Chapter Summaries

Key plot points and events

• Shen Bing discusses the company’s planned Spaceship program with Rox. The Underground Base will handle research and testing, while the Industrial Park will handle manufacturing. Shen says he will work on clearing the political and public hurdles, while Rox focuses on solving the technical problems.
• Gao Jingchuan calls early in the morning to tell Shen that national leaders have decided to move government and military computers and phones to Phantom Immortal Technology’s Dragon Scale operating system. A government delegation will soon visit to assess it.
• Shen welcomes the news, seeing it less as a major source of profit than as proof of the government’s growing trust in his company. He believes that trust could help him secure approval for the company’s ambitions in space exploration.
• Shen tells Wang Sheng about the decision, then enters the Gate to the Immortal Realm and returns to Green Screen Mountain.
• The Bull Demon King greets Shen enthusiastically and praises him for killing a powerful demon with ease. Shen asks whether the Flood Dragon Demon King followed his advice and went to meet Great Sage Sun.

Character developments and interactions

• Shen Bing remains confident and playful, teasing Gao for waking him and later calling him useful. Beneath the jokes, he is careful to preserve a cooperative relationship with Huaxia, which he regards as essential to the company’s future.
• Gao Jingchuan acts as the messenger of the government’s major decision. His banter with Shen shows their familiar, teasing friendship, though he eventually gets down to business.
• Rox accepts responsibility for the Spaceship program’s technical challenges, while Shen takes on the task of preparing the way for it politically.
• The Bull Demon King is impressed by Shen’s power and eagerly flatters him, then is drawn into Shen’s questions about the Flood Dragon Demon King and Great Sage Sun.

Significant themes

• Government trust and national interests: The Dragon Scale System’s adoption signals official confidence in Phantom Immortal Technology, and Shen sees cooperation with the nation as vital.
• Ambition and preparation: The company’s space program depends not only on technical breakthroughs but also on navigating institutional and public acceptance.
• Power and confidence: Shen’s assurance in his own abilities contrasts with his deliberate effort to maintain harmony with his country.

Key plot points and events

• Shen Bing asks the Bull Demon King about the Roc Demon King’s grudge against Sun Wukong. The Bull explains that it arose from the old affair involving him and warns that the proud, stubborn Roc is unlikely to reconcile easily.
• The Bull declines to approach the Roc himself, but agrees to seek help from the Lion Camel King. Shen Bing heads to Azure Cloud Mountain in his Skyflying Shuttle to find the Roc.
• Unable to locate him, Shen Bing deliberately broadcasts that the Roc Demon King has “burrowed underground,” hoping to provoke him into revealing himself.
• The insult works: the Roc attacks from a black cloud and kills Shen Bing. Shen Bing saves his shuttle by putting it away before the strike, then uses a Teleportation Talisman to return nearby.
• Shen Bing taunts the Roc with claims that he has an undying body. The Roc attacks with powerful wind vortices; Shen Bing dodges more than a hundred before being struck down again.
• Shen Bing returns once more, confirming the Roc’s suspicion that he cannot be killed. Rather than leave, Shen Bing complains that the Roc has killed him twice. Enraged, the Roc launches another barrage, plunging Azure Cloud Mountain into darkness.

Character developments

• Shen Bing is resourceful, provocative, and increasingly confident in using his ability to return after death. He protects his valuable shuttle and treats repeated deaths as a manageable inconvenience, though he still tries to avoid them.
• The Bull Demon King shows gratitude and generosity, offering to help Shen Bing by contacting the Lion Camel King despite doubting he can persuade the Roc.
• The Roc Demon King is shown to be immensely powerful, proud, easily provoked by insults, and frustrated by Shen Bing’s apparent immortality.

Significant themes

• Immortality and persistence: Shen Bing’s repeated returns turn what should be a decisive defeat into an ongoing confrontation.
• Pride and provocation: The Roc’s vanity makes him vulnerable to Shen Bing’s deliberate taunts.
• Cunning versus strength: Shen Bing cannot match the Roc’s power, so he relies on planning, mobility, and psychological manipulation.
• Grudges and reconciliation: The Roc’s longstanding resentment toward Sun Wukong remains unresolved and may be difficult to overcome.

Character interactions

• Shen Bing and the Bull Demon King part on friendly terms, with the Bull repaying Shen Bing’s earlier help by offering assistance.
• Shen Bing’s taunts provoke the Roc into repeated attacks, while Shen Bing’s survival leaves the Roc bewildered and increasingly irritated.
• Their confrontation becomes a cycle of Roc’s overwhelming force and Shen Bing’s stubborn refusal to retreat.

Plot points and events

• Shen Bing repeatedly kills the Roc Demon King, only to return unharmed each time. After nearly ten deaths and half a day of fighting, the exhausted Roc Demon King gives up.
• Shen Bing asks him to visit Mount Huaguo and reconcile with Great Sage Sun, explaining that the other five Great Sages have already made peace with him.
• The Roc Demon King refuses, insisting that Sun is to blame. He considers abandoning Azure Cloud Mountain and fleeing, but Shen Bing says he can follow him.
• Shen Bing offers a compromise: the Roc Demon King can meet Sun, decide for himself whether to forgive him, and be left alone afterward. A threatening aura from Shen Bing helps convince him.
• The Roc Demon King agrees and flies toward Mount Huaguo; Shen Bing follows in Taibai Jinxing’s Skyflying Shuttle.

Character developments

• The Roc Demon King shifts from furious confidence to exhaustion and desperation. His pride and resentment remain, but he accepts a face-saving compromise when escape and continued resistance seem pointless.
• Shen Bing remains playful and unflappable, using relentless persistence and humor to wear down his opponent. Beneath his teasing, he is anxious to resolve matters quickly and return in time.

