Chapter Summaries

Key plot points and events

• Shen Bing visits Guanyin, claiming the Bull Demon King sent him to check on Red Boy and deliver a gift. The first claim is made up, but the Buddhist treasure is real.
• Guanyin initially refuses the gift, then accepts it after recognizing its “karmic affinity.” Shen Bing’s delivery quest completes, but he declines the option to return so he can wait to see Red Boy.
• Guanyin asks him to wait outside the Purple Bamboo Grove. The Black Bear Monster escorts him out and then disappears, leaving Shen Bing to wait alone.
• While back in the mortal world, Shen Bing learns that India has withdrawn its troops from a border dispute. Publicly, the withdrawal is attributed to negotiations; leaked satellite images—including a high-resolution image of an Indian missile just after launch—suggest Huaxia’s new surveillance capabilities helped pressure India.
• Shen Bing recognizes that the images likely came from the satellite he helped enable with a lens. He suspects the disclosure was deliberate and wonders whether the United States is mistakenly crediting him for the satellite’s performance.
• That evening, Shen Bing and Li Xiao share New Year’s Eve dinner with company employees, then watch the Spring Festival Gala at home with Little Pimple and Feifei.
• During the leader’s televised New Year address, Shen Bing jokes about the burdens of leadership. Li Xiao begins describing how his ambitions changed, but suddenly warns Shen Bing and kicks the coffee table upward as two impacts strike it.

Character developments and interactions

• Shen Bing shows persistence and quick thinking: he uses the treasure to persuade Guanyin, then stays despite the completed quest because he wants to see Red Boy. He also feels pride in Huaxia’s technological achievement while recognizing that his own contribution was limited.
• Guanyin remains gracious and composed. She accepts the treasure by framing it as karmically suited to her, then permits Shen Bing to wait outside the grove.
• The Black Bear Monster is curt and seemingly resentful toward Shen Bing, perhaps because Shen Bing’s earlier refusal to give his name embarrassed him.
• Li Xiao reveals a progression in his goals—from becoming the world’s strongest mercenary to reuniting with his family—before the sudden attack interrupts him. His protective reflexes are immediately apparent.
• Shen Bing and Li Xiao share a relaxed, familiar rapport at home, but the chapter ends with that calm shattered by an unexplained threat.

Significant themes

• Power and diplomacy: The satellite images demonstrate how surveillance and early warning can influence international behavior without open conflict.
• Recognition and credit: Shen Bing is proud of his role but knows the satellite’s success chiefly belongs to Huaxia’s researchers; he may nonetheless receive—or be assigned—credit.
• Ambition and changing priorities: Li Xiao’s unfinished account suggests that experience and personal loss can reshape a person’s aspirations.
• Karmic affinity and practical advantage: Guanyin’s acceptance echoes the story’s broader contrast between spiritual language and the realities of power, persuasion, and ownership.

Plot points and events

• A group of masked intruders attacks Shen Bing’s villa with modified tranquilizer guns. Li Xiao tries to protect Shen Bing and urges him to reach the basement and call the police, but Little Doudou knocks Li Xiao unconscious to keep him from interfering with Shen Bing’s plan.
• Shen Bing retreats upstairs with Little Doudou and Feifei the Fat Cat. The attackers breach the villa, and Shen Bing realizes they are foreign operatives.
• The chapter shifts to Charles, a former U.S. Marine turned CIA agent, who leads a ten-person team sent to kidnap Shen Bing, a researcher. They have entered Huaxia under false identities, jammed communications, and planned their escape for the New Year holiday.
• Charles and two teammates find Shen Bing in the study and shoot him with tranquilizer darts. They identify him and report that the target is captured.
• Charles and several teammates escape with Shen Bing by river, then drive south to Banna City. A helicopter takes them across the border to Myanmar. Five team members remain behind at the villa to deal with Li Xiao; the escape group has not heard from them.
• Nearly ten the next morning, the police receive a kidnapping report. Once they learn the victim is Shen Bing, the case triggers an emergency response. Deputy police director Zhou Changlin heads to the villa and reports the abduction to city Party secretary Li Zhuoming.

Character developments and interactions

• Shen Bing stays decisive under pressure, recognizing the tranquilizer weapons and directing his escape rather than relying on the police. His apparent capture ends the chapter on a cliffhanger.
• Li Xiao is fiercely protective and willing to hold off the attackers, but Shen Bing refuses to leave him behind. Little Doudou intervenes by knocking him out and carrying him upstairs.
• Little Doudou and Feifei show that their enhancements give them remarkable strength and speed, making them effective allies during the escape.
• Charles is portrayed as arrogant, ideologically committed, and confident in his team’s preparation. He treats the kidnapping as a test of skill and underestimates the danger posed by the villa’s defenders.
• The attackers work with disciplined coordination, while their plan depends on secrecy, communications jamming, and exploiting the holiday lull.

Significant themes

• Betrayal and espionage: The kidnapping is a covert foreign operation concealed behind false identities and a fabricated extremist-group cover story.
• Preparedness versus overconfidence: The attackers have planned carefully, but Charles’s contempt for his target and confidence in an easy escape may prove misplaced.
• Loyalty and protection: Li Xiao’s instinct is to shield Shen Bing, while Shen Bing and Little Doudou each act to protect others in their own way.
• Isolation and urgency: The communications blackout and holiday timing leave Shen Bing cut off from help, turning the villa attack into a race against time.

