposes a vulnerable point his enemies can exploit.
• Ding Ruoshui: Displays hidden physical abilities, including apparent immunity to heat, hinting that her Ancient Martial Arts background is far more advanced than she admits. She is initially playful but becomes genuinely furious when Du Qi insults and threatens her.
• Ding Lizhong and Ding’s mother: Continue their contrasting dynamic, with Ding’s mother behaving playfully while Ding Lizhong remains worried and stern. Their presence reinforces Ding Ruoshui’s wealthy family background.
• Du Qi: Is established as an arrogant, violent Gene Human who abuses his power and believes wealth can erase responsibility. He acts as an enforcer for Li Songtao.
• Li Songtao: Appears refined and wealthy but is surrounded by dangerous Gene Humans. He uses Du Qi as a proxy while pretending to offer Lin compensation, revealing his manipulative and cowardly nature.
• Li Ziyi: Emerges as the true strategist behind the incident. She deliberately escalates the provocation, hoping to force Lin into a fatal mistake.
• Liu Qianxun: Recognizes the sophistication of Li Ziyi’s scheme and begins to understand the danger facing Lin.

Significant Themes

• Power without accountability: Gene Humans and wealthy heirs exploit their abilities and social status to act above the law.
• Manipulation and provocation: The ambush is designed not merely to intimidate Lin but to control his reactions and force him into committing murder.
• Hidden identities and abilities: Ding Ruoshui’s unexplained martial prowess and Lin’s Dragon Eye emphasize that important truths remain concealed beneath ordinary appearances.
• Justice versus wealth: The public is horrified by Du Qi’s conduct, but his confidence shows how money and influence have weakened ordinary legal protections.
• Psychological warfare: Li Ziyi’s plan targets Lin’s emotions, especially his concern for his family and employees, rather than relying only on physical force.

Character Interactions

• Lin and Ding Ruoshui maintain a teasing, flirtatious relationship while discussing the complications of pretending to be a couple.
• Lin quietly observes Ding’s unusual abilities, while she warns him about the growing danger surrounding them.
• Du Qi directly humiliates and threatens Lin and Ding, provoking Ding’s anger.
• Lin refuses to focus on Du Qi and instead calls out Li Songtao, demonstrating that he sees the larger power structure behind the attack.
• Li Songtao attempts to control the situation from a distance, while his Gene Human subordinates mock and threaten Lin.
• Li Ziyi and Liu Qianxun analyze Lin’s likely reaction, revealing that the entire encounter is part of a calculated trap.

Chapter Summary: “A Peerless, Decisive Counterattack”

Key Plot Points and Events

• Du Qi deliberately provokes Lin Xiaosu, intending to force him into killing him so that Lin will be arrested and punished. His strategy relies on exploiting Lin’s anger over threats against his mother and the women at the detective agency.
• Lin Xiaosu instead turns the situation against Li Songtao and his faction. He publicly exposes two motives behind Li Songtao’s hostility: loyalty to Liu Qianxun and loyalty to his father, Li Changsheng, whose Changsheng Group has been damaged by Lin’s cooperation with the police.
• Enraged by Lin’s insults, Li Songtao signals Du Qi to attack. Du Qi attempts to slap Lin, but Lin dodges and strikes him with overwhelming force, shattering his spine and destroying his nerves.
• Lin claims self-defense. Because the attack was captured on video, Criminal Investigation Brigade captain Shen Yinchuan confirms that Lin acted legally. Lin is taken briefly to the station to give a statement, while Li Songtao’s plan collapses.
• Ding Ruoshui further humiliates Li Songtao by demanding compensation for the 460,000-yuan speedboat damaged during the confrontation. When he refuses, she leaves without backing down.
• Humiliated and furious, Li Songtao decides that he must escalate matters and kill Lin Xiaosu. While driving away with Windchaser, he discovers that Ding Ruoshui has somehow appeared inside the car beside him, ending the chapter on a cliffhanger.

Character Developments

• Lin Xiaosu: Revealed to be far more calculating and decisive than he initially appeared. Rather than kill Du Qi secretly, he deliberately provokes an attack and defeats him openly under the protection of self-defense law. His actions demonstrate both strategic intelligence and ruthless resolve.
• Du Qi: Functions as a disposable pawn in Li Songtao’s scheme. His arrogance and lawlessness lead him into Lin’s trap, leaving him permanently crippled.
• Li Songtao: Begins the confrontation confident in his wealth, status, and family influence, but ends publicly humiliated and increasingly consumed by anger. His failure makes him more reckless and determined to murder Lin.
• Ding Ruoshui: Displays unexpected boldness and composure. She not only supports Lin’s side indirectly but also demands payment from Li Songtao after his subordinate damages her boat.
• Liu Qianxun: Her resentment toward Lin is shown to be a major motivation behind Li Songtao’s actions. Seeing Du Qi suffer a spinal injury also connects directly to the destruction Lin previously inflicted on her family.
• Windchaser: Acts as Li Songtao’s chief subordinate and recognizes the severity of Du Qi’s injuries. Despite his anger, he is unable to retaliate once the police confirm Lin’s self-defense claim.
• Shen Yinchuan: Performs his role impartially, reviewing the evidence and validating Lin’s legal defense.

Significant Themes

• Law versus vengeance: Lin uses the law as a weapon, defeating his enemies without committing an overtly punishable crime.
• Strategic manipulation: The chapter contrasts Du Qi’s crude plan to provoke murder with Lin’s more sophisticated plan to provoke a legally justified attack.
• Public reputation and humiliation: Li Songtao’s influence depends heavily on his reputation as an untouchable heir. Lin’s public victory damages that image more severely than the physical defeat itself.
• Power and justice: Wealth, family connections, and intimidation fail when confronted with clear evidence and lawful self-defense.
• Ruthlessness and consequences: Lin’s method of crippling opponents mirrors what he previously did to Liu Qianxun’s family, creating a cycle of revenge and deepening the conflict.