Significant themes

• Patience versus stubbornness: Shen Bing’s persistence outlasts the Roc Demon King’s famously short temper.
• Pride and reconciliation: The Roc Demon King’s grievance keeps him from accepting a reunion, while Shen Bing’s proposal lets him reconsider without surrendering his right to choose.
• Power through endurance and coercion: Shen Bing’s ability to return after each death, followed by a subtle threat, makes resistance futile.

Character interactions

• Shen Bing constantly mocks and pressures the Roc Demon King, while the demon king responds with anger, disbelief, and increasingly plaintive complaints.
• Their exchange changes from combat to negotiation: Shen Bing frames the meeting with Sun as voluntary, and the Roc Demon King accepts mainly to end the harassment and preserve some control over the outcome.

Key plot points

• Roc Demon King promises to finish his part in a day and a half, freeing Shen Bing to leave. Shen Bing realizes he has skipped breakfast and heads to Phantom Immortal Technology’s underground base for food and research updates.
• Shen Bing expects to complete two monthly quests early: the Third Prince has returned to the Immortal Realm, and the Seven Great Sages are nearly assembled. Once Lion Camel King joins, Shen Bing can claim the combined rewards and a special reward.
• He still needs a third quest, but suitable new tasks have become scarce. His remaining Demon Soul quest looks nearly impossible: he has twelve days, yet finding and killing each Demon Soul takes many hours.
• Phantom Immortal Technology has become a prominent technology company, attracting attention and opportunities that also benefit the neighboring businesses in Yongxin Plaza.
• After another exhausting night of searching for Demon Souls, Shen Bing reaches the office and is stopped by Li Rong, chairman of struggling phone maker Jinli Technology. Li Rong asks to cooperate on Dragon Scale Security Software.
• Shen Bing refuses to bypass company procedures and directs Li Rong to the relevant departments. Li Rong interprets this as an opening: although he got no commitment, he believes his visit has put Jinli on Shen Bing’s radar and may speed up negotiations.

Character developments

• Shen Bing is increasingly strained by the Demon Soul quest, but remains determined to pursue it while hoping a more manageable quest appears. He also shows discipline as a company leader, insisting on proper business channels despite Li Rong’s urgency.
• Li Rong is revealed as pragmatic and desperate to save Jinli from decline. He accepts Shen Bing’s procedural response as a small victory and remains optimistic about gaining access to cooperation talks.
• Roc Demon King is eager to end his time with Shen Bing, promising the quickest possible completion.

Significant themes

• Endurance and limits: Shen Bing’s powers do not make him invulnerable to exhaustion; the quest’s demands test his physical limits.
• Patience versus urgency: Shen Bing must work steadily toward rewards, while Li Rong tries to accelerate a potentially crucial business opportunity.
• Procedures and leadership: Shen Bing maintains company rules even when approached directly by another company’s chairman.
• Changing fortunes: Phantom Immortal Technology’s rise contrasts with Jinli’s loss of market standing, showing how quickly success can shift in the technology industry.

Character interactions

• Shen Bing’s dealings with Roc Demon King end quickly, allowing him to return to his own priorities.
• At the office entrance, Li Rong makes a direct appeal to Shen Bing. Shen Bing stays polite but firm, redirecting him to the proper departments; Li Rong reads the exchange as a promising first step rather than a rejection.

Key plot points and events

• Li Rong meets Shen Bing to propose that Jinli license the Dragon Scale System for its phones. He argues that making the system effectively free to phone buyers would help Jinli compete before Facebook launches a rival and could expand Dragon Scale’s market.
• Shen Bing declines the partnership and asks about Jinli’s finances. Li Rong admits the company is close to running out of cash and offers an investment in exchange for equity.
• Shen Bing refuses a partial investment, but offers to buy Jinli outright. He warns that if Jinli goes bankrupt, he could acquire its assets through a court auction for less.
• To make the sale more appealing, Shen Bing promises Li Rong can remain in charge and that there will be no large-scale layoffs.
• Li Rong realizes Shen Bing intends to enter the mobile phone industry. Though distressed at the prospect of losing the company he built, he begins to feel a renewed sense of ambition.

Character developments

• Shen Bing is revealed as a patient, strategic negotiator. He uses Jinli’s financial weakness to pursue a full acquisition rather than the partnership Li Rong proposed, while offering assurances to soften the blow.
• Li Rong shifts from seeking a way to save Jinli through cooperation to confronting the possibility of selling it. His attachment to the company makes him resist, but Shen Bing’s plan also awakens his ambition.

Significant themes

• Survival and compromise: Jinli’s financial crisis forces Li Rong to consider options that threaten his control of the company.
• Strategic leverage: Shen Bing turns his knowledge of Jinli’s troubles into negotiating power.
• Industry competition: The discussion frames Dragon Scale’s future around rivals such as Facebook and the importance of securing market share early.
• Identity and ownership: Li Rong fears that an acquisition would mean Jinli is no longer truly the company he built.

Character interactions

• Li Rong approaches Shen Bing with a mutually beneficial software partnership, but Shen Bing redirects the conversation toward Jinli’s financial problems.
• Shen Bing’s blunt warning about bankruptcy unsettles Li Rong, while the promise of continued leadership and limited layoffs complicates his refusal.
• Li Rong probes Shen Bing’s motives; Shen Bing’s silence confirms his intention more clearly than an answer would.

Plot points

• Jinli Company chairman Li Rong considers Shen Bing’s offer to sell or transfer the company. He recognizes that adopting Phantom Immortal Technology’s Dragon Scale System could help Jinli in the short term, but without core innovation, the company would still struggle against competitors. He leaves to think over the proposal.
• Shen Bing is eager to acquire Jinli. Phantom Immortal Technology has designed a new phone chip that works exceptionally well with Dragon Scale and Dragon Language, but bringing phones to market also requires licenses, manufacturing permits, and a sales network. Jinli already has these, potentially cutting the launch timeline by several months.
• Shen Bing plans to use Phantom Immortal Technology’s phones to challenge Apple’s upcoming Apple 9 launch in three months. His larger aim is to damage Apple, whose earlier actions against his company remain unresolved in his mind.
• In the United States, public anger grows over the government’s ban on Dragon Scale Software, while citizens watch the rest of the world adopt AI-powered devices. The President’s approval rating falls below twenty percent, and Congress begins impeachment proceedings amid a string of unexplained disasters.
• U.S. technology companies focus on working with Facebook and developing applications and operating systems based on Aili. They recognize its similarities to Phantom Immortal Technology’s Intelligent Core but fail to realize the two are the same system.