Key events

• After learning that Shen Bing, chairman of Phantom Immortal Technology, has been kidnapped, Rongcheng officials move into crisis mode. Secretary Jiang orders an immediate citywide search and roadblocks, while keeping the news from Shen’s company to prevent panic.
• Police find little at Shen’s villa beyond anesthetic syringes. The surveillance footage has been tampered with, suggesting a carefully planned operation rather than a simple robbery.
• The investigation takes an international turn when ten members of the U.S. rescue team are reported missing. Their disappearance, together with witnesses’ description of Western-looking kidnappers, leads officials to suspect American involvement.
• The U.S. government claims the missing men were ISIS terrorists who had entered Huaxia undercover, while presenting itself as a counterterrorism partner. Zhou Changlin recognizes that Huaxia needs hard evidence to expose the kidnappers’ true identities and motives.
• Huaxia launches a nationwide manhunt and temporarily detains the rescue team members who remain in the country. Its Foreign Ministry challenges the American account and publicly links the kidnapping to the rescue-team members, while pledging to find Shen.
• The United States protests the detentions and demands the Americans’ release. The two governments trade accusations, and public anger rises.
• Phantom Immortal Technology’s general manager, Wang Sheng, declares that the company will use every means to retaliate and rescue Shen. Soon afterward, the company offers at least US$1 billion to anyone who brings him back.

Character developments and interactions

• Li Zhuoming shifts abruptly from holiday calm to fear and urgency, recognizing the political consequences of harm to Shen. He acts on the information and helps coordinate the response.
• Secretary Jiang takes a hard-line approach, ordering an immediate mobilization while trying to protect the company from destabilizing rumors.
• Zhou Changlin moves from frustration at a baffling case to political anger and a clear understanding that the investigation could affect relations between two major powers. He sees capturing the kidnappers and obtaining confessions as crucial.
• Wang Sheng speaks for the company with defiance, promising retaliation and backing that stance with an extraordinary reward.
• The chapter portrays officials, the police, the Foreign Ministry, and the company reacting to one another as the kidnapping grows from a criminal investigation into an international crisis.

Significant themes

• Power and international politics: Public claims of fairness matter less than national strength and evidence; both governments shape the narrative to their advantage.
• Information and public opinion: Officials manage what is disclosed, while press conferences and online reactions turn the kidnapping into a national issue.
• Patriotism and retaliation: Anger at the alleged foreign operation drives calls for justice and stronger action.
• Corporate power: Phantom Immortal Technology’s billion-dollar offer suggests that a company may wield resources and influence on a scale that challenges ordinary expectations.

Plot points

• The elderly visitor is revealed to be Commander Gao, who arrives with Zhou Changlin at Shen Bing’s villa. Zhou is shocked to find Shen Bing safe, alongside Li Xiao.
• Shen explains that he discovered someone had tampered with the villa’s surveillance and turned the planned kidnapping into a trap. Qiuqiu tracked the intruders; Doudou and Lu Xian helped protect him, while Lu Xian impersonated him and a group of kidnappers carried off the decoy.
• Shen gives the officials a cover story: the “kidnapped” Shen was an experimental bionic robot. He says the public and police should continue acting as though he is missing, preserving the larger operation.
• After Zhou leaves, Commander Gao asks for the invention Shen had promised the government. Shen gives him a vial of azure liquid and claims it is an invisibility potion that defeats visual, infrared, and radar detection.

Character developments and interactions

• Shen Bing shows confidence, resourcefulness, and a mischievous streak. He has orchestrated the deception while keeping even trusted officials in the dark, and refuses to reveal how he plans to retaliate against the Americans.
• Zhou Changlin moves from confusion and resentment to relief when he learns senior officials were also kept uninformed. He accepts the need to maintain the kidnapping story and refrains from pressing Shen for classified details.
• Commander Gao acts as the government’s intermediary: he trusts Shen enough to support the operation, but is incredulous about the potion until its claimed military potential catches his attention.
• Li Xiao remains present as a witness, quietly amused—and impressed—by Shen’s implausible cover story. Doudou and Lu Xian are revealed as crucial parts of Shen’s plan.

Significant themes

• Secrecy and trust: The operation depends on compartmentalized information, leaving even senior officials uninformed.
• Deception as strategy: Shen turns an attempted kidnapping into a controlled counterplot, using a decoy and a false account to conceal what really happened.
• Technology and military power: The promised potion, if genuine, could transform surveillance and defense, prompting the government’s strong interest.
• Shen’s independence: Despite official involvement, Shen retains control over his plans and information.

Key plot points and events

• Li Xiao enters Shen Bing’s Underground Base for the first time. Shen Bing trusts him after Li Xiao stayed behind to protect him during the previous night’s danger.
• Qiuqiu, the Base’s AI, reports that Shen Bing’s kidnappers have fled by plane from Myanmar to Los Angeles. Shen Bing decides to take the fight to them, joking that Li Xiao can become Huaxia’s “superhero” by going to the United States.
• Li Xiao and the children, Little Doudou and Feifei, are sent to deal with the captured agents, while Shen Bing returns to his research. He also concludes his Invisibility Potion is impractical because it makes flesh, but not clothing, invisible.
• Publicly, the United States and Huaxia trade accusations. A video from the extremist group Dash claims responsibility for Shen Bing’s kidnapping, seemingly supporting the American position. Shen Bing asks Qiuqiu to identify the group and its members; she finds links between Dash and several Americans.
• Frustrated by his lack of a team capable of acting against them, Shen Bing considers using a Beast-Subjugation Talisman but decides not to waste one he has not fully studied.
• He travels to the Immortal Realm to ask the Third Prince for more Beast-Subjugation Talismans. Spotting the prince’s cultivation text, Shen Bing asks to borrow it, but the prince refuses, warning that immortal teachings must not be shared. Shen Bing backs down and moves on to his actual request.

Character developments and interactions

• Shen Bing shows growing trust in Li Xiao and determination to retaliate against those behind the kidnapping. His curiosity about cultivation also becomes clear, though he quickly retreats when he realizes he has crossed a taboo.
• Li Xiao is impressed by the Base and accepts the dangerous mission to the United States, despite hoping “superhero” meant gaining extraordinary powers.
• Qiuqiu is capable and efficient, tracking the plane and the online video, but she also teases Li Xiao, prompting Shen Bing to defend him.
• The Third Prince remains childlike and easily irritated, but he spares Shen Bing’s offense because of their previous interaction.

