Chapter Summaries

Key plot points and events

• Shen Bing arrives in Singapore aboard an exceptionally advanced private jet, though its unusual landing is unnoticed.
• Singapore’s Commerce Minister, Wang Zhaolong, welcomes him with a group of officials and business figures. Shen makes clear he is there only to resolve the problem involving Phantom Immortal Technology, not to discuss investment or other matters.
• Wang offers hospitality and mediation, but Shen declines the hotel and asks to go straight to the port, where the dispute is taking place.
• Shen travels with a small company team, escorted by Wang’s motorcade. He notices security personnel along the route and suspects Singapore is staging a “good cop, bad cop” approach.
• When Gong Xiaolan worries that their vehicle may be bugged, Shen assures her they can speak freely. In reality, Lu Xian is ensuring the listening device only transmits what Shen wants others to hear.
• At the port, Wang says he has contacted Customs, and that Interpol representatives are also expected to arrive.

Character developments and interactions

• Shen Bing is blunt, focused, and wary of official hospitality. He refuses to be distracted from the company’s dispute and remains confident despite signs of surveillance.
• Wang Zhaolong maintains a gracious public manner, quickly adapting to Shen’s dismissive remarks and presenting himself as a helpful mediator. Shen, however, suspects his welcome is part of a broader strategy.
• Gong Xiaolan shows concern for the team’s privacy and security; Shen reassures her, reinforcing his authority and the employees’ trust in his capabilities.
• Li Xiao notices the security presence and asks Shen about it, prompting Shen to explain his suspicions.
• The chapter also highlights the loyalty of Shen’s small team, who follow his lead without challenging his confidence.

Significant themes

• Diplomacy and power: Polite gestures coexist with strategic maneuvering, and Shen resists being drawn into a more accommodating political role.
• Surveillance and control: The suspected bug illustrates the tense, watchful environment; Shen turns the monitoring to his advantage.
• Reputation versus reality: The sophisticated aircraft and Shen’s apparent confidence suggest formidable capability, much of which remains unseen by others.

Summary

Key plot points and events

• Singapore officials, including Customs, police, and three Interpol officers led by Kane, meet with Shen Bing’s group over a cargo ship carrying Phantom Immortal Technology’s products.
• Kane demands to search the ship on suspicion that Shen Bing may be connected to terrorism. Shen Bing refuses, citing the risk of exposing highly advanced technology.
• After Kane rejects Shen Bing’s demand that he take responsibility for any leak, Shen Bing threatens to blacklist the officers and stop selling Phantom Immortal Technology’s products to them.
• Kane escalates matters by claiming he has authority to arrest Shen Bing. Shen Bing points out that they are in Singapore and challenges the local police official, Du Yihao, to clarify the Americans’ authority.
• Shen Bing then appears to permit the search—but orders the ship’s crew to leave first. He also announces plans to fund a canal through Thailand’s Kra Isthmus and to extend Phantom Immortal Technology’s sales ban on the United States indefinitely. He leaves before the others can respond.

Character developments and interactions

• Shen Bing is confident, confrontational, and willing to use the company’s economic power to resist pressure. He shifts from refusing the search to allowing it under conditions that undermine the investigators’ leverage and heighten the costs of antagonizing him.
• Kane begins with an aggressive demand, then accuses Shen Bing of supporting terrorism and threatens arrest. His resolve is challenged by Shen Bing’s defiance and the potential consequences of the sales ban, but he presses on rather than backing down.
• Li Xiao, Shen Bing’s bodyguard, silently intimidates Kane with a threatening stare. Yan Lexuan and Gong Xiaolan also immediately defend Shen Bing against Kane’s accusation.
• Du Yihao is put on the spot when Shen Bing asks whether American officers can arrest someone in Singapore. He avoids a direct confrontation and urges Shen Bing to cooperate with the investigation.

Significant themes

• The conflict between national sovereignty and foreign investigative authority.
• Corporate power as political leverage, especially through control of valuable technology and access to markets.
• Trust, secrecy, and security: Shen Bing frames the search as a threat to proprietary technology, while Kane treats refusal as suspicious.
• Defiance and escalation: both sides become increasingly combative, turning a search request into a broader diplomatic and commercial confrontation.

Key plot points and events

• Shen Bing announces that he may pursue the Kra Isthmus project, startling officials who understand that a canal through Thailand could divert shipping away from the Strait of Malacca and undermine Singapore’s prosperity.
• Officer Kane tries to stop Shen Bing, claiming he may be connected to a terrorist organization. Singaporean Customs Commissioner Liang Qiusheng intervenes, insisting that Kane follow Singapore’s laws and not detain Shen Bing there.
• Liang explains that a canal could threaten Singapore’s future, and argues that Thailand might approve it if Shen Bing offered $60 billion and Cancer Cure No. 1. Kane doubts Shen Bing would actually fund the project but still wants to search the cargo ship.
• Liang refuses to allow the search in Singaporean territory and threatens to have the Prime Minister send warships to escort the ship out of port. He urges Kane to consult his superiors.
• Shen Bing leaves with his companions. At their hotel, Yan Lexuan recommends pursuing the canal for its commercial potential. Shen Bing reveals that he never truly intended to build it: he was bluffing. He believes sea freight will eventually be displaced by faster, more convenient transportation—and says his company can develop that alternative.

