Chapter Summaries

Key plot points and events

• Shen Bing asks Medicine God Sun to treat Feifei, whose ongoing frenzied condition worries him. Sun agrees, but only if Shen Bing helps with a task.
• A random quest requires Shen Bing to collect qi from the seven emotions—joy, anger, sorrow, fear, love, hatred, desire—and the six desires—life, death, hearing, sight, taste, smell—for Sun’s pill.
• Sun explains that his magical artifact gathers the qi of anyone expressing an emotion or desire within ten meters. He gives it to Shen Bing, then disappears without saying how to contact him afterward.
• Shen Bing transports the artifact to the real world. It remains in his inventory, so he must gather the qi himself. Its display shows joy, love, fear, life, and death already full; nearly everything else is uncollected.
• At a restaurant, Shen Bing starts experimenting with the artifact while preparing crayfish sauce. When he taps Yun Xue’s hand to stop her from eating, her sorrow increases. He realizes she may be jealous because he is showing off his cooking in front of Fang Xin.
• Shen Bing pretends not to notice Yun Xue’s feelings and begins mixing a sauce, drawing the waiter and Fang Yuanming’s attention. The chapter ends as he finishes the sauce and smells it appreciatively.

Character developments and interactions

• Shen Bing is resourceful and eager to secure Sun’s help for Feifei, but the quest proves less convenient than expected. He also recognizes Yun Xue’s hurt feelings and chooses not to confront them.
• Medicine God Sun is busy but willing to bargain: Shen Bing’s help collecting emotional qi in exchange for treatment.
• Yun Xue appears playful and excited about the food, but Shen Bing’s actions reveal her jealousy and sensitivity.
• Fang Yuanming is surprised by Shen Bing’s apparent cooking ability and recalls rumors that Shen Bing had cooked for prominent business figures.
• The waiter watches Shen Bing prepare the sauce, partly hoping for another tip.

Significant themes

• Emotion as a resource: The quest turns human feelings into collectible energy, making ordinary interactions part of Shen Bing’s task.
• Transactional cooperation: Sun offers help only in exchange for assistance.
• Hidden feelings and restraint: Yun Xue conceals her jealousy, while Shen Bing notices it but elects to preserve her privacy.
• Everyday performance: Shen Bing’s cooking becomes a small public display that intrigues those around him.

Key plot points and events

• Shen Bing’s crayfish sauce is a success. Yun Xue and Yuan Wei eagerly eat, while Fang Yuanming and his daughter Fang Xin struggle to shell the crayfish. Shen Bing refuses to help, teasing Fang Yuanming and enjoying the “sorrow” registered by his emotion-collecting artifact.
• Fang Yuanming reveals he has rare ingredients, including Imperial Field Rouge Rice, a dark-red luxury variety that costs about 4,000 yuan per jin. Shen Bing proposes cooking them himself, then insists on using the humble food stall’s kitchen rather than a private home or restaurant.
• When Shen Bing suggests compensating the owner—or even buying the stall—Boss Wu, a neighboring diner, mocks him and threatens him. Fang Yuanming calmly challenges Wu’s assumption that the place cannot be bought.
• The stall owner, Fatty Liu, steps in to mediate. Shen Bing notices that Liu is angry at Wu, then has Qiuqiu investigate. He learns Wu is a predatory schemer who targets meek people and is trying to force Fatty Liu to give up the restaurant through harassment and dirty tricks.
• Shen Bing quietly sets something in motion. A newcomer enters and suddenly slaps Boss Wu, sending him flying. Shen Bing watches the artifact’s “anger” value rise with satisfaction.

Character developments

• Shen Bing remains mischievous and enjoys provoking emotional reactions, but he shows more restraint than he once did: rather than immediately fighting Wu himself, he considers consequences and acts indirectly.
• Fang Yuanming is socially powerful but comically helpless with ordinary crayfish-eating, and repeatedly finds himself frustrated by Shen Bing’s teasing.
• Fang Xin responds to the awkward meal with good humor and is willing to learn; Yun Xue kindly offers to teach her.
• Fatty Liu appears to be a mild, conciliatory owner, but his anger reveals that Wu has put him under pressure.
• Boss Wu is exposed as a calculated bully who disguises coercion as ordinary business dealings.

Significant themes

• Power and exploitation: Wu uses intimidation and covert harassment against people he believes will not fight back.
• Restraint versus impulse: Shen Bing recognizes that direct violence could create trouble and chooses a more measured response.
• Humor and status reversal: Wealthy, influential Fang Yuanming is helpless over crayfish, while Shen Bing’s casual jokes repeatedly unsettle him.
• Emotion as a resource: Shen Bing’s magical artifact rewards him with readings of other people’s sorrow, hatred, and anger, turning conflict into an opportunity for him.

Character interactions

• Shen Bing teases Fang Yuanming about his inability to eat crayfish and about supposedly cooking for him; Fang Yuanming alternates between disappointment and renewed interest in the rare ingredients.
• Yun Xue helps Fang Xin learn to shell crayfish, creating a warm contrast to Shen Bing’s teasing.
• Shen Bing and Fang Yuanming jointly push back against Boss Wu’s mockery, though Fang Yuanming does so calmly and Shen Bing more provocatively.
• Fatty Liu tries to defuse the confrontation, while Wu uses the exchange to pressure him. Shen Bing recognizes their hidden conflict and arranges a sudden intervention that ends the scene with Wu being struck.

