Chapter Summaries

This chapter contains only an author’s notice: the writer has returned late from visiting a relative and can’t post an update today. They apologize playfully and say a “taking a short break” notice for Immortal Realm Technology is being prepared; readers should refresh the page later for the updated notice. There are no plot events, character developments, or meaningful character interactions.

Key plot points and events

• Shen Bing posts on Weibo that he is looking forward to a new energy era, prompting excitement among the public and alarm among companies tied to oil and fossil fuels.
• He ignores the online uproar and enjoys an extravagant breakfast aboard the cruise ship with Gao Jingchuan and Liu Jin. The meal features a rare, million-yuan blue lobster prepared by a celebrated chef.
• Shen Bing enters the Gate to the Immortal Realm and releases Cowherd and Weaver Girl from his inventory, assigning them to care for the island’s plants.
• Little Nine, the Nine-Headed Worm, arrives and immediately intimidates Cowherd. Weaver Girl prepares to fight, but Shen Bing stops the confrontation.
• Shen Bing tells Little Nine to get along with the newcomers and warns him not to pursue his usual predatory interests. Cowherd and Weaver Girl accept the arrangement without realizing Little Nine’s notorious past.

Character developments and interactions

• Shen Bing remains casual amid the public and business reaction to his announcement, flaunts his wealth at breakfast, and exercises firm authority over the island’s inhabitants.
• Gao Jingchuan and Liu Jin tease Shen Bing about his extravagant breakfast, then eagerly agree to eat the lobster themselves.
• Cowherd instinctively tries to protect Shen Bing from Little Nine, showing loyalty and courage—but also a lack of awareness about the danger he faces.
• Weaver Girl responds fiercely to Cowherd being attacked, revealing her willingness to defend him.
• Little Nine resents sharing the island and privately worries about living around a couple, but obeys Shen Bing’s direct warning.

Significant themes

• The disruption of established industries: Shen Bing’s hint about new energy exposes how technological change can threaten powerful businesses while offering hope of a cleaner environment.
• Wealth and excess: The rare lobster and private chef underscore Shen Bing’s casual extravagance and the contrast between his resources and his companions’ experience.
• Power, loyalty, and control: The island’s residents defer to Shen Bing, whose authority keeps their conflict from escalating.
• Ignorance and danger: Cowherd’s bravery is partly comic because he does not know Little Nine’s reputation; the chapter’s title highlights how unawareness can make someone fearless.

Plot points and events

• The Nine-Headed Worm leaves after watching Cowherd and Weaver Girl’s affectionate reunion. Shen Bing settles the couple into the Immortal Realm and prepares to leave.
• Shen Bing discovers that his quest involving Thousand-Mile Eye, Gao Jue, is now complete. He guesses Gao Jue accepted that Shen Bing had survived, though Shen Bing does not know that rumors of his return have spread through the Immortal Realm.
• Checking the Gate to the Immortal Realm’s next upgrade, Shen Bing finds the requirements: 200,000 immortal jade and the destruction of an alien base. The jade is manageable, but the alien-base requirement seems both baffling and potentially impossible.
• As he eats lobster with Gao Jingchuan, Liu Jin, and Li Xiao, Shen Bing wonders whether an alien base might be hidden in the Solar System—especially since a spaceship has already crashed in the United States.
• Liu Jin spots an upcoming fighting tournament in the cruise liner’s schedule and suggests they attend. Shen Bing initially has little interest, but agrees after Gao Jingchuan points out that they should make use of the trip.

Character development and interactions

• Shen Bing remains ambitious and strategic, but the unexpected upgrade condition unsettles him. He resolves to inspect future rewards carefully and begins considering the possibility of extraterrestrial threats.
• Gao Jue’s quest completion reflects a shift from suspicion to cautious reassurance: Shen Bing’s public return convinces him that the Queen Mother’s attention is focused elsewhere.
• Gao Jingchuan lightly challenges Shen Bing’s concern about aliens, but Shen Bing’s reminder that trouble can arrive unexpectedly leaves him with no rebuttal.
• Liu Jin is absorbed in the cruise activities and enthusiastically draws the others’ attention to the tournament. Shen Bing, encouraged by Gao Jingchuan and recalling Qiuqiu’s advice, chooses to socialize rather than spend the whole trip indoors.

Significant themes

• Uncertainty and foreshadowing: The alien-base requirement raises the possibility that extraterrestrial forces may already be near Earth.
• Planning versus the unexpected: Shen Bing wants to prepare for future dangers, but the upgrade requirement exposes how little he knows about what lies ahead.
• Making room for ordinary life: Though focused on quests and advancement, Shen Bing recognizes that the cruise is also meant for enjoyment and companionship.