Character developments and interactions

• Shen Bing remains confident and provocative, using the canal threat to unsettle Singapore and expose the stakes of the confrontation. He also reveals a forward-looking vision for transportation.
• Liang Qiusheng shifts from anxiety to firm resistance against Kane, prioritizing Singapore’s sovereignty and economic interests. He fears the consequences of antagonizing Shen Bing.
• Kane is increasingly frustrated as Liang blocks his attempt to detain Shen Bing and search the ship. He initially dismisses the canal threat, but realizes the situation is more serious than expected.
• Yan Lexuan offers a practical business case for the canal, only to be surprised when Shen Bing explains that the threat was a bluff.
• The exchange between Kane and Liang becomes a standoff: Kane invokes terrorism concerns, while Liang insists on Singapore’s legal authority and warns of the economic consequences.

Significant themes

• Economic dependence and vulnerability: Singapore’s prosperity rests heavily on its control of the Strait of Malacca, making the possibility of a rival canal an existential concern.
• Power, sovereignty, and geopolitics: The confrontation shows how national interests and local law can limit a foreign official’s actions.
• Bluff and strategic leverage: Shen Bing uses the possibility of a massive infrastructure project to influence others, even without intending to carry it out.
• Technological change: Shen Bing questions the future of established industries and suggests that innovation—not investment in existing systems—will transform transportation.

Chapter summary

Key plot points

• Yan Lexuan asks Shen Bing whether Phantom Immortal Technology is already developing a transport system that could make ocean shipping obsolete. Shen says it is not. He argues that such a breakthrough would reshape global development, but predicts Singapore will concede over the cargo ship rather than risk the Kra Strait issue. He is less certain how the United States will respond.
• Singapore Prime Minister Zheng Xianlong realizes that detaining Hongyuan Ocean Trade Company’s ship—an action partly approved by his government—has provoked Phantom Immortal Technology. Shen’s threat to excavate the Kra Strait is far more serious than the retaliation Singapore had anticipated.
• Zheng’s ministers conclude that Singapore lacks leverage against the company and should release the ship. They agree to approach Shen and demonstrate goodwill, despite fearing the political cost of appearing to back down.
• The officials try to avoid being sent to negotiate with Shen, each arguing that a colleague is better suited. Zheng assigns Wang Zhaolong to meet Shen, Kong Shiyuan to explain matters to the Americans, and Liang Qiusheng to strengthen ties with Huaxia and seek help if needed.
• In the United States, the President learns that the ship seizure was part of a deliberate scheme by financial magnates. They had used Interpol channels to frame Phantom Immortal Technology with planted contraband, hoping to brand it a terrorist organization and justify international sanctions. The President regards the plan as disastrously naïve.

Character developments and interactions

• Shen Bing remains confident and provocative. He refuses to reveal much about future technology and believes his company can outlast or outmaneuver its opponents.
• Yan Lexuan is curious but careful not to overstep her authority. She accepts Shen’s bluntness as characteristic of him.
• Zheng Xianlong shifts from frustration and disbelief to pragmatic surrender, recognizing that protecting Singapore’s future matters more than saving face.
• Singapore’s ministers acknowledge their weak position but bicker over who should face Shen. Their reluctance exposes their self-interest and lack of responsibility.
• The U.S. President is furious that subordinates and powerful financiers acted without his approval. Though hostile toward Phantom Immortal Technology, he understands its influence better than the plotters do.
• The confrontation is indirect: Shen’s threat pressures Singapore’s leadership, while the President confronts the officials responsible for the failed operation.

Significant themes

• Power imbalance: Phantom Immortal Technology’s advanced products give it more leverage than a small nation—or even powerful political actors—can easily counter.
• Economic interdependence and geopolitical change: Disrupting shipping or excavating the Kra Strait could transform regional economies and the global order.
• Pragmatism versus pride: Singapore’s leaders must choose between preserving face and avoiding harm to their country’s future.
• Overreach and miscalculation: The plotters underestimate both the company and the public importance of its products, especially Cancer Cure No. 1.

Plot points and events

• Facing the public’s likely outrage over sanctions that could block access to Cancer Cure No. 1, the U.S. President avoids blaming the government and instead lets an official take responsibility.
• News reports say a U.S. Interpol bureau deputy director resigned over mishandled intelligence. Kane and his three subordinates are recalled, implicitly closing the case over Hongyuan Ocean Trade’s detained ship.
• Relieved that the crisis has passed, Singapore sends Minister Wang to negotiate with Shen Bing. Wang apologizes, blames the incident on trusting Kane’s team, offers $100 million in compensation, and welcomes Phantom Immortal Technology’s products and investment.
• Shen accepts the apology and money but refuses to drop his plan to dig a canal through the Kra Isthmus. He says the incident has made him value control over his own shipping route; the $60 billion project is affordable to his company.
• Wang promises safe passage through the Strait of Malacca and proposes a written cooperation agreement. Shen rejects both, arguing that promises cannot undo wrongdoing.
• Wang then offers concessions in exchange for Shen abandoning the canal. Shen first asks for influence over the Strait of Malacca, which Wang says Singapore cannot grant. Shen suggests canal operating rights as an alternative, even offering to build it free or add $30 billion.
• Finally, Shen proposes buying a private island in Singapore, with permission to reclaim land and permanent tax exemption for factories there. Wang finds the conditions potentially acceptable, assuming Singapore can choose an island too small or unsuitable for reclamation to matter.