Plot points

• A mysterious, immensely strong newcomer intervenes when the Meaty Middle-Aged Man attacks the food-stall owner, Fatty Liu.
• The newcomer easily defeats the man, stops his knife thrust with two fingers, and uses the blade to shave away much of his hair. Terrified, the bully wets himself and flees after being threatened with further consequences.
• Shen Bing invites the newcomer, Wei Yu, to join his table. Fang Yuanming privately suspects the two already know each other, and Shen Bing confirms Wei Yu’s name.
• Fatty Liu explains that the bully has been harassing him. Wei Yu offers to help if the trouble continues, and the nearby diners approve of the bully’s punishment.
• Shen Bing borrows the kitchen. Ingredients arrive from the private restaurant Fang Yuanming mentioned, and Shen Bing cooks alone. The aroma draws everyone’s attention.
• Shen Bing explains internally that cooking helps him gather Qi from the six desires—especially those tied to sight, smell, and taste—even though food has less effect on the seven emotions.

Character developments and interactions

• Wei Yu is revealed as a calm, formidable fighter. He humiliates the bully but then acts warmly toward Shen Bing and offers Fatty Liu protection.
• Shen Bing appears confident and familiar with Wei Yu, then turns his attention to cooking as part of his Qi-gathering purpose.
• Fang Xin connects Wei Yu’s extraordinary abilities with her earlier rescue in Paris and suspects a link to Shen Bing.
• Fang Yuanming questions Shen Bing about the apparent familiarity; Shen Bing answers only by identifying Wei Yu.
• Fatty Liu is relieved and grateful for Wei Yu’s support, while the gathered diners quietly sympathize with him.

Significant themes

• Power and intimidation: Wei Yu swiftly reverses the bully’s abuse, showing how strength can silence someone who preys on the weak.
• The extraordinary amid ordinary life: The diners struggle to explain Wei Yu’s abilities, while Fang Xin recognizes a pattern from her past.
• Hidden purposes: Shen Bing’s cooking is not merely hospitality; it serves his supernatural effort to collect Qi.

Plot points and events

• Shen Bing prepares an impressive meal at a restaurant, where the crowds’ appetites—and their curiosity about the food—help him gather qi tied to the six desires. Fang Yuanming, Fang Xin, and the three young women eagerly eat with him, while nearby diners watch enviously.
• The meal fills the “mouth” and “nose” desire categories and pushes “eyes” beyond halfway. Shen Bing still needs to collect “ears” desire qi to complete Medicine God Sun’s task.
• On the drive home, Yun Xue asks Shen Bing about Fang Xin. His frank explanation cheers Yun Xue, but leaves Yuan Wei feeling excluded and afraid she may lose her place in Shen Bing’s life.
• Shen Bing goes to the Underground Base and asks Qiuqiu how to obtain ear-desire qi. Qiuqiu explains that it comes from making people want to hear something—not necessarily beautiful music; suspense can work too.
• Since the qi-collecting artifact only works within ten meters, Shen Bing devises a local way to create suspense: he posts “See you Monday!” on Weibo. His large following responds almost immediately.

Character developments and interactions

• Shen Bing enjoys both the meal and its qi harvest, then applies Qiuqiu’s advice creatively. He is focused on completing the quest, now important to his progress toward upgrading the Gate to the Immortal Realm.
• Yun Xue shifts from gloom to happiness after hearing about Fang Xin, suggesting Shen Bing’s explanation reassures her.
• Yuan Wei becomes painfully aware of her feelings and fears that she may be losing Shen Bing, though he does not notice her distress.
• Fang Yuanming and Fang Xin praise Shen Bing’s cooking; Fang Yuanming and the others then abandon their usual restraint to compete for the food.
• Qiuqiu helps Shen Bing interpret the qi system and identify suspense as a way to generate the desire to hear.

Significant themes

• Desire as a source of power: Appetite, curiosity, and anticipation can all produce useful qi.
• Presentation and perception: The meal’s appearance and aroma intensify people’s desire, not just its taste.
• Emotional uncertainty and potential loss: Yuan Wei recognizes her attachment only when she imagines losing Shen Bing.
• Suspense and attention: Shen Bing turns curiosity into a resource, using his public influence to make people eager for an explanation.

Key plot points and events

• Shen Bing posts “See You Monday” on Weibo, setting off intense speculation about Phantom Immortal Technology’s next breakthrough. Commenters debate whether it concerns cars, especially after the company’s earlier battery announcement.
• The next morning, Wang Sheng calls Shen Bing to ask what the post means. Shen confirms he is considering a new product but says he is unsure which one to release.
• Shen reveals the Research and Development Center has developed an Artificial Eyeball capable of restoring vision to the level of a normal human eye. He claims it could effectively eliminate blindness.
• Unlike Cancer Cure No. 1, the Artificial Eyeball is an industrial product that can be mass-produced on an assembly line, with no major production-capacity bottleneck. Its manufacturing cost is only a few dozen yuan.
• Wang recognizes its enormous commercial potential and argues that even a price of 100,000 yuan per eye would be reasonable. Shen indicates he does not intend to charge a high price.

Character developments and interactions

• Shen Bing remains calm and unconventional: he casually announces a potentially world-changing invention, then seems more concerned with choosing what to launch than with maximizing profit.
• Wang Sheng is exhausted by the stream of new products but still instinctively excited by each announcement. As a professional manager, he focuses on production, costs, and pricing, and pushes back when Shen suggests keeping the price low.
• Their exchange highlights their contrasting priorities: Shen appears motivated by broad impact, while Wang must manage the company’s finances and commercial prospects.

Significant themes

• Innovation and disruption: The public expects Phantom Immortal Technology to transform industries, and the Artificial Eyeball would extend that reputation into medicine.
• Access versus profit: The product could command an enormous price, but Shen’s reluctance to charge heavily raises the question of whether life-changing technology should be treated primarily as a business opportunity.
• The strain of success: Wang’s anguish reflects the pressures of managing a company whose breakthroughs—and spending—arrive faster than he can comfortably handle.