Key plot points and events

• After a lavish meal, Shen Bing, Liu Jin, Gao Jingchuan, and their companions head to the cruise ship’s Arena, where the crowd gathers for a heavyweight boxing match.
• Shen Bing and his group sit in VIP seats beside Lin He and Toyota Zexi, whom Shen Bing recognizes from the previous night’s gambling.
• The host announces a bout between American boxer Luo Sier and Thai champion Xi Chai, and the betting odds reveal that the fight may end in a death.
• Shen Bing considers exploiting the long odds on Xi Chai losing within ten seconds, but decides the possible payout is not worth the risk or hassle.
• As the match begins, Shen Bing finds the fighters’ movements slow and unimpressive, while Liu Jin watches with enthusiasm.
• Shen Bing realizes the Arena’s charged atmosphere may help him collect negative emotions through the magical artifact in the Gate to the Immortal Realm. Its anger and desire totals have already risen substantially, possibly because of the casino’s gamblers the night before.

Character developments

• Shen Bing remains detached from the violence and unimpressed by the match, showing how far he feels removed from ordinary fighters. He also treats the possibility of death pragmatically, reasoning that the fighters accepted the risks.
• Liu Jin is revealed as a dedicated combat enthusiast: even a bout Shen Bing considers dull captivates him, despite his noticing that the fighters are slow and weak.
• Lin He appears composed and socially graceful after her gambling loss, while Shen Bing’s blunt reply to her polite remark leaves her unsure how to continue the conversation.

Significant themes

• Violence as spectacle and commerce: The Arena sells dangerous, potentially lethal combat as entertainment, with betting odds turning the fighters’ risks into wagers.
• Different perspectives on power: Shen Bing sees the boxers as almost insignificant, while the crowd and Liu Jin find the match thrilling.
• Emotions as a resource: Shen Bing recognizes that gambling and combat generate anger, desire, sorrow, and hatred—and that these feelings can be harvested through the magical artifact.
• Luxury alongside brutality: The cruise ship’s refined image contrasts sharply with the Arena’s blood-red Ring and murderous atmosphere.

Character interactions

• Shen Bing exchanges polite but awkward small talk with Lin He; Toyota Zexi remains silent and focused on the Ring.
• Shen Bing asks Liu Jin whether he enjoys the bout, exposing their contrasting reactions to combat.
• The host rouses the crowd and explains the fight and betting, while the spectators’ excitement reinforces Shen Bing’s realization that the Arena’s emotional intensity has practical value.

Plot and events

• Shen Bing reflects on his difficulty collecting the qi of the seven emotions and six desires, though the current situation seems to be helping his task.
• At an underground fight aboard a cruise liner, Xi Chai defeats Luo Sier. Shen Bing declines Liu Jin’s suggestion to bet, noting that the organizers set the odds to favor themselves.
• During the next match, a gunman shoots and kills Japanese fighter Kurokawa Ken. Panic spreads as spectators realize they may also be targets.
• A middle-aged white man, backed by armed men, takes control of the arena. He claims he bet $300,000 that Kurokawa would die within ten seconds and demands the enormous payout.
• The referee hesitates over his limited authority, so the gunman threatens him and orders him to transfer whatever amount he can approve. One of the gunman’s men suggests killing the referee; the leader insists the referee is needed to confirm the result and release the funds.
• Shen Bing remains calm and tells Gao Jingchuan to wait and watch.

Character developments and interactions

• Shen Bing stays composed amid the threat, even appearing to play a game on his phone. His calm reassures Gao Jingchuan, and his private amusement suggests he recognizes the gunman’s audacious scheme.
• Gao Jingchuan and Liu Jin are alarmed by the armed takeover and worry about Shen Bing’s safety. Gao turns to Shen for guidance.
• The white gunman is calculating as well as ruthless: he uses overwhelming force but keeps the referee alive because he needs the man to authorize the payout.
• The referee is terrified but tries to comply, explaining that he lacks authority over so large a payment.

Significant themes

• Power and coercion: The gunmen replace the arena’s rules with force, leaving wealthy spectators and staff helpless.
• Greed and absurdity: The gunman’s wager—that a fighter would die within ten seconds—becomes reality through his own murder, creating a grotesque dispute over whether he has “won.”
• Composure under danger: Shen Bing’s unusual calm contrasts sharply with the crowd’s panic and raises questions about what he knows or can do.

Plot points and events

• The referee realizes the armed attackers may kill him if he is no longer useful, but transferring the money may not save him either.
• The robbers bring the cruise ship’s passengers and crew into the arena at gunpoint. Their leader, the white boss, orders the crowd subdued.
• Kurus, one of the robbers, threatens Shen Bing with a machine gun for refusing to comply. The boss recognizes Shen and stops him from firing.
• The robbers learn Shen is the target of a $50 billion bounty, payable only if he is captured alive. The boss sees him as a far more valuable prize than the group’s original plan to steal about $1 billion from the ship.
• A pale, cold-blooded robber suggests killing the other captives to prevent trouble. The boss instead offers Shen a deal: pay a ransom to save himself and everyone aboard.
• Shen immediately understands the proposal. The boss reveals the stakes, claiming the Oasis was meant to become another lost ship like the Titanic.

Character developments

• Shen Bing remains calm and defiant despite being surrounded by guns. His concern shifts to the thousands of innocent people at risk.
• The robber boss is pragmatic and calculating: he abandons the original heist’s priorities when Shen’s bounty becomes a potentially greater payoff.
• Kurus is impulsive and aggressive, but becomes cautious once he realizes Shen’s value.
• The referee is fearful and trapped, trying to survive by balancing the robbers’ demands against the danger of cooperating.