Character developments and interactions

• Shen Bing remains calm and self-assured, but reveals that his drive for the canal comes from a deep need for security and control. He refuses easy assurances and insists Singapore bear consequences for its actions.
• Minister Wang shifts from apologizing and offering compensation to urgently bargaining. He is increasingly flustered as Shen rejects each proposal, but hopes the island arrangement may avert the canal project.
• The U.S. President shows political pragmatism, balancing public pressure against the interests of powerful financial figures by assigning blame to a subordinate.
• Singapore and Shen remain in a tense negotiation: Wang seeks to protect national interests, while Shen uses his financial power and willingness to invest heavily to press for meaningful concessions.

Significant themes

• Power and accountability: Shen insists that wrongdoing demands consequences, not merely promises that it will not happen again.
• Security and control: His canal plan is presented as a personal response to vulnerability and dependence on routes he cannot control.
• Economic leverage: Phantom Immortal Technology’s wealth gives Shen extraordinary bargaining power, while the potential cancer cure raises the political cost of opposing him.
• Political pragmatism and compromise: Governments maneuver to contain crises, shift blame, and protect their interests, while leaving room for a negotiated solution.

Key plot points and events

• Shen Bing negotiates with Singapore’s Minister Wang over an agreement. Wang outwardly delays a decision until the next day, while privately believing Singapore can exploit the terms.
• Shen Bing knows Singapore is underestimating Phantom Immortal Technology’s land-reclamation methods and expects the deal to benefit his side instead.
• While waiting for Singapore’s answer, Shen asks Yan Lexuan to check on a cargo ship carrying their shipment through the Strait of Malacca and warns the company to be careful.
• He encourages Yan to go shopping with Manager Gong. Once she leaves, he summons Lu Xian and Thorne to follow the shipment, and secretly assigns Jack to protect Yan and Gong.
• Shen then enters the Gate to the Immortal Realm and discovers that the Most Sacred Spirit Bone has quickly filled its wish-power reserves, bringing him closer to completing the “No Road to the Yellow Springs” quest.

Character developments and interactions

• Shen Bing remains composed and strategic, using his secret technological advantage to shape the negotiation while concealing his true intentions. He also shows concern for Yan’s safety, though he lets her enjoy herself without explaining the risk.
• Minister Wang hides his satisfaction behind a worried façade, confident that Shen will keep his word and that Singapore will gain from the agreement.
• Yan Lexuan recognizes that Wang may have ulterior motives and quickly understands Shen’s explanation. Though cautious about leaving her boss, she is delighted when he insists she go shopping.
• Thorne, Lu Xian, and Jack obey Shen’s orders without question, reflecting their unquestioning loyalty.

Significant themes

• Information and hidden advantage: Singapore’s ignorance of Shen’s land-reclamation technology makes the apparent bargain a potential win for him.
• Strategic deception and patience: Both sides conceal their expectations, while Shen deliberately treats events as a game to be played slowly.
• Duty, trust, and protection: Yan balances her professional responsibility against her wish to explore; Shen gives her freedom while arranging covert protection.
• Progress through public benefit: The increased wish power appears connected to free cancer treatment and geothermal-power projects, suggesting that public hopes and practical improvements advance Shen’s quest.

Key plot points and events

• Shen Bing purifies a wish-power-filled Most Sacred Spirit Bone at the Sea of Rebirth, advancing the No Road to the Yellow Springs quest to one-third completion. He still needs three quests to upgrade the Gate to the Immortal Realm.
• Reflecting on his ambitions, Shen Bing realizes that building Phantom Immortal Technology into the world’s leading company is no longer enough. His larger goals are space exploration, preparing Earth to encounter alien civilizations, and discovering the Gate’s highest level—possibly to help restore reincarnation and the Immortal-Mortal Passage.
• He accepts “Great Sage Sun’s Heartache,” a quest to resolve doubts about whether the present Sun Wukong is truly the original or the Six-Eared Macaque. The promise that he may request a reward tempts Shen Bing with the prospect of asking for Wukong’s staff.
• At Mount Huaguo, Shen Bing asks Wukong how a mortal beast could become a demon beast, hoping to help Feifei, who has become berserk.
• Wukong explains that after the Immortal-Mortal Passage was severed, the Mortal Realm lost the spiritual energy needed for beasts to cultivate. A beast exposed to enough spiritual or immortal energy without a suitable cultivation method may suffer demonic deviation and lose control.
• Wukong says certain immortal pills could neutralize that energy and stabilize a transforming beast. Lord Lao does not make them; Medicine God Sun Simiao once did, but may no longer have any. Shen Bing leaves with a possible lead, but no clear solution for Feifei.
• The chapter ends with an unexplained scene at sea: oddly idle fishing boats drift near the busy shipping route from the Strait of Malacca to the Indian Ocean.

Character developments and interactions

• Shen Bing reveals growing uncertainty about his former business ambitions and redirects his drive toward space, alien contact, and the Gate’s mysteries. His concern for Feifei makes him urgently seek knowledge and help.
• Sun Wukong is in a troubled mood over the identity mystery, though he masks it with playful, enigmatic remarks. He gives Shen Bing a frank explanation of beast transformation and points him toward Medicine God Sun.
• Shen Bing and Wukong share a familiar, humorous exchange, but their conversation becomes serious as Shen Bing presses for a way to save Feifei.