Plot points and events

• Shen Bing decides to price the company’s new Artificial Eyeballs very cheaply, hoping they will help blind people and generate Wish Power. Wang Sheng warns that low prices could make the devices seem less valuable and create resentment among customers.
• Wang proposes establishing an independent charitable foundation: the company would sell the devices, while the foundation could provide them free to people in need. Shen Bing likes the idea and considers who should run it. Their discussion turns teasingly to Shen Bing’s romantic prospects.
• Yun Xue, unable to sleep, worries that Shen Bing’s fame and success have widened the gap between them and made her more likely to lose him. She is also concerned that Yuan Wei may have feelings for Shen Bing and does not want her friend to be hurt.
• Yun Xue decides to speak with Yuan Wei, but discovers her room empty and finds two letters addressed to herself and Shen Bing. Yuan Wei has left without warning.
• Shen Bing reads his letter: Yuan Wei thanks him for his care, says she wants to see the world and sort through personal matters, and asks them not to search for her. Yun Xue explains that Yuan Wei may have left because she realized Shen Bing and Yun Xue were together. Her own letter ends with Yuan Wei wishing them happiness.

Character development and interactions

• Shen Bing shows compassion in wanting Artificial Eyeballs to be affordable, but initially fails to grasp the emotional situation between Yun Xue and Yuan Wei. Once prompted, he begins to understand why Yuan Wei might have left.
• Wang Sheng acts as a practical adviser, steering Shen Bing toward a more effective charitable structure. He also playfully probes his boss about having a romantic interest.
• Yun Xue reveals insecurity about her relationship with Shen Bing and guilt over the possibility that Yuan Wei is suffering. Her decision to seek Yuan Wei out gives way to alarm and sadness when she finds the letters.
• Yuan Wei, though absent from the scene, emerges as considerate and self-sacrificing: she leaves thoughtfully worded letters rather than confronting the others, and wishes them well despite her own distress.
• The contrast between Shen Bing’s literal, emotionally oblivious responses and Yun Xue’s perceptiveness creates both humor and tension.

Significant themes

• Charity and the value of aid: Well-intentioned generosity can be undermined if recipients or paying customers perceive it as unfair or devalue the product.
• Love, jealousy, and sacrifice: Yun Xue and Yuan Wei’s affection for Shen Bing creates a painful triangle, with Yuan Wei’s departure suggesting she is making room for their relationship.
• Success and insecurity: Shen Bing’s growing fame makes Yun Xue feel increasingly unequal to him, even as she works hard to keep pace.
• Emotional communication: The letters convey feelings that the characters struggle to say openly, while Shen Bing’s lack of emotional insight delays his understanding.

Key plot points

• Yun Xue worries that Yuan Wei is traveling alone and initially wants to bring her home. Shen Bing suggests letting her take a break while having someone discreetly keep her safe. Yun Xue agrees.
• Yun Xue tells Shen Bing she loves him and is willing to accept a future that includes Yuan Wei, even if that means sharing him. Shen Bing is deeply moved, and they share their first kiss—though Yun Xue accidentally bites his lip.
• Shen Bing offers Yun Xue leadership of a planned charitable organization. She declines, citing her limited experience and concern that taking the role now could hurt Yuan Wei.
• Shen Bing reveals that production lines for Yun Xue’s Artificial Eyeball are already being prepared. Three lines should be ready within five days, each capable of producing over 30,000 units daily. He estimates mass-production materials will cost about 50 yuan per unit, compared with the lab prototype’s cost of more than 200,000 yuan.

Character developments and interactions

• Yun Xue moves from anxiety about Yuan Wei to a generous, if difficult, acceptance of sharing a life with Shen Bing. Her confession makes clear how deeply attached she has become to him. She also shows consideration for Yuan Wei by refusing a prominent role that might intensify her hurt.
• Shen Bing is unusually careful not to flaunt his happiness, and responds warmly to Yun Xue’s confession. He balances her feelings with practical decisions about Yuan Wei’s safety and her invention’s commercialization.
• Their affectionate banter—including the awkward, bitten kiss—shows their growing intimacy and contrasting communication styles. Yun Xue also urges Shen Bing to consider how to bring Yuan Wei back, while he favors giving her space.

Significant themes

• Love, compromise, and nontraditional relationships: Yun Xue chooses to remain with Shen Bing despite the emotional cost of sharing him.
• Care expressed through restraint: Rather than force Yuan Wei to return, Shen Bing proposes respecting her wishes while ensuring her safety.
• Ambition and responsibility: Yun Xue weighs her readiness for leadership against the potential impact on Yuan Wei.
• Innovation and commercialization: The chapter contrasts costly laboratory work with Shen Bing’s rapid path toward large-scale, affordable production.