Character Interactions

• Lin directly insults both Liu Qianxun’s family history and Li Changsheng’s secrets, provoking Li Songtao.
• Li Songtao’s anger prompts Du Qi to attack Lin, allowing Lin to counterattack.
• Windchaser confronts Lin verbally after Du Qi is injured, but Lin silences him by producing the recorded evidence.
• Shen Yinchuan confirms Lin’s account and prevents Li Songtao’s faction from taking further action.
• Ding Ruoshui confronts Li Songtao over the damaged speedboat, adding another layer of humiliation.
• The chapter closes with Ding Ruoshui mysteriously appearing beside Li Songtao in his moving car, suggesting that she may be preparing her own counterattack.

Chapter Summary: “460,000, Saved for Your Coffin”

Key Plot Points and Events

• Ding Ruoshui confronts Li Songtao over an unpaid debt of 460,000. When he offers increasingly larger sums to save himself, she immobilizes him with mysterious energy and escapes from his speeding car just before it plunges into South Lake.
• Li Songtao, his Gene Human bodyguard Windchaser, and driver Blackie all drown. The incident is presented as an apparent accident, but the circumstances strongly indicate murder.
• At the teahouse, Li Ziyi reveals that the confrontation with Du Qi was part of a larger “scheme within a scheme.” She intentionally used Du Qi as bait, knowing that his crippling would provoke his powerful older brother into taking revenge on Lin Xiaosu and the Lin Family.
• Li Ziyi and Liu Qianxun realize that Li Songtao’s death may have disrupted their plans. They rush to the lake while Changsheng Group, the police, and local investigators respond.
• Meanwhile, Lin Xiaosu is brought to the Criminal Investigation Brigade, not for interrogation but to meet Hidden Dragon No. 88. The two discuss Changye’s mission and agree that Lin Xiaosu will lead it, with No. 88 assisting.
• Lin proposes visiting Li Changsheng the next day, despite having no detailed operational plan. No. 88 accepts his bold, improvisational approach because of his proven success on an SS-class mission.
• Shen Yinchuan reports Li Songtao’s death. Lin realizes it occurred shortly after they left the earlier scene, and No. 88 concludes that the deaths were deliberate rather than accidental.

Character Developments

• Ding Ruoshui is revealed to possess extraordinary, almost supernatural abilities and a ruthless willingness to kill. Her calm treatment of Li Songtao contrasts sharply with his panic and desperation.
• Li Songtao changes from an arrogant, wealthy heir into a helpless victim, realizing too late that money and status cannot protect him.
• Li Ziyi demonstrates her strategic brilliance. She views people as pieces on a chessboard and has designed a plan in which either legal punishment or extralegal revenge will destroy her enemies.
• Liu Qianxun gains a deeper understanding of Li Ziyi’s manipulation and is visibly shaken by both the sophistication of the plan and Li Songtao’s unexpected death.
• Lin Xiaosu continues to show confidence, independence, and a willingness to act without a fixed plan. His previous accomplishments earn him No. 88’s trust.
• Hidden Dragon No. 88 shifts from formal respect to genuine brotherhood with Lin Xiaosu, recognizing him for his character and achievements rather than identity or rank.
• Shen Yinchuan continues to treat Lin Xiaosu with unusual deference, escorting him personally and reporting the suspicious deaths directly to No. 88.

Significant Themes

• Law versus revenge: Li Ziyi’s plan depends on the distinction between actions governed by law and retaliation that exists beyond it.
• Manipulation and chess-like strategy: Individuals such as Du Qi and Li Songtao are used as tools in larger schemes, with seemingly chaotic events serving hidden purposes.
• The limits of wealth and status: Li Songtao’s money, connections, and Gene Human protection are useless once Ding Ruoshui decides his fate.
• Trust and brotherhood: Lin Xiaosu and No. 88 establish a bond based on mutual recognition rather than blood, rank, or official affiliation.
• Calculated risk and improvisation: Lin’s lack of a rigid plan is presented as dangerous but potentially effective, reflecting his confidence in action and adaptability.
• Hidden danger beneath ordinary events: What appears to be an accident or legal dispute may conceal assassination, strategic retaliation, or a larger conflict.

Important Character Interactions

• Ding Ruoshui and Li Songtao: She coldly rejects his attempts to buy his life and kills him by abandoning him in the speeding car.
• Li Ziyi and Liu Qianxun: Li Ziyi explains the deeper purpose behind the Du Qi incident, while Liu gradually understands how the trap was designed.
• Lin Xiaosu and No. 88: They share tea, toast to fallen comrades and their new partnership, and agree to confront Li Changsheng together.
• Lin Xiaosu and Shen Yinchuan: Shen treats Lin as someone important rather than an ordinary suspect, escorting and protecting him inside the police headquarters.
• No. 88 and Shen Yinchuan: Shen reports the suspicious lake deaths, prompting No. 88 to recognize that the incident was likely murder.
• Lin Xiaosu and No. 88 after the report: Lin connects the timing of the deaths to the earlier confrontation, suggesting that the killing may be linked to the broader conflict involving Changsheng Group.