Significant themes

• Ambition and purpose: worldly success loses meaning for Shen Bing, who seeks greater challenges in exploration and discovery.
• Knowledge and responsibility: Shen Bing’s growing power brings obligations, especially the need to protect Feifei and prepare Earth for an uncertain cosmic future.
• Identity and uncertainty: Wukong’s unresolved doubts about the Six-Eared Macaque echo the broader questions surrounding truth and selfhood.
• Consequences of severed connections: the lost Immortal-Mortal Passage has depleted the Mortal Realm and left its creatures vulnerable, showing how cosmic changes shape life across worlds.

Key plot points

• A ruthless pirate captain leads a crew hired for $200 million to seize a cargo ship carrying extremely valuable goods linked to Phantom Immortal Technology. Though the crew grumbles that the cargo could be worth tens of billions—or more—the captain and Old Ox point out that stealing it is easier than finding buyers.
• Eight modified fishing boats intercept the ship in the Strait of Malacca before dawn. Seventy armed pirates board, expecting only seventeen crew members and a straightforward takeover.
• Old Ox senses that they are being watched, but the captain dismisses his unease. In reality, Thorne, Kamm, Bernie, and Lu Xian are secretly monitoring the operation aboard the cloaked Immortal Carriage.
• Thorne orders Kamm to wait and observe rather than act, especially after Bernie spots more than a dozen speedboats approaching. Their arrival suggests the hijacking may involve more than one group.
• The captain orders his men to attack the newcomers with rocket launchers, but one of the fishing boats suddenly erupts in flames before the order can be carried out.

Character developments and interactions

• The bearded captain shows himself to be calculating and brutal: he manages his crew’s expectations, threatens anyone tempted to steal cargo, and anticipates rivals joining the operation.
• Old Ox is experienced but unusually wary. His instincts make him suspect a trap, though he cannot persuade the captain to take the concern seriously.
• Thorne remains composed and cautious, directing Kamm to observe and warning Bernie not to underestimate the situation.
• Kamm is eager for a fight and jokes confidently about handling the pirates, while Bernie is equally keen to test his training. Their enthusiasm contrasts with Thorne’s restraint.
• Lu Xian calmly assures Thorne that the ship is safe and does not engage with Kamm’s speculation.

Significant themes

• Greed versus practicality: The pirates covet the cargo’s immense value, but its worth depends on whether they can sell it.
• Instinct versus overconfidence: Old Ox senses danger, while the captain’s confidence leads him to dismiss it.
• Hidden power and uncertainty: The cloaked observers and the sudden arrival—and destruction—of another boat reveal that the apparent hijacking is part of a larger, unpredictable confrontation.

Key plot points and events

• Unknown attackers use torpedoes or similar weapons to destroy Beard’s fishing boats, killing his crew and enraging him.
• Beard orders his remaining men to fire at approaching speedboats. The speedboats circle the cargo ship without returning fire, then depart, leaving Beard puzzled.
• Realizing the speedboats may have created a diversion, Beard orders his pirates to seize the cargo ship’s crew and prevent them from calling for help. They break into the crew quarters and force the captain to comply with their demands.
• Above the ship, Thorne, Bernie, Kamm, and Lu Xian observe the confusing confrontation from the concealed Immortal Carriage. Lu Xian reports that more than a dozen people are planting bombs beneath the ship’s waterline.
• Thorne assigns Bernie and Kamm to secure the ship and protect its crew, while Lu Xian goes after the underwater attackers. Thorne stays behind to coordinate support. Qiuqiu is already using satellites to track the departing speedboats.

Character developments and interactions

• Beard shifts from shock and grief to fury, then quickly suspects the attack is a diversion. He responds by taking the cargo ship’s crew hostage.
• The cargo ship’s captain stays cautious and submits rather than risk provoking the armed pirates.
• Thorne remains wary of assuming the speedboat crew are allies and organizes a response around the newly revealed underwater threat.
• Lu Xian contributes crucial intelligence and agrees to capture the people planting the bombs; Bernie and Kamm take responsibility for the pirates aboard the ship.

Significant themes

• Violence and survival: Beard’s men and the captain react according to immediate danger, not ideals or bravado.
• Deception and uncertainty: The apparent attack on the fishing boats and the speedboats’ unexplained behavior may be part of a larger plan.
• Teamwork and role specialization: The observers divide tasks according to each person’s abilities while coordinating through the Immortal Carriage and Qiuqiu’s surveillance.

Key plot points and events

• Malaysia receives a report that a valuable cargo ship has been attacked by pirates and sends armed helicopters to assist. The ship’s tracking signal then disappears, suggesting it has been seized.
• Malaysia alerts Huaxia and Phantom Immortal Technology. Both urge an immediate rescue, and Huaxia says it will send personnel to help.
• Pirate leader Beard argues with Old Charlie, who arranged the job. Beard suspects he was given bad intelligence, but accepts the explanation that the operation may have become unexpectedly dangerous. He is told to take the ship into international waters for the employer to collect it.
• When Malaysian helicopters approach, Beard demands to know who alerted the authorities. The captain confesses.
• Before Beard can shoot him, his rifle snaps in half. Then the weapons of all seventy pirates—and even their grenades—are mysteriously disabled. The pirates and crew panic, calling it a haunting.
• Beneath the ship, a submarine fires two torpedoes at it. Both disappear mid-course, prompting the commander to order a retreat.