Key plot points and events

• Shen Bing reveals that production optimization has reduced the ClearSight Artificial Eyeball’s cost from 200,000 yuan in the lab to just 50 yuan. Yun Xue is astonished, but he keeps the method secret.
• Yun Xue suggests using a famous blind person to promote the product. Shen Bing says the company’s reputation and product launches are enough publicity, though his real reason is to avoid leaking news before he can gain “ear-desire qi.”
• Yun Xue names the product ClearSight, teasing Shen Bing about his own habit of choosing blunt, practical names.
• Phantom Immortal Technology continues expanding. A new artificial-eyeball workshop is nearly ready on Great Gold Island, whose land area and manufacturing capacity have grown substantially.
• Two huge cargo ships leave Great Gold Island loaded with metal containers, bound for a coral reef Shen Bing recently acquired. Meanwhile, his African-base personnel gather in Indonesia and Malaysia to help build a planned ocean city.
• In the United States, the search for the vanished alien spacecraft has failed. Powerful families abandon hopes of using its technology against Shen Bing and return to plotting against his company. Their earlier attempt to target a Hongyuan Ocean Trade Company cargo ship backfired, and they fear Shen Bing’s retaliation.
• Shen Bing travels to the company while searching the Gate to the Immortal Realm for missions. He has a lead on the Medicine God Sun mission but remains stuck on another task involving Sun Wukong.
• Shen Bing visits Sun Wukong to persuade him to let go of the Six-Eared Macaque affair. Instead, Sun Wukong hints that the story is not what Shen Bing believes: he denies killing the Macaque with one blow and says they fought evenly for three hundred rounds.

Character developments and interactions

• Shen Bing remains confident and secretive, prioritizing company growth and his mission-related goals. He is also shown trying to manage Sun Wukong’s mood, though he misunderstands the reason for it.
• Yun Xue is impressed by Shen Bing’s achievement and openly admires him. Her playful exchange with him over the product’s name shows their easy rapport.
• Sun Wukong reveals a more troubled, reflective side beneath his bravado. His claim about the Six-Eared Macaque raises doubts about the accepted account of their confrontation.
• U.S. leaders and wealthy families shift from pursuing alien technology to renewed opposition against Shen Bing, while fearing his ruthlessness and ability to retaliate.

Significant themes

• Innovation and rapid industrial growth: The dramatic cost reduction and Great Gold Island’s expansion show Phantom Immortal Technology’s extraordinary capabilities.
• Secrecy, ambition, and power: Shen Bing’s choices are shaped not just by business but by hidden strategic goals, while elites seek ways to contain him.
• Reputation versus publicity: Shen Bing trusts the company’s products to speak for themselves, contrasting with conventional marketing tactics.
• Unreliable history and hidden truths: Sun Wukong’s account challenges Shen Bing’s assumptions about the Six-Eared Macaque and suggests the familiar story may be incomplete.

Chapter summary

Key plot points and events

• Shen Bing asks Sun Wukong whether the Six-Eared Macaque survived. Wukong says it may have: during the Three Realms War, he discovered the Macaque was still alive, and he has recently felt that same unease again.
• Wukong explains that the old war began with the Demon Realm seeking territory. The Immortal Realm recovered more readily because it controlled reincarnation, but the Six Paths of Reincarnation then stopped, the realms were sealed off from one another, and the war ended without a clear victor.
• The Demon Realm may be preparing to invade again. Its strength has not fully recovered, and its leaders apparently do not know reincarnation has stopped; if they did, Wukong believes they would have fewer reasons to hold back.
• Wukong’s concern is not merely a premonition: several Gods claim to have met him recently, though he was elsewhere at the times they named. He suspects someone is impersonating him, and believes only the Six-Eared Macaque could fool them so convincingly.
• Shen Bing recognizes that restarting reincarnation is crucial and becomes wary of relying unquestioningly on the system’s prompts.
• Secretary Jiang calls Shen Bing. After teasing him about Yuan Wei, Jiang discusses a major shipment that Shen Bing has arranged to bring from the United States. It should arrive in about two weeks, and Customs will be asked to clear it. Shen Bing then asks Jiang for help with another matter, which remains undisclosed.

Character developments and interactions

• Sun Wukong reveals a grave, fatalistic view of the cosmic order: even powerful beings are pawns of the Heavenly Dao or the Sages. His unease about the Macaque shows that he takes the apparent impersonations seriously.
• Shen Bing moves from confusion to understanding the strategic danger posed by the Demon Realm and the loss of reincarnation. He also learns to be cautious about the system’s guidance.
• Secretary Jiang shows an unusually playful, familiar side, joking that Yuan Wei is Shen Bing’s girlfriend. Beneath the banter, he remains focused on helping Shen Bing and handling the shipment.
• Wukong and Shen Bing discuss the war and the Macaque; Jiang and Shen Bing exchange friendly teasing before turning to official business.

Significant themes

• Fate and agency: Gods and heroes may still be pieces in larger powers’ plans.
• The consequences of disrupted reincarnation: Without the Six Paths, the Immortal Realm loses a vital means of recovery, making a renewed war more dangerous.
• Trust and deception: The Macaque’s possible return raises the threat of impersonation, while Shen Bing questions whether the system itself can be trusted completely.
• Power and preparedness: The planned shipment and the political response reflect the effort required to manage threats before they escalate.

Plot points and events

• Shen Bing arranges to establish a private charitable foundation. Secretary Jiang supports the plan and says approval should be quick.
• Shen arrives at Phantom Immortal Technology’s industrial park carrying two ClearSight artificial eyeballs. His driver, Li Xiao, finds them unsettling.
• Reporters crowd the venue for the company’s announced product launch. A young reporter rushes Shen’s car and is restrained and searched by security—revealed to include military special-forces personnel.
• At the launch, Shen introduces the ClearSight Artificial Eyeball, a device designed to replace the human eye and restore sight to blind people. He claims it can distinguish 300,000 colors and provide an experience equivalent to natural vision.
• The announcement prompts immediate excitement. A British reporter asks about production capacity, reflecting concern that overseas patients may struggle to obtain the product if Huaxia receives priority.