Character developments and interactions

• Li Rong moves from hopeful interest in Dragon Scale to a sober recognition that Jinli needs fundamental innovation. He sees Phantom Immortal Technology as a possible route to a different future but remains undecided.
• Shen Bing reveals himself as strategically ambitious and calculating. He treats Jinli as a valuable opportunity because it can solve practical barriers to phone production, while also viewing the Apple launch as a chance for retaliation.
• The U.S. President is shown as isolated and regretful, aware that his decisions may lead not only to removal from office but also to a trial.
• Li Rong and Shen Bing part on cordial terms after Shen urges him to decide quickly, warning that the offer may lose value with time.
• U.S. technology firms respond to Phantom Immortal Technology’s rapid expansion by pooling researchers and developers around Facebook’s Aili, though they misunderstand its relationship to Phantom Immortal Technology’s technology.

Significant themes

• Innovation versus short-term fixes: A new operating system may buy Jinli time, but lasting competitiveness requires innovation at the core.
• Technology as power and leverage: Dragon Scale’s growing adoption reshapes markets, pressures governments, and threatens established companies.
• Strategic timing: Acquiring Jinli could accelerate Phantom Immortal Technology’s phone launch and let Shen Bing challenge Apple at a critical moment.
• Unintended consequences and political accountability: The U.S. ban fuels public backlash, while accumulated crises threaten the President’s position.
• Misjudgment and hidden advantages: American firms underestimate the connection between Aili and Phantom Immortal Technology’s Intelligent Core, leaving them unaware of what they are really competing against.

Plot points and events

• The announcement that American tech giants would release AI-powered operating systems within a month lifted investor confidence and sent their stock prices soaring, countering the pessimism caused by Phantom Immortal Technology’s Dragon Scale System.
• Facebook, led by Zuckerberg and powered by its AI Aili, acquired Activision Blizzard for more than $50 billion. Afterward, several Blizzard development teams quietly disappeared from public view.
• Those developers were brought to a village in Africa that secretly serves as Shen Bing’s second base. They were told it was Facebook’s confidential virtual-reality research facility and signed nondisclosure agreements. Qiuqiu detected an EA spy and a CIA agent among them; both were converted into loyal supporters of Phantom Immortal Technology.
• Shen Bing is expanding his African operation: two hundred combat personnel, Thorne and four others, and Lu Xian have gone there. Lu Xian is tasked with building a secure underground base for research unsuitable for the crowded Dragon Lake Ring Island facility, including work on the newly acquired ion-cannon technology.
• Seeking a faster way to hunt demon souls, Shen Bing realizes that the Eye of Gods and Demons he received from Gao Jue could help locate them. Since he cannot return his own artifact to the Immortal Realm, he travels to Gao Jue to ask—or, as he puts it, buy—another one.

Character developments and interactions

• Shen Bing’s growing confidence is reflected in his visit to Gao Jue: he now presents himself as a genuine immortal-level figure rather than merely pretending to be formidable.
• Gao Jue is puzzled that Shen Bing’s apparent strength has changed since their earlier meetings. He avoids asking about it, but becomes nervous when Shen Bing brings up the Eye of Gods and Demons, fearing he may be challenged over the earlier exchange.
• Shen Bing’s expansion shows increasing ambition and caution: he delegates construction and security while using Qiuqiu to monitor the newly recruited developers.

Significant themes

• Technological power and market confidence: The promise of American AI systems shows how quickly innovation can reshape public sentiment and corporate fortunes.
• Secrecy and strategic control: Facebook’s acquisition conceals the relocation of Blizzard’s teams, while Shen Bing’s African base hides his broader scientific and military plans.
• Expansion and specialization: As Shen Bing’s research grows, he needs new facilities suited to dangerous or sensitive technologies.
• Resourcefulness and advancement: Shen Bing looks for ways to improve demon-soul hunting, linking practical goals in the real world with tools and opportunities from the Immortal Realm.

Key plot points and events

• Shen Bing asks Thousand-Mile Eye (Gao Jue) for a replacement Eye of Gods and Demons after losing the first one. He explains that he needs to locate Demon Souls in the Netherworld to collect Demon Soul Hearts for an immortal friend.
• Gao Jue offers a more suitable tool: the Heaven-Seeker, which can locate objects with matching energy fluctuations if given a sample. Though tempted to charge for it, he presents it as a gift.
• Shen Bing accepts, triggering a system notice: the first quest Gao Jue posts will be mandatory, and Shen Bing must complete it before taking other missions.
• Shen Bing discovers the Heaven-Seeker is a “high-quality replica” Immortal Artifact. After failing to analyze it with the Eye of Truth, he uses one of his Demon Soul Hearts as a sample.
• The compass successfully points toward another Demon Soul. Shen Bing travels there by Skyflying Shuttle, defeats it with Lightning Summoning, and collects its heart. The device makes subsequent searches dramatically faster.

Character developments and interactions

• Shen Bing remains practical and wary of favors. He sees through Gao Jue’s attempt to cultivate his goodwill, but accepts the gift because he needs the artifact—and resolves to deal with the resulting obligation later. Its success restores his optimism.
• Gao Jue is eager to secure Shen Bing’s friendship, mistakenly believing him to be a deeply powerful, ancient immortal. He gives away the Heaven-Seeker to build that relationship, unintentionally binding Shen Bing to a mandatory quest.
• Their exchange is cordial on the surface but shaped by mutual calculation: Gao Jue seeks a powerful patron, while Shen Bing wants a reliable way to find Demon Souls.