Character developments and interactions

• Beard is furious at Old Charlie and fears the job may have been deliberately misrepresented, but proceeds because of the enormous commission. Under pressure, he threatens the captives, then struggles to maintain control when an unseen force disarms his men.
• Old Charlie tries to calm Beard and insists that intelligence is never guaranteed. He directs Beard to take the vessel into international waters.
• The captain admits to calling the police when Beard threatens the crew.
• The Malaysian authorities, Huaxia, and Phantom Immortal Technology respond urgently, though the source of the attacks remains unknown.
• The submarine commander shifts from aggression to caution after two torpedoes vanish in the same way.

Significant themes

• The uncanny and the unknown: Weapons break and torpedoes vanish without explanation, making supernatural interpretations seem plausible.
• Powerlessness and control: Beard’s armed force—and the submarine’s weapons—are rendered useless by an unseen intervention.
• Escalating danger and uncertainty: What begins as a pirate hijacking becomes a confrontation involving state forces, a mysterious attacker, and a submarine.

Plot points and events

• A submarine flees the cargo ship after its torpedoes mysteriously vanish. Shen Bing’s aide, Lu Xian, reveals that he swallowed them into his Cauldron Furnace, where they disappeared into the void. His limited detection range keeps him close to the ship, while he passes information to Qiuqiu to help identify the attackers.
• On the cargo ship, an unseen force beats all seventy pirates, including their leader, Beard. The frightened crew remain untouched and interpret the attack as divine punishment.
• The pirates are then dragged one by one into a small, secluded corner, where their screams abruptly stop. None return, leaving the crew confused and terrified.
• Malaysian police arrive after being called to rescue the crew, but find only unarmed sailors. The captain points to the corner as the place the pirates were taken, prompting the officers’ disbelief.
• The captain insists that his account is true, though the police officer suspects he is inventing an implausible story.

Character developments and interactions

• Lu Xian demonstrates a powerful ability to make objects vanish through his transformation, but his limited range constrains what he can do.
• The crew shift from relief at surviving the pirates to fear of the unseen force—and then awkward uncertainty when the police arrive.
• The captain tries to explain what happened and defend his credibility, despite knowing his story sounds unbelievable.
• The police officer arrives expecting a conventional rescue and grows increasingly skeptical and irritated as the captain describes events.
• Qiuqiu is tasked with analyzing global data to identify the submarine’s crew, though the result is unknown.

Significant themes

• The uncanny and the unexplained: Both the missing torpedoes and the pirates’ disappearance defy ordinary explanations.
• Limits of credibility: The crew witnessed the same events, yet their account sounds like fiction to outsiders.
• Power and helplessness: The pirates, the crew, and even the police are left unable to understand or control what is happening.
• Dark comedy: The chapter contrasts a terrifying supernatural ordeal with the police’s frustration at what appears to be a false report.

Key plot points and events

• The captain insists his account of the pirate attack is true, despite the Malaysian police officer suspecting it was fabricated. Bullet holes in the cabin ceiling support the captain’s story, but the officer remains unconvinced.
• The police ask the ship to divert to Penang for investigation. The captain refuses because of the ship’s tight schedule, so officers search the vessel at sea, avoid opening its cargo containers, collect evidence, and leave.
• After the police depart, the crew grows uneasy, wondering whether the impossible events they witnessed were real and whether an unseen supernatural force is protecting them—or merely toying with them.
• The supposedly missing pirates are being held aboard Thorne’s Immortal Carriage. Thorne uses a device to read their memories, learning their leader Sang Ze was hired for $200 million to hijack the cargo ship. Sang Ze’s contact, “Charlie,” conceals the employer’s identity.
• Lu Xian reports that someone also tried to sink the ship with a torpedo. Thorne suspects the hijacking may have been staged to make the pirates convenient scapegoats, though the connection between the attackers is unconfirmed. He sends his findings to Shen Bing.
• Shen Bing, traveling toward Medicine God Sun’s residence, receives reports from Qiuqiu and Thorne. The additional information clarifies the incident but leaves him with more questions.

Character developments and interactions

• The captain stands firm under the officer’s skepticism, defending his honesty and criticizing the police’s handling of the case. He cooperates with the search but refuses to alter the ship’s route.
• The police officer is frustrated and doubtful, yet avoids confronting the captain more aggressively because the strange circumstances make the situation risky and politically awkward.
• The crew shift from practical concern to fear and uncertainty once the officers leave, debating whether the unseen force is benevolent or dangerous.
• Thorne methodically interrogates the captured pirates through memory-reading technology and pieces together the competing threats. Lu Xian contributes crucial intelligence from beneath the sea.
• Sang Ze is exposed as a hired pirate leader, but he knows little about the people behind the job. The pirates are terrified by Thorne’s technology and powerless to resist it.
• Shen Bing becomes the recipient of the growing investigation, gaining a broader but still incomplete picture.

Significant themes

• The limits of explanation: The crew and police struggle to reconcile extraordinary events with ordinary logic.
• Fear and uncertainty: The crew’s belief in a possible guardian—or malicious supernatural being—reflects humanity’s unease when confronted with the unknown.
• Truth and evidence: The captain’s testimony, visible bullet holes, and the suspicious lack of physical evidence clash with the officer’s assumptions.
• Conspiracy and scapegoating: The hijacking may have been designed to conceal a larger plot involving a torpedo attack and a hidden employer.