Summary: “Detectives Face to Face”

Key Plot Points and Events

• Shen Yinchuan and Lin Xiaosu question how Li Songtao, a powerful Gene Human, could have died in a simple car accident alongside two other Gene Humans. They conclude the deaths are highly suspicious and decide to inspect the scene.
• Using Temporal Reversal, Lin Xiaosu reconstructs the murder. Two minutes before the crash, the mysterious martial artist Ding Ruoshui appears beside the car, shatters the window, enters at tremendous speed, and incapacitates Li Songtao and the two Gene Humans with a single touch to their foreheads.
• Ding Ruoshui reveals her motive in a bizarre exchange: she tells Li Songtao she no longer wants the 460,000 owed to her and advises him to keep it for his coffin. This suggests revenge over the destruction of her speedboat.
• Lin Xiaosu realizes the victims became “living corpses” before the crash. Their souls were destroyed or driven from their bodies by an advanced Ancient Martial Arts technique, leaving no visible injuries and causing the car to fall into South Lake.
• At the scene, Lin Xiaosu encounters several important figures: Li Changsheng, the grieving head of Changsheng Group; his daughter Li Ziyi; Liu Qianxun; and He Jiang, River City’s famous private detective.
• He Jiang quickly concludes that the deaths were murders committed by an Ancient Martial Arts expert who immobilized the victims and staged the drowning as an accident.
• Li Changsheng offers He Jiang thirty million, then raises the reward to fifty million for identifying the killer.
• Liu Qianxun informs Li Ziyi about Lin Xiaosu’s recent confrontation with Li Songtao. Li Changsheng and He Jiang immediately begin to suspect Lin Xiaosu because he had motive, ability, legal knowledge, and strong counter-investigation skills.
• Li Changsheng approaches Lin Xiaosu directly, while Ding Lizhong watches anxiously, aware that Lin Xiaosu’s recent conflict with Li Songtao could make him appear guilty.

Character Developments

• Lin Xiaosu demonstrates the value of his Temporal Reversal ability, solving the mystery almost instantly. He remains composed and fearless despite being placed under suspicion, showing confidence in both his abilities and his understanding of the law.
• Shen Yinchuan acts cautiously and worries that Lin Xiaosu’s appearance at the crime scene will make him a target, but he ultimately accompanies him.
• Ding Ruoshui is revealed as the actual killer. Her extraordinary speed and lethal Ancient Martial Arts technique establish her as a dangerous and unpredictable figure. Her motive appears unusually petty and personal, centered on revenge for her destroyed speedboat.
• He Jiang proves highly perceptive and capable, accurately identifying the method of murder despite lacking Lin Xiaosu’s supernatural insight. However, the enormous reward tempts him to pursue Lin Xiaosu as a possible suspect despite his uncertainty.
• Li Changsheng shifts from grief to vengeance. His willingness to offer fifty million shows both his immense wealth and his determination to punish whoever killed his son.
• Li Ziyi struggles to maintain her normally elegant composure after her brother’s death but becomes an important link in directing suspicion toward Lin Xiaosu.
• Liu Qianxun reacts strongly upon seeing Lin Xiaosu. Her expression reflects unresolved hatred, suspicion, and complicated emotions, hinting at a troubled relationship between them.
• Ding Lizhong becomes deeply conflicted. As Lin Xiaosu’s father-in-law and a Changsheng Group executive, he understands both Li Changsheng’s danger and Lin Xiaosu’s mysterious capabilities, leaving him uncertain whether Lin Xiaosu could truly be responsible.

Significant Themes

• Appearance versus reality: The accident is carefully staged to conceal a supernatural murder, demonstrating how easily appearances can mislead investigators.
• The limits of conventional investigation: Forensic doctors cannot identify a cause of death, while He Jiang must rely on deduction and experience. Lin Xiaosu’s supernatural ability reveals the truth hidden beyond ordinary evidence.
• Power and suspicion: Lin Xiaosu’s abilities and recent confrontation with Li Songtao make him a natural suspect, showing how power can create both danger and mistrust.
• Justice versus revenge: Li Changsheng wants the killer found not through formal justice alone but through personal vengeance, offering an enormous reward to motivate the investigation.
• Emotional restraint: Lin Xiaosu remains calm while others grieve, panic, or rage, emphasizing his unusual composure and separation from the surrounding turmoil.
• Hidden motives: Ding Ruoshui’s apparently trivial motive contrasts sharply with the scale of the crime, while Liu Qianxun’s and Ding Lizhong’s reactions suggest deeper personal and family tensions.

Important Character Interactions

• Lin Xiaosu and Shen Yinchuan debate whether visiting the crime scene will make Lin Xiaosu look guilty.
• Ding Ruoshui confronts Li Songtao and kills him and the other occupants with a single Ancient Martial Arts technique.
• He Jiang explains the murder method to Li Changsheng and accepts the challenge of finding the killer for an escalating reward.
• Liu Qianxun alerts Li Ziyi to Lin Xiaosu’s connection to Li Songtao, causing Li Changsheng and He Jiang to focus their suspicion on him.
• Li Changsheng confronts Lin Xiaosu directly. Lin Xiaosu responds with complete calm, meeting the powerful businessman’s hostile stare without fear.