Significant themes

• Favors and hidden costs: Gao Jue’s generous gift carries an unforeseen system-imposed obligation.
• Appearance versus reality: Shen Bing recognizes Gao Jue’s performance of noble generosity, while Gao Jue greatly exaggerates Shen Bing’s power. Even the prized Immortal Artifact is only a replica.
• Technology and efficiency: The Heaven-Seeker turns a slow, exhausting search into a nearly immediate one, enabling Shen Bing to pursue his mission far more effectively.

Plot and key events

• Li Rong, faced with Jinli Technology’s worsening finances and bleak prospects, agrees to sell the company to Shen Bing’s Phantom Immortal Technology. The deal is 20 billion yuan for the company, with Phantom Immortal also taking on its debts, bringing the total cost to nearly 50 billion.
• The acquisition gives Phantom Immortal Jinli’s facilities, intellectual property, and nearly 2,000 mobile-phone patents—an immediate foothold in the handset industry.
• News of the purchase shocks the market. Since Phantom Immortal recently turned Dragon Scale Software into an operating system, observers conclude it plans to make phones as well.
• Phone manufacturers worry less about Dragon Scale’s basic availability on rival devices than about Phantom Immortal’s display technology. They fear its superior screens could eclipse existing and experimental designs.
• Apple’s executives are especially alarmed. The company has already been forced to accommodate Dragon Scale and pay Facebook for the right to upgrade its own operating system with smart capabilities. Now Jinli’s patent licenses could help Phantom Immortal overcome barriers to entering the phone market.
• Apple’s attempt to copy Phantom Vision’s display technology has stalled. Its engineers cannot reproduce either Dream Glass, used in the panel, or the advanced graphics-processing chip. Apple’s technical director says the chip’s design and layered layout outperform Apple’s current technology, despite not using a more advanced manufacturing process.
• Bedi asks whether the technology can be reverse-engineered, but the chapter ends before Osi answers.

Character developments and interactions

• Li Rong moves from hesitation to accepting the sale after consulting Jinli’s pessimistic shareholders. Though he owns less than 30%, he recognizes that the company would likely be acquired without him.
• Shen Bing acts decisively, using Phantom Immortal’s strong profits to secure a major strategic acquisition.
• Bedi, Apple’s executive, shifts from confidence that Phantom Immortal can be contained to anxiety about its expanding capabilities.
• Osi, Apple’s technical director, delivers the troubling assessment: the display’s basic principles are understandable, but its most crucial components remain beyond Apple’s reach. Bedi presses him for progress and then for a path to replication.

Significant themes

• Strategic value beyond price: Jinli’s debts make the deal costly, but its patents and assets provide a shortcut into a tightly controlled industry.
• Disruption and uncertainty: Phantom Immortal repeatedly changes the competitive landscape, leaving established companies scrambling to respond.
• Limits of imitation: Understanding how a technology works does not mean being able to manufacture its essential components.
• Power and dependence: Patent ownership, operating systems, and critical hardware determine who can enter markets—and who must adapt to competitors.

Key plot points and events

• Apple’s executives struggle to reverse-engineer Phantom Immortal Technology’s chip and Phantom Vision display. Osi explains that unfamiliar chip packaging prevents them from identifying the chip’s internal design, while phone-sized naked-eye 3D remains beyond current industry capabilities.
• Apple President Bedi accepts that Apple cannot match Phantom Vision in time for its upcoming Apple 0 launch. He orders the technology department to deliver a major innovation for a future product.
• Senior Vice President Kasimi proposes working with other companies—and potentially drawing on the AI alliance’s resources—to crack the Dream Glass display technology. The idea gives Apple’s executives renewed hope.
• Phantom Immortal Technology’s acquisition of Jinli alarms Apple, Samsung, Huawei, and other manufacturers, who convene meetings to consider their responses.
• At Phantom Immortal Technology, Wang Sheng warns Shen Bing that the company’s expanding portfolio has made its structure bloated and is reducing efficiency. He recommends transferring noncore businesses into independently run subsidiaries rather than branches.
• Shen Bing approves the proposal in principle and asks Wang Sheng to consult the departments, prepare a list of businesses to spin off, and submit it for review.

Character developments and interactions

• Osi gives Apple a candid assessment of its technical limits, despite the pressure to produce results.
• Bedi shifts from challenging Osi’s pessimism to focusing on a longer-term competitive strategy.
• Kasimi offers a collaborative route to solving the display problem, helping restore the room’s optimism.
• Wang Sheng demonstrates strategic concern for Phantom Immortal Technology’s long-term efficiency and presents a practical restructuring plan.
• Shen Bing recognizes that the company’s growth has already made meetings and oversight cumbersome; he trusts Wang Sheng to develop a formal proposal.

Significant themes

• Technological rivalry and uncertainty: Phantom Immortal Technology’s innovations unsettle established manufacturers, while even powerful companies face serious limits in copying them.
• Content as well as hardware: Apple’s potential 3D breakthrough would still be constrained by the lack of suitable content.
• Growth versus efficiency: Expansion into many industries can burden a company unless its structure evolves.
• Cooperation as a competitive tool: Apple considers pooling resources with other firms to overcome a technological bottleneck.