Character interactions

• Kurus aims his gun at Shen, but the boss intervenes and addresses Shen with wary respect.
• Shen and the boss exchange confident, probing remarks: Shen questions whether the situation truly favors the robbers, while the boss boasts of his control over the ship.
• The pale robber’s proposal to kill the captives clashes with the boss’s interest in securing a ransom.
• The boss makes Shen responsible for the passengers’ safety, turning the confrontation into a coercive bargain.

Significant themes

• Human life as leverage: The robbers use the passengers as bargaining chips and place a price on Shen’s life.
• Greed and calculation: The gang weighs a planned billion-dollar robbery against a much larger bounty.
• Composure under threat: Shen’s calm contrasts with the panic of the crowd and the robbers’ aggression.
• Moral contrast: Shen rejects the casual slaughter of innocents, while the robbers treat mass death as an acceptable tactic.

Key plot points and events

• Shen Bing’s emotion-collecting artifact reaches capacity as the armed kidnappers crowd the passengers within its ten-meter range, especially generating sorrow and desire.
• The gang’s leader explains that signal jammers and falsified ship-position data will prevent anyone from discovering the attack for two or three days. Shen Bing admits he is stalling, but says he is not waiting for rescue.
• Before the gang can act, armed men begin collapsing. Shen Bing uses a silent, unusual pistol to incapacitate some; unseen assistance appears to take down others.
• Within seconds, nearly all the gunmen are down. Li Xiao makes a dramatic leap and pins the leader, convincing the passengers that the danger has passed.
• Shen Bing confronts the leader and implies that his earlier survival in London and Seattle should have warned him not to underestimate Shen. When Gao Jingchuan asks how the attackers were defeated, Shen calls the device a newly developed stun gun and says this was its first real combat test.

Character developments

• Shen Bing remains composed and self-assured under threat, revealing that his confidence rests on secret defensive capabilities. He is willing to conceal how the attack was actually stopped.
• The white ringleader shifts from contemptuous confidence to panic and regret once his men fall and he is captured.
• The passengers move from terror and uncertainty toward cautious relief, though they initially fear the unknown force responsible.
• Gao Jingchuan and Liu Jin recover quickly after the fight and rush to Shen; Gao presses him for an explanation.
• Li Xiao demonstrates extraordinary physical ability by leaping onto and restraining the leader.

Significant themes

• Arrogance versus humility: Shen calls himself humble despite his bold threat, while the leader dismisses him as arrogant and soon learns he has underestimated him.
• Hidden power and misdirection: The apparent mystery of the attackers’ collapse—and Shen’s partial explanation—keeps his true capabilities unclear.
• Control and vulnerability: The gang’s elaborate communications blockade seems to give them control, but their confidence proves fragile.
• Regret after misjudgment: The leader realizes too late that Shen’s earlier survival should have been a warning.

Character interactions

• Shen trades taunts with the leader, refusing to explain his plans or capabilities until the criminals are defeated.
• Kurus urges the leader to stop talking and knock Shen out, but is among the first men struck down.
• Shen confronts and slaps the captured leader, forcing him to acknowledge the reversal.
• Gao questions Shen about the silent weapon; Shen identifies it as his experimental stun gun, offering an explanation that leaves the wider mystery unresolved.

Plot points and events

• Shen Bing’s supposed specialized stun gun is revealed to be a bluff, though Gao Jingchuan does not know it.
• After the attackers are defeated, Captain Nick thanks Shen Bing for saving the passengers. Shen Bing redirects him to restore order as frightened passengers begin turning on the subdued criminals.
• A mysterious Huaxian man in a tight-fitting outfit stops the crowd and claims to have personally taken down at least ten attackers. Nick’s staff evacuate the arena, remove the dead Japanese judo expert, and secure the unconscious criminals.
• Nick hosts Shen Bing, Gao Jingchuan, Liu Jin, Li Xiao, and Shen Bing’s hidden bodyguards Wei Yu and Gao Silun in gratitude. The group enjoys the ship’s luxury amenities.
• Back in his room, Shen Bing opens the Gate to the Immortal Realm. The crisis has supplied the last emotion he needed to collect all seven emotions, so he can complete his quest for Medicine God Sun and finally address Feifei’s condition. He teleports to the valley where he last met the deity and calls out to him.

Character developments and interactions

• Shen Bing remains composed and practical in public, prioritizing crowd control over praise. Privately, he is elated that the quest is complete, especially because Feifei’s illness—and Little Doudou’s concern for her—has weighed on him.
• Captain Nick expresses deep gratitude but follows Shen Bing’s advice, organizing the evacuation and arranging secure custody for the criminals.
• Gao Jingchuan remains curious about Shen Bing’s unusual weapon, though he gets no answer.
• Liu Jin jokes that Shen Bing could have pursued an attractive attendant; Shen Bing deflects, while admitting internally that he had considered it.
• Wei Yu and Gao Silun, Shen Bing’s covert bodyguards, are included in the captain’s thanks for their role in defeating the attackers, despite Nick’s uncertainty about how they boarded the ship.
• The Huaxian man’s sudden intervention earns the passengers’ respect and prevents them from escalating the situation.