Summary of “Facing Li Changsheng”

Key Plot Points and Events

• At the scene of Li Songtao’s death, Li Changsheng confronts Lin Xiaosu, implying that Lin may have killed his son and returned to admire the result.
• Lin Xiaosu responds with equally sharp provocation, arguing that Li Changsheng’s failure to discipline his son contributed to Li Songtao’s downfall.
• Li Changsheng attempts to have Lin detained, citing their previous conflict, Lin’s Ancient Martial Arts ability, and his apparent motive.
• Captain Shen Yinchuan immediately disproves Lin’s involvement by confirming that Lin was already at the Criminal Investigation Brigade more than ten minutes before the incident and remained there until after Li Songtao fell into the lake.
• Li Changsheng suggests Lin may have used an accomplice. Lin counters that he had no reason for revenge because he had clearly won their earlier confrontation and gained every advantage.
• Lin then proposes an investigation strategy: publicly gather information about Li Songtao’s past crimes and enemies. Although reasonable on the surface, the suggestion would expose Li Songtao’s misconduct and damage the Li Family’s reputation.
• Ding Lizhong interrupts and takes Lin home, implicitly shielding him from Li Changsheng’s anger.
• Li Changsheng decides to return to Changsheng Group rather than pursue a confrontation and orders that Li Songtao’s body be sent to the crematorium.
• At the Ding residence, Ding Lizhong reassures the family that Lin’s alibi is conclusive. Ding’s mother is relieved, while Ding Ruoshui maintains an innocent appearance.
• The chapter ends with Ding Lizhong learning that Changsheng Group will hold a shareholders’ meeting the next morning, suggesting that Li Changsheng may be preparing a major corporate response.

Character Developments

• Lin Xiaosu: Demonstrates confidence, intelligence, and considerable psychological skill. He deliberately draws suspicion toward himself to divert attention from the true culprit, Ding Ruoshui, while relying on his airtight alibi. His provocative behavior also reveals his willingness to challenge powerful enemies openly.
• Li Changsheng: Remains controlled despite his fury, using pressure and circumstantial reasoning to target Lin. However, he cannot overcome Lin’s alibi and instead shifts his focus toward Changsheng Group’s internal affairs.
• Ding Lizhong: Shows loyalty and courage by publicly supporting Lin and sharing responsibility for the conflict with the Li Family. His actions reveal that he genuinely regards Lin as family.
• Ding’s mother: Her relief that Lin is uninvolved indicates that she sincerely accepts him as part of the family.
• Ding Ruoshui: Appears calm, harmless, and innocent, but Lin knows she committed the murder. Her controlled performance creates dramatic irony and emphasizes how effectively she conceals the truth.

Significant Themes

• Psychological warfare: The confrontation is fought through implication, provocation, and manipulation rather than physical violence.
• Justice versus reputation: Lin’s proposed investigation would seek the truth but also publicly expose Li Songtao’s crimes, threatening the Li Family’s social standing.
• Appearance and deception: Ding Ruoshui’s innocent behavior contrasts sharply with her hidden guilt, while Lin deliberately creates the appearance of being a suspicious but provocative figure.
• Family loyalty: Ding Lizhong’s decision to protect Lin demonstrates the strength of familial bonds, while Ding’s mother’s concern reinforces Lin’s acceptance into the Ding household.
• Power and restraint: Although both Lin and Li Changsheng possess influence, neither openly attacks the other. Legal evidence, public perception, and strategic timing limit how far their conflict can escalate.

Character Interactions

• Lin Xiaosu and Li Changsheng: Their exchange is the chapter’s central confrontation, with each trying to unsettle the other. Li Changsheng accuses Lin indirectly, while Lin retaliates by criticizing Li Changsheng’s parenting and threatening the Li Family’s reputation.
• Lin Xiaosu and Captain Shen Yinchuan: Shen provides the decisive alibi that protects Lin and eliminates him as the primary suspect.
• Ding Lizhong and Lin Xiaosu: Ding Lizhong intervenes publicly and later explains that protecting Lin is part of his responsibility as an uncle, deepening their bond.
• Li Changsheng and Li Ziyi: They discuss Ding Lizhong’s intervention and interpret it as an attempt to protect Lin from Changsheng Group’s retaliation.
• Lin Xiaosu and Ding Ruoshui: They do not openly confront one another, but Lin observes her carefully and recognizes the hidden truth behind her innocent performance.

Chapter Summary: “Qianlong Enters Changsheng”

1. Key Plot Points and Events

• Changsheng Group holds an unusual shareholders’ meeting immediately after Chairman Li Changsheng’s third son is cremated. The timing suggests that something major is being planned.
• Li Changsheng’s son, Li Heming, presides over the meeting and announces that it is an “accountability meeting” concerning two crises:
  • The Mutant Spider murder case, which damaged the company’s reputation and stock price.
  • The defection of researcher Huang Chengwang to Fusang after being infiltrated by overseas forces, which severely harmed Changsheng Group’s research divisions.
• Li Heming directly blames First Vice President Ding Lizhong for both incidents. He argues that Ding supervised the Mutant Spider project and personally recruited Huang Chengwang.
• Li Changsheng invokes Article Thirty of the corporate bylaws, which allows the company to revoke a shareholder’s rights and deduct losses from his stock income if his mistakes cause serious damage.
• Ding Lizhong defends himself, arguing that investigations cleared him in the Mutant Spider case and that Li Changsheng—not he—was responsible for placing Huang Chengwang in charge of Research Division Two.
• Li Changsheng attempts to force the shareholders into a vote. Since he and Li Heming control 51% of the company, the result is effectively predetermined. The other executives understand that the meeting is also a loyalty test.
• Before the vote can proceed, Police Captain Shen Yinchuan arrives with a mysterious young man known as Number 88 and Lin Xiaosu. Shen demands that Li Changsheng immediately leave the meeting to meet them, even threatening to take him to the Criminal Investigation Brigade for questioning.
• Li Changsheng abruptly adjourns the meeting and goes to his office. He conceals his alarm behind a calm, welcoming demeanor.
• Shen introduces Number 88 as his superior, emphasizing that he is not part of the Eastern Chu police system. This implies that Number 88 holds extraordinary authority and foreshadows a serious investigation or confrontation.
• The chapter ends with Li Changsheng bringing the visitors into his inner office, while Lin Xiaosu remains largely ignored except for being given tea.