Key plot points and events

• Investigating the attack on Shen Bing’s cargo ship, Qiuqiu traces the pirates to Malacca but cannot track the radio-silent submarine. The pirates’ broker, Old Charlie, is linked to a secretive global organization that uses covert agents, making the trail to the employer difficult.
• Shen Bing refuses to abandon the investigation. He orders the Blade Mercenary Corps to pursue the people behind the attack, while Thorne’s team stays with the cargo ship. Since the attackers seem intent on sinking it—not merely stealing cargo—the ship remains at risk even beyond pirate hotspots.
• Singapore agrees to sell Shen Bing a small, remote island in exchange for allowing Phantom Immortal Technology’s products into the country. Shen Bing accepts eagerly: the island’s practical value matters less to him than owning land he can develop.
• He names the island Gold Island, declaring that one day it will be covered in gold. Minister Liang arranges a helicopter visit, privately amused at the prospect of Shen Bing seeing how tiny the island is.

Character developments and interactions

• Shen Bing is persistent and protective: he is determined to uncover the mastermind and refuses to leave his cargo, crew, or property exposed. His ambition and confidence show in his plans for Gold Island.
• Qiuqiu demonstrates formidable surveillance abilities, but the submarine’s radio silence exposes a limit even to its global tracking systems.
• Minister Liang is delighted with the deal’s political value and stresses that the island is Shen Bing’s private property. His eagerness to show it off also conceals a mischievous wish to humble Shen Bing.
• Shen Bing’s exchange with Liang contrasts Liang’s focus on the deal’s political success with Shen Bing’s real interest: acquiring land for future development.

Significant themes

• Persistence against hidden threats: Shen Bing’s determination drives the effort to uncover a remote, well-insulated enemy.
• Technology has limits: Qiuqiu can track vast amounts of information, but careful radio silence defeats ordinary surveillance.
• Power and leverage: Phantom Immortal Technology can negotiate market access on unusually favorable terms, reversing the normal balance between companies and governments.
• Vision and ambition: Shen Bing sees potential in even a tiny island, valuing what he can build there over what it currently offers.

Plot and key events

• Shen Bing, Li Xiao, Yan Lexuan, and Minister Liang fly to a tiny coral reef near Singapore, which Shen has named Gold Island. Liang presents its isolation and convenient location as advantages, while hoping Shen will be disappointed by its size.
• Shen instead casually praises the reef and jokes that he’ll collect coral from it. His indifference leaves Liang baffled and frustrates him, while Yan Lexuan enjoys watching the reversal.
• Shen returns to Rongcheng. The Singapore ship-search incident has ended without harming Phantom Immortal Technology, and the company continues attracting intense public attention. Demand for the Phantom Spirit Phone remains far ahead of production.
• At Shen’s direction, two factory buildings on Great Gold Island are reassigned from phone production to metal smelting.
• In the Underground Base, Qiuqiu presents her optimized plans for Ocean City: a modular, enclosed floating-and-submersible city designed eventually to reach 100 kilometers in diameter, support 100,000 people, travel underwater at over 40 knots, and carry powerful defenses.
• Shen chooses the Singapore reef as the construction base. He orders an initial 20-kilometer platform and directs Great Gold Island to begin manufacturing its structural modules. Qiuqiu confirms the modular design will allow later expansion and self-upgrading.

Character developments and interactions

• Shen Bing remains confident and strategic. He doesn’t react to the reef’s unimpressive appearance, treating it as the starting point for a much larger project. His ambitions extend beyond the completed Ocean City itself.
• Yan Lexuan is protective of Shen and initially resents Liang’s attempt to pass off a reef as an island. She is amused when Shen’s response leaves Liang confused.
• Minister Liang tries to sell the site’s practical benefits and gauge Shen’s reaction, but Shen’s apparent interest in collecting coral defeats his expectations.
• Qiuqiu asks Shen to give her a physical body so she can experience the world firsthand. Shen agrees and proposes linking the body to her computer cluster. She praises his solution, and he suspects she had raised the issue partly to win his favor. Their exchange conveys an affectionate, parent-child-like bond.

Significant themes

• Ambition and long-term planning: The reef is presented not as a finished acquisition but as the foundation for a vast, expandable city.
• Technology as power: Phantom Immortal Technology’s products, manufacturing capacity, and proposed defenses signal its growing influence.
• Modularity and adaptation: Ocean City’s design makes it possible to begin on a smaller scale and expand later.
• Affection and agency: Qiuqiu’s wish for a body highlights her desire for direct experience, while Shen’s promise reflects his caring relationship with her.

Key events

• Qiuqiu hints that a surprise awaits Shen Bing, prompting him to visit the Genetic Research Zone.
• There, Clarence announces a major discovery made with Master Qiao, the Divine Puppet Artisan: they have found the key to understanding the unusual genetic sequence in “Little Insect.”
• Master Qiao’s analysis suggests the sequence creates a weak energy field that gathers different forms of dark matter into a complex structure—a “dark matter cluster”—with specific functions. Energy storage may be one of them, but its full purpose remains unknown.
• Master Qiao is drawing the cluster’s structure. In theory, its functions might be reproduced with ordinary matter, but such a device would be enormous and Earth lacks some of the necessary elements. Clarence proposes using Qiuqiu to simulate it instead.
• Shen Bing orders Master Qiao to complete the diagram, then asks why he has not yet examined the Gene-Enhancement Drug. Master Qiao had said it was unnecessary for now, leaving Shen Bing waiting for an explanation.