Significant themes

• Trust and loyalty: Shen Bing’s decision to bring Li Xiao into the Base reflects the value he places on people who stand by him under pressure.
• Propaganda and political blame: The public claim of responsibility complicates the international dispute, while Shen Bing’s findings suggest the story has hidden connections.
• Limits of power and resources: Shen Bing wants to act but lacks a reliable team and must weigh whether using rare tools is worthwhile.
• Knowledge and taboo: Shen Bing’s attempt to access immortal cultivation teachings reveals that some knowledge is guarded by strict rules.

Key plot points and events

• Shen Bing buys two Basic Beast-Subjugation Talismans from Nezha for 200 immortal jade. Nezha explains that they must be coated with the user’s blood, burned, and swallowed by the target; they stop working if the target becomes immortal or reaches comparable strength.
• Shen Bing learns that ordinary immortal pills would be lethal to mortals. A Nine-Turn Golden Core Pill is far beyond his means, while Hua Tuo and Sun Simiao could make mortal-suitable pills only with rare ingredients and at prohibitive cost.
• He visits Erlang Shen’s Guankou Sanctuary, hoping his Gate to the Immortal Realm might help Erlang enter the Zhou Tian Star-Dipper Formation—and earn Shen Bing a valuable reward.
• Before meeting Erlang, Shen Bing uses Forced Analysis on the talismans. One attempt fails; the other yields the two-star technology Subconscious Implantation Technology.
• Shen Bing transfers in two talismans, prepares them according to Nezha’s instructions, and goes to the Western District to choose test subjects for a mission to Syria. He considers Rosa but decides not to select her, then concludes Li Xiao should assess the prisoners’ strength.

Character developments and interactions

• Shen Bing is increasingly resourceful and commercially minded, carefully weighing costs, risks, and possible rewards. His excitement at buying from a god is tempered by regret that an earlier reward from Nezha was worth only 100 immortal jade.
• His interest in Rosa reveals a mix of selfish fantasy and unexpected concern: he imagines controlling her, but privately worries she might not return from the dangerous mission.
• Nezha is frank about the talismans’ limited usefulness and the high cost or scarcity of mortal-compatible medicines, though Shen Bing feels he keeps revealing the obstacles one detail at a time.
• Shen Bing consults Qiuqiu for information about the Western District. She reports that it holds eighteen people and two cats, including Li Xiao fighting a Black Agent while Little Doudou and Feifei watch.

Significant themes

• Power, money, and divine commerce: Shen Bing treats dealings with gods as business, but divine goods and medicines remain costly or inaccessible.
• Limits of mortal advancement: Immortal techniques and medicines are generally unsuitable for mortals, highlighting the divide between mortal and immortal realms.
• Ethics of control: The talismans offer a means to dominate others, and Shen Bing’s plans raise questions about coercion, even as he shows some personal concern for Rosa.
• Risk and ambition: Shen Bing pursues difficult opportunities, including Erlang Shen’s quest, while seeking ways to gain power and valuable rewards.

Plot points and events

• Shen Bing arrives at the underground holding area and finds Li Xiao fighting captured operatives. Li Xiao explains that he has already fought Bernie, while Little Doudou knocked Bernie out before the next match.
• Shen Bing asks Li Xiao to identify the strongest prisoners. Little Doudou selects Thorne, the team leader, and Bernie. Testing confirms that both are formidable: Bernie is roughly Li Xiao’s equal, while Thorne can defeat Li Xiao.
• Little Doudou knocks both men unconscious, and they are taken to Shen Bing’s laboratory. Shen Bing gives them water containing Basic Beast-Subjugation Talismans, then wakes them one at a time.
• The talismans make Thorne and Bernie completely loyal to Shen Bing without erasing their memories or changing their abilities. Shen Bing verifies the effect with a Consciousness-Reading Device and plans to send them to Syria.
• He realizes that their unchanged identities and the police cordon make it nearly impossible for them to leave Rongcheng, let alone Huaxia. Nevertheless, he decides he must retaliate decisively to deter future attacks on Phantom Immortal Technology.
• Shen Bing spends a thousand immortal jade to bring Lu Ban’s Immortal Carriage, Old Ban, into the real world. He learns that it can travel by land, air, or water; transform into different passenger vehicles within size limits; and turn invisible.

Character developments and interactions

• Shen Bing shifts from managing captured enemies to planning a forceful response. He accepts a major cost to obtain a more capable tool and protect his company.
• Li Xiao enjoys testing himself against strong opponents, trusting that Little Doudou will keep him safe. His fights reveal that Thorne is even more capable than he is.
• Little Doudou demonstrates an ability to assess strength and continues to control dangerous situations by knocking out both selected prisoners.
• Thorne and Bernie become obedient subordinates through the talismans, though their memories and original skills remain intact.
• Shen Bing’s calm, pointed exchange with Bernie establishes that the attackers’ intended target is now in control; afterward, he focuses on using the captured men rather than engaging them further.

Significant themes

• Strength as deterrence: Shen Bing believes that forceful retaliation is necessary to discourage future threats.
• Power and control: The talismans offer reliable loyalty, while the Consciousness-Reading Device provides reassurance that the transformation is genuine.
• The limits of power: Shen Bing can command formidable men but cannot easily move them past law enforcement or across borders.
• Cost and opportunity: He willingly spends heavily on Old Ban, judging its defensive and strategic value worth the price.