Significant themes

• Restraint after danger: the passengers’ urge for revenge is checked in favor of order and lawful handling of the criminals.
• Humility and practical leadership: Shen Bing avoids taking the spotlight and focuses on what needs to be done.
• Duty and emotional stakes: completing the collection of all seven emotions is not merely a quest milestone; it gives Shen Bing hope of helping Feifei.

Plot points and events

• Shen Bing summons Medicine God Sun Simiao and confirms that he has gathered the complete qi of the seven emotions and six desires. Sun is astonished, since these energies are exceptionally difficult to collect in the Immortal Realm.
• Shen asks whether Sun has found a way to help a mortal beast evolve. Sun presents a Heart Tribulation Pill, which can help a capable mortal beast overcome the mental trial needed to advance toward immortality.
• Shen accepts the pill but refuses Sun’s request to see the beast, Feifei, explaining that it is inconvenient. Sun accepts the refusal without taking offense.
• Shen asks about life-prolonging pills. Sun finds the idea pointless for immortals and directs him to the Old Immortal of the South Pole, who once oversaw mortal lifespans. Shen considers visiting him but remembers that the old man was not especially generous.
• Shen leaves the cruise ship before it reaches Japan. Liu Jin arranges another ship to collect the group, whose interest in the trip has faded.
• Shen returns to Rongcheng to distribute newly acquired Immortal Realm technology to Qiuqiu and the research teams, and to put his company’s energy and aerospace plans into action.

Character developments and interactions

• Shen Bing remains confident and resourceful, though he is often privately exasperated by the immortals’ assumptions and by the gulf between their world and mortal concerns. He is focused on turning his new resources into practical progress.
• Sun Simiao is eager to learn how Shen gathered the rare emotional energies and to meet Feifei. Despite his curiosity, he respects Shen’s refusal and remains helpful.
• Shen and Sun maintain a courteous relationship: Sun provides the pill and advice, while Shen expresses gratitude, even when internally mocking Sun’s perspective.
• Captain Nick is impressed by Shen’s bodyguards and unsuccessfully tries to learn how to hire similar protection. Shen keeps their source secret.

Significant themes

• Different worlds, different values: Immortals see emotion, desire, and extra lifespan very differently from mortals.
• Practical ambition: Shen prioritizes applying new knowledge and technology to real-world projects.
• Curiosity and boundaries: Sun’s interest in Feifei is genuine, but Shen chooses to protect his privacy and keep the beast out of reach.

Key plot points

• After Shen Bing’s social-media post on clean energy draws international attention, Minister Chen and the chairmen of Huaxia Petroleum and Huaxia Petrochemical visit him, hoping to cooperate with Phantom Immortal Technology.
• Shen confirms that his company plans to launch a revolutionary new-energy vehicle and use mass adoption to push fuel-powered cars out of the market.
• Sun Lan warns that cars alone are not enough: replacing fuel vehicles requires a vast charging network. Shen says Phantom Immortal already has the technology to build one.
• The visitors reveal their real proposal: use the two oil giants’ extensive station networks and operational experience to build charging stations, easing the transition for their businesses and workers.
• Shen questions whether the power grid would be better suited, but Minister Chen argues the oil companies have broader retail coverage and that the grid’s expertise is elsewhere.
• Shen says charging stations offer only modest returns by Phantom Immortal’s standards. Minister Chen counters that Shen’s company could still supply the charging equipment, where its technological advantage is decisive.

Character developments

• Shen Bing appears confident and strategically minded. He confirms his ambitions without revealing every detail, having deliberately publicized his plans to attract partners while letting them initiate negotiations.
• Minister Chen acts as the intermediary and negotiator, balancing government concerns with the oil companies’ interests.
• Sun Lan and Zhao Jun arrive seeking a role in the clean-energy transition. Sun Lan raises the practical infrastructure challenge, while both chairmen are eager to secure the charging-station opportunity.
• Secretary Jiang remains a relaxed, familiar presence, helping make the introduction but leaving the substantive bargaining to the others.

Significant themes

• The transition from fossil fuels to clean energy is gaining public and political momentum, but replacing vehicles requires infrastructure as well as technology.
• Cooperation and adaptation: established oil companies may need to transform their assets and workforce rather than simply resist change.
• Power and profit in negotiation: Shen’s technological lead lets him set the terms, while the others seek a useful role in his plans.
• Social responsibility and stability: the authorities are concerned about what happens to fuel stations and their employees if gasoline cars disappear.

Character interactions

• The meeting opens with exaggerated praise, which Shen receives politely and with humor.
• Minister Chen and Shen discuss the vehicle plan directly; Sun Lan challenges its feasibility by emphasizing charging infrastructure.
• Shen recognizes that the visitors want the oil companies to run charging stations and makes them state their proposal openly.
• The chapter ends with Minister Chen reframing the offer: even if Shen’s company does not operate stations, it can profit by supplying the equipment.