Character developments and interactions

• Shen Bing’s excitement grows as he realizes the discovery could help harness Little Insect’s remarkable energy-absorption ability and advance his plans.
• Clarence is thrilled by the breakthrough and explains its significance, while acknowledging that further research is needed.
• Master Qiao is focused and blunt, dismissing Clarence’s excitement as unremarkable but sharing a sophisticated theory of dark matter. His technical authority impresses Shen Bing.
• Clarence avoids arguing with Master Qiao, knowing it would be futile, and instead works with him productively.
• Shen Bing responds pragmatically to the limits of physical construction, accepting simulations as a useful alternative.

Significant themes

• Scientific discovery and uncertainty: The genetic sequence’s purpose is only partly understood, and the theory still requires testing.
• Limits of human knowledge and resources: Earth’s available materials may be insufficient to reproduce the dark-matter structure.
• Cooperation between human and artificial expertise: Clarence, Master Qiao, and Qiuqiu contribute different skills to the research.
• Ambition and practical problem-solving: Shen Bing focuses on how the discovery might be applied, while adapting when immediate construction proves impossible.

Key plot points

• Master Qiao explains that he cannot meaningfully investigate dark matter by himself; progress depends on humanity learning to observe and manipulate dark matter and dark energy. Shen Bing agrees to prioritize developing observation equipment.
• Shen Bing gives three selected researchers—Ye Tian Cangsang, Bu Hechang, and Norman—Aperture-Opening Pills to boost their intelligence. They begin the project after eating, with Ye Tian leading the team.
• On the drive to Phantom Immortal Tower, Shen Bing learns that his driver and bodyguard, Li Xiao, plans to marry Wang Yatong next month. Shen Bing congratulates him and promises a generous wedding gift.
• Shen Bing meets with Wang Sheng and reveals plans to build an Ocean City on a coral reef obtained from Singapore. The initial development will cover thirty to forty square kilometers, while the eventual city will be a mobile structure roughly a hundred kilometers in diameter.
• When Wang Sheng questions how something so immense could navigate the ocean, Shen Bing hints that the project’s true destination is beyond the water. Wang Sheng realizes it may be designed to fly.

Character developments and interactions

• Shen Bing shifts from waiting for the Gate to the Immortal Realm to upgrade toward urgently investing in dark-matter research. He delegates the scientific work to specialists rather than trying to direct it himself.
• Ye Tian, Bu Hechang, and Norman accept the pills without hesitation, reflecting their trust in Shen Bing and his authority over the research team.
• Li Xiao’s marriage announcement reveals how deeply he regards Shen Bing—as family, almost like an older brother. Their exchange is affectionate and teasing.
• Wang Sheng remains the practical, skeptical counterpart to Shen Bing’s grand ambitions, but his disbelief turns to astonishment when he grasps the possible implications of the Ocean City.

Significant themes

• Human knowledge and technological progress: Mastering dark matter requires developing new ways to observe and use it, not merely receiving answers from an advanced individual.
• Ambition and scale: Shen Bing treats the proposed Ocean City as only an early stage of a much larger project.
• Loyalty and personal bonds: Shen Bing’s relationship with Li Xiao extends beyond employment, while his researchers’ unquestioning cooperation highlights their loyalty.
• Foreshadowing and the extraordinary: Shen Bing’s final hint suggests the Ocean City may not simply float or travel underwater—it may be capable of flight.

Plot points and events

• Shen Bing proposes building an enormous Ocean City and tells Wang Sheng the project can proceed gradually.
• To fund its early preparations, Shen orders the company to keep 100 billion yuan as working capital and transfer the remainder—nearly 20 billion yuan—to an offshore account for the island’s construction.
• Wang Sheng questions the scale of the transfer, but agrees to arrange it. Shen also gives Secretary Jiang a heads-up, and Jiang promises to contact the relevant departments.
• Yuan Wei calls with news that she and Yun Xue have developed an advanced “Artificial Eyeball.” Unlike existing artificial retinas, it could restore sight even to people whose eyes have been completely destroyed.
• Yuan reveals that Yun Xue is annoyed with Shen for neglecting her. Feeling guilty, Shen calls Yun Xue and invites her and Yuan Wei to dinner as a reward and apology. Yun Xue chooses a street stall serving spicy crawfish.

Character developments and interactions

• Shen Bing remains boldly ambitious and casually confident about spending huge sums, but recognizes that he has been neglecting Yun Xue and resolves to make more time for her.
• Wang Sheng is responsible and cautious, raising concerns about moving so much company capital while ultimately carrying out Shen’s instructions.
• Yuan Wei and Yun Xue demonstrate effective teamwork: after separate research projects stalled, they joined forces and made an unexpected breakthrough.
• Yun Xue expresses her displeasure indirectly through Yuan Wei, but quickly responds to Shen’s invitation. Their exchange suggests affection beneath her irritation.
• Secretary Jiang’s ready cooperation reflects the trust the government leadership places in Shen.

Significant themes

• Ambition and technological power: Shen’s Ocean City plan reflects the company’s willingness to pursue projects on a massive scale.
• Innovation through collaboration: Yuan Wei and Yun Xue’s partnership produces a discovery neither had set out to make.
• Technology in service of people: The Artificial Eyeball could restore sight to millions.
• Balancing work and personal relationships: Shen’s success and constant activity come at the cost of time with Yun Xue, prompting him to reconsider his priorities.