2. Character Developments

• Li Changsheng: Revealed as an authoritarian and calculating chairman who uses his majority control to eliminate Ding Lizhong. Despite his son’s death and his apparent rage, he remains politically shrewd, quickly masking his emotions when confronted by law enforcement.
• Li Heming: Acts as his father’s spokesman and enforcer. He openly attacks Ding and understands the importance of maintaining momentum, showing that he is deeply involved in the family’s power struggle.
• Ding Lizhong: Displays composure and knowledge of company affairs while defending himself against what he sees as an unjust purge. Though he recognizes that the shareholders’ vote is rigged, he refuses to accept blame without protest.
• Lei Xiaojun: Emerges as a conflicted figure. He has a good relationship with Ding and wants to delay the confrontation, but he is afraid to oppose Li Changsheng openly.
• Shen Yinchuan: Behaves with unusually forceful authority, demonstrating that the matter involving Number 88 is more important than Changsheng Group’s internal affairs.
• Number 88: His identity remains concealed, but his status is clearly superior to Shen’s normal chain of command. His indifference and authority immediately unsettle Li Changsheng.
• Lin Xiaosu: Remains quiet and peripheral, though his presence alongside Shen and Number 88 suggests that he is connected to the unfolding investigation.

3. Significant Themes

• Power versus justice: Li Changsheng uses corporate rules and majority ownership to impose his will, regardless of whether Ding is truly responsible.
• Corporate politics and loyalty: The shareholders’ meeting is presented as a test of allegiance rather than a genuine democratic process.
• Abuse of institutional power: The bylaws, voting structure, and family-controlled ownership allow Li Changsheng to threaten Ding’s position and fortune.
• Hidden authority and intimidation: Number 88’s unexplained status creates tension and suggests that forces outside the company’s control are beginning to intervene.
• Grief and vengeance: Li Changsheng’s son’s death may be influencing his aggressive attempt to punish Ding, though the chapter leaves his exact motives uncertain.
• The collapse of old relationships: The founders’ former cooperation has deteriorated into open conflict, transforming the company from a harmonious enterprise into a battlefield.

4. Character Interactions

• Li Heming and Ding Lizhong: Li Heming publicly accuses Ding, while Ding refuses to answer to him and instead challenges Li Changsheng directly.
• Li Changsheng and Ding Lizhong: Their confrontation exposes a long-standing struggle for control within Changsheng Group. Li seeks to destroy Ding financially and politically; Ding counters by assigning responsibility to Li.
• Li Changsheng and Lei Xiaojun: Lei attempts to mediate, but Li dismisses his suggestion and proceeds toward a vote, demonstrating his dominance.
• Shen Yinchuan and Li Changsheng: Shen abandons normal courtesy and demands Li’s immediate presence, reversing the balance of power.
• Number 88 and Li Changsheng: Number 88 refuses Li’s attempt at a polite introduction, signaling that he does not regard Li as an equal.
• Lin Xiaosu and the others: Lin is deliberately overlooked by Li Changsheng, though the secretary still treats him as a guest, hinting that his role may become important later.

Summary of “Four Major Doubts”

Key Plot Points and Events

• With Number 88’s authorization, detective Lin Xiaosu formally joins the investigation into Huang Chengwang’s defection from Changsheng Group.
• During questioning, Lin presents four major suspicions implicating Changsheng Group in a possible Hydra conspiracy:
  1. Huang Chengwang’s delayed action: He could have detonated the chip in Zhou Yibo’s brain to conceal his crime, but instead allowed Zhou to testify, suggesting he was deliberately drawing attention to himself to protect a more powerful accomplice within Changsheng Group.
  2. Huang’s Hydra connection: Since Huang has been confirmed as a Hydra operative, Lin questions the identity of the person inside Changsheng Group directing him.
  3. Technical Director Tong Yadong: Lin points out that Tong appears to lack notable qualifications beyond studying in Luoba Prefecture, a region associated with Hydra activity, and asks whether Li Changsheng trusts Tong personally or the organization behind him.
  4. Changsheng Group’s pharmaceutical partnerships: The company has pursued cooperation with Dell Company and several other pharmaceutical firms. Dell has been identified as a Hydra-controlled organization seeking to manipulate pharmaceuticals and control Daxia’s medical system, raising suspicion about Changsheng’s broader business strategy.
• Li Changsheng denies wrongdoing, insisting that the company’s pharmaceutical dealings were legal and that no substantive agreement was reached with Dell. Number 88 confirms that Lin’s accusations are investigative leads, not legal evidence.
• After leaving Changsheng Group, Number 88 privately criticizes Lin for exposing too much and “alerting the enemy.” Lin argues that provoking Li is intentional: once Li begins destroying evidence or closing leaks, he will inevitably leave behind traces that can be followed.
• Lin and Number 88 agree to observe developments overnight and plan their next steps. Meanwhile, Changsheng Group postpones its shareholders’ meeting, suggesting that Li has begun taking urgent countermeasures.
• Ding Lizhong reflects on Li Changsheng’s transformation from an idealistic, ambitious founding partner into a suspicious and unfamiliar figure, questioning whether his own scientific insight has failed him in understanding human nature.

Character Developments

• Lin Xiaosu demonstrates boldness, analytical skill, and willingness to take calculated risks. Rather than gathering evidence cautiously, he deliberately pressures Li into acting so that hidden movements can be detected.
• Number 88 remains cautious and strategic. He recognizes Lin’s intelligence but worries that Lin’s confidence may have become arrogance, especially given the danger of provoking an experienced opponent.
• Li Changsheng shifts from controlled composure to genuine alarm. His increasingly tense reactions suggest that Lin’s accusations have struck close to the truth or at least threatened important secrets. His immediate cancellation of the shareholders’ meeting indicates that he is preparing a response.
• Shen Yinchuan is shocked by the implications of the investigation and remains obedient and discreet, avoiding unnecessary questions. His failed attempt to receive Li’s handshake reflects the growing tension and mistrust.
• Ding Lizhong becomes emotionally unsettled as he compares the idealistic young Li with the seemingly changed man he sees now. His reflections reveal a crisis of trust and uncertainty about their shared past.