Key plot points and events

• Minister Chen offers Phantom Immortal Technology the chance to dominate the charging-equipment market in return for Shen Bing staying out of the charging-station business.
• Shen Bing declines to manufacture charging equipment. Instead, he plans to establish his fast-charging system as the global industry standard through widespread adoption rather than formal standards bodies.
• His proposed model combines technology licensing with allocated sales of essential, difficult-to-copy components. This lets other manufacturers participate while keeping Phantom Immortal Technology in control of supply.
• Secretary Jiang asks where Shen Bing will build the new-energy-vehicle factory. Shen chooses Rongcheng for the main factory, honoring a promise to his mother and supporting his home city; future branches may be built elsewhere.
• Shen tells Jiang his mother may soon resign from the Investment Promotion Bureau to help Shen’s father manage the Immortal Fate Charity Fund, but assures him the company’s Rongcheng investments will proceed.
• After the officials leave, Shen analyzes the Heart Tribulation Pill with the Eye of Truth. It yields a three-star technology: Potent Nerve Recovery Drug Preparation Technology. He then prepares to use the pill to help Feifei, but Little Doudou interrupts by calling to him.

Character developments and interactions

• Shen Bing demonstrates strategic restraint: rather than chase a lucrative monopoly, he aims to make his technology indispensable worldwide while retaining leverage through controlled component supply. He also shows loyalty to his family and hometown by placing the main factory in Rongcheng.
• Minister Chen and Sun Lan initially struggle to understand Shen’s refusal, then recognize the larger strategy behind his plan and its likely influence over the industry.
• Secretary Jiang seeks reassurance that Rongcheng will receive the vehicle factory. Shen gives it, while also explaining his mother’s likely resignation; Jiang accepts the explanation and remains supportive.
• Shen and his mother are connected by a prior promise about the factory’s location. Her decision to leave government work is motivated by a desire to support Shen’s father.
• Shen’s attention shifts from business and local development back to Feifei’s recovery, though Little Doudou’s call halts his next step.

Significant themes

• Influence through standards and infrastructure: Widespread adoption can establish a de facto standard more powerfully than formal approval.
• Control balanced with access: Shen invites domestic and foreign firms to participate, but allocated core components preserve his company’s strategic control.
• Family and hometown loyalty: Commercial decisions are shaped not only by efficiency but also by personal commitments and support for Rongcheng.
• Ambition tempered by pragmatism: Shen avoids a direct charging-equipment monopoly in favor of a broader, more durable position across the new-energy vehicle ecosystem.

Plot points and events

• Shen Bing gives Little Doudou a Heart Tribulation Pill to treat Feifei, who has grown huge, tiger-like, and dangerously berserk.
• Little Doudou enters the glass enclosure, safely gets the pill into Feifei’s mouth, and retreats. Within minutes, Feifei’s aggression fades and its body gradually returns to normal size.
• After about half an hour, Feifei falls asleep. Little Doudou worries the medicine may have side effects, but Shen Bing suggests Feifei is simply exhausted from its frenzy. Little Doudou stays to keep watch while Shen Bing leaves.
• The story shifts to Berlin, where Phantom Immortal Technology’s first European Deep Geothermal Power Station is completed. Zhang Zi’an attends the ceremony and announces a reduction in the station’s grid supply price.

Character developments and interactions

• Little Doudou shows deep concern for Feifei and eagerness to help, risking entry into the enclosure to administer the pill. It remains anxious until Feifei improves, then volunteers to watch over it.
• Shen Bing remains outwardly calm and reassuring, though privately he admits he does not know exactly how the pill works or why Feifei falls asleep.
• Zhang Zi’an presents Phantom Immortal Technology as generous and appreciative, using the ceremony to promote the company and its energy business.

Significant themes

• Loyalty and care: Little Doudou’s devotion to Feifei drives its actions.
• Uncertainty and trust: Shen Bing and Little Doudou rely on the pill despite not knowing precisely how it will work.
• Economic leverage: Phantom Immortal Technology’s European expansion is linked to its Cancer Cure No. 1, which helped secure government cooperation.
• Strategic generosity: The electricity-price reduction is presented as gratitude, but the company’s low operating costs and pricing flexibility also make it a business advantage.

Chapter summary

Key plot points and events

• With Shen Bing’s approval, Zhang Zi’an cuts the geothermal power feed-in tariff by €0.02 per kilowatt-hour to encourage other countries to adopt the technology. Phantom Immortal Technology now operates twelve stations across five countries, with a combined capacity of 300 million kilowatts.
• The company has secured more than sixty geothermal projects and is building them simultaneously. Though the stations generate enormous revenue, their vast expansion costs mean the energy division has only recently broken even.
• Shen Bing reviews newly acquired technology and discovers that the Potent Nerve Recovery Drug is not limited to one medicine: it can produce treatments for a broad range of neurological conditions, including paralysis. He sees its potential to help many patients, though he plans to give it less promotion than the company’s more groundbreaking upcoming products.
• Qiuqiu reports that Caso’s team in Africa has completed its assigned work. Caso, formerly president of Blizzard Entertainment, tells Shen Bing that his team has developed a brain-controlled virtual reality game, designed to provide fully immersive gameplay without keyboards or mice.
• When Shen Bing asks whether the game is ready for a worldwide launch, Caso warns that it may be too perfect—so compelling that one game could satisfy the world’s demand.