Character developments and interactions

• Shen Bing shows his practical approach to philanthropy, while keeping the artificial-eye project secret until its public launch. His confidence in the product underscores his company’s technological ambition.
• Secretary Jiang is supportive and recognizes Shen’s ability to make the charity effective, though he is curious about the launch.
• Li Xiao provides a humorous contrast to Shen’s composure, admitting that the realistic artificial eyes frighten him.
• The reporters are eager and increasingly well-equipped, but their enthusiasm is tempered by worries about access. Security’s treatment of the overzealous young reporter also emphasizes how tightly controlled the event is.

Significant themes

• Technology as social good: The artificial eye promises to improve the lives of blind people, while Shen’s foundation could support families in need.
• Innovation and national industry: The scene highlights Phantom Immortal Technology’s contribution to domestic camera and lens manufacturing.
• Unequal access: The launch raises the question of who will benefit first from a breakthrough product, especially patients outside Huaxia.
• The cost of progress: The artificial eye’s complex design—and the difficulty and expense of producing it—suggest that extraordinary advances may not be immediately available to everyone.

Key plot points and events

• At the ClearSight Artificial Eyeball launch, Shen Bing assures reporters that Phantom Immortal Technology can manufacture the product at enormous scale, even joking that it could eventually replace everyone’s eyes.
• An American reporter probes whether the product is easy and inexpensive to make. Shen Bing invites others to copy it, then rejects the reporter’s attempt to use research-and-development costs to argue that the price should be low.
• The exchange becomes openly confrontational. After the reporter accuses Shen Bing of twisting the argument, Shen Bing has security escort him out and bans him from future press conferences.
• Shen Bing then teases the product’s price but delays revealing it. Privately, he is watching a number on his phone: it tracks the audience’s “Auditory Desire,” which rises as people eagerly anticipate his announcement. When it stalls at 60, he leaves the podium and walks among the audience, trying to raise it further.

Character developments

• Shen Bing comes across as confident, quick-witted, and deliberately provocative. He refuses to be modest about his company’s capabilities, counters criticism with sarcasm, and readily uses his authority to remove a hostile reporter. His private focus on increasing Auditory Desire reveals that the spectacle also serves a personal, system-related goal.
• The American reporter moves from questioning manufacturing and pricing to challenging Phantom Immortal Technology’s short history and presumed lack of R&D investment. His argumentative approach fails, and he is ultimately removed.
• The other reporters react according to their loyalties and interests: some enjoy Shen Bing’s sharp answers, while others are concerned about whether the product will be affordable or who will benefit from it.

Significant themes

• Confidence and technological power: Shen Bing’s willingness to invite competitors to copy the product signals strong faith in his company’s advantage.
• Double standards and economic fairness: The pricing argument centers on whether a company’s age and investment history should determine what its products are worth.
• National and commercial rivalry: Reporters’ reactions reflect tensions between Phantom Immortal Technology, Huaxia, and foreign competitors.
• Public spectacle as a means to an end: Shen Bing turns audience curiosity into a resource, prolonging suspense to increase his Auditory Desire score.

Character interactions

• Shen Bing and the American reporter dominate the chapter, trading increasingly pointed arguments over manufacturing, R&D, and pricing.
• Shen Bing’s combative handling of the reporter wins quiet approval from many Huaxia reporters, while some foreign attendees are pleased when they think his answers may imply a high price.
• After ejecting the reporter, Shen Bing engages the remaining audience with a price tease, then unexpectedly approaches them in person when their anticipation—and his score—stops rising.

Plot points and events

• Shen Bing announces that Phantom Immortal Technology will sell its ClearSight Artificial Eyeball as a commercial product rather than make it universally free, saying market demand will determine its price.
• He sets the base price at 100,000 yuan per eyeball, with higher prices in some countries. The amount is the patient’s full final cost, not merely the factory or retail price.
• To prevent hospitals from inflating charges, the company will select one or two hospitals in each prefecture-level city, supply equipment, and train ophthalmologists. The procedure is designed to be relatively simple, and hospitals that overcharge can be replaced after verified complaints.
• Shen explains that Phantom Immortal Technology’s unique, essential products give it the leverage to impose these conditions: institutions that refuse to cooperate can be excluded.
• Asked what medical breakthrough the company will pursue next, Shen says its future work depends on research results—essentially, that he will release whatever he develops.

Character developments and interactions

• Shen Bing presents himself as calm and open-minded, but privately feels resentful about being treated like a spectacle after his speech. His confidence comes from knowing that no competitors can match his company’s products.
• Reporters challenge him about affordability, hospital markups, unequal hospital expertise, and the company’s next research goals. Shen answers with firm pricing and oversight plans, though his vague response about future research leaves the audience unconvinced.
• The audience moves from irritation at Shen’s long preamble to surprise and admiration at his plan to control costs and regulate hospitals. Some also question his claim of openness, recalling that a disruptive attendee was escorted out.

Significant themes

• Access versus profit: Shen rejects a free-for-all distribution model in favor of a fixed commercial price, balancing broad access with the company’s financial interests.
• Corporate power in healthcare: Phantom Immortal Technology uses its monopoly on life-changing treatments to set rules for hospitals and limit their ability to profit from patients.
• Innovation and leverage: Shen’s authority rests on the company’s irreplaceable technology; he believes established institutions must adapt or risk becoming irrelevant.
• Public image versus private feeling: The chapter contrasts Shen’s confident stage persona with his private annoyance at how the audience treats him.