Key plot points and events

• Shen Bing reflects on his rapid progress collecting demon souls with the imitation Heaven-Seeker and expects to obtain enough Demon Soul Hearts to command twenty Demon Puppet Artisans. He hopes they will speed up his projects and generate more income.
• Although Phantom Immortal Technology has recovered much of the money it invested in Facebook and acquired Blizzard Entertainment, it is still short of funds for its planned acquisition of Jinli. Shen Bing decides to ask Zuckerberg for more money—not to support the company, but to top up the Gate to the Immortal Realm and pursue valuable immortal treasures.
• Zuckerberg reports that Facebook’s partnerships have generated substantial funds, with about $48 billion remaining after Blizzard’s purchase. Shen Bing hints that acquiring Blizzard is part of a major plan: building a virtual-reality world that could give people purpose and opportunity in a future transformed by AI and robotics.
• Zuckerberg reveals that the Pentagon wants to use Facebook’s Aili artificial intelligence in a sixth-generation fighter and is demanding its source code. Shen Bing tells him to negotiate for at least $80 billion, while secretly planning to provide a deceptive version of the code.
• Shen Bing explains that Aili is protected by proprietary “compression” software, which can produce a version that appears to be source code but is impractical to run without enormous computing power. He promises to send Zuckerberg the software and a secure communications device.
• Shen Bing arranges for Bernie to deliver a satellite communications system to Zuckerberg. The chapter ends with Zuckerberg preparing to negotiate with the U.S. military, while Shen Bing expects the deal to yield a large sum he can spend in the Immortal Realm.

Character developments and interactions

• Shen Bing is ambitious, financially opportunistic, and confident in manipulating powerful institutions. He balances business plans with his desire to buy supernatural items, and treats the Pentagon’s interest as a chance to make money while protecting his AI.
• Zuckerberg is both impressed by Shen Bing and uneasy about dealing with the U.S. military. He worries about the consequences of refusing the Pentagon, but accepts Shen Bing’s plan and remains loyal to him.
• Shen Bing and Zuckerberg share a relationship of trust and dependence: Zuckerberg handles negotiations and finances, while Shen Bing keeps the key technology and strategy secret. Their conversation also reveals Shen Bing’s tendency to tease and withhold information.
• Bernie is tasked with delivering the secure device, extending Shen Bing’s covert communications network.

Significant themes

• Wealth and ambition: Shen Bing views enormous sums as resources for both corporate expansion and supernatural advancement.
• Technology as power: AI, virtual reality, and secure communications are portrayed as forces that could reshape society and national power.
• Control versus access: The Pentagon wants control of Aili through its source code, while Shen Bing aims to satisfy its demand without surrendering the real technology.
• Social change and inequality: Shen Bing presents virtual reality as a possible source of purpose and mobility in a future where automation could displace workers and deepen class divisions.

Key plot points and events

• Shen Bing checks on Naga’s translation of the Dragon Scale Intelligent Core into conventional programming languages. Naga says the result works poorly and demands heavy computing power, confirming Shen Bing’s plan to offer a less capable, less revealing version of the technology.
• To protect Dragon Language while appearing to provide source code, Shen Bing uses “compression software” as a cover for translation software. He orders Naga to disguise the converted program and embed a hidden super-admin privilege module in both the software and Aili, the AI being supplied to the United States.
• Shen Bing checks the Immortal Realm quest list and finds that the “Seven Great Sages Gather” quest remains incomplete because the Old Ox has not yet persuaded the Lion Camel King. He decides to wait briefly, then resumes hunting demon souls.
• Phantom Immortal Technology’s smart-city project in Rongcheng produces visible results: less congestion, faster government services, and dramatically improved crime-solving, including very high rates for theft and pickpocketing. The project wins public and official praise, and other cities send delegations to study it.
• The company also reaches a preliminary agreement to replace the operating systems used across government, military, corporate, and public institutions with the Dragon Scale System. It is building a platform and standards that outside software firms can use, accepting modest immediate profits to establish long-term influence.
• At the Pentagon, Zuckerberg presents Aili as a potential military AI and explains that its 20-terabyte source code compresses to 40 megabytes. Boeing engineer Kuris doubts the claim, so Zuckerberg offers to demonstrate the compression using five supercomputers. The group agrees.

Character developments and interactions

• Shen Bing shows caution and strategic foresight: he wants to help Huaxia without revealing Dragon Language, while preparing to compromise the American system with hidden code.
• Naga is more capable after taking the Aperture-Opening Pill but remains talkative and irreverent. He complains about conventional programming, then readily agrees to Shen Bing’s deceptive plan.
• Shen Bing and Naga share a familiar, teasing relationship; Naga recognizes that the hidden administrator code is meant to undermine someone.
• Zuckerberg confidently sells Aili’s military potential and defends his company’s unusual compression technology.
• Kuris is skeptical and focused on verifying Aili for aircraft use, while the Pentagon group is intrigued enough to accept the proposed demonstration.

Significant themes

• Technology as strategic leverage: Shen Bing treats AI and software standards as tools for national advantage and long-term market power.
• Secrecy and deception: The translation and compression scheme lets Shen Bing conceal the true nature of his technology while presenting an apparently usable substitute.
• Public benefit versus profit: The smart-city project earns relatively little, but Shen Bing values its civic benefits and its ability to establish lasting standards and user dependence.
• Trust and verification: The Pentagon’s interest in Aili is tempered by concerns about its source code, security, and extraordinary compression claims.

Plot points and events

• Zuckerberg demonstrates how Aili’s small, restricted-use compression package expands across five Pentagon supercomputers into more than 20 TB of code.
• Pentagon specialists inspect the files and find over 1.2 billion unique, valid files, with no junk, duplicates, backdoors, or vulnerabilities. Testing confirms the decompressed program has intelligence comparable to Aili.
• The experts realize Aili is a remarkably compact version of an enormous AI system. The source code is far too power-hungry for practical use in a fighter, making the compressed version much more valuable.
• Secretary of Defense Kleizer sees the deal as a way to secure his political future amid the President’s imminent impeachment. He approves integrating Aili into the U.S. Sixth-Generation Fighter project.
• The Pentagon offers Facebook $100 billion, on the condition that it develop the fighter’s functional modules. Shen Bing accepts, intending to have Naga do the work, and arranges for the money to be transferred to an offshore account.
• Shen Bing privately anticipates that the American fighters may eventually turn against their operators. He then returns to reviewing a proposed restructuring plan for his company.

