Chapter Summaries

Key plot points and events

• Shen Bing sells Perfected Lord Erlang a Nine Heavens Divine Talisman. After bargaining down from 300,000–500,000 immortal jade, Erlang agrees to pay 70,000—so quickly that Shen Bing suspects he may have misread the negotiation.
• Erlang is delighted with the talisman and pays without incident. Shen Bing earns a large profit: each talisman cost him 21,000 immortal jade to make.
• Realizing the talismans’ high price depends on their scarcity, Shen Bing decides to sell them quickly and discreetly to wealthy, battle-minded gods.
• Red Boy and Great Sage Sun each buy one for 70,000 immortal jade. Sun disappears afterward with his talisman, leaving Shen Bing uneasy.
• With one talisman still unsold, Shen Bing turns his attention to his growing fortune: his inventory now holds more than 260,000 immortal jade. He considers investing it in a better golden core from Lord Lao.

Character developments

• Shen Bing shows growing commercial savvy, weighing buyers, scarcity, profit, and the risk of damaging relationships. He remains cautious around powerful gods despite his undying body.
• Erlang Shen is eager to acquire the talisman, despite initially balking at its price.
• Red Boy buys readily, reflecting both his knowledge of the talisman’s power and his wealth.
• Great Sage Sun also buys without much negotiation, but his sudden disappearance raises questions.

Significant themes

• Scarcity and value: The talisman’s price depends not only on its power but on limited supply.
• Wealth and merit: Immortal jade is both currency and a valuable form of merit in the Immortal Realm.
• Risk and opportunity: Shen Bing’s profitable venture requires speed, discretion, and careful choice of customers.
• Pragmatism and relationships: He avoids overcharging friends because future trust matters more than maximizing each sale.

Character interactions

• Shen Bing needles Erlang about his status and wealth while bargaining; Erlang pushes back, then accepts the final price.
• Shen Bing carefully observes Erlang while handing over the talisman, wary that he might test it on him or withhold payment.
• He approaches Red Boy and Great Sage Sun as likely buyers because both understand the talisman’s combat value.
• Shen Bing’s concern about overcharging Sun and Nezha shows that he considers personal ties alongside profit.

Plot points

• Shen Bing considers how to achieve true life extension. His cell-repair drug helps people reach their natural lifespan but cannot overcome the biological limit; he needs a new technology, such as the kind behind Immortal Peaches or powerful golden-core pills.
• Rather than spend his limited immortal jade buying rare pills, he decides to seek pill-making knowledge that he can analyze and potentially use to make pills himself.
• He visits Medicine God Sun, hoping to obtain pill-refining techniques. Sun refuses to share his closely guarded methods, but offers to discuss pill formulas instead.
• Shen Bing realizes formulas may be more useful for his research. He asks for recipes that extend life or increase strength; Sun can provide only a life-extension formula.
• Sun offers the Azure Jade Pill formula for 5,000 immortal jade. Each pill extends life by a hundred years and ranks among the Immortal Realm’s top ten life-extension pills.

Character developments and interactions

• Shen Bing shows a strategic, business-minded approach: he values acquiring technology and knowledge over purchasing finished products. He also readily agrees to continue helping Sun gather qi of seven emotions and six desires in exchange for more collection artifacts.
• Medicine God Sun is warm and grateful for Shen Bing’s previous help, but protective of pill-refining techniques, which are central to his cultivation. He is more willing to sell a formula than reveal his methods.
• Their friendly exchange turns into a potential business deal: Sun’s gratitude and love of immortal jade make him receptive to selling the Azure Jade Pill formula.

Significant themes

• Longevity and human limits: Medical repair can restore health, but genuine life extension requires overcoming the body’s natural lifespan ceiling.
• Knowledge versus products: Shen Bing sees mastering a technology as more valuable than buying its finished results.
• Trust, boundaries, and commerce: Sun appreciates Shen Bing but keeps his core techniques private, while still offering a paid alternative.
• The value of immortal jade: The chapter’s closing joke underscores how readily the gods respond to a good offer of payment.