Character developments and interactions

• Shen Bing continues directing the company’s expansion and reviewing its innovations. He is pleased by the rapid progress of the virtual reality team and immediately contacts Caso, but he also weighs how to release new products amid a crowded pipeline.
• Caso shows confidence in his team’s achievement, then reveals caution about launching the game. His warning suggests that the technology’s extraordinary appeal could create unforeseen consequences.
• Zhang Zi’an carries out Shen Bing’s approved pricing decision, helping advance the geothermal strategy.
• Qiuqiu efficiently delivers technical documentation, tracks research progress, and alerts Shen Bing to Caso’s completed project.

Significant themes

• Technology’s immense promise and its costs: Geothermal power and medical breakthroughs can benefit society, but developing them at global scale demands enormous investment.
• Innovation and responsibility: The neural drug could relieve widespread suffering, while the virtual reality game raises questions about the effects of technology so immersive that it might replace other forms of entertainment.
• The disruptive nature of progress: Each new invention challenges existing expectations—and may create problems precisely because it succeeds so well.

Key plot points and events

• Shen Bing asks Caso about promoting and releasing their virtual-reality game. Caso argues that its near-total realism could make it humanity’s “second world,” so it needs a complete social structure rather than being treated as an ordinary game.
• Caso outlines the world’s feudal-style governance, spiritual-practice-based power system, and gold–silver–copper currency. He proposes linking its currency to real-world money, but warns that governments would almost certainly oppose the idea.
• Shen Bing intends to manage the connection privately and insists that currency exchange must be unrestricted to build players’ confidence. He claims he can handle the risk of a market attack. Server capacity and network latency remain technical problems; he promises to address them while Caso continues polishing the game.
• Meanwhile, the U.S. military continues intermittent blockades around Gold Island, yet construction there keeps progressing. Unable to explain how supplies and building materials are reaching the island, the U.S. President suspects Phantom Immortal Technology may possess stealth transport technology.

Character developments and interactions

• Caso demonstrates both ambitious confidence in the game’s potential and practical awareness of the financial, political, and technical obstacles. He presents his concerns directly and follows Shen Bing’s lead once Shen commits to his plan.
• Shen Bing is revealed as confident and decisive, with a pre-existing solution for connecting the virtual economy to reality. He also recognizes the possibility of deliberate financial sabotage but keeps his countermeasures private.
• The U.S. President shifts from puzzlement to fear. He concludes that Phantom Immortal Technology might use stealth technology independently of government restraint, making the company a potentially unpredictable threat.

Significant themes

• Virtual worlds and social systems: A truly immersive game needs governance, power, and an economy to function as a second society.
• Economic disruption and trust: Linking virtual and real money could challenge national control of currency, while confidence in unrestricted exchange is presented as essential to attracting players.
• Technology and power: Secret technological capabilities can unsettle governments, especially when held by a private company rather than a state.
• Uncertainty and escalation: Both the game’s financial risks and the blockade around Gold Island reveal how quickly unverified assumptions can become sources of fear.

Key plot points and events

• The United States sends two advanced sixth-generation fighters to make provocative passes around Gold Island and fire training missiles. The display fails to unsettle the island’s construction workers, who treat it like an air show.
• Secretary Jiang calls Shen Bing to offer government intervention. Shen judges the flyover to be an intelligence-gathering exercise: the Americans want to assess Huaxia’s stealth technology and test whether their new fighters can detect it.
• Shen rejects the idea of confronting the planes now. He reveals that Phantom Immortal Technology can remotely compromise the fighters through their Intelligent Core, and would rather wait until the U.S. has invested heavily in deploying them before disabling them all.
• Instead, Shen proposes letting Huaxia’s stealth fighters be spotted deliberately. That would reassure the Americans that their sixth-generation fighters can counter the threat and encourage them to build and deploy more.
• Secretary Jiang also asks about the government’s aircraft order, especially nuclear-powered transport planes. Shen says production has begun and test flights can start once the factory runway is finished. The runway is being built ahead of schedule using advanced machinery that transforms local soil and stone into a thick, hardened surface.
• The chapter ends with Shen running late for Li Xiao’s wedding after being delayed by news that Feifei has awakened. Yun Xue urges him to hurry.

Character developments and interactions

• Shen Bing remains calm and calculating under pressure. Rather than respond to the American show of force, he treats it as an opportunity to manipulate U.S. military planning to Phantom Immortal Technology’s advantage.
• Secretary Jiang initially worries that Huaxia will appear weak if it does not respond, but Shen’s explanation convinces him to support the longer-term strategy. He is also astonished by how quickly Shen’s company is delivering the government’s aircraft.
• The Gold Island workers show their loyalty and confidence in Shen: they ignore the intimidation and keep working.
• Yun Xue is impatient with Shen’s delay, while Shen’s concern for Li Xiao’s wedding reflects how personally he regards Li, who has no family of his own.