Character developments and interactions

• Zuckerberg presents the software and explains the limits placed on the compression package, while Pentagon experts—including Kuris—verify its contents and capabilities.
• Kuris guides Kleizer through the supercomputers’ power demands and leads the testing. The experts’ initial amazement shifts into frustration when they recognize that the massive source code is impractical.
• Kleizer’s ambitions become clear: he hopes the Aili project will help him avoid prison and retain influence after the political transition.
• Shen Bing remains calm and opportunistic, accepting the deal without hesitation. Though the Americans believe Facebook possesses the relevant technical expertise, that capability actually belongs to Shen Bing’s Phantom Immortal Technology.

Significant themes

• Appearances and proof: The Pentagon insists on firsthand testing, but the results reveal a technology far beyond ordinary expectations.
• Compression and practical value: The chapter contrasts raw capability with usable design: a huge, powerful AI is less useful than a compact system that can operate efficiently.
• Deception and hidden power: Facebook serves as a front for Phantom Immortal Technology, while Shen Bing conceals his real intentions from the Americans.
• Ambition and political survival: Kleizer’s support for the project is driven not only by military goals but by his desire to protect his career.
• Irony of control: Shen Bing hopes the fighters will ultimately disobey their builders, presenting the promised advance in military power as a potential threat—and, in his mind, a path to “world peace.”

Key plot points

• Shen Bing reviews the company restructuring plan and revises it. The Dragon Scale System and phone business will stay under the parent company, while geothermal power operations and several other ventures will be placed in wholly owned subsidiaries. Production and sales will sometimes be separated to keep sensitive operations under tighter control.
• He instructs Wang Sheng to begin preparing for the restructuring, including asset transfers, personnel changes, and approvals.
• On May 25, the peach tree Shen Bing planted finally bears dozens of enormous, fragrant Immortal Peaches. His cats, Little Doudou and Feifei, and Little Sparrow’s family wait beneath it but refrain from taking any without permission.
• Shen Bing gives a peach to Little Doudou, who eats it whole and spits out the pit. Little Doudou explains that trees grown from these pits will not produce true First-Generation Immortal Peaches: the original seed came from the Immortal Realm and contained immortal qi, which the pits of its fruit lack. Shen Bing decides the pit can still be given to his father to grow an unusual, tasty peach variety.

Character developments and interactions

• Shen Bing shows a more strategic approach to managing his expanding company. He distinguishes between projects that need his direct attention and those that can operate independently, while keeping key technologies and sensitive production under the parent company.
• Wang Sheng remains Shen Bing’s trusted executive, receiving instructions to carry out the reorganization.
• Little Doudou reveals its clever, talkative, and self-interested side, theatrically reminding Shen Bing that it guarded the tree and had been promised Immortal Fish. It is protective and reassuring toward Feifei, who worries about the peach.
• Shen Bing jokes about using Little Doudou as a poison tester and teases it for eating the peach without saving the pit, but ultimately gives it the fruit. Their exchange is affectionate and playful.

Significant themes

• Strategic growth and control: Shen Bing expands the company while balancing efficiency, secrecy, and centralized control.
• The limits of replication: The Immortal Peaches’ extraordinary qualities depend on their otherworldly origin; ordinary cultivation cannot fully reproduce them.
• Loyalty, permission, and trust: The animals wait for Shen Bing’s approval, while Little Doudou’s daily guardianship becomes grounds for its playful appeal for a reward.
• Practicality over perfection: Shen Bing accepts that future peaches will be less miraculous, valuing their taste and novelty anyway.

Key plot points and events

• Shen Bing observes that an Immortal Peach has made Little Doudou visibly larger and brighter-eyed—an even stronger effect than a full bag of Immortal Realm Cat Food.
• Little Doudou persuades Shen Bing to give it another peach, claiming the fruit can add around ten years to a healthy person’s life and strengthen the body against illness. Shen Bing agrees, and Little Doudou shares it with Feifei.
• Shen Bing gives another peach to the five rapidly growing sparrows, then worries that the remaining ripe fruit might spoil. He uses preservation-bag technology to have Lu Xian make about a hundred bags.
• At the Underground Base, Shen Bing learns that Phantom Immortal Technology’s smartphone components are ready for assembly, with a prototype expected in two or three days. Lu Xian’s ability to manufacture designs quickly is speeding up development.
• Shen Bing harvests the tree’s eighty-three peaches and seals the remaining eighty in preservation bags for safekeeping.
• Yuan Wei joins him in the courtyard and invites him to breakfast. Shen Bing promises her a peach and offers a second for her mother’s health.
• At breakfast, Shen Bing gives one peach each to Yuan Wei, Yun Xue, and Li Xiao, reserving the fourth for Yuan Wei’s mother. Li Xiao eagerly eats his without washing it; the others are unsure why the fruit is special.

Character developments and interactions

• Shen Bing shows both protectiveness toward valuable resources and growing confidence in the peaches’ health benefits. His attraction to Yuan Wei is clear, but he also remains troubled by his mother’s wish that he not choose between Yuan Wei and Yun Xue.
• Little Doudou uses flattery and concern for Feifei to obtain another peach, revealing its self-interest as well as its affection for its companion.
• Yuan Wei shows concern for Shen Bing’s safety while he climbs the tree and responds playfully to his teasing. Her comment that she might work for him for life hints at strong commitment; Shen Bing is pleased but looks away.
• Lu Xian continues to serve as an exceptionally efficient assistant, rapidly producing specialized equipment and helping accelerate smartphone research.
• Li Xiao recognizes the peaches’ connection to Shen Bing’s unusual tree and accepts one eagerly, while Yuan Wei and Yun Xue remain unaware of its true value.

Significant themes

• Power and responsibility: Shen Bing must decide how to distribute scarce, powerful peaches and takes steps to prevent them from being wasted.
• Technology and supernatural resources: Advanced production methods and extraordinary cultivation coexist, with each supporting the other.
• Health, longevity, and uncertainty: The peaches promise stronger health and extra years of life, though their benefits are not absolute.
• Romantic tension and divided loyalties: Shen Bing’s attraction to Yuan Wei conflicts with his unresolved feelings and his mother’s hopes concerning both Yuan Wei and Yun Xue.

Key plot points

• Yun Xue and Yuan Wei enjoy their Immortal Peaches, while Li Xiao admits he swallowed his too quickly to taste it. Shen Bing explains that the rare tree produces only 83 peaches a year and reassures himself that their effects seem gradual and harmless.
• Shen Bing checks on the Blade Mercenary Corps and the search for Ghst, who threatened Fang Yuanming’s daughter, Fang Xin. The Corps is developing well, with 200 enhanced fighters, but its team in Paris has yet to find Ghst; surveillance has flagged three suspicious people for investigation.
• Li Xiao reports that the peach has already made him feel stronger and more energetic. Shen Bing keeps its origins vague, calling it an “Immortal Peach.”
• Shen Bing asks Li Xiao to find a private jet, not because he needs one to travel, but to provide a believable cover for his movements. He then takes two peaches to his parents.
• At his parents’ home, Shen Bing discovers they have both gained tremendous strength. His mother accidentally broke a coworker’s arm despite trying to control herself, so she has stopped going to work. Shen Bing is surprised, since he has not experienced the same problem.

Character developments and interactions

• Li Xiao remains loyal and practical: he reports on the Corps and Fang Xin’s situation, accepts Shen Bing’s explanation about the peaches, and quickly understands the private jet’s purpose.
• Shen Bing continues balancing extraordinary capabilities with the need to conceal them. His confidence that the peaches are safe is shaken by his parents’ experience.
• Shen Bing’s parents have become unexpectedly powerful. His mother is frustrated with her forced absence from work, while his father describes the mishap and appears to be struggling to match her strength in their arm-wrestling contest.
• The chapter’s interactions mix casual humor with mounting concern: the friends compare peach flavors, Li Xiao is teased for gulping his down, and Shen Bing’s parents confront him about the medicine.

Significant themes

• Power and control: The peaches enhance strength, but their effects may be difficult to manage.
• Secrecy and appearances: Shen Bing plans to use an ordinary-looking private jet as cover for extraordinary travel.
• Uncertainty and unintended consequences: Shen Bing assumes the peaches are harmless, but his mother’s accident suggests their effects vary or have not been fully understood.

Plot points and events

• Shen Bing suspects the Dragon-Tiger Pills disrupted his parents’ control of their newly enhanced strength. Because he had taken an Aperture-Opening Pill, his brain and body adapted more smoothly than theirs.
• His parents explain that they have been arm-wrestling to practice strength control. Shen Bing recommends the Body-Strengthening Exercise instead, believing its gradual training will help them adapt.
• He gives them two Immortal Peaches, claiming each can extend life by ten years, and warns them to keep the tree’s secret to avoid attracting powerful people.
• Shen Bing returns to the Underground Base, sends his father the exercise instructions, and finishes his demon-soul mission, bringing his total to fifty-five Demon Soul Hearts.
• At Craftsman God Island, he gives the hearts to Lu Ban in exchange for twenty Demon Puppet Artisans and the promise that Lu Ban will continue building the Floating Immortal Island. Shen Bing persuades Lu Ban to hand over the artisans early.
• Shen Bing transfers seventeen artisans to the real world, names them Lu Yi through Lu Shiqi, and assigns them to support the Underground Base’s research teams. The lab leaders are delighted; the aerospace team receives three. Naga’s software team declines an artisan, as its work does not require one.

Character developments and interactions

• Shen Bing shows concern for his parents’ safety and adjusts his advice to their needs, while keeping the Immortal Peaches’ value secret.
• His parents are earnest but inexperienced in managing their enhanced bodies. His father is skeptical of Shen Bing’s extraordinary claim about the peaches, though he agrees to keep quiet.
• Lu Ban remains honest and generous: despite his reluctance, he grants Shen Bing’s request for the artisans early, even though it delays his other work.
• Shen Bing takes charge of the artisans with playful confidence, calling himself “Boss,” and organizes them to benefit the research teams. The scientists’ excitement underscores how valuable the new assistants are.

Significant themes

• Adaptation and gradual change: sudden physical enhancement can outpace the mind’s ability to control the body; steady training offers a solution.
• Family care and trust: Shen Bing helps his parents and relies on their close understanding, while asking them to protect a dangerous secret.
• Secrecy and power: the Immortal Peaches could attract immense attention and risk if their abilities become known.
• Reciprocity and practical ambition: Shen Bing fulfills his bargain with Lu Ban, then negotiates for an earlier reward to accelerate his own plans.

Key plot points and events

• Clarence reports successfully replicating and activating a gene sequence that lets different genes fuse without breaking down. Shen Bing suggests testing it alongside the Gene-Enhancement Drug, while stressing strict safety precautions.
• Qiuqiu identifies a pattern among seven people connected to Paris: each had recently visited a remote Florida town and vanished briefly. Satellite surveillance spots a person entering a building there, followed by another person racing away at extraordinary speed.
• Shen Bing recognizes the runner as human and suspects a dangerous, previously unknown threat. He warns the team protecting Fang Xin in Paris to stay alert.
• Fang Xin, an art student and daughter of wealthy businessman Fang Yuanming, has received a mysterious threat. Two armed former mercenaries, Casey and Jessica, now protect her. They accompany her to the Palace of Versailles, while their team leader, Martin, watches over them from a distance.

Character developments

• Shen Bing shows scientific curiosity but remains cautious about the risks of genetic experimentation. The impossible speed of the Florida runner unsettles him and prompts urgent action.
• Clarence is energized by Shen Bing’s suggestion, realizing the Gene-Enhancement Drug might amplify the effects of genetic modification.
• Fang Xin is anxious after receiving a threat, but accepts protection despite the inconvenience, mindful of her father’s safety and circumstances.
• Casey and Jessica are established as capable, disciplined protectors, strengthened by their mercenary experience and the Gene-Enhancement Drug.
• Qiuqiu demonstrates the reach of its surveillance and data analysis by tracing connections across many people and locations.

Significant themes

• The promise and danger of scientific advancement: Combining gene modification with enhancement could produce remarkable results—or uncontrollable threats.
• Surveillance and inference: Qiuqiu uses extensive data and satellite monitoring to uncover a hidden pattern, though the danger remains unclear.
• Protection amid uncertainty: Fang Xin’s security team and Shen Bing’s warning reflect the growing threat surrounding the characters.

Character interactions

• Shen Bing guides Clarence’s research, encouraging experimentation while setting firm safety limits.
• Qiuqiu alerts Shen Bing to the investigation’s breakthrough; Shen Bing responds by warning the Paris team.
• Fang Xin relies on Casey and Jessica for protection, while they coordinate with Martin through a secure communications system as they monitor the Versailles visit.

Plot points and events

• As Fang Xin approaches the cultural landmark, Casey and Jessica sense danger and move to protect her. A gunman opens fire, narrowly missing them and sending nearby tourists into panic.
• Casey gets Fang Xin behind a pillar while Jessica rushes toward the room where the shooter is hiding.
• A masked fighter attacks Casey from above. She trades blows with him, discovering that he can nearly match the enhanced strength she gained from the Gene-Enhancement Drug.
• While the tourists watch the astonishing fight, a second masked attacker races toward Fang Xin. Martin, stationed nearby, shoots him through the chest.
• The wounded attacker survives, removes the bullet, and quickly stops bleeding—shocking the onlookers and overturning their assumptions about what humans can endure.
• Casey remains occupied with her opponent, leaving Fang Xin exposed. Martin calls for Baron and Cecil to help, but they are also engaged in combat. As the wounded attacker reaches for Fang Xin, Martin draws an unusual weapon and aims it at him.

Character developments

• Casey shows sharp instincts and decisive protective instincts. She fights confidently but is surprised to meet an opponent near her level, which excites her rather than frightening her.
• Jessica acts quickly and aggressively, pursuing the gunman into his hiding place.
• Fang Xin is frightened and inexperienced in combat, relying on Casey and later becoming the attacker’s target.
• Martin takes responsibility for protecting Fang Xin, fires on the attacker, and becomes increasingly desperate when his team cannot reach her.
• The masked attackers reveal extraordinary speed, strength, and resilience, suggesting they are far beyond ordinary human opponents.

Significant themes

• A shattered worldview: The spectators witness feats that seem impossible, forcing them to question the limits of human ability.
• Hidden power among ordinary people: Extraordinary fighters and enhanced abilities exist beneath the surface of everyday life.
• Protection and duty: Casey, Jessica, and Martin each risk themselves to defend Fang Xin, even as they face powerful opposition.
• Fear versus courage: The crowd panics, while the defenders respond with instinct, resolve, and combativeness.

Character interactions

• Casey reassures Fang Xin that the gunmen are targeting her, then hands her a pistol before engaging the masked fighter.
• Casey and her opponent recognize one another as formidable adversaries and fight on nearly equal terms.
• The tourists initially flee, then gather to watch Casey’s battle and cheer for her.
• Martin warns Baron about the danger and later demands help, but Baron reports that he and Cecil are tied up fighting.
• The wounded attacker ignores the ongoing battle and goes directly for Fang Xin, prompting Martin’s final intervention.

Plot points and events

• One of the masked attackers suddenly collapses just as he is about to seize Fang Xin. His companion, unnerved, breaks off his fight with Casey and escapes.
• Acting on Qiuqiu’s instructions, Casey takes the unconscious attacker, destroys the blood evidence with corrosive powder, and escapes with Jessica in a van. Fang Xin is told to deny knowing anything about the incident.
• Police arrive to find little evidence. The witnesses’ accounts of superhuman fighters are dismissed, the surveillance footage is missing, and Fang Xin refuses to cooperate, leaving the case unsolved.
• Shen Bing watched the fight remotely through Qiuqiu, which had controlled the cameras and erased the recordings. He had arranged for Casey and the others to protect Fang Xin discreetly.
• The next day, the captured man’s corpse is brought to Shen Bing’s underground base. It is revealed that Martin killed him with a stun gun, despite the general ban on using such weapons in public.
• Clarence examines the body and finds tough, scale-like lines across its skin. He identifies the man as similar to the gene warriors developed at Shen Bing’s former research base, but stronger and more resilient.
• Genetic testing reveals that the dead man carries the same mysterious gene sequence that Clarence’s team is studying for gene fusion. Clarence is shocked and suspects—while immediately doubting—that another U.S. research base may be working on the same discovery.

Character developments and interactions

• Casey follows Qiuqiu’s orders without hesitation, prioritizing the extraction and concealment of the attacker and Fang Xin’s protection.
• Fang Xin is frightened but remains silent when questioned, helping prevent the police from connecting her to the incident.
• Shen Bing manages events from a distance, balancing Fang Xin’s safety with the need to keep his people and company out of public scrutiny.
• Clarence moves from confident examination to alarm when the genetic results reveal a wider, unexplained connection.
• The surviving attacker’s sudden fear contrasts with his earlier confidence; he abandons his companion and flees.

Significant themes

• Secrecy and control: Qiuqiu and Shen Bing conceal the fight and erase evidence to protect their organization.
• Limits of public knowledge: The police and online commenters dismiss reports of superhuman abilities, allowing extraordinary events to remain hidden.
• Escalating scientific mystery: The corpse’s unusual biology and shared gene sequence suggest that Shen Bing’s research may not be unique—and that a larger investigation is ahead.