Key plot points

• Shen Bing negotiates with Sun Simiao for the Azure Jade Pill Formula. After challenging its high price, he gets it for 1,000 Immortal Jade instead of the original amount, promising to keep collecting qi of seven emotions and six desires for Sun.
• Buying the formula triggers a Mandatory Mission: collect two sets of that qi for Sun as quickly as possible. Until he finishes, he cannot accept other missions—a serious problem because he has not yet met his monthly quota of Daily Quests.
• Shen Bing suspects the mission was triggered by his promise to devote himself “wholeheartedly” to collecting the qi, which effectively committed him to the task.
• Back on Illusory Void Island, he analyzes the formula with the Eye of Truth. It yields Three-Star Technology: Level 2 Life-Extending Potion Production Technology.
• Though the pill itself seems unimpressive in the Immortal Realm and offers little prospect of profit there, the technology could extend human life by nearly a century. Shen realizes that introducing it could have major global consequences.

Character developments and interactions

• Shen Bing shows growing confidence as a negotiator, but his satisfaction at the bargain turns to alarm when the system imposes its mission. He also recognizes that his own enthusiastic promise helped trigger the restriction.
• Sun Simiao defends the formula’s value as a transferable alchemy method, then lowers the price because Shen has helped him and may provide more emotional energy in the future. Both leave the deal having gained something they want.
• Shen’s dealings with Sun shift quickly from friendly bargaining to an unintended obligation, illustrating how promises in the Immortal Realm can have system-enforced consequences.

Significant themes

• The cost of bargains and commitments: A good price may come with unexpected obligations, especially when casual promises activate the system.
• Different measures of value: A pill adding a century of life is trivial to long-lived immortals but potentially transformative for humanity.
• Technology and power: Shen’s ability to extract production technology from an alchemical formula turns an obscure purchase into a discovery with possible worldwide impact.

Chapter summary

Key plot points and events

• A technology capable of doubling human lifespan is considered too valuable to reveal before its creator has enough power to protect it. Its release is postponed until a favorable opportunity arises.
• Bao Hongguang, formerly a top special-operations soldier, describes how he and roughly two dozen others became the first recipients of Phantom Immortal Technology’s Gene-Enhancement Drug. After an agonizing reaction, they gained extraordinary strength and underwent months of training.
• Now captain of the enhanced team, Bao leads a search of a crashed alien warship. His squad finds about forty robot-like beings but no obvious living aliens, so they suspect the robots are the ship’s occupants. The robots are flown away for further handling, while Bao’s team stays behind to secure the wreck for careful study.
• Foreign powers send agents into the remote area to gather intelligence. On October 2, Bao’s team captures around two hundred infiltrators from nearly every leading nation. The agents hope at least to photograph the site, but the warship’s underground position makes useful information difficult to obtain.
• Meanwhile, Huaxia begins a live, unscripted counterterrorism exercise with seven other countries. Their elite forces occupy a city as the opposing side; Huaxia must retake it. The unusual exercise draws intense international attention, and the rules allow any conventional weapons and equipment, but no nuclear weapons.

Character developments

• Bao Hongguang’s transformation—from elite but ordinary soldier to enhanced operative and team captain—shows how completely the drug has changed his capabilities and role.
• His team has adapted to its new strength through demanding training and now operates with confidence against threats that would once have been beyond its reach.
• Bao’s practical leadership is evident in the disciplined search, reporting, transport of the suspected aliens, and continued security of the crash site.

Character interactions

• Bao coordinates his team through concise tactical calls as they clear the warship and identify possible threats.
• His unit works alongside outside special forces to guard the site, while a helicopter squadron removes the robot-like figures.
• The capture of foreign agents reflects the growing rivalry among nations: even friendly states compete for access to alien technology.
• The multinational exercise brings Huaxia and seven foreign militaries into a public test of strength, watched closely by governments around the world.