Plot points and events

• At a product launch, Shen Bing clarifies that he did not direct the research behind the ClearSight Artificial Eyeball, then announces his broader goal: extending human life so radically that people might one day live “as long as heaven and earth.” The audience finds the idea implausible, but Shen argues that judging the future by present-day limits is a mistake.
• After the launch, hospitals rush to become authorized ClearSight treatment centers. Despite concerns that the technology may cut into their profits, affiliation with Phantom Immortal Technology is a valuable endorsement.
• Phantom Immortal Technology posts its international pricing: Huaxia and several allied countries receive the lowest price, many countries pay 20–30% more, and the United States, Japan, Australia, Korea, and others face a 100% markup. The unequal pricing provokes online criticism.
• The company then announces the Immortal Fate Fund, whose first project will provide low-cost or free artificial-eye transplants to qualifying patients worldwide. The program is projected to cover 40–60% of recipients, and the announcement largely quiets the criticism.
• Public attention quickly shifts to how the fund will choose beneficiaries. People—especially in countries subject to the highest markups—demand transparent eligibility rules, fearing that otherwise their citizens may be overlooked.

Character developments and interactions

• Shen Bing appears both visionary and pragmatic: he sets an enormous long-term ambition while defending the importance of thinking beyond current scientific assumptions. His company’s charitable announcement also reinforces his image as influential and willing to spend substantially to help people.
• Hospitals approach Phantom Immortal Technology despite possible financial disadvantages, recognizing that authorization would bring prestige and public trust.
• The public moves from skepticism and anger to admiration, then turns its attention to fairness and accountability. Visually impaired people in particular hope the fund will help them, while critics in higher-priced countries remain wary of Shen Bing’s discretion.

Significant themes

• Ambition versus present limits: Shen Bing urges people not to measure future possibilities solely by current science.
• Technology and social responsibility: The fund presents a medical breakthrough as a means of broad public benefit, not merely a commercial product.
• Fairness and trust: Differential pricing and charitable selection raise questions about equity, transparency, and the influence of public opinion.
• Power and prestige: Phantom Immortal Technology’s reputation is strong enough to draw hospitals into cooperation even when they may have reservations.

Key plot points

• Shen Bing insists he has no intention of manipulating the Immortal Fate Fund for political reasons. The fund announces a transparent, AI-assisted process for selecting beneficiaries, using hospital data and publishing its final list for public scrutiny.
• The public reacts intensely to Shen Bing’s stated ambition of greatly extending human life. Because he has repeatedly delivered on seemingly impossible technologies, many believe his company may already be pursuing the goal; the prospect inspires excitement as well as anxiety.
• Back on Dragon Lake Ring Island, Shen Bing reflects on Great Sage Sun’s mission. Sun fears a renewed Demon Realm attack and faces rumors that he is actually the Six-Eared Macaque. Shen Bing thinks restarting the six paths of reincarnation could ease the first concern, while capturing the real Six-Eared Macaque and arranging a confrontation before the Jade Emperor might settle the second.
• The Chief calls Shen Bing about his research into longevity, including the peaches Shen previously provided. Shen Bing says there may be new results in a month or two, then raises another possible release: the Gene-Enhancement Drug. The Chief objects that distributing it widely would be too dangerous.

Character developments and interactions

• Shen Bing remains confident and strategic. He sees the growing crisis in the Immortal Realm as a source of future missions, and calmly considers how to resolve Sun’s problems. In his conversation with the Chief, he hints that his company’s public disclosures reveal only a small portion of its work.
• Great Sage Sun is portrayed as burdened by both an external threat and suspicion within the Immortal Realm. Shen Bing is sympathetic to his predicament and begins devising a way to clear his name.
• The Chief shows both familiarity with Shen Bing’s habits and serious concern about the consequences of advanced technology. He recognizes the Gene-Enhancement Drug’s power and warns against mass distribution.
• Their exchange is friendly and teasing, but shifts quickly into a serious discussion of the drug’s risks.

Significant themes

• Transparency and accountability: The Immortal Fate Fund’s public criteria and beneficiary list are intended to prevent favoritism and protect public trust.
• Hope and anxiety about longevity: Shen Bing’s promise to pursue longer life captures humanity’s desire to escape mortality, while raising questions about the scale of the consequences.
• Power and responsibility: The chapter contrasts the excitement surrounding transformative inventions with the dangers of releasing them too broadly.
• Trust and reputation: Shen Bing’s record of fulfilling promises shapes public expectations, while Great Sage Sun’s identity dispute shows how suspicion can undermine authority.

Plot points and events

• Shen Bing tells a national leader that he wants to make the Gene-Enhancement Drug more widely available. The leader warns that it could destabilize society and create international upheaval, even if sales remain domestic.
• Shen proposes an alternative: a set of calisthenics that can supposedly give people the same physical enhancement as the drug, at no cost and without attracting foreign attention.
• The leader agrees to support nationwide adoption, while insisting that Shen accelerate drug production so the government can obtain supplies to deter people who might misuse their enhanced abilities.
• Shen explains that he is preparing humanity for space travel. His research suggests ordinary people’s bodies cannot withstand the demands of interstellar flight, so physical enhancement is necessary for a space-age society.
• When asked about spacecraft, Shen says his teams are working toward sublight travel and estimates they could build such a ship within six months.
• The stunned, excited leader promises him whatever resources he needs: money or personnel.

Character developments and interactions

• Shen Bing shows both strategic ambition and unusual confidence. He presents the calisthenics as a safer, cheaper route to mass enhancement, while revealing that his larger goal is to prepare humanity for space exploration. He remains matter-of-fact—even gloomy-sounding—about extraordinary breakthroughs.
• The leader moves from caution to enthusiastic support. Though concerned about security and social stability, he trusts Shen enough to approve the exercises and offers the government’s full backing.
• Their conversation reflects a relationship built on trust, but also on the leader’s growing awareness that Shen routinely holds back major information.