• Plot: Shen Bing considers a promising artificial-eye breakthrough that Yuan Wei and Yun Xue have hinted at, though he doesn’t yet know its details. While working out Phantom Immortal Technology’s future, he gets an invitation from Fang Yuanming, who insists on joining Shen’s planned dinner with Yun Xue and Yuan Wei. Shen reluctantly agrees and warns the women that their outing now includes an extra guest.
• Character developments and interactions: Shen is increasingly recognized and must take precautions when going out, but remains focused on company planning and research. Fang is cheerful, boastful, and unusually persistent: despite Shen’s repeated hints that he has other plans—and his claim that they’re eating at a food stall—Fang enthusiastically invites himself along. Shen privately suspects Fang’s professed love of roadside food is a lie. Yun Xue initially sounds disappointed by the changed plans, then teases Shen about the male guest being an old man who will make them “listen to Grandpa tell stories.” She accepts the change because Shen will be there, revealing her affection for him.
• Themes: Public success brings constraints, as Shen’s fame limits his freedom. The chapter also contrasts business rivalry and national pride with personal friendship, while using playful teasing and awkward social situations to show the warmth and affection between the characters.

Key plot points and events

• Yun Xue and Yuan Wei visit Shen Bing’s office with a highly realistic bionic human-skin mask from Phantom Immortal Technology’s R&D stockpile.
• Shen Bing puts it on, amused by how it makes him feel like his former, unnoticed self. He decides to go out for dinner with the women.
• Li Xiao initially mistakes the masked Shen Bing for a stranger, then recognizes him by his voice and drives the group toward the University of Electronic Science and Technology.
• Shen Bing has arranged to meet Fang Yuanming there, partly to discover why Fang has been acting strangely.
• While waiting for dinner, the three browse the busy student shopping street. At Fatty Liu’s food stall, Yun Xue orders the most expensive dishes, prompting Shen Bing to joke about her showy behavior.
• A Rolls-Royce arrives. Shen Bing recognizes the middle-aged man who steps out, but the young woman following him leaves Shen Bing confused and uneasy.

Character developments

• Shen Bing reflects on his dramatic rise from an overlooked student to a celebrated billionaire and scientist. Though he enjoys his disguise, he is self-conscious about how ordinary his chosen face looks beside Yun Xue and Yuan Wei.
• Yun Xue is outgoing and confident, happily exploring the shops and flaunting her charm—and Shen Bing’s money—at the food stall.
• Yuan Wei is quieter than Yun Xue, joining the outing and contributing occasionally.
• Li Xiao shows his familiar loyalty as Shen Bing’s driver, but eagerly takes advantage of being dismissed early to spend time with his fiancée.

Character interactions

• Shen Bing and Yun Xue banter about his mask and her irresistible looks.
• Li Xiao’s initial suspicion turns to exasperation when he recognizes Shen Bing by voice.
• Yun Xue’s attention-grabbing ordering contrasts with Shen Bing’s embarrassment.
• Shen Bing’s planned meeting with Fang Yuanming is interrupted—at least emotionally—by the unexpected arrival of a familiar man and a young woman.

Significant themes

• Identity and transformation: Shen Bing’s disguise recalls his former anonymity and underscores how radically his life has changed.
• Public image and social attention: The group attracts stares, and Shen Bing’s mask cannot prevent people from judging appearances.
• Romantic and social comedy: The shopping, ordering, and teasing create a lighthearted mood that shifts into suspense at the chapter’s end.

Plot and events

• Shen Bing, disguised by a Human Skin Mask, meets Fang Yuanming and Fang Xin at a restaurant. Fang Yuanming jokes that Shen Bing recognized his daughter from a photo, making the meeting sound like a blind date.
• Shen Bing avoids the misunderstanding by apologizing to Fang Xin for an earlier incident involving people who targeted her. Fang Xin insists Shen Bing was not responsible.
• Yun Xue and Yuan Wei press for the story. Fang Yuanming asks who they are, and Yun Xue says they live with Shen Bing, provoking a tense, teasing exchange. Yuan Wei helps settle the awkwardness.
• A notification from the Gate to the Immortal Realm interrupts the gathering. Shen Bing enters the game-like realm and meets Medicine God Sun Simiao, who had mistaken him for a dead meditator.
• Shen Bing introduces himself as the Mist-Ethereal Adept of Illusory Void Island and asks Sun Simiao to make a pill that will let a mortal beast evolve safely into a demon beast. His current beast lacks a cultivation technique and became feral during its breakthrough.

Character developments and interactions

• Shen Bing uses humor and a disguise to manage his public identity, but is irritated by Fang Yuanming’s teasing. He then turns the tables when Yun Xue implies that she and Yuan Wei live with him.
• Fang Yuanming is playful and deliberately tries to provoke the women, but Yun Xue’s reply catches him off guard. He is also frustrated by Shen Bing’s habit of abruptly disappearing into the Immortal Realm.
• Fang Xin is gracious toward Shen Bing and does not blame him for the earlier attack.
• Sun Simiao appears humble despite his past fame, while Shen Bing suppresses his irritation at being mistaken for dead because he needs Sun’s expertise.

Significant themes

• Witty rivalry and social maneuvering: The restaurant scene is a “war of words,” with characters using teasing and implication to test one another.
• Public identity and privacy: Shen Bing’s disguise reflects the limits of his ability to move freely in public.
• Responsibility and seeking help: Shen Bing acknowledges a connection to Fang Xin’s trouble and seeks expert help to prevent his beast from becoming dangerous during its evolution.
• Status and changing fortunes: Sun Simiao’s modesty hints at the contrast between his renown in the mortal world and his lesser standing in the Immortal Realm.