Significant themes

• Power and secrecy: A world-changing technology can make its possessor a target, so strength must precede disclosure.
• National pride and technological independence: Phantom Immortal Technology’s homegrown achievements inspire the soldiers’ pride in Huaxia.
• International competition: The crashed warship and the exercise reveal countries probing one another while vying for strategic advantage.
• Transformation and responsibility: The enhanced soldiers gain extraordinary power, but their role is not simply to fight; they must also control access to dangerous discoveries.

Key plot points and events

• Russia fortifies Kenda, a ruined city, for an exercise against Huaxia. Supreme commander Slov expects the defenses to withstand an assault.
• Radar operators detect paratroopers without spotting a transport aircraft. Slov orders his troops to capture them, imagining they are human soldiers.
• The “paratroopers” turn out to be 200 heavily armored robots. They land quickly and engage the Russian troops, who fire exercise ammunition.
• Although the robots receive multiple hit marks, they keep fighting, prompting Russian soldiers to complain that the exercise rules require hit troops to withdraw.
• In the command room, General Liu explains that the robots are not human and can withstand ordinary gunfire; General Ivan and the other officers are astonished. The exercise controllers rule that no rules have been broken.
• Assuming the robots’ endurance is limited, the Russian troops retreat and hide, planning to outlast them. The chapter ends as they begin to realize this strategy may be a mistake.

Character developments and interactions

• Slov begins confident in his defensive preparations, then is baffled and irritated by Huaxia’s unexpected use of robot paratroopers. He orders his troops to capture them, then watches his assumptions collapse.
• General Liu remains calm and self-assured during the dispute, defending the robots’ participation and explaining their durability.
• General Ivan challenges Liu over the rules but has little response to the revelation that the fighters are machines. He remains hopeful that their limited endurance can be exploited.
• The Russian soldiers shift from eager hunters to frustrated combatants, then fall back on concealment and delay tactics. Their confidence in matching the robots is quickly shaken.

Significant themes

• Technology reshapes warfare: Robot troops challenge familiar expectations about soldiers, weapons, and battlefield tactics.
• The limits of conventional rules: The exercise’s rules were designed around human combatants, leaving the participants unsure how to judge machines that can keep fighting after being hit.
• Overconfidence and miscalculation: Slov’s confidence and the troops’ belief that they can simply outthink or outlast the robots are presented as increasingly misguided.
• Adaptation in combat: Both sides try to interpret the robots’ capabilities and adjust their strategies, setting up the next stage of the exercise.

Key plot points and events

• Huaxia’s robot soldiers continue eliminating troops in a multinational exercise, even when those troops are safely behind cover. Their color-changing uniforms register the hits, prompting accusations that Huaxia has tampered with the equipment.
• General Ivan challenges General Liu, who insists the uniforms are functioning properly. He explains that the robots use unusual energy weapons—described as “stun guns”—whose attacks can pass through obstacles and are lethal at long range.
• The exercise continues despite the participants’ doubts. More than 20,000 opposing troops are scattered across Kenda City, but the 200 robots steadily overwhelm them. Snipers cause some difficulties, though their fast movement makes the robots hard to hit repeatedly in the same spot.
• The battle is broadcast live, leaving audiences in Huaxia excited but some viewers uneasy, while foreign officials suspect something unusual.
• By about 2 p.m., the robots have cleared the city and report the mission complete. A joint press conference later reveals that they are remotely controlled, ordinary firearms cannot meaningfully damage them, their weapons are powerful energy-based “stun guns,” and remote charging modules keep them continuously powered.

Character developments

• General Ivan shifts from anger and disbelief to wary concern. He questions the apparent impossibility of the attacks and wonders whether the robots’ weapons might eventually run out of power.
• General Liu remains calm and confident, defending the exercise and offering an explanation that Ivan finds hard to believe.
• The opposing soldiers lose confidence and cooperation: convinced the exercise is unfair or staged, they nonetheless continue because they have been ordered to.

Significant themes

• Technological asymmetry: The robots’ defenses, weapons, and power supply make conventional tactics largely ineffective.
• Trust and credibility: Participants and viewers struggle to distinguish genuine technological capability from cheating or spectacle.
• Obedience versus judgment: Soldiers continue an exercise they regard as absurd because orders require it.
• Public perception and propaganda: The live broadcast inspires some viewers, embarrasses others, and alarms foreign observers.