Significant themes

• Progress versus social risk: Transformative technology can benefit society while also threatening security and stability.
• Preparation for the future: Shen argues that humanity must enhance itself before advanced space travel becomes possible.
• Trust and state partnership: The government’s support depends on confidence in Shen, while national security concerns shape how his inventions will be deployed.
• The extraordinary treated as ordinary: Shen’s understated attitude toward world-changing achievements contrasts with the leader’s astonishment.

Summary

Key plot points and events

• Shen Bing meets with the Chief, who offers support for Phantom Immortal Technology’s space program. The Chief sees a real spaceship as a symbol of Huaxia’s rise and a source of strategic advantage in an interstellar age.
• Shen Bing politely declines immediate assistance, saying the project is progressing well. Neither man raises the issue of sharing spaceflight technology, though the Chief expects the company could eventually build spacecraft for Huaxia.
• Meanwhile, Phantom Immortal Biotechnology holds intense negotiations with hospitals worldwide over the ClearSight Artificial Eyeball and Cancer Cure No. 1.
• The company selects reputable hospitals for the artificial eyeball, generally limiting access to one hospital per prefecture-level city in Huaxia and one per state in the United States. Cancer Cure No. 1 is harder to arrange: supplies remain limited, and large-scale production depends on Master Qiao’s further progress.
• Leading ophthalmologists and neuroscience specialists gather in Rongcheng for promised training. Their presence prompts heightened security.
• Shen Bing completes an easy mission in the Gate to the Immortal Realm, bringing the gate within two missions of an upgrade.
• Clarence invites Shen Bing to inspect research into the dark-matter structure found in mysterious genetic code. Using Qiuqiu’s computing power, the team reaches a disturbing conclusion: the structure can absorb and release tremendous energy.

Character developments and interactions

• Shen Bing remains cautious and self-reliant, accepting the Chief’s goodwill without surrendering control of the space project. He also stays focused on steadily completing missions.
• The Chief supports Shen Bing’s ambitions and thinks strategically about the geopolitical consequences of space settlement, but respects Shen Bing’s decision to proceed without extra help.
• Medical specialists who might ordinarily expect deference arrive eagerly and without airs, impressed by Phantom Immortal Technology’s reputation and the promise of the ClearSight device.
• Clarence and his team work intensively with Master Qiao’s findings and Qiuqiu’s analysis, culminating in a potentially alarming scientific discovery.

Significant themes

• National power and deterrence: Space settlement could weaken the strategic balance maintained by nuclear weapons.
• Control and independence: Shen Bing welcomes cooperation but protects his company’s autonomy.
• Medical innovation and scarcity: Breakthrough treatments draw global demand, while limited production forces selective access.
• Scientific progress and risk: The dark-matter structure’s extraordinary energy capabilities suggest that advances in research may carry serious dangers.

Plot points

• Shen Bing realizes the mysterious gene sequence can not only absorb vast amounts of energy but also emit it. He worries that it may be transmitting a signal, perhaps to its creators.
• Suspecting an alien connection, he rushes to the Spaceflight Experimental Zone and asks Master Qiao to inspect the enormous mecha recovered from space.
• Master Qiao finds that a dark-matter structure inside the mecha resembles the one built from the gene sequence, suggesting both came from the same alien civilization.
• Shen Bing theorizes that the gene sequence’s energy emission summoned the mecha toward Earth, though it veered off course and landed in the United States. He fears it may also have contacted other recipients.
• He assigns Master Qiao to document the mecha’s structure for Clarence to study. When Clarence says he plans to recreate the structure using ordinary matter, Shen Bing urgently forbids it.

Character developments and interactions

• Shen Bing shifts from curiosity to alarm as he connects the gene sequence, its energy emissions, and the mecha. He recognizes that his own experiments may have triggered a dangerous chain of events.
• Master Qiao proves observant, spotting the shared structure that strengthens Shen Bing’s theory. He agrees to pause his other work temporarily to document it.
• Clarence remains focused on experimental verification and wants to physically reconstruct the structure, unaware of the danger Shen Bing suspects. Shen Bing’s warning creates a sharp clash between scientific curiosity and caution.

Significant themes

• Unintended consequences: Shen Bing’s energy experiments may have activated an alien mechanism.
• The risks of scientific curiosity: A discovery can become dangerous before its purpose is understood.
• Uncertainty and cosmic threat: The possibility that the signal reached more than one target raises the stakes beyond the mecha itself.
• Limited resources: Shen Bing must divide a small research team between urgent investigations and ongoing projects.

Key plot points and events

• Shen Bing realizes that charging a gene sequence containing a dark-matter structure may have sent a signal to an alien civilization. He suspects the signal may be connected to a spacecraft that crashed in the United States, whose mecha contains a similar dark-matter component.
• He directs research into the gene sequence, spacecraft, and mecha, while ordering new projects in long-range detection, imaging, and optical communication. His aim is to identify the signal and assess the aliens before they can arrive.
• Meanwhile, Phantom Immortal Technology begins developing Gold Island, a tiny reef near Singapore. Its workers assemble sealed metal modules into a stable floating platform, expanding the reef into a substantial artificial surface and beginning construction of Ocean City.
• Singaporean officials realize the company can use the contract’s broad wording about “expanding the usable area” to build far beyond the reef. Concerned that the platform could grow without limit, they decide to negotiate a cap.
• Public commentary frames the project as Phantom Immortal Technology acquiring territory, but China’s leadership remains supportive, trusting Shen Bing and understanding the technology.
• When Singapore’s Minister Liang finally reaches Shen Bing, Shen feigns ignorance of the government’s concern and reminds him that Singapore chose the reef itself. He promises not to cross Singapore’s territorial waters, without agreeing to a specific limit.