Significant Themes

• Risk versus caution: The chapter contrasts Number 88’s belief in secrecy and controlled investigation with Lin’s strategy of deliberately provoking the enemy.
• Evidence and hidden truth: Suspicion alone cannot establish guilt, but the characters debate how to force concealed actors into revealing themselves through their reactions.
• Institutional corruption and infiltration: Hydra may have penetrated Changsheng Group through personnel, business partnerships, and strategic planning, suggesting that corruption can hide beneath legitimate corporate structures.
• The masks of legality: Lin emphasizes that questionable transactions can be disguised as lawful business, raising questions about the difference between formal legality and moral or criminal intent.
• The transformation of people through power: Ding Lizhong’s memories contrast the founders’ youthful idealism with their present wealth, secrecy, and possible betrayal.
• Human nature versus scientific understanding: Ding’s final doubts suggest that technical mastery does not guarantee the ability to understand ambition, loyalty, or moral decline.

Important Character Interactions

• Lin Xiaosu and Li Changsheng: Lin conducts an aggressive verbal interrogation, forcing Li to confront possible links to Hydra while Li attempts to maintain composure and challenge the lack of concrete evidence.
• Lin Xiaosu and Number 88: Their private discussion reveals opposing investigative philosophies. Number 88 sees Lin’s tactics as dangerous; Lin views provocation as the only way to expose a careful and powerful suspect.
• Li Changsheng and Shen Yinchuan: Li’s attempted handshake is ignored, symbolizing the breakdown of courtesy and trust surrounding the investigation.
• Ding Lizhong and Li Changsheng: Although they do not meet directly in the chapter, Ding’s memories of their partnership and his present alienation provide an emotional counterpoint to the investigation, framing Li’s possible corruption as both a criminal mystery and a personal betrayal.

Chapter Summary: “Returning to Changsheng, Revealing the Trump Card”

Key Plot Points and Events

• Ding Lizhong returns home after the disastrous shareholders’ meeting, fearing that Li Changsheng and Changsheng Group will strip him of his fortune and leave him dependent on prolonged lawsuits.
• His wife comforts him, insisting that their house, jewelry, and Ding Ruoshui’s savings will allow the family to survive. Her optimism restores some of Ding Lizhong’s confidence.
• Ding Lizhong recalls that Li Changsheng had warned him to prepare for Changsheng’s retaliation. Ding Ruoshui, however, privately wonders whether Li Changsheng is prepared to face her own anger.
• The next day, Lin Xiaosu, Number 88, and Captain Shen Yinchuan return to Changsheng Group. Shen uses his police authority to secure access, while Lin and Number 88 openly pressure Li Changsheng.
• Lin demands that Li Changsheng personally guide them through the company. In the elevator, Lin suspects a hidden mechanism and forces Li Changsheng to use his fingerprints. Pressing the basement button repeatedly activates access to a secret underground level.
• A concealed door scans Li Changsheng’s face and opens into a hidden office. Lin reveals evidence that Li used the room to send orders connected to Hydra, including instructions to hide Tong Yadong, destroy pharmaceutical records, and evacuate sensitive personnel.
• The computer contains Hydra’s encrypted communications program. Number 88 recognizes it as definitive proof that Li Changsheng is a Hydra member.
• Li Changsheng attempts to escape through an inner door. The investigators pursue him, but he reaches a protected area separated by an impenetrable glass partition.
• Shen fires at the barrier, Number 88 attacks it with Dragon Scales, and Lin punches it, but none of their attacks cause damage.
• Li reveals that the barrier is made from U31, Hydra’s exclusive super-material, capable of resisting even rockets. He admits that his hidden “trump card” has now been exposed.

Character Developments

• Ding Lizhong: Moves from despair toward renewed emotional stability after his wife reassures him. He recognizes that Li Changsheng’s attack was expected, suggesting he may be mentally preparing for the coming struggle.
• Mother Ding: Demonstrates remarkable optimism and loyalty, using humor and practical reasoning to comfort her husband despite the family’s financial danger.
• Ding Ruoshui: Remains angry at Li Changsheng and begins thinking of the conflict personally, wondering whether he is ready to withstand her retaliation.
• Lin Xiaosu: Shows increasing confidence, authority, and strategic boldness. He deliberately humiliates and pressures Li Changsheng, detects the elevator’s hidden function, uncovers the secret office, and anticipates Li’s attempt to flee.
• Number 88: Recognizes the Hydra communications system and the significance of U31. His reaction confirms the seriousness of the evidence and highlights his deep experience fighting Hydra.
• Shen Yinchuan: Acts as an honored chauffeur and police escort. Although surprised by Lin’s aggressive conduct, he remains committed to the investigation and reacts swiftly when Li attempts to escape.
• Li Changsheng: Loses his composed public image once his secret operations are exposed. He confirms his connection to Hydra indirectly through the hidden office, communications system, and U31 defense barrier, while revealing that he still possesses substantial resources and preparation.