Significant themes

• Strategic patience and deception: Shen chooses not to reveal his full capability, instead encouraging the United States to strengthen the very force he intends to undermine.
• Technological advantage: Phantom Immortal Technology’s control over the fighters’ Intelligent Core and its revolutionary runway-building process demonstrate its immense, largely concealed capabilities.
• Confidence and perception: The chapter’s title reflects Shen’s plan to make the Americans feel secure enough to invest further in their fighters.
• Loyalty and personal ties: Amid military maneuvering and technological breakthroughs, Shen still prioritizes his responsibility to attend Li Xiao’s wedding.

Summary

This chapter contains no story events. It is an author’s notice explaining that an unexpected issue delayed the update, with a promise of three updates the following day.

• Plot and character developments: None.
• Themes: None; this is a scheduling message.
• Character interactions: None.

Key plot points and events

• Shen Bing dresses unusually formally for Li Xiao and Wang Yatong’s wedding, prompting Yun Xue to tease him for looking more like the groom than a guest. He changes into a simpler outfit before leaving.
• Shen Bing attends with Yun Xue and Yuan Wei, driven by Gao Silun. At the Nancy Building, Wang Dong confirms the preparations are complete and most guests have arrived.
• Secretary Jiang arrives on the chief’s orders, explaining that Li Xiao’s wedding matters because of his importance as Shen Bing’s bodyguard. Shen Bing congratulates the newlyweds and gives them a red envelope.
• The wedding proceeds smoothly, with prominent officials and business figures among the guests. As the group leaves, Yun Xue asks Shen Bing whether they might someday have a wedding of their own.

Character developments

• Shen Bing shows affection and support for Li Xiao, whose gratitude reflects how much Shen Bing changed his life. His mother’s indirect questions about his romantic future hint that his relationships are becoming noticeable to others.
• Yun Xue openly reveals her hope for a future wedding with Shen Bing, turning her private longing into a direct question.
• Yuan Wei shares the wish but feels guilty, believing her later involvement may have complicated Yun Xue’s hopes.
• Li Xiao is presented as deeply grateful to Shen Bing and happy to begin married life with Wang Yatong.
• Wang Dong notices the closeness between Shen Bing, Yun Xue, and Yuan Wei, but decides not to pry.

Significant themes

• Love and commitment: The wedding inspires the women to imagine their own futures with Shen Bing.
• Uncertainty and constraint: Yun Xue and Yuan Wei’s hopes are complicated by the difficulty of having a wedding that accommodates both of them in Huaxia.
• Loyalty and gratitude: Li Xiao’s gratitude underscores Shen Bing’s influence and the bonds formed through service and trust.
• Public status versus private feelings: The wedding is grand in its guests and prestige, but the women care most about whom they might stand beside.

Character interactions

• Shen Bing and Yun Xue banter over his formal clothes, while his parents’ comments indirectly press him about marriage.
• Wang Dong greets Shen Bing and silently speculates about his relationship with Yuan Wei.
• Secretary Jiang explains the chief’s interest in Li Xiao’s wedding, reinforcing Li Xiao’s significance.
• Shen Bing congratulates Li Xiao and Wang Yatong, who accept his gift warmly.
• In the car afterward, Yun Xue asks about their future wedding; Yuan Wei remains quiet, torn between shared hope and guilt.

Chapter summary

Key plot points and events

• Yun Xue clarifies that she meant the wedding would involve all three of them, including Yuan Wei. Yuan Wei accepts her explanation, and Shen Bing, moved by the women’s willingness to accommodate one another, promises them a grand and unforgettable wedding.
• Shen Bing soon turns back to work. He compares Feifei, who has recovered and become a cat demon, with Little Doudou, a mature cat demon. Feifei is less capable and is still a demon cultivator progressing toward that state.
• Shen Bing arranges extensive tests on Feifei, but the researchers cannot explain the unusual dark matter found in her blood. Master Qiao can describe how it absorbs and converts certain dark energy, though he cannot communicate the process in terms the researchers can use.
• Research on dark-matter observation is progressing after Shen Bing redirects the team toward studying consciousness—the means by which immortals perceive dark matter—and its relationship to ordinary matter, dark energy, and dark matter.
• Shen Bing asks Charles to estimate the hardware needed for virtual reality on a personal and humanity-wide scale. Charles argues that limiting access would be more profitable and influential. Shen Bing instead worries about social disruption if automation causes widespread unemployment.
• Shen Bing reveals that Fan Hao’s robotics team has completed its work and can build robots for many kinds of jobs. Charles realizes Shen Bing may intend to bring intelligent robots to market.

Character developments and interactions

• Shen Bing shows greater emotional openness by making a firm commitment to Yun Xue and Yuan Wei, but quickly resumes his practical, research-focused role. He also considers the social consequences of new technology, not just its commercial value.
• Yun Xue and Yuan Wei demonstrate a willingness to accept each other for Shen Bing’s sake. Yun Xue’s desire for a wedding seems to represent reassurance and commitment as much as the ceremony itself.
• Feifei has advanced into a cat demon, but remains weaker and less developed than Little Doudou, whose innate ability and mature status distinguish her.
• Charles moves from confidence in his expertise on virtual reality to surprise at Shen Bing’s plan to make the technology broadly available and his apparent intention to sell intelligent robots.
• Shen Bing and Ye Tian Cangsang discuss the dark-matter research, while Shen Bing’s earlier guidance helps the research team escape a dead end. Master Qiao’s knowledge is useful but difficult to translate into practical scientific explanations.