Plot points and events

• Shen Bing demonstrates the Immortal Carriage’s invisibility and assigns control permissions to Thorne and Bernie. He equips it with a map, GPS display, and the ability to expand into a flying-saucer-like vehicle.
• Shen orders the two men to take Little Doudou to Syria, promising to send mission details later. Little Doudou briefly considers bringing Feifei, but decides to leave the cat behind.
• The carriage turns invisible and speeds away. Shen then returns to his underground base and arranges for Li Xiao to fly to the United States.
• As rumors swirl about Shen’s whereabouts and mercenaries entering Syria, Phantom Immortal Technology publicly vows retaliation against Dash, the organization claiming responsibility for Shen’s kidnapping.
• The next morning, Dash is reported destroyed: more than two hundred members have been killed, and their bodies arranged to spell “I was wrong!” The Godslayer Mercenary Squad claims the operation and receives a reward from the company.
• The world assumes the squad acted on Phantom Immortal Technology’s behalf, but Shen has not been rescued. His location remains unknown, suggesting the attack is only the beginning.

Character developments and interactions

• Shen shows confidence in using powerful technology he does not fully understand, delegating the dangerous mission rather than going himself. He calmly guides Thorne and Bernie through the carriage’s controls.
• Thorne and Bernie’s assumptions about reality collapse as they encounter the carriage’s sudden appearance, its supernatural capabilities, and Little Doudou’s telepathy. Their Beast-Subjugation Talismans ensure loyalty, though they remain bewildered.
• Little Doudou acts boastfully toward the men, calling itself their “Bean Master,” but also reveals a selfish, comic streak when it chooses not to risk Feifei on the mission.
• Feifei stays with Shen, while Little Doudou accompanies Thorne and Bernie to Syria.

Significant themes

• Clashing worldviews: Modern, supposedly rational characters struggle to make sense of supernatural technology and telepathy.
• Power and retaliation: Phantom Immortal Technology turns its public threat into a devastating response, changing how the world views the company.
• Uncertainty and escalation: Dash’s destruction resolves neither Shen’s disappearance nor the larger crisis; it marks the opening move in a conflict whose true stakes remain unclear.

Plot points and events

• CIA deputy director Herman celebrates the successful kidnapping of Shen Bing and plans to exploit his knowledge of room-temperature superconductors. Shen Bing is secretly taken to an underground research institute near Los Angeles, where he refuses to cooperate.
• Herman’s confidence collapses when he learns that an American-backed organization in Syria has been destroyed and that Li Xiao—Shen Bing’s driver and bodyguard—has unexpectedly arrived in Los Angeles. Unsure how Li found them, the CIA launches an internal investigation and assigns agents to follow him.
• Anonymous tips send several news outlets toward Allah Town, where the research institute is located. Li Xiao also heads there, heightening the surveillance teams’ alarm.
• In Rongcheng, the real Shen Bing monitors the United States through Qiuqiu’s hacked systems. The map tracks allies and American personnel, and Qiuqiu reports that the institute’s surveillance and communications have been compromised.
• Shen Bing orders Li Xiao to use an Invisibility Potion to enter the underground facility and sends a new mission plan to Lu Xian, who has been impersonating Shen Bing.
• During interrogation, Lu Xian breaks his restraints with ease, startling the two interviewers.

Character developments and interactions

• Herman shifts from triumphant ambition to anxious suspicion, especially over Li Xiao’s arrival and the possibility of a leak.
• Shen Bing proves to be several steps ahead, using hacking, decoys, and carefully coordinated distractions to manipulate the Americans.
• Li Xiao acts as the conspicuous lure: his open arrival draws the CIA’s attention while he prepares to infiltrate the facility.
• Lu Xian maintains a mocking silence until he declares the interrogators “a bunch of ants,” then reveals unexpected strength. The researchers’ attempt to persuade him to serve the United States ends abruptly in fear.
• The CIA’s agents and researchers are forced into uneasy cooperation: agents monitor threats and leaks, while researchers wait to verify the captive’s scientific knowledge.

Significant themes

• Deception and misdirection: The Americans believe they control the situation, but Shen Bing exploits decoys, false data, and public attention to conceal his real plan.
• Hubris and reversal: Herman’s political ambitions and confidence give way to panic as events escape his control.
• Power and vulnerability: The institute’s advanced security and restraints prove useless against Lu Xian, while the supposedly powerful intelligence agencies are themselves being watched and manipulated.

• Lu Xian takes over the institute: Disguised as Shen Bing, Lu Xian incapacitates the interrogators, then reveals himself. With Qiuqiu manipulating surveillance and cutting off the institute’s communications, he moves through the underground facility, knocking out everyone he encounters—including the researchers, Herman, and Charles’s group. He plans to take the researchers with him and make a large quantity of N explosive. He escapes aboard an invisible, saucer-shaped craft.
• The institute is destroyed: Li Xiao gets out of a taxi near Allah Town and heads into the woods, prompting intelligence agencies to send agents toward the area. Meanwhile, an unseen warning that an underground terrorist base is about to explode is shouted across town. A massive blast destroys the disguised sanatorium above the institute, causing panic and leaving bodies scattered nearby.
• The cover story collapses: Reporters rush to the scene and identify Shen Bing among those reportedly rescued, while asking how a supposed terrorist base could have operated inside the United States. FBI agent Feiss offers only a promise of an investigation, but the reporters press him about government incompetence and possible official involvement in the kidnapping. Intelligence and FBI teams arrive, isolate the press, and remove the bodies, but the ruined site cannot yet be searched safely.
  Character developments and interactions: Lu Xian is efficient, ruthless, and focused on carrying out his boss’s orders, showing little concern for the people he incapacitates. Qiuqiu’s control of information makes the raid invisible to those monitoring the facility. Feiss, initially hoping to manage the press, is cornered by questions he cannot answer; the reporters become his adversaries, forcing the government’s apparent secrecy and failure into public view. The intelligence officials, facing the destruction of a major covert operation and the prospect of public exposure, are left overwhelmed.
  Themes: The chapter emphasizes the power of technology and information control, the fragility of institutional security, and the consequences of political secrecy. It also contrasts official claims with what reporters and the public can see, while the explosion transforms a covert operation into a potential national scandal.