Character interactions

• The opposing soldiers protest what they see as unfair eliminations, while General Ivan confronts General Liu over the attacks.
• Liu responds with a confident technical explanation; Ivan remains skeptical but has little choice but to let the exercise proceed.
• The exercise pits the soldiers’ conventional weapons and expectations against Huaxia’s remotely operated robots, while audiences and foreign officials interpret the spectacle in different ways.

Key plot points and events

• Huaxia’s military exercise reveals remotely controlled robot soldiers. Because they lack independent consciousness, they cannot rebel, but their battlefield use marks a historic shift in warfare.
• The robots’ advanced communications, responsiveness, long-range recharging, and weapons suggest Huaxia has a substantial technological lead. The exercise implies that its global military advantage has grown, while the United States’ former dominance has weakened.
• In the United States, the public grows angrier at the government for failing to explain the White House disaster. Vice President Kedun is under pressure, though he cannot offer a credible account.
• Kedun, Speaker Lancer, and Senate President pro tempore Thomas decide to reveal that aliens caused the White House incident and publicize the suspected alien-ship crash in Huaxia’s Mong Province. They hope to pressure Huaxia into sharing its findings and taking the lead against the alien threat.

Character developments and interactions

• Kedun feels trapped and resentful at being held responsible without being given presidential authority. He considers revealing the truth, then supports Lancer’s plan when it offers a way to shift public pressure toward Huaxia.
• Lancer reframes Huaxia’s military strength as a reason it should shoulder responsibility for defending Earth. He also advocates publicizing the suspected crash site despite lacking confirmation.
• Thomas initially questions Lancer’s assumptions but quickly accepts the political logic.
• The three leaders cooperate, though their apparent confidence masks resentment at having to acknowledge Huaxia’s superiority.

Significant themes

• Technology and military power: Robot soldiers could transform warfare by reducing human casualties while giving technologically advanced nations enormous strategic reach.
• Fear and political manipulation: U.S. leaders exploit the alien threat and public opinion to manage domestic pressure and challenge Huaxia.
• Shifting global power: The alien crisis forces American politicians to accept Huaxia’s rising strength, while they hope it will bear the costs of confronting the invaders.
• Self-interest amid catastrophe: Even as Earth faces an existential danger, leaders calculate how today’s choices might restore their countries’ position afterward.

Plot points and events

• The United States publicly announces that aliens are responsible for a recent incident, presenting photos and brief video of a huge, unfamiliar craft as evidence. Most people accept the claims, and the prospect of an alien attack sparks global panic.
• News of the announcement reaches Huaxia, where people debate the invasion and fear what it means for Earth.
• Shen Bing has known about the Americans’ disclosure and deliberately lets it happen. He believes an alien presence cannot remain secret and sees the crisis as a chance to advance his plans.
• He expects the threat to discourage conflict between major powers, giving Huaxia room to strengthen its position without provoking American backlash. He hopes Huaxia will eventually lead humanity into space under a unified global direction.
• Soon afterward, reports across several countries claim that the object that crashed in Huaxia’s Mong Province was an alien warship, destroyed by a mysterious Huaxian weapon. The coverage casts Huaxia as humanity’s potential defender; repetition helps the claim gain public acceptance.

Character developments

• Shen Bing appears confident but pragmatic. Rather than trying to prevent panic, he uses the invasion as an opportunity to speed up Huaxia’s rise and prepare for humanity’s expansion beyond Earth.
• The public shifts from everyday concerns to fear and uncertainty. Many people feel powerless before an unknown enemy, while some make panicked or eccentric appeals for survival.

Significant themes

• Fear of the unknown: Evidence of aliens turns a distant possibility into an immediate threat and unsettles ordinary people.
• Crisis as opportunity: Shen Bing treats the invasion not only as danger but as leverage for accelerating political and technological change.
• Power and unity: The chapter argues that humanity’s future in space requires Earth to speak with one voice, even if that does not mean literal political unification.
• Public opinion and repetition: Repeated news claims can shