Chapter Summaries

Key plot points and events

• Shen Bing persuades the Nine-Spirit Primordial Sage to return to the Marvelous Solemn Palace, though the Sage is reluctant to leave his partner, Xue Ling, and their cub, Little White Lion.
• The Sage reassures Xue Ling that their hidden cave will protect her and the cub from being discovered, then leaves first. Shen Bing realizes he does not know where the palace is, but the quest system offers a free teleport, which he accepts.
• At the palace gates, Shen Bing identifies himself as the Mist-Ethereal Adept and explains that he brought the Sage back. The Sage arrives moments later, confirms Shen Bing’s story, and lets him enter.
• Shen Bing returns the Sage’s ten thousand immortal jade, and the Sage gives back the Nine Heavens Divine Talisman.
• Celestial Venerable Taiyi appears. He thanks Shen Bing, saying the Sage’s return prevented an important matter concerning the Immortal Realm from being delayed. He then asks Shen Bing whether he knows why Taiyi did not search for the Sage himself.

Character developments and interactions

• The Nine-Spirit Primordial Sage shows deep attachment to Xue Ling and their cub, despite his outwardly arrogant manner. At the palace, he becomes deferential before Taiyi and admits fault.
• Xue Ling is distressed by the Sage’s departure and insists she is not old, reacting sharply when Shen Bing calls the pair ancient. Their exchange adds humor to the farewell.
• Shen Bing remains practical and irreverent, teasing the couple but honoring his agreement with the Sage. He is also surprised by Taiyi’s claim that the Sage’s return has broader importance.
• Celestial Venerable Taiyi is introduced as powerful yet warm and indulgent toward his runaway mount. His cryptic explanation creates suspense about the real stakes.

Significant themes

• Attachment and duty: The Sage must leave his family to return to his responsibilities.
• Loyalty and trust: Shen Bing’s leverage and the Sage’s concern for his family help ensure he keeps his promise.
• Humor amid the supernatural: Shen Bing’s modern, blunt perspective contrasts with the immortals’ grand titles and long histories.
• Hidden stakes: The chapter hints that the Sage’s disappearance affected more than his personal relationship with Taiyi, setting up a larger conflict.

Key plot points

• Shen Bing realizes Celestial Venerable Taiyi and other powerful immortals have found a way to reopen the Gate to Hell, a crucial first step toward restoring the Six Paths of Reincarnation. The Nine-Spirit Primordial Sage’s help is apparently needed, which explains why his disappearance delayed the project.
• Reopening the Gate could give Shen Bing a chance to enter Hell and find the Judge’s Brush, which he needs but has been unable to reach.
• He also worries that restoring reincarnation might eventually reopen the Immortal-Mortal Passage, allowing immortals to reach Earth and potentially endanger it. He concludes he is too weak to stop the plan and should focus on becoming stronger—through technology, which he believes he can advance using the Gate to the Immortal Realm.
• Taiyi explains that even if the Immortal-Mortal Passage remains closed, the restored Six Paths would let the Immortal Realm retain some souls and cultivate them as ghost immortals.
• When Taiyi offers him a reward for helping recover the Primordial Sage, Shen Bing instead asks to join the first expedition into Hell. Taiyi agrees, but says Shen Bing will accompany a group and will be expected to help restore the Six Paths.

Character developments and interactions

• Shen Bing shifts from anxious speculation to a clearer personal resolve: he will use the unfolding crisis to pursue the Judge’s Brush and strengthen himself. He presents his willingness to explore Hell as service to the Immortal Realm, while privately motivated by his own goal.
• Celestial Venerable Taiyi is grateful for Shen Bing’s help but wary of his mysterious background and eagerness to enter a dangerous, unexplored realm. He warns Shen Bing of the risks, then accepts his request with conditions and the promise of substantial rewards.
• Their exchange is polite but guarded: Shen Bing uses praise and modest language, while Taiyi balances gratitude with caution.

Significant themes

• Opportunity and danger: Reopening Hell could benefit Shen Bing and the Immortal Realm, but may have far-reaching consequences for Earth.
• Self-interest and public duty: Shen Bing frames his request as a contribution, though his main hope is finding the Judge’s Brush.
• Power and preparation: Recognizing his limited strength, Shen Bing decides that building technological power may be more practical than pursuing immortal cultivation.
• Trust and uncertainty: Taiyi cannot divine Shen Bing’s thoughts and must weigh his apparent goodwill against the risks of allowing a stranger into Hell.

Key plot points and events

• Shen Bing accepts a newly revealed main quest: explore Hell after the Gate to Hell is reopened. The quest rewards scale with how much of Hell he explores.
• His immediate goal is to find the Judge’s Brush, which he needs to capture a Great Luo Golden Immortal’s remnant soul and ultimately obtain the Divine Puppet Artisan. He sees the artisan’s extraordinary machining precision as a way to overcome the industrial limitations preventing him from using advanced technologies such as quantum teleportation.
• Celestial Venerable Taiyi says the Gate to Hell will open in five days. Shen Bing is frustrated because he must meet Donghua Dijun and visit Lord Lao in eight days, leaving him little time, but decides he can leave Hell and return later if necessary.
• The system still counts Shen Bing’s previous quest—bringing back the Nine-Spirit Primordial Sage—as completed, even though it gave him no reward.
• Li Xiao informs Shen Bing that his Boeing 747-8 VIP is arriving at Rongcheng Airport. The company arranged the purchase by acquiring the plane’s purchase rights from Dubai tycoon Tayim, whose company had previously lost a bid for Shen Bing’s Dream Glass project.
• Bystanders recognize the aircraft as an exceptionally rare, lavish private jet. One guesses that Shen Bing must be its owner.

Character developments

• Shen Bing eagerly embraces the main quest, motivated both by its promised rewards and by his ambition to obtain the Divine Puppet Artisan. He remains confident that danger in Hell cannot kill him and plans to exploit that advantage to explore more than the other gods.
• He is also increasingly focused on practical technological progress: he understands that advanced research is useless without the industrial capacity to build it.
• Li Xiao demonstrates resourcefulness in securing the aircraft, using Shen Bing’s business connections and the failed Dream Glass bid to identify and persuade a suitable seller.

Character interactions

• Shen Bing ignores Taiyi’s veiled warning and asks when the Gate to Hell will open; Taiyi explains the five-day preparation period.
• Shen Bing’s exchange with Li Xiao reveals how the company acquired the jet and confirms that Shen Bing is going to inspect it.
• At the airport, two travelers discuss the plane’s rarity and immense cost. Their conversation builds toward the likely public recognition of Shen Bing as its owner.

Significant themes

• Ambition and opportunity: Shen Bing views the main quest as a chance to reach greater power and secure extraordinary rewards.
• Exploration and risk: Hell is dangerous, but Shen Bing’s unusual confidence turns its hazards into a competitive advantage.
• Technology versus infrastructure: Knowledge alone cannot produce breakthroughs; advanced technology depends on adequate industrial foundations.
• Wealth and public image: The private jet symbolizes Shen Bing’s immense resources and growing visibility.

Plot points and events

• At Rongcheng Airport, two young men discuss how Shen Bing’s influence makes local businesses wary of attracting his attention. A woman defends him against the suggestion that he is petty, and the men later recognize Shen among the arriving party.
• Shen meets President Zhao, the airport management company’s general manager, and arranges to base his new Boeing 747-8 VIP, the Shanling, at Qingliu Airport. He asks for a large hangar so the aircraft can be modified.
• Boeing project manager Merkel objects, insisting that the complex painting and interior work requires a specialized completion center and professional oversight. Shen reveals he does not intend to use Boeing’s team and dismisses Merkel’s concerns.
• When Merkel threatens to terminate the contract, Shen points out that he has already paid in full and owns the aircraft. He refuses Merkel’s request to observe the modifications, prompting the embarrassed project manager to leave.
• Once the plane is moved into the hangar, President Zhao again cautions Shen about safety and weight balance. Shen explains that he distrusts Boeing because sensitive details about the aircraft’s interior could reach American intelligence. He plans to have his own people complete the work.

Character developments and interactions

• Shen Bing is confident, blunt, and protective of his privacy. He uses his ownership of the aircraft to overrule Merkel, while concealing that the Demon Puppet Artisan will perform the modifications.
• Merkel shifts from professional insistence to frustration and humiliation. He worries that nonstandard modifications could endanger passengers and damage Boeing’s reputation, but ultimately recognizes he cannot prevail against Shen on Shen’s home turf.
• President Zhao is accommodating and business-minded, yet genuinely concerned about the risks of modifying an aircraft outside the manufacturer’s process. Shen cuts off his objections but later explains the security concern behind his decision.
• The airport bystanders’ admiration and the woman’s defense of Shen establish his public stature and reputation.

Significant themes

• Power and influence: Shen’s dominance makes local businesses cautious, even without any explicit threat from him.
• Ownership and autonomy: Shen insists that paying for the aircraft gives him the right to decide how it is used and modified.
• Security versus conventional safety: He rejects Boeing’s expertise not because he dismisses safety, but because he fears that using its team would compromise his privacy.
• Secrecy and technological advantage: Shen’s hidden plan to use the Demon Puppet Artisan suggests capabilities he does not want exposed.

Key plot points and events

• President Zhao worries Boeing might have tampered with Shen Bing’s VIP Boeing 747-8, but Shen reassures him that the stripped-down aircraft is easier to inspect. In truth, Shen intends to replace the whole plane.
• Shen’s workers bring tools and materials into a hangar, then bar everyone from watching. Once alone, their machines transform and violently dismantle the aircraft, melting its materials down. President Zhao is left curious but accepts Shen’s appeal to technical confidentiality.
• On the drive back, Li Xiao points out that they still need pilots. Shen says he has already arranged them. He also notices Li Xiao has become more talkative and cheerful, and urges him to spend time with his girlfriend.
• Shen plans to attend his university thesis defense. The university debates how to manage the attention his fame will attract and, at Shen’s request, agrees to keep the event low-key.
• On the morning of the defense, Wang Bo calls to report that news of Shen’s attendance has leaked. A crowd has filled the route from the campus gates to the defense building, leaving Shen shocked and unsure how the leak happened.

Character developments and interactions

• Shen Bing remains secretive and confident, concealing his real plans for the plane while calmly handling President Zhao’s questions. He also shows concern for Li Xiao’s personal life, teasing him about becoming happier and pushing him to pursue his relationship.
• Li Xiao appears more sociable and upbeat than before, though he is embarrassed by Shen’s comments and privately doubts his boss’s romantic expertise.
• President Zhao is impressed by Shen’s importance to Huaxia and anxious about possible foreign interference, but ultimately defers to Shen and respects his confidentiality demands.
• The university administrators are eager to honor Shen and benefit from his connection to the institution, but recognize that a grand welcome could create security problems. Their plan for a quiet defense is overtaken by the leaked news.
• Wang Bo alerts Shen to the crowd and shares his astonishment at the scene.

Significant themes

• Secrecy and technological power: Shen’s concealed, transforming workers reveal the extraordinary capabilities behind his company while keeping outsiders in the dark.
• National ambition and outside threats: Shen’s prominence as a symbol of Huaxia’s scientific rise fuels fears that foreign interests might try to undermine him.
• Fame versus privacy: Shen wants a routine, low-key academic milestone, but his celebrity status turns it into a potential public spectacle.
• Personal care amid grand plans: Shen’s attention to Li Xiao’s happiness offers a lighter, more intimate counterpoint to the chapter’s high-stakes technology and public attention.

Plot points and events

• Shen Bing learns that crowds have gathered at the university gates to watch him arrive for his graduation defense. Rather than face them—or accept the university’s offer of extra security—he flies in invisibly aboard his Immortal Carriage and lands in the underground garage.
• He meets Principal Li Yan, his advisor Liu Bowen, and other university leaders in a conference room. Li welcomes him as the university’s most outstanding alumnus, though Shen jokes that he is technically still a student.
• During their conversation, Li asks whether Shen’s company plans to enter the mobile-phone industry and proposes closer cooperation with the university. Shen readily agrees, offering research projects and access to jobs at his expanding company.
• Shen proposes establishing a company office on campus to coordinate recruitment and research. Li is delighted and thanks him on behalf of the university.
• A student worker enters to refill the tea. Just as she is about to leave, Shen notices something about the tea and urgently calls for her to stop, ending the chapter on a moment of suspense.

Character developments and interactions

• Shen Bing is confident and resourceful, using the Immortal Carriage to avoid the crowds. He remains modest in conversation, praises his university despite having had complaints in the past, and shows generosity by offering substantial support for its research and employment prospects.
• Principal Li is proud of Shen and eager to build a relationship between the university and his company. His delight at Shen’s offers reveals the university’s need for funding, projects, and opportunities for its graduates.
• Teacher Liu Bowen acts as Shen’s liaison, coordinating his arrival and meeting with the university leadership.
• The student worker appears briefly and respectfully, but Shen’s sudden intervention suggests she may be connected to a problem or discovery involving the tea.

Significant themes

• Giving back and institutional cooperation: Shen turns a personal visit into an opportunity to support his university through recruitment, research projects, and an on-campus office.
• Fame versus privacy: The crowd’s excitement contrasts with Shen’s wish to avoid public attention.
• The value of talent and resources: The university sees Shen’s company as a way to strengthen research and attract skilled people, while Shen benefits from the university’s expertise.
• Suspense: Shen’s reaction to the tea interrupts the cordial meeting and hints that something is wrong.

Key plot points and events

• During a meeting with University of Electronic Science and Technology’s Principal Li, Shen Bing asks the tea server, Mi He, who prepared the tea. Her answer seems to satisfy him, and he sends her away without explaining why.
• Shen Bing uses the tea to give a dramatic demonstration of his supposed new desalination technology: after covering each cup, the tea and leaves vanish, leaving clear water. The university representatives are baffled but agree to continue discussing a research partnership.
• The demonstration is actually a cover. Lu Shiwu, a Demon Puppet Artisan shrunk to microscopic size, entered the cups and used his material-separation ability to remove the tea and a poisonous additive.
• Shen Bing reveals that the additive is highly toxic—only a few micrograms could kill. He had the second cup purified too, protecting Principal Li.
• Qiuqiu’s review of surveillance and Mi He’s records finds little reason to suspect her. Shen Bing orders Lu Shiwu to search nearby for the culprit and relies on Little Doudou’s exceptional sense of smell to track the poison’s source.

Character developments and interactions

• Shen Bing appears eccentric and playful, but his odd questions and absurd “technology” demonstration conceal careful suspicion and a quick response to a murder attempt. He prioritizes Principal Li’s safety as well as his own.
• Mi He is questioned briefly but is not considered a likely suspect; the chapter leaves open who placed the poison.
• Principal Li and the scholars move from confusion to polite cooperation, struggling to reconcile Shen Bing’s bizarre demonstration with a serious technical discussion.
• Lu Shiwu reports the poison’s nature but finds no suspicious person within his scanning range. He follows Shen Bing’s order to search farther.
• Little Doudou is summoned urgently with the threat of losing cat food, setting up his role in tracking the culprit.

Significant themes

• Genius and eccentricity: Shen Bing’s strange leaps of logic bewilder ordinary observers, while serving a practical purpose.
• Appearance versus reality: A presentation about desalination is actually a concealed intervention to neutralize poison.
• Ingenuity and technological power: Shen Bing coordinates surveillance, specialized agents, and unusual abilities to respond swiftly to danger.
• Suspicion and unresolved threat: The poison confirms a deliberate attack, but the perpetrator remains unidentified.

Key events

• Shen Bing arrives at the university for his thesis defense, expecting a routine presentation based on the software he prepared.
• Principal Li instead asks him to discuss the future of the internet and information technology, and arranges to record and broadcast the defense. Shen Bing realizes the university is using the occasion to obtain the speech he previously declined to give.
• The “small audience” turns out to be a packed lecture hall of more than a thousand professors, lecturers, and doctoral students. Though surprised, Shen Bing goes ahead.
• The audience gives him a standing ovation, and Principal Li presents the event as a chance to hear the views of a leading figure in science. Shen Bing begins by arguing that artificial intelligence is not the culmination of information technology, but only its starting point.
• Meanwhile, a disguised woman cleaning a stairwell realizes her attempt to poison Shen Bing has failed. She had put a delayed-acting toxin in the teapot, expecting him to drink from it. A black cat appears and unnerves her; the chapter ends as she turns to check behind her.

Character developments and interactions

• Shen Bing is caught off guard by the university’s expanded plans, but accepts the situation rather than embarrass his hosts. His thoughts show both humor at Principal Li’s maneuvering and growing concern that someone has learned of his visit and is targeting him.
• Principal Li presents the gathering as a modest adjustment, though he has effectively turned the defense into a public lecture. His deferential introduction highlights Shen Bing’s scientific reputation.
• The audience spontaneously stands and applauds, expressing respect for Shen Bing’s achievements and for scholarship.
• The would-be assassin is confident in her plan until Shen Bing survives; her composure gives way to anxiety when the black cat appears.

Significant themes

• Respect earned through achievement: The audience’s reaction emphasizes that scholarly accomplishment can outweigh seniority.
• Public image versus private intent: The university calls the event a defense, but it is really a staged opportunity for Shen Bing to address a large audience.
• Progress and ambition: Shen Bing frames artificial intelligence as the beginning of further technological development, not its final goal.
• Hidden danger and vigilance: The poisoning attempt reveals that Shen Bing faces threats close to home, while the mysterious cat introduces an ominous, possibly supernatural element.

Key plot points and events

• Little Doudou and the AI Qiuqiu track down a female cleaner disguised as an ordinary worker, whom they suspect of trying to poison Shen Bing. Qiuqiu identifies her through city surveillance footage, while Little Doudou claims to have followed the poison’s scent.
• Lu Shiwu captures the woman and brings her to the underground base. When she wakes, Little Doudou confronts her and demands to know who hired her. The cat’s ability to speak—and its apparent knack for reading her thoughts—terrifies her, but the interrogation has not yet produced an answer.
• Meanwhile, Shen Bing finishes a long speech at his university. Asked whether Phantom Immortal Technology plans to enter the space industry, he declines to reveal company plans but hints that it will expand beyond any single field and invites students to join.
• The university announces plans for closer cooperation with Phantom Immortal Technology. Shen Bing leaves, intending to celebrate with his friends, but learns that students have crowded the building after news of his speech spread online.
• Shen Bing jokes with Old Yang and Wang Bo over the phone, then calls Little Doudou to ask whether the suspected poisoner has been found.

Character developments

• Shen Bing presents himself as an ambitious but guarded leader: he promotes the company’s far-reaching vision while keeping its specific plans secret. He is also focused on the poisoning attempt and relies on his team to investigate it.
• Little Doudou is boastful, quick-tempered, and eager for credit, but actively helps pursue the suspect. Its limited ability to sense thoughts gives it an edge in the interrogation.
• Qiuqiu demonstrates the value of AI surveillance analysis, though she and Little Doudou bicker over who deserves credit.
• The female cleaner shifts from apparent confusion to fear as she realizes that Little Doudou can communicate with her and may detect her thoughts.
• Shen Bing’s friends retain their playful, teasing rapport with him, especially Wang Bo, whose joking is quickly turned against him.

Significant themes

• Technology and extraordinary abilities: AI surveillance, a talking cat, and thought-sensing blur the line between technological and supernatural capabilities.
• Ambition and expansion: Shen Bing frames the company as one whose future may extend far beyond its current industry.
• Public attention and privacy: A single social-media post turns Shen Bing into a campus celebrity and threatens to overwhelm his plans.
• Loyalty and responsibility: Shen Bing’s associates investigate an attack on him, while he treats the attempt as a serious matter rather than a closed incident.

Character interactions

• Qiuqiu and Little Doudou argue competitively over who found the suspect, then focus together on the interrogation.
• Little Doudou intimidates and questions the captive woman, while Lu Shiwu remains silent and watchful.
• Shen Bing fields a student’s question about the company’s future, then trades lighthearted banter with Old Yang and Wang Bo as they discuss how he might escape the crowds.

Key plot points

• Little Doudou, Qiuqiu, and Lu Shiwu argue over who deserves credit for catching a woman who tried to poison Shen Bing. Qiuqiu explains that she was part of an assassin group hired to kill him.
• The contract was placed by Watanabe Koichi in Japan for US$100 million, but Qiuqiu suspects a hidden sponsor. The money passed through a Las Vegas casino, making its source difficult to trace.
• Shen Bing orders Lu Shiwu and Lu Shiliu to go to Japan and capture Watanabe, while Thorne and Lu Xian remain occupied dismantling the assassin organization Ghost.
• Shen uses the Immortal Carriage to escape a crowd of students after his university speech, leaving his disappearance an enduring campus mystery.
• At lunch with Old Yang and two companions, Shen receives word that Japan wants to meet about building geothermal power stations. He agrees to meet the delegation the next day.
• The chapter closes with the Chief noticing that he looks and feels younger after eating a peach Shen sent him. Suspecting it may genuinely extend life, he calls Shen, who sees an unknown number.

Character developments and interactions

• Shen stays composed and decisive: he delegates the investigation into the assassination attempt and treats Japan’s business proposal as an opportunity worth examining.
• The three would-be captors bicker over recognition, but Shen settles the dispute by giving them all credit; Lu Shiwu is acknowledged as the one who physically caught the suspect.
• The Chief’s skepticism about the peach’s claimed effects gives way to genuine amazement—and curiosity about Shen’s abilities.
• Yan Lexuan efficiently relays the Japanese request, while Shen sets the meeting without delay.

Significant themes

• Hidden power and uncertain motives: The assassination’s apparent sponsor may be only a front, leaving Shen to investigate who is truly behind it.
• Technology as leverage: Japan’s need for safer, reliable electricity may overcome political and historical reluctance to cooperate with a Huaxia company.
• The extraordinary entering ordinary life: Shen’s technology lets him evade a crowd, while his peach may have effects that challenge accepted ideas about health and aging.

Plot points and events

• Shen Bing receives a call from the Chief while dining with Wang Bo, Old Yang, and Sun Li. He declines it to avoid exposing his connection to the Chief or discussing the Immortal Peach in public.
• After the group parts, Shen Bing realizes calling back the unknown number could reveal that he can trace or interfere with secure communications. He asks Qiuqiu to identify the phone and learns it was an encrypted satellite phone; his text never reached the Chief. He has Qiuqiu erase the traces.
• Shen Bing contacts Secretary Jiang, pretending he did not know who had called. Jiang explains that the Chief will call again. Shen Bing also informs him that Japan has approached his company about geothermal power stations. Jiang says senior leaders trust Shen Bing to protect the technology.
• When the Chief calls, he asks about the peach Shen Bing sent him. Shen Bing says it is a rare, difficult-to-reproduce variety and reveals that one peach can extend a person’s life by about ten years.
• The Chief explains that he hopes to help the country’s aging senior scientists. Shen Bing says he harvested only a few dozen peaches but offers ten to the country as a gesture of respect.

Character developments and interactions

• Shen Bing is cautious about security and appearances, but also generous and respectful toward the scientific community. He balances protecting his company’s technology with cooperating with the government.
• The Chief is curious about the peach’s origins and effects, then reveals that his interest is motivated by concern for veteran scientists—not personal gain.
• Secretary Jiang acts as a discreet intermediary, relaying the Chief’s plans and reassuring Shen Bing about government confidence in him.
• Wang Bo, Old Yang, and Sun Li trade jokes about dating and work. Sun Li chooses Mountain City, close enough to remain near his parents while gaining some independence.

Significant themes

• Responsibility and trust: Shen Bing keeps the government informed about sensitive exports while the leadership trusts him to safeguard the technology.
• Respect for knowledge and service: Shen Bing’s offer reflects his admiration for scientists whose work benefited the country.
• Power and scarcity: A life-extending peach is immensely valuable, but its rarity and uncertain reproducibility make its distribution an ethical and practical challenge.
• Privacy and caution: Shen Bing’s concern about the secure call shows how carefully he must navigate powerful relationships and sensitive information.

Key plot points and events

• The Chief warns Shen Bing to keep his research into the Immortal Peach’s life-extending properties secret, since such technology could be abused. Shen promises the technology will benefit everyone rather than become a tool of control.
• The Chief hints that Japan’s high electricity prices could make Shen’s geothermal power station especially profitable there.
• After defending his thesis, Shen declines the university principal’s offer of an unusually easy postgraduate place. He considers further study unnecessary and turns to his own research instead.
• Shen begins studying the Immortal Peach’s effects, gathering scientific literature and preparing for a long investigation.
• Bernie returns to the Underground Base with dozens of Ghost Organization members who had been exposed to Monster X. Arthur confirms that everyone who received X’s Legacy has been captured, reducing the danger they might pose.
• Lu Xian reports that Sony vice president Yoshida Kazuo arranged Fang Yan’s kidnapping to pressure Fang Yuanming into stealing Shen’s company’s technology, especially the Phantom Vision Display. Sony had first leaked information about the plot to gauge Shen’s response; seeing that he sent the Blade Mercenary Corps rather than personal bodyguards, they mistakenly assumed his ties to Fang Yuanming were merely commercial.

Character developments

• Shen remains confident and publicly generous about sharing powerful technologies, though privately he sees them as less impressive than the supernatural medicines he already possesses.
• He rejects an academic career and commits himself to independent research and business projects.
• Arthur appears grim and powerless to resist Shen, but has fulfilled his task of capturing the infected mutants.
• Yoshida is revealed as the kidnapping plot’s sponsor and is already in Shen’s custody.

Significant themes

• Power and responsibility: The Chief raises the danger of life-extension technology being used for domination; Shen insists it should benefit the public.
• Independence and ambition: Shen rejects conventional academic advancement in favor of pursuing his own work.
• Surveillance and miscalculation: Qiuqiu’s data analysis uncovers the conspiracy, while Sony’s attempt to read Shen’s intentions leads it to underestimate his connections and response.
• Containment of dangerous power: Capturing those affected by Monster X is presented as necessary to prevent future harm.

Character interactions

• The Chief questions Shen’s confidence, warns him about secrecy, and nudges him toward the opportunity presented by Japan’s high electricity costs.
• Shen explains his decision to leave university to Wang Sheng and directs him to carry out the arrangements already made with the school.
• Shen questions Arthur about the captured mutants and Lu Xian about Fang Yan’s kidnapping, receiving confirmation of both the threat’s containment and Sony’s role.

Key plot points and events

• Shen Bing learns that Sony’s vice president hired kidnappers to target Fang Yuanming’s daughter, Fang Yan, hoping to obtain the technology behind Phantom Vision TVs.
• Rather than launch a violent attack, Shen decides to retaliate through business. He offers Nancy Group exclusive rights to distribute Phantom Vision TVs in Japan at the same wholesale price used in Huaxia.
• Fang Yuanming plans to use the TVs—and bundled sales with other products—to challenge Sony in its home market.
• Nancy Group announces its expansion into Japan. The promise of a promotional giveaway—winning the right to purchase a Phantom Vision TV—creates intense public interest, especially because the TVs remain scarce and are not yet ordinarily available overseas.
• Meanwhile, in Hollywood, director Cameron introduces a new Viewing Pod from Illusion Immortal Technology Company. He says it will screen excerpts from the trailer for Avatar 3 to demonstrate the technology’s viewing experience.

Character developments and interactions

• Shen Bing shows loyalty to Fang Yuanming despite their business-only relationship. He restrains his initial impulse to use force and instead supports a measured commercial counterattack.
• Fang Yuanming responds to the threat with anger and resolve, but quickly turns that anger into a practical plan to confront Sony in Japan. He and Shen cooperate as partners, with Shen providing the product access and Fang devising the market strategy.
• Cameron acts as an enthusiastic advocate for the Viewing Pod, presenting it to powerful film-industry figures. One bearded attendee expresses skepticism and curiosity about the product and Cameron’s endorsement.

Significant themes

• Business as retaliation: The conflict with Sony is answered through competition and market strategy rather than violence.
• Trust and partnership: Shen and Fang’s relationship is strictly commercial, yet they willingly protect and support one another.
• Scarcity and consumer desire: Phantom Vision TVs’ limited supply has made even the chance to buy one an enticing prize.
• Technology and spectacle: The chapter shifts from the TV market to Hollywood, suggesting that the company’s innovations may reshape entertainment as well as consumer electronics.

Plot points and events

• Cameron demonstrates Phantom Immortal Technology’s W-X Viewing Pod to Universal’s Brian and other film-industry executives. Each is impressed by its immersive experience, with Brian declaring that he has finally watched a “real movie.”
• The executives recognize that the new system is far superior to IMAX, but are troubled by their recent investments in IMAX theaters. They fear losing money if they switch, yet also fear being displaced by competitors who adopt the Viewing Pod first.
• Walt asks whether the technology will launch, and Cameron confirms that Shen Bing has approved it. President Wang asks about production capacity, but Cameron directs him to contact the company; the group expects him to inquire in person after returning to China.
• Meanwhile, Shen Bing celebrates the completion of his private jet, Little Bird, and takes it on a test flight with Li Xiao, Yun Xue, Yuan Wei, and two pilots whose identities and appearances have been altered.
• Li Xiao jokes that the plane needs two flight attendants. Yun Xue and Yuan Wei glare at him, prompting him to retract the remark and praise the plane’s automation instead. The group then continues touring the cabin.

Character developments and interactions

• Cameron reluctantly acts as a salesman, but his confidence in the Viewing Pod is vindicated by the executives’ reactions.
• The film executives shift from skepticism to admiration, then confront the commercial dilemma of adopting a better technology while still carrying the costs of IMAX.
• President Wang becomes the group’s likely intermediary with Phantom Immortal Technology because he is the only Chinese attendee.
• Shen Bing enjoys the prestige and novelty of owning a private jet, despite possessing more extraordinary technology. His excitement reflects ordinary vanity and the desire to share in a widely admired luxury.
• Li Xiao is blunt and socially unaware; his flight-attendant joke provokes Yun Xue and Yuan Wei’s jealousy. He quickly recognizes the mistake and tries to smooth things over, while Shen Bing privately thinks Li Xiao still lacks tact.

Significant themes

• Technological disruption and sunk costs: Businesses may resist a superior innovation because of investments in older systems, while fearing even more the consequences of falling behind.
• Status and vanity: Shen Bing’s pleasure in a conventional luxury shows that social recognition can matter more than possessing something objectively more advanced.
• Social tact and jealousy: The lighthearted exchange aboard the plane highlights how casual remarks can expose romantic tensions and how people try to recover from awkwardness.

Plot points and events

• Shen Bing shows Yun Xue, Yuan Wei, and Li Xiao around his lavishly outfitted private Boeing 747-8 VIP, prompting Yun Xue to joke that he is building a “palace in the sky.” Shen Bing hints he may eventually build something even more extravagant.
• Li Xiao reveals their flight plan is to Harbin. After receiving clearance, the aircraft takes off.
• The narration explains that the plane has been completely rebuilt by the Demon Puppet Artisan. Though it looks like an ordinary 747, its powerful upgraded engines and one-piece titanium-alloy airframe allow it to fly at more than twice the speed of sound and perform extreme maneuvers.
• Once airborne, Shen Bing proposes giving his companions a genuine “journey through the skies.” To conceal any deviation from their approved route, he has Qiuqiu spoof the plane’s satellite-positioning signal and report that it is still on course.
• Shen Bing orders the cockpit to climb to a suitable altitude and prepare to test the aircraft’s maximum speed. Yun Xue objects nervously, but Shen Bing assures her he can keep everyone safe.

Character developments

• Shen Bing is confident and ambitious, treating extraordinary technology and risky tests as routine. He is also eager to demonstrate what the aircraft can do.
• Yun Xue shifts from impressed curiosity to skepticism and concern as Shen Bing proposes an increasingly dangerous flight test.
• Li Xiao remains calm and obedient, reflecting his strong trust in Shen Bing.
• Yuan Wei is impressed by the aircraft but, like Yun Xue, looks apprehensive about Shen Bing’s plans.
• Qiuqiu is playful and dismissive of the request, calling the signal spoofing a simple trick before quickly completing it.

Significant themes

• Extreme technological power: The aircraft’s hidden capabilities vastly exceed what its conventional appearance suggests.
• Confidence versus caution: Shen Bing’s faith in his abilities contrasts with his companions’ awareness of the risks.
• Appearance and reality: The plane looks like a standard passenger aircraft, but has effectively been rebuilt into a supersonic machine.
• Ambition and extravagance: Shen Bing treats a highly advanced aircraft as merely a mode of transport and hints at even grander projects.

Character interactions

• Yun Xue teases Shen Bing about his extravagant aircraft and challenges his claim that he can provide a true journey through the skies.
• Shen Bing responds to her skepticism by summoning Qiuqiu to disguise the aircraft’s position, then orders the speed test.
• Li Xiao supports Shen Bing’s plans without hesitation, while Yuan Wei and Yun Xue react with growing unease.
• Shen Bing reassures the others that, even if the plane crashes, he can get them safely to the ground.

Plot points and events

• Shen Bing takes Yun Xue and Yuan Wei on Little Bird’s maiden flight. The aircraft climbs to 45,000 meters and reaches 2,000 km/h, breaking the sound barrier and astonishing the passengers.
• Yun Xue suspects the plane has been radically modified. Shen Bing denies it with a grin, privately thinking of the changes as equipment replacements, and encourages the women to enjoy the view instead.
• After a successful but secret flight to Harbin and back, Shen returns to Rongcheng. A Japanese delegation has arrived to discuss Phantom Immortal Technology’s deep geothermal power-generation technology.
• Shen also hears that Wang, a prominent business heir, wants to meet him. Since their industries do not obviously overlap, Shen asks his assistant to find out the purpose before agreeing.
• At the company, Shen reflects that Phantom Immortal Technology will soon leave Yongxin Plaza for its new headquarters in the Industrial Park.
• Shen meets the Japanese delegation, led by Inagawa and including the chairman of GX Electric Power Company. Inagawa praises Shen’s scientific achievements and appearance; Shen dryly accepts the appearance compliment while comparing himself favorably to Japanese people, leaving the room awkward.
• Shen quickly steers the meeting to business. The delegation explains that it wants to learn more about the geothermal technology and explore bringing it to Japan.

Character developments and interactions

• Shen Bing remains confident, playful, and blunt. He enjoys surprising others with Little Bird’s capabilities and shows little concern for diplomatic niceties.
• Yun Xue and Yuan Wei are impressed and bewildered by the aircraft’s speed and altitude. Yun Xue openly challenges Shen’s claim that it has not been modified.
• Yan Lexuan efficiently manages Shen’s schedule and takes pride in her boss’s status, while Yuan Yi handles the Japanese visitors’ reception.
• Inagawa and his colleagues are deferential but uncomfortable after Shen’s provocative response. Their need to negotiate keeps them from openly objecting.

Significant themes

• Technological superiority and spectacle: Little Bird demonstrates the extraordinary capabilities of Shen’s technology while remaining hidden from the public.
• Shen’s irreverence and self-assurance: He treats astonishing innovations casually and uses humor—and occasional insults—to unsettle others.
• Change and transition: The company’s impending move from its original headquarters marks the beginning of a new stage.
• Technology as international leverage: The Japanese delegation’s interest in geothermal power shows the commercial and diplomatic importance of Shen’s inventions.

Key plot points

• Japanese representatives Mr. Inagawa and Mr. Hase seek access to Shen Bing’s geothermal technology, generators, or a power-station project. Shen rejects both a technology transfer and generator sales.
• When they offer $10 million per generator—and then $20 million—Shen demands $50 million each. He also cites a $2 billion price for the Golden Pangolin Device. The representatives consider the terms absurd.
• The Japanese side proposes a 50–50 joint venture, but Shen refuses. He insists on his established model: his company builds and operates the stations, then sells electricity to local power companies.
• Shen sets the feed-in tariff at $0.13 per kilowatt-hour, far above the rate his company charges in China. He argues that a higher price would protect Japan’s existing power producers from being driven out of business. When Hase tries to negotiate, Shen ends the discussion: “No negotiation. Period!”
• Japan’s urgency is driven by rising opposition to nuclear power and the prime minister’s need for a strong reelection issue. Securing a geothermal project is their minimum goal.

Character developments and interactions

• Shen Bing remains blunt, confident, and uncompromising. He uses the scale of China’s energy needs to show that Japan has little leverage, and he controls the negotiations by rejecting every arrangement that would give the Japanese side greater ownership or control.
• Inagawa begins hopeful and tries to bargain, but Shen’s refusals leave him increasingly frustrated and humiliated. He reflects on how the balance of technological power has reversed since his earlier career, when Chinese representatives depended on foreign expertise.
• Hase argues that Japan’s electricity market is substantial and later questions the proposed tariff. He recognizes that Shen’s company does not need Japan’s business, but cannot change Shen’s terms.
• The exchange is marked by a stark imbalance: the Japanese representatives plead and negotiate, while Shen remains calm and dictates the conditions.

Significant themes

• Reversal of power: The former supplier of technical assistance is now the party seeking access, illustrating the shift in national technological standing.
• Monopoly and leverage: Shen’s control of breakthrough technology lets him set prices and reject deals without concern for losing the market.
• Energy as political necessity: The Japanese delegation’s request is tied not only to business but also to nuclear opposition, domestic policy, and electoral pressures.
• Control versus access: Japan wants technology or ownership to secure its energy supply; Shen offers only a model in which his company retains control and sells power on its own terms.

Plot points and events

• Shen Bing uses aggressive, deliberately provocative tactics to test how badly the Japanese delegation wants geothermal power. He offers steep discounts in exchange for politically impossible concessions concerning the Diaoyu or Ryukyu Islands.
• The delegation refuses those demands but stays at the table. Inagawa eventually accepts Shen’s earlier electricity price, despite knowing it may bring him criticism back home.
• Inagawa asks for enough equipment to generate at least 500 billion kilowatt-hours annually and demands reliable, transparent operation, open safety inspections, and uninterrupted supply. Shen agrees, with an exception for force majeure.
• Shen adds his own safeguard: Japan must pay for the minimum contracted output whether it uses the electricity or not. Inagawa accepts, and the parties agree to cooperate.
• The newly established Phantom Immortal Energy Company signs the contract. General manager Zhang Zi’an will lead a team to Japan the following day to prepare sites and coordinate grid connections.
• After briefing Zhang, Shen leaves the company and notices an ordinary-looking man drawing curious glances, accompanied by two imposing bodyguards.

Character developments and interactions

• Shen Bing proves confident, calculating, and playful. His provocative political demands are a negotiating tactic, while his firm insistence on payment guarantees protects his company from being exploited.
• Inagawa is pragmatic and under pressure: he accepts a costly deal and makes strict demands to safeguard Japan’s interests, but Shen exposes weaknesses in his wording and forces him to compromise.
• Zhang Zi’an steps into his role as energy-company general manager, taking responsibility for leading the Japan project.
• Shen and the Japanese delegation move from confrontation to a signed partnership, though the negotiations remain marked by mistrust and sharp verbal exchanges.

Significant themes

• Power and leverage in negotiation: Shen uses the delegation’s urgency to secure favorable terms.
• Commercial ambition and technological impact: The contract promises enormous revenue and illustrates geothermal power’s potential to reshape energy markets.
• Trust versus enforceable guarantees: Both sides insist on protections rather than relying on honor or goodwill.
• National interests and political limits: The island demands expose the gap between symbolic bargaining and what the negotiators can actually authorize.

Key plot points and events

• Shen Bing meets Wang Sichong, the heir to Yida Company, who had earlier been turned away by Shen’s secretary, Yan Lexuan. A misunderstanding about Wang’s “movie-related project” explains the refusal.
• Wang proposes discussing business at a venue he has chosen. Shen declines and instead talks with him in his car on the way home.
• Wang wants to install Shen’s w-x Viewing System across Yida’s cinema chain. He asks about production capacity and price; Shen says supply is no obstacle and sets the price at 500,000 yuan per Viewing Pod.
• Wang worries that cinemas lack compatible films and that the high price could make the investment hard to recover. Shen assures him he has a solution but keeps the details secret.
• Wang guesses Shen can convert existing movies to the system’s format and proposes acquiring screening permissions, converting the films, and selling them to cinema chains. Shen approves and leaves Wang to organize the venture.
• Wang also reveals that he came partly on behalf of other cinema-chain owners, who are waiting to hear about the system’s production capacity.

Character developments and interactions

• Shen Bing remains relaxed, confident, and businesslike. He refuses the proposed outing but grants Wang a meeting in his car. His mention of a deal expected to generate over 500 billion yuan in annual revenue makes clear that a project worth a few billion is relatively minor to him.
• Wang Sichong begins as an eager prospective partner, then shows sharp commercial instincts by identifying the opportunity in converting older films. Though surprised when Shen assigns him the work, he accepts because Shen controls the technology and the opportunity is valuable.
• Yan Lexuan is not present, but her earlier refusal shapes the meeting; Shen realizes she lacked enough information to recognize Wang’s request as relevant.
• The pair develop a practical, unequal partnership: Wang brings industry access and business initiative, while Shen supplies the indispensable technology.

Significant themes

• Power and leverage: Control of a unique technology gives Shen the decisive advantage in negotiations.
• Entrepreneurial improvisation: Wang quickly turns a technical challenge—the shortage of compatible films—into a potential business.
• Scale and perspective: Shen’s enormous deal makes Wang’s ambitions seem modest, highlighting the disparity in their resources.
• Technology and new markets: The Viewing System’s success depends not only on equipment, but also on building a library of content and securing cinema partners.

There is no chapter content to summarize. The page only contains an apology from the author, who says they struggled with writer’s block and wrote about a thousand characters, plus a notice that the text is still being prepared.
No plot events, character developments, interactions, or themes from the chapter are provided.