Plot points and events

• A massive explosion destroys an underground research institute outside Los Angeles, apparently killing nearly two thousand people. Shen Bing, a Huaxian technology executive abducted the previous day, is reported to have been rescued shortly before the blast.
• President Trump and his advisers scramble to contain the political fallout. They consider claiming the institute belonged to terrorists, calling the explosion an accident, and concealing the true number of casualties. The cause of the blast and the rescue remain unexplained.
• Officials suspect mercenaries may be involved and want to recapture Shen Bing and arrest Li Xiao, but they have no clear leads.
• News spreads worldwide within minutes. Media reports raise the possibility that the U.S. government orchestrated Shen Bing’s abduction, provoking international outrage and leaving the United States without allies.
• The White House hastily convenes a press conference as public pressure grows. The chapter ends with the press secretary facing reporters, visibly intimidated.

Character developments and interactions

• Trump shifts from his usual arrogance to panic and self-pity, fearing impeachment and a disastrous legacy. He questions his advisers and resents whoever authorized the operation against Shen Bing.
• Secretary of State Morey urges the president to establish a unified account, but can offer no explanation for the explosion or the rescue.
• A senior adviser recommends a coordinated cover-up, emphasizing that acknowledging the institute’s true nature and casualty count would make the crisis worse.
• Shen Bing and Li Xiao do not appear directly, but their reported rescue and unexplained role dominate the government’s response and the international news cycle.
• The White House team’s discussion reveals a growing gap between what officials know, what they can prove, and what they are willing to tell the public.

Significant themes

• Political power and accountability: A government operation meant to exert power over an individual threatens to bring down the president.
• Information control and propaganda: Officials prioritize shaping the story and hiding casualties over establishing the truth.
• International trust and self-interest: The abduction allegation unites other countries in suspicion of the United States, while even close allies stay silent.
• Arrogance and its consequences: The administration’s confidence in its own power contrasts with its inability to explain or control events. The narration also reveals that the officials have been deceived from the outset: the Shen Bing they captured was not the real Shen Bing.

Plot and key events

• After the Allah Town explosion, the U.S. government publicly recasts the Underground Research Institute as a terrorist base and blames the attack on the Dash organization. It admits to more than 200 deaths, concealing the real toll of nearly 2,000.
• Officials face pointed questions about the intelligence failure, border security, and Shen Bing’s whereabouts. Since Shen is missing—and may know what really happened—the government launches a nationwide search, especially around Los Angeles, while monitoring ports, airports, and Huaxia diplomatic missions.
• The administration also uses the crisis to blame Syria and seek congressional support for military action there.
• Shen watches the press conference and recognizes the government’s effort to shift blame: dead official Herman is made a terrorist accomplice, CIA director Regoli resigns, and the tragedy is turned into a justification for foreign policy.
• Commander Gao calls Shen. They discuss the U.S. response, the possible strategic consequences of intervention in Syria, and the technology behind Shen’s escape plan. Shen says Li Xiao used an Invisibility Potion to enter the facility and rescue his double.
• Shen claims a miniature version of his company’s tunneling machine, the Golden Pangolin, enabled explosives to be delivered into the base via a narrow tunnel, though he says a mercenary group carried out the operation. He offers a plausible cover story rather than the full truth.
• Commander Gao warns that the Golden Pangolin could threaten national security if misused. Shen proposes tracking each unit sold and programming restricted no-dig zones. Gao accepts the safeguards and asks how much Invisibility Potion Shen can produce.

Character developments and interactions

• Shen Bing remains composed and playful under pressure. He sees through the U.S. government’s narrative, is confident he can evade capture, and uses humor and selective disclosure in his conversation with Gao.
• Commander Gao is concerned both by the human cost of the disaster and by the geopolitical fallout of U.S. action in Syria. He recognizes Shen’s role in events but respects his ingenuity, while pressing him on the risks of his inventions.
• The U.S. administration is portrayed as calculating: it sacrifices individuals, obscures the death toll, and exploits the disaster to advance its aims.
• Shen and Gao share a frank, teasing rapport. Gao criticizes Shen’s risky methods, while Shen redirects the conversation toward how Phantom Immortal Technology might assist the state.

Significant themes

• Political scapegoating and propaganda: Officials reshape events to shield the government and guide public opinion.
• Crisis as opportunity: The administration turns tragedy into a rationale for military action.
• Technology and responsibility: Powerful inventions can serve strategic purposes but also create serious security risks.
• Personal action within geopolitics: Shen’s operation has consequences beyond the immediate rescue, affecting international alliances and state interests.

Plot points and events

• Commander Gao contacts Shen Bing about producing the Invisibility Potion. Military researchers have been unable to reproduce either its effects or its workings, despite identifying its ingredients.
• Shen Bing reveals he is developing a stealth material with a similar effect. Commander Gao offers government funding and staff in exchange for exclusive military use for ten years.
• Shen Bing accepts the general arrangement but declines the support, instead asking the government to help obtain bismuth, a scarce raw material. He estimates the research will take up to six months.
• Commander Gao is astonished by the timeline, though he regards six months as remarkably fast given the potential military value of true invisibility.
• Shen Bing has already made preliminary progress. He gives himself the longer deadline so he can also develop a countermeasure, wary of becoming vulnerable to his own technology.
• As Shen Bing waits for Lu Xian and the others to return, the international fallout from a terrorist attack in the United States grows. Huaxia condemns the attack, criticizes U.S. counterterrorism failures, and demands the safe return of kidnapped Shen Bing.
• American public opinion turns against the president: approval falls sharply, and the House considers impeachment. The chapter ends by hinting that another group of Americans is frightened.