Character developments and interactions

• Shen Bing is cautious but proactive: he rejects premature military preparation in favor of gathering information, while quietly mobilizing research resources across several facilities. In negotiations, he uses humor and calculated “playing dumb” to strengthen his position.
• Clarence shifts from excitement about alien life to serious concern when he grasps the possibility that the signal could attract aliens. He supports Shen’s plan and takes charge of finding signal specialists.
• Singapore’s officials, especially Minister Liang, move from confidence that the tiny reef would be useless to regret and anxiety when the floating platform’s potential becomes clear. Liang attempts to negotiate restraint but is met with Shen’s pointed reminder that Singapore created the situation.
• Wang Sheng delays Singapore’s request, saying only Shen can decide the matter, which allows construction to continue while the government waits.

Significant themes

• Uncertainty and preparedness: Shen responds to the alien threat by seeking knowledge and better detection rather than acting on speculation.
• Technological power and changing assumptions: The floating platform overturns conventional ideas about land, construction, and national territory.
• Strategic contracts and unintended consequences: Singapore’s attempt to limit the project through its choice of reef backfires because of the contract’s wording.
• Trust and political loyalty: China’s leadership supports Shen because of their established cooperation and confidence in his allegiance.
• Negotiation through performance: Shen’s feigned misunderstanding lets him avoid conceding to Singapore’s demands while remaining outwardly cordial.

Key events

• Minister Liang confronts Shen Bing about Phantom Immortal Technology’s rapid land reclamation, fearing it could consume an excessive share of Singapore’s waters.
• Shen argues that the original agreement placed no limits on reclamation and accuses Singapore of offering Gold Island because it assumed reclamation would be impossible.
• To ease Singapore’s concerns, Shen agrees to cap the island at seven square kilometers, after initially mentioning a range from roughly seven or eight to around a hundred.
• Shen then demands “complete sovereignty” over the island. Liang rejects this outright, explaining that national sovereignty is nonnegotiable.
• Shen reframes his demand: he wants the right to do as he pleases with the island, including destroying it. Liang readily accepts and privately hopes Shen really will blow it up and leave Singapore.

Character developments and interactions

• Minister Liang moves from anxious diplomacy to momentary relief when Shen accepts the smaller land limit, then alarm when the sovereignty demand appears. He ultimately welcomes Shen’s revised proposal, though his eagerness comes from hoping the island’s destruction will end the company’s presence.
• Shen Bing remains calm and strategically provocative. He uses ambiguity, bargaining leverage, and a seemingly alarming demand to secure broad control over the island’s fate.
• Their negotiation is marked by a mismatch in priorities: Liang is focused on limiting Singapore’s territorial and political risks, while Shen tests the government’s willingness to compromise.

Significant themes

• Sovereignty and national security: Singapore cannot accept private control that would undermine its authority or threaten its security.
• Power imbalance in negotiation: Phantom Immortal Technology’s valuable medical breakthroughs give Shen considerable leverage.
• Ambiguity and wordplay: Shen’s shift from “sovereignty” to the right to destroy the island exposes how wording can reshape a negotiation.
• Relief through misinterpretation: Liang treats Shen’s willingness to destroy the island as good news, revealing how badly Singapore wants to be rid of the problem.

Plot points and events

• Shen Bing negotiates with Minister Liang over a small coral island. Rather than seek sovereignty, he asks for the right to dispose of it as he wishes. Liang agrees, provided Shen cannot transfer those rights to anyone else. Shen jokes that he might blow the island up—and privately admits the idea sounds entertaining.
• Yuan Wei leaves Dragon Lake Ring Island on an attempt to escape her painful memories of Shen Bing. Her travels through An City and onward to the Great Prairie do not distract her; memories of their relationship only grow more vivid.
• To travel safely, Yuan Wei joins a self-drive tour and rides with Sun Juan, a married woman whose husband owns a company. Sun advises Yuan Wei to prioritize money and a wealthy or financially capable partner, but Yuanwei reflects that money is no longer her concern. Shen Bing remains the source of her heartache. A mysterious aircraft follows the convoy, its occupants watching the travelers.
• Phantom Immortal Technology secretly trains more than ten thousand ophthalmologists and neurologists in ClearSight artificial-eyeball surgery. The doctors discover that the procedure is far simpler than they expected: they witness a blind patient receive the implant and see sunlight for the first time. Their reports astonish the public and raise fears that medical professionals may eventually be displaced by technology.

Character developments and interactions

• Shen Bing shows his playful, self-assured side in his negotiations with Liang, using humor to secure broad control over the island’s fate.
• Yuan Wei remains emotionally attached to Shen Bing despite trying to move on. Her journey shows that her finances and prospects have improved, but that personal loss still weighs heavily on her.
• Sun Juan takes a worldly, pragmatic view of relationships, encouraging Yuan Wei to value money and status. Yuan Wei silently rejects that outlook, judging Shen Bing incomparable to wealthy suitors.
• Minister Liang accepts Shen Bing’s proposal while adding a safeguard against the rights being transferred.
• The doctors’ reaction to the training shifts from excitement to unease as they recognize how thoroughly Phantom Immortal Technology may simplify their profession.

Significant themes

• Love, loss, and moving on: Yuan Wei’s attempt to escape her memories instead makes her attachment to Shen Bing more apparent.
• Money versus emotional value: Sun Juan sees financial security as paramount, while Yuan Wei’s experience has made money less important than the relationship she has lost.
• Technology and employment: The doctors’ fears extend beyond medicine, suggesting that advances capable of replacing highly skilled professionals could threaten many occupations.
• Power and control: Shen Bing’s island agreement illustrates his unusual freedom to decide the fate of a territory, while the ancient emperors Yuan Wei considers represent a more absolute form of power.