Significant Themes

• The collapse of secrecy: Li’s carefully concealed identity and criminal network are brought into the open.
• Strategic confrontation: Lin’s “open stratagem” contrasts with Li’s hidden schemes and demonstrates that direct pressure can be as dangerous as covert manipulation.
• Loyalty and resilience: Mother Ding’s support shows the importance of family solidarity when wealth and social power are threatened.
• Power versus justice: Li’s corporate influence and advanced technology confront the authority of the police and Qianlong agents.
• Revealing hidden strength: Both sides expose their capabilities—Lin through his investigative methods and Li through Hydra’s U31 technology—escalating the conflict.
• The limits of physical force: Even highly capable fighters cannot breach the U31 barrier, emphasizing that intelligence, preparation, and technology may outweigh brute strength.

Important Character Interactions

• Ding Lizhong and Mother Ding: She reassures him that losing the company will not destroy the family, helping him recover from the shareholders’ meeting.
• Ding Ruoshui and her parents: Her silent reaction reveals anger and personal determination, even as her mother tries to lighten the atmosphere.
• Lin Xiaosu and Li Changsheng: Their exchange is openly hostile. Lin repeatedly challenges Li’s authority, while Li struggles to maintain control and dignity.
• Lin and Number 88: Their brief exchange in the elevator shows mutual understanding; Number 88 recognizes that Lin has discovered something significant and trusts his judgment.
• The investigators and Li Changsheng: After uncovering the Hydra evidence, they pursue Li together, but his U31 barrier prevents them from apprehending him.
• Lin Xiaosu and Li Changsheng: Li acknowledges Lin as exceptionally dangerous, specifically praising his prior tactic of publicly pressuring hidden enemies rather than relying solely on deception.
  The chapter ends with Li Changsheng trapped behind the U31 barrier but no longer hiding his allegiance to Hydra, setting up a direct confrontation between him and the investigators.

Chapter Summary: “Turning the Tables”

Key Plot Points and Events

• Lin Xiaosu reveals that his earlier confrontation with Li Changsheng was deliberately designed as an “open scheme.” By threatening to investigate Tong Yadong and Changsheng Group’s three pharmaceutical factories, he forced Li Changsheng to personally enter the conflict.
• Li Changsheng admits that he concealed his identity as a Gene Human. In the elevator, he deliberately limited his strength so Lin Xiaosu and the others would mistake him for an ordinary person.
• Li Changsheng explains that his extended conversation with Lin Xiaosu was intended to stall for time, allowing mutant creatures from the laboratory to reach the basement and attack.
• However, Lin Xiaosu and Qianlong’s Number 88 had anticipated this plan. They prolonged the conversation because Qianlong’s forces needed time to surround the Changsheng Group factory complex.
• Lin Xiaosu also intended to use Li Changsheng’s own plan against him: by releasing the mutant creatures, Li Changsheng unknowingly gathered the dangerous experimental beasts in one location, making it possible to eliminate them and remove a major threat beneath River City.
• Li Changsheng argues that the basement’s signal-blocking system prevents Qianlong from receiving reinforcements. Lin Xiaosu reveals that he sent the warning from the private elevator before entering the basement, meaning Qianlong’s response was already underway.
• Mutant creatures pour into the basement, including giant spiders, snakes, wolves, martens, and other experimental beasts. Lin Xiaosu, Shen Yinchuan, and Number 88 fight through them toward the laboratory.
• Meanwhile, Li Changsheng emerges from the basement and discovers that Qianlong has surrounded the entire factory complex with around one hundred Flyers and hundreds of armed robots.
• Qianlong issues a War Order, forcing the factory’s employees to surrender. Attempts to flee are immediately stopped, demonstrating Qianlong’s overwhelming control.
• Gene Humans from the factory’s “Physical Fitness Center” attempt to escape, but most are intercepted. Three manage to break through the walls, only to be killed instantly by a mysterious and extraordinarily fast Qianlong fighter.

Character Developments

• Lin Xiaosu: Demonstrates strategic patience and superior tactical planning. He not only exposes Li Changsheng’s scheme but turns it into an opportunity to eliminate the mutant creatures threatening River City. He also proves capable of killing the creatures effortlessly, suggesting that his combat ability is far greater than Shen Yinchuan realized.
• Li Changsheng: Reveals himself as a powerful Gene Human and a calculating opponent. His confidence in controlling the situation collapses when he realizes that Lin Xiaosu and Qianlong have anticipated his plan and that his own factory is surrounded.
• Shen Yinchuan: Initially distrusts the prolonged conversation, believing it is pointless and dangerous. He remains protective of Lin Xiaosu, positioning himself between Lin and the mutant creatures, but is surprised to learn that Lin Xiaosu needs no protection. His understanding of Lin’s strength and intentions deepens.
• Number 88/Qianlong: Acts as a calm, informed operative who confirms that Qianlong deliberately used Li Changsheng’s delay to complete its encirclement. He fights effectively alongside Lin Xiaosu and Shen Yinchuan.
• Changsheng Group’s Gene Humans: Their attempt to escape reveals the factory’s broader connection to enhanced humans and establishes Qianlong’s ability to suppress even highly capable opponents.

Significant Themes

• Turning an enemy’s strategy against them: Li Changsheng’s plan to use the mutant creatures as weapons becomes the means of destroying them.
• Deception and counter-deception: Both sides conceal information and manipulate the timing of events, but Lin Xiaosu’s broader planning ultimately outmaneuvers Li Changsheng.
• Patience as a weapon: Conversation, normally seen as wasted time during combat, becomes strategically important because both sides use it to prepare their larger plans.
• Revealing hidden strength: Li Changsheng’s concealed Gene Human abilities are matched—and possibly surpassed—by Lin Xiaosu and Qianlong.
• Public power versus covert operations: The secretive Qianlong suddenly displays overwhelming military force, transforming a hidden investigation into a large-scale seizure of the factory.
• Protecting the wider population: Lin Xiaosu’s actions are motivated not only by capturing Li Changsheng but also by preventing mutant creatures from remaining hidden beneath River City.

Character Interactions

• Lin Xiaosu and Li Changsheng engage in a battle of words, each trying to determine who has truly planned ahead.
• Shen Yinchuan acts protectively toward Lin Xiaosu, but Number 88 teases him by pointing out that Lin Xiaosu is far stronger than he assumes.
• Lin Xiaosu reassures Shen Yinchuan while demonstrating his strength by killing several mutant spiders with ease.
• The three allies—Lin Xiaosu, Shen Yinchuan, and Number 88—coordinate their attacks and fight their way through the laboratory passage.
• Li Changsheng and Lin Xiaosu’s confrontation shifts from apparent mutual manipulation to a complete reversal: Li Changsheng believes he is controlling the battlefield, only to discover that Qianlong has already surrounded him.

Chapter Summary: “Another Scheme: Luring the Gentleman into the Jar”

Key Plot Points and Events

• A Qianlong assault on Changsheng Group erupts into a massive battle after Bloodmark publicly beheads three people, revealing the extreme brutality and power of the attackers.
• Li Changsheng orders a retreat as Changsheng’s factory complex is overwhelmed by Qianlong Warriors, robots, and other forces. His decades of work are effectively destroyed.
• Li Changsheng attempts to escape in a technologically advanced flying car, but his trusted driver, Li San, is revealed to be Blue Demon in disguise.
• Blue Demon easily defeats Li Changsheng’s security captain and remaining guards, demonstrating the overwhelming power of an Awakened. She captures Li Changsheng and joins Bloodmark in suppressing the battlefield.
• With Bloodmark and Blue Demon fighting on opposite sides of the factory, Changsheng’s Gene Humans are completely outmatched. The battle’s result becomes inevitable.
• Underground, Lin Xiaosu, Number 88, and Shen Yinchuan defeat the mutant creatures and reach the laboratory holding hundreds of test subjects in cages. They incapacitate the two White-Robed Ones guarding the facility and free the prisoners.
• Lin Xiaosu and Number 88 devise a second trap. Using Changsheng’s communications system, they impersonate Li Changsheng and send carefully tailored messages to dozens of people, directing each to a specific location.
• Qianlong Warriors are positioned at those locations, turning the messages into bait for capturing additional enemies. Number 88 names the plan “Luring the Gentleman into the Jar.”
• The information gathered is sent to Qianlong Headquarters, allowing the organization to capture those who escaped the main battle.
• As the battle winds down, Lin Xiaosu observes Bloodmark and Blue Demon’s extraordinary abilities and learns that both are among Qianlong’s Eighteen Heavenly Kings—elite figures comparable to Jing Lei, who ranks first.
• Bloodmark confronts Lin Xiaosu and explains that he came partly to thank him for avenging Number 65, Bloodmark’s former comrade. He then returns to the battle and effortlessly defeats another Gene Human.
• Number 88 realizes Lin Xiaosu cannot safely participate in the coming confrontation and orders Captain Shen to escort him away from Changsheng Group.

Character Developments and Interactions

• Li Changsheng shifts from a powerful industrial leader to a helpless fugitive. His escape plan collapses when Blue Demon exposes herself as his trusted subordinate’s replacement and captures him.
• Blue Demon is revealed as a terrifying Awakened with overwhelming speed, precision, and disabling abilities. Her deceptive infiltration and effortless victory establish her as one of Qianlong’s strongest agents.
• Bloodmark demonstrates extraordinary Ancient Martial Arts, including immense control over force and movement. He is also shown to possess a personal sense of loyalty and gratitude toward Lin Xiaosu for avenging Number 65.
• Lin Xiaosu proves himself both tactically creative and perceptive. He helps exploit Changsheng’s communications network and recognizes that Bloodmark’s techniques are not the product of Genetic Modification but Ancient Martial Arts.
• Number 88 acts as Lin Xiaosu’s strategic partner, helping transform the enemy’s communication system into a large-scale trap. He also identifies Bloodmark and Blue Demon and understands the danger they represent.
• Shen Yinchuan remains disciplined and cautious, avoiding interference in the Qianlong operation until Number 88 orders him to escort Lin Xiaosu away.
• Lin Xiaosu and Number 88 work with mutual trust and humor, while Bloodmark’s encounter with Lin Xiaosu reveals an unexpected connection through their shared history involving Number 65.

Significant Themes

• Overwhelming power and hierarchy: The chapter emphasizes the gap between ordinary people, Gene Humans, Awakened, and elite Heavenly Kings. Each higher level can dominate the one below it.
• Deception and counter-schemes: Li Changsheng’s attempted escape is defeated by Blue Demon’s infiltration, while Lin Xiaosu and Number 88 respond with their own elaborate trap.
• The collapse of power: Changsheng Group’s seemingly formidable foundation is destroyed in a single coordinated assault, showing that accumulated wealth and technology cannot guarantee survival.
• Loyalty and revenge: Bloodmark’s gratitude toward Lin Xiaosu for avenging Number 65 highlights the importance of comradeship and personal justice within the larger conflict.
• Technology versus martial ability: Changsheng relies on laboratories, machines, and genetic enhancement, while Bloodmark and Blue Demon represent superior physical and supernatural combat power.
• Strategic intelligence: Victory comes not only through strength but through manipulating information, communication, and enemy expectations.

Overall Significance

The chapter marks the decisive downfall of Changsheng Group. Qianlong’s operation succeeds both militarily and strategically: the organization destroys the factory, rescues the captives, captures fleeing enemies, and reveals two of its most powerful champions. Lin Xiaosu also gains greater insight into the level of power within Qianlong, while Bloodmark’s personal acknowledgment establishes a meaningful connection between them.