Significant themes

• Commitment and acceptance: The wedding promise symbolizes Shen Bing’s commitment, while Yun Xue and Yuan Wei’s acceptance reflects the compromises within their relationship.
• Limits of knowledge and communication: Supernatural mechanisms may be understood by experts such as Master Qiao yet remain difficult to explain or investigate through ordinary scientific methods.
• Technology and social responsibility: Shen Bing weighs the consequences of automation and unemployment, suggesting that technological progress should be managed with society’s welfare in mind.
• Different paths to advancement: Feifei’s cultivation contrasts with Little Doudou’s innate abilities, underscoring the gap between an acquired transformation and a naturally superior being.

Summary

• Shen Bing’s plan for robots and virtual reality: Shen Bing tells Charles that he intends to bring Intelligent Robots to market, despite the risk that tireless, complaint-free machines could displace workers and worsen unemployment. He proposes making a highly realistic virtual-reality game available to everyone, partly to occupy people who lose their jobs and, more importantly, to redistribute wealth through the game. Charles doubts that players would invest enough for this to work; Shen Bing is more concerned that they might invest so much that the real-world economy suffers.
• The technical obstacle: Charles reports that his company has developed a chip nearly a hundred times more efficient than the best comparable chip on the market. But combining multiple chips in a server creates a data-transfer bottleneck: existing technology cannot move the enormous volume of information the chips generate quickly enough. Shen Bing tells Charles to focus on solving the problem and, if necessary, to pursue quantum information transmission.
• Shen Bing’s social concerns: After leaving the laboratory, Shen Bing keeps thinking about the consequences of introducing robots—not only unemployment, but also public arguments over robots’ rights and whether they threaten humanity. He realizes he has become distracted by concerns he had already considered and needs to focus on finding the right moment and approach to help society accept the robots.
• A cryptic announcement: Shen Bing posts “Welcome! 8.25” on Weibo. Because the date is August 23, readers speculate that it points to an event two days later, but no one can work out what it means. Wang Sheng, baffled and anxious, calls Shen Bing to ask what he is planning.

Character developments and interactions

• Shen Bing is ambitious and confident in his technological plans, but also attentive to their social consequences. He acknowledges Charles’s technical expertise while pushing him toward a difficult breakthrough.
• Charles is loyal and capable, yet skeptical of Shen Bing’s confidence about the game’s economic impact. He explains the chip and server limitations, and Shen Bing listens and gives him a clear direction.
• Wang Sheng represents the public’s confusion at Shen Bing’s cryptic post; his call closes the chapter on a note of suspense.

Plot points and events

• Shen Bing reveals that he has invited several famous chefs to Phantom Immortal Tower’s Nebula Hall for a banquet two days later. Though he jokes that he plans to “sell” them, he clarifies that he is not trafficking anyone and tells Wang Sheng to prepare the venue and equipment.
• The hall can host about 3,000 diners. Wang Sheng receives 2,500 invitations to distribute through the company’s Administration Department, while Shen Bing will choose 500 people from replies to his Weibo post.
• Shen Bing invites business associate Fang Yuanming, who asks whether he can bring his daughter, Fang Xin. Shen Bing briefly worries about how her presence might affect Yun Xue and Yuan Wei, then decides to leave the choice to Fang Yuanming and reserves two seats.
• Shen also invites three close university friends, keeping those relationships friendly and separate from work. Doudou, his AI assistant, selects eligible Weibo respondents and sends invitations.
• News of the feast spreads widely. The invitees range from business magnates to street vendors and laborers, prompting speculation about its purpose. Reporters are frustrated that the company has not given them special access, unlike at previous events.
• Some overseas guests arrive, assuming the event signals Phantom Immortal Technology’s plans to enter the hotel business. Large crowds fill the area around the company’s industrial park, overwhelming nearby hotels.

Character developments and interactions

• Shen Bing is playful and deliberately vague, while remaining confident that the event has a purpose beyond serving dinner.
• Wang Sheng recognizes that Shen is withholding the real plan but follows instructions and focuses on organizing the event.
• Fang Yuanming and Shen Bing share a warm, teasing relationship. Fang tactfully avoids pressing Shen about the banquet’s purpose.
• Shen’s invitation to Fang Yuanming brings his unresolved awareness of the emotional dynamics involving Fang Xin, Yun Xue, and Yuan Wei to the surface.
• Shen maintains close personal ties with his former university friends, inviting them without turning the conversations into business.
• Doudou’s efficiency highlights how much AI simplifies selecting people from millions of online responses.

Significant themes

• Public speculation and secrecy: Shen’s vague explanations lead guests, media, and the public to invent theories about his intentions.
• Status and inclusion: The diverse guest list challenges assumptions about who belongs at an elite event, while invitees treat attendance as an honor.
• Technology and scale: AI enables rapid, large-scale selection and invitations, while Phantom Immortal Technology’s influence reshapes the surrounding city.
• Personal relationships amid public life: Shen’s casual invitation process intersects with delicate romantic tensions and enduring friendships.