Character developments and interactions

• Shen Bing remains shrewd and self-reliant. He uses the military’s interest to secure help obtaining bismuth, rejects bureaucratic funding and personnel, and secretly plans for his own protection.
• Commander Gao is impressed by the invisibility technology and eager to secure it for the military. He negotiates exclusive access but is left baffled by Shen Bing’s unusually long estimate of six months.
• Shen Bing and Commander Gao maintain a friendly but strategic rapport: Gao offers resources and terms, while Shen Bing carefully controls what he reveals and what he needs.

Significant themes

• Military power and technological advantage: True invisibility could radically alter the balance of power.
• Trust and self-protection: Shen Bing is willing to cooperate with the state but refuses to rely on others without preparing a defense.
• Political accountability and public opinion: The attack exposes U.S. vulnerabilities and fuels criticism of its leadership, while other countries use the incident to challenge American hypocrisy.
• Secrecy and leverage: Shen Bing’s knowledge and progress give him bargaining power, while the broader political consequences remain uncertain.

Plot points and events

• Disney’s executives worry that Shen Bing’s kidnapping could disrupt their $2.6-billion Dream Glass project. They trust Phantom Immortal Technology’s promise to honor its contracts, but grow alarmed after the Allah Town explosion and reports that CIA Deputy Director Herman colluded with terrorists.
• Disney executive Robert suspects the CIA abducted Shen Bing to seize his technology, and that Shen escaped and destroyed the underground base. The executives fear Shen may retaliate against the U.S. government, jeopardizing their investment and access to Dream Glass.
• In Rongcheng, police end the nationwide search and withdraw from Dragon Lake Ring Island. Twelve muscular Huaxian men quietly move into nearby villas, suggesting security arrangements remain in place.
• Shen returns to his villa aboard the Immortal Carriage with Little Doudou, Li Xiao, Thorne, and Bernie. Li Xiao hands Shen the Cauldron Furnace and remarks that Lu Xian is now Shen’s responsibility; Bernie marvels at the aircraft and jokes about wanting one.
• Shen and his companions take hundreds of unconscious captives to the Underground Base. Shen orders them secured and has Qiuqiu identify them, assess their skills, and add them to talent databases.
• Shen then begins studying Subconscious Implantation Technology, which he recently acquired. It subtly shapes a person’s thoughts, unlike the more direct Consciousness Writing method, and is weaker than the Beast-Subjugation Talisman—but still powerful by ordinary human standards.

Character developments and interactions

• Wang Sheng has been helping maintain the fiction of Shen’s kidnapping. He is relieved when Shen is reported rescued, having found the deception stressful to sustain.
• Disney’s executives, especially Robert, shift from confidence in their contract to suspicion and anxiety about the CIA’s role and Shen’s possible response.
• Shen Bing shows growing trust in Li Xiao: he has secretly tested him and plans to make him a genuine right-hand man, gradually sharing most of his secrets while keeping the Gate to the Immortal Realm concealed.
• Li Xiao is unusually cheerful after the operation and its success against American agents. Little Doudou dismisses the opponents as weak, while Bernie admires Shen’s aircraft.
• Shen’s treatment of the captives is practical and systematic: they are imprisoned, evaluated, and categorized for possible use.

Significant themes

• Deception and competing narratives: The kidnapping story conceals Shen’s real movements, while Disney tries to infer what happened from public statements.
• Corporate interests amid political conflict: Disney’s executives focus on how a CIA operation and Shen’s possible retaliation could threaten their investment.
• Trust and controlled disclosure: Shen is cultivating Li Xiao as a trusted partner but still protects his deepest secret.
• Technology as power and influence: The chapter contrasts direct personality-writing with gradual subconscious manipulation, raising the importance of subtle control.

Key events

• Shen Bing’s mother calls after learning from a news alert that he was kidnapped by terrorists. He confirms the report was true but reassures her that he is safe and back home. She decides to cut short her trip and return the next day.
• Shen Bing learns that Yuan Wei has called more than thirty times and his three classmates have also repeatedly tried to reach him. Touched by their concern, he asks Qiuqiu to tell them he is back and to unblock his phone.
• He leaves the Underground Base with Li Xiao to visit the company. They travel in the Immortal Carriage, disguised as a Wuling Hongguang. Its exceptionally smooth ride impresses Shen Bing.
• In the Gate to the Immortal Realm, Shen Bing summons Perfected Lord Erlang and claims he can help with the Zhou Tian Star-Dipper Formation. Erlang challenges his knowledge and then abruptly disappears, leaving Shen Bing without knowing where to go.

Character developments and interactions

• Shen Bing shows consideration for his parents by reassuring his mother without revealing everything about the kidnapping. He is also moved by the calls from Yuan Wei and his classmates.
• His mother’s worry quickly gives way to her characteristic decisiveness and humor: she insists the family’s trip is essentially over despite having only just begun.
• Shen Bing makes clear that he values Li Xiao as a trusted adviser, not a submissive servant. Li Xiao is impressed by the Immortal Carriage and seems to envy the special bond Shen Bing has with Bernie and Thorne.
• Shen Bing and Erlang Shen trade guarded, challenging remarks. Shen Bing adopts a bold, almost boastful stance to earn Erlang’s respect, while Erlang remains suspicious because of their previous encounter.

Significant themes

• Care and connection: Even someone powerful and self-reliant is comforted by knowing others worry about him.
• Trust and useful loyalty: Shen Bing distinguishes between obedience and genuine counsel, valuing people who can question and guide him.
• Confidence and status: His exchange with Erlang suggests that respect in the Immortal Realm must be earned through displays of strength and knowledge.
• Comfort and technology: The Immortal Carriage’s ordinary appearance conceals extraordinary capabilities, underscoring the contrast between its disguise and power.

Plot points and events

• Shen Bing accepts Erlang Shen’s invitation and teleports to the outskirts of the damaged Zhou Tian Star-Dipper Formation. The immense starfield makes him physically dizzy, and he worries he may be unable to help—or that Erlang Shen will punish him if he fails.
• By comparing the view with his Teleportation Talisman’s map, Shen Bing realizes the apparent stars are projections created by hidden Star Banners planted in the ground. The banners, not the overwhelming stellar images, are the formation’s vulnerable foundation.
• He locates a nearby banner on the map and tries to reach it, but the formation distorts space: after walking what should be fifty meters, he remains about fifty meters away. He gives up and waits for Erlang Shen.
• While waiting, Shen Bing fields calls from Sun Li, Wang Bo, and Old Yang, then arrives at Yongxin Plaza. Two security guards are discussing his kidnapping when he appears in person, surprising them.
• News of Shen Bing’s return to Rongcheng spreads rapidly. Governments that had hoped to exploit his disappearance are baffled, while officials in the United States are especially frustrated that he escaped their reach.

Character developments and interactions

• Shen Bing moves from overconfidence and anxiety to a useful insight: although he cannot grasp the entire ancient formation, he identifies its basic mechanism and a possible way to break it. His attempt to approach a banner shows the limits of his understanding.
• Erlang Shen is absent from the scene for now; Shen Bing waits for him, recognizing that the god must travel there rather than teleport.
• Sun Li checks that Shen Bing is alive, then jokes crudely about the kidnapping and explosion. Their familiar, teasing exchange shows their easy friendship. Wang Bo and Old Yang also call to check in.
• The security guards shift from speculating about Shen Bing’s fate to nervously greeting him when he appears. Shen Bing responds good-naturedly, confirming that the Americans could not keep him.

Significant themes

• Appearances versus reality: The stars are convincing projections; the hidden banners are the true structure of the formation.
• Limits of knowledge and power: Shen Bing uncovers only the formation’s basic principle, while its full cosmic mechanics remain beyond him.
• Disorientation and unstable reality: The formation distorts perception and space, defeating ordinary expectations.
• Scientific and strategic value: Shen Bing’s knowledge and superconducting technology make him a coveted figure in international power struggles.
• Humor amid danger: Shen Bing’s irreverent thoughts and casual banter contrast with the supernatural threat and geopolitical tension.

Key plot points

• Shen Bing’s return to Huaxia leaves the U.S. White House embarrassed. After helping cover up the failed abduction and searching for him, American officials must publicly respond. Huaxia’s spokesperson thanks them for their “contribution,” giving the Americans a face-saving line that nevertheless stings.
• Huaxia’s national and local leaders contact Shen Bing to express relief and apologize for inadequate security. Shen understands that senior officials also want to warn Rongcheng’s leadership to take his company more seriously.
• Wang Sheng explains how exhausting the crisis has been for him and worries that the United States might obstruct the company’s expansion. Shen argues that economic interests will restrain the Americans, and that exposing the affair would achieve little: Phantom Immortal Technology must instead build enough strength to challenge them.
• A notification draws Shen back into the Gate to the Immortal Realm, where Perfected Lord Erlang demands that he break the Zhou Tian Star-Dipper Formation. Shen claims he can identify its Star Banners, but when Erlang dismisses him and threatens combat, Shen refuses to help without a personal benefit.

Character developments and interactions

• Shen Bing remains composed and politically calculating after the abduction. He reassures Wang Sheng, chooses long-term strength over public retaliation, and projects growing confidence in his company’s future. In the Immortal Realm, he is also boastful and evasive, using his knowledge to bargain rather than simply cooperate.
• Wang Sheng is revealed to have borne much of the crisis alone, barely sleeping while keeping the company running. Despite his concerns about U.S. retaliation, he expresses deep loyalty to Shen and faith in his vision.
• Secretary Li Zhuoming and Secretary Jiang Dongchuan reach out to repair relations and apologize for the local and provincial governments’ failures. Their calls underline how seriously officials now take Shen’s influence.
• Perfected Lord Erlang is skeptical of Shen’s claims and tries to force him into action through a challenge. Shen counters by making clear that he will not break the formation for nothing.

Significant themes

• Power and wealth in politics: The chapter portrays U.S. policy as shaped by wealthy interests, while emphasizing the diplomatic costs of the failed operation.
• Strength over exposure: Shen believes publicizing wrongdoing cannot overturn a superpower’s position; building power is more effective than seeking immediate vindication.
• Loyalty and ambition: Wang’s devotion reflects the company’s shared long-term goal, while the chapter ends by asserting Shen’s determination to overcome anyone who blocks its rise.
• Self-interest and leverage: Both political actors and Shen treat cooperation as conditional, and Shen applies the same strategic bargaining in the Immortal Realm.

Plot points

• Shen Bing negotiates with Perfected Lord Erlang before agreeing to break the Zhou Tian Star-Dipper Formation. In exchange, Erlang promises a Protective Jade Pendant refined by Daoist Duobao.
• Shen Bing uses a Teleportation Talisman to reach a Great Zhou Star-Dipper Banner and disrupt the formation. He returns quickly, warning that it will recover within two incense sticks.
• Erlang rushes into the formation, but first sends Shen Bing the promised reward. The pendant proves powerful but difficult to use: its defenses are untested, analysis fails, and teleporting it out would cost 6,000 Immortal Jade.
• Shen Bing keeps the pendant, speculating that it may contain advanced energy-shield technology useful to his company’s future space ambitions.
• He heads to his parents’ apartment to water their plants. After noticing unexplained water droplets, he hears a bang and suspects a burglar.
• Rather than confront the intruder alone, Shen Bing calls Li Xiao. Li Xiao charges upstairs, where a fight breaks out; the chapter ends with a scream.

Character developments and interactions

• Shen Bing is pragmatic and openly transactional with Erlang, insisting on agreed terms before helping. He remains wary of danger, but is curious about the pendant’s potential.
• Perfected Lord Erlang is frustrated by Shen Bing’s blunt bargaining, yet honors the deal once the formation is broken.
• Li Xiao eagerly responds to Shen Bing’s call and rushes toward the suspected burglar, displaying his combative enthusiasm.
• Shen Bing’s affection for his parents appears in his concern for their plants, while his fond recollection of Yan Lexuan suggests he misses her help around the office.

Significant themes

• Fair exchange and obligation: Shen Bing insists that good intentions do not replace clear compensation.
• The cost of powerful rewards: The pendant is valuable, but its usefulness is constrained by the system’s fees and uncertainty.
• Caution versus bravado: Shen Bing avoids a risky confrontation, while Li Xiao confidently takes the lead.
• Technology and future ambition: Shen Bing sees the Immortal Artifact as a possible source of advanced defensive technology.

Plot points and events

• Shen Bing realizes his parents have arranged another surprise: Yun Xue, a childhood friend, is staying in his family’s home with his parents’ permission.
• Li Xiao mistakes Yun Xue for an intruder and carries her downstairs bound. Shen Bing identifies her as a friend, and Li Xiao releases her; Yun Xue tries to kick him but is easily stopped.
• Shen Bing and Yun Xue bicker over their childhood rivalry, their age difference, and what she should call him. He initially threatens to leave, but stays when she mentions dinner—then teases her about her poor cooking.
• Yuan Wei calls to say dinner is ready at Shen Bing’s villa. Shen Bing mentions that his beautiful nanny cooks well, provoking Yun Xue’s jealousy. When she pretends to cry, Shen Bing gives in and invites her to eat with him.
• Yun Xue links arms with Shen Bing as they leave. In the car, she questions why he hired a beautiful nanny instead of buying a better vehicle, then asks whether he has ulterior motives toward the nanny. Li Xiao points out that he is also Shen Bing’s employee, leaving Yun Xue to reconsider her accusation.
• The chapter ends with Shen Bing asking whether Yun Xue knows what he is doing; she only knows that he is starting his own business.

Character developments and interactions

• Shen Bing shifts from embarrassment and irritation to playful affection toward Yun Xue. Though he teases her, her tears make him feel guilty, and he includes her in his plans.
• Yun Xue is confident, competitive, and sharp-tongued, but her genuine tears and nervousness hint at deeper feelings for Shen Bing. Her jealousy over Yuan Wei emerges despite her insistence that arm-linking is merely friendly.
• Li Xiao remains calm and dutiful, first handling Yun Xue as a suspected thief and later serving as a dry, humorous voice of reason.
• Shen Bing and Yun Xue’s childhood closeness and academic rivalry shape their easy, combative banter; their physical familiarity and Yun Xue’s emotional reaction suggest their relationship may be changing.

Significant themes

• Family interference and surprise: Shen Bing’s parents have arranged Yun Xue’s stay without consulting him.
• Childhood ties and changing feelings: Familiar teasing masks nostalgia, attraction, and uncertainty.
• Jealousy and miscommunication: Yun Xue’s questions about Yuan Wei reveal more concern than she admits.
• Humor through reversal: The apparent intruder becomes a familiar guest, and Shen Bing’s teasing quickly turns into an invitation to dinner.

Key plot points and events

• Shen Bing drives Yun Xue in an extraordinarily smooth car, dodging her questions about its modifications.
• Yun Xue reveals she has landed a project-manager role researching Interactive Touch Technology at Illusion Immortal Technology—the company Shen Bing owns. She casually describes its boss, also named Shen Bing, as an “unlucky fellow” who was kidnapped. Shen Bing nearly reveals himself but keeps quiet.
• During the drive, Yun Xue talks about studying in the United States and reflects on feeling safer back home. Shen Bing responds with a reflection on contentment and people idealizing what they lack.
• Shen brings Yun Xue to his luxurious home at Dragon Lake Ring Island. She hopes to earn enough to buy a villa nearby, unaware her new employer belongs to him.
• In the garden, they find two unusually cheerful sparrows perched on the peach tree Shen grew from an Immortal Peach Pit. He avoids explaining the tree’s odd growth.
• At the villa, Yun Xue meets Yuan Wei. She jokingly calls herself Shen Bing’s childhood sweetheart, prompting a playful argument. She stays overnight, saying it would be unsafe to travel home alone.
• Meanwhile, Phantom Immortal Technology’s industrial park is expanding rapidly. Its glass and machinery factories receive heavy deliveries and buy equipment to keep pace with demand.
• The Liushi Machinery Factory suffers the consequences of Shen Bing’s blacklist after it broke a contract. Its attempts to regain business—including offering a procurement manager a large bribe—fail, and it becomes an industry example of the cost of dishonesty.

Character developments and interactions

• Shen Bing continues concealing his identity as Illusion Immortal Technology’s owner from Yun Xue. His teasing, evasions, and restraint create comic tension, especially when she criticizes her own boss in front of him.
• Yun Xue is confident and proud of her new position, openly ambitious, and comfortable teasing Shen Bing about their childhood. Her connection to the company makes her an unwitting participant in his secret.
• Yuan Wei and Yun Xue are immediately wary of each other, though both remain polite. Yun Xue’s “childhood sweetheart” claim adds a note of rivalry and humor.
• Shen Bing and Yun Xue share familiar, playful banter, alongside more thoughtful conversation about safety, happiness, and contentment.
• The procurement manager’s refusal to take the bribe contrasts sharply with the Liushi Machinery Factory’s earlier breach of trust.

Significant themes

• Integrity and accountability: The Liushi factory’s lost business shows that broken trust can have lasting commercial consequences.
• Contentment and perspective: Shen Bing argues that people often idealize what they lack and overlook what they have.
• Secrecy and dramatic irony: Yun Xue unknowingly works for Shen Bing while speaking freely about him.
• Ambition and status: Yun Xue’s hopes of buying a villa contrast with Shen Bing’s existing wealth, which she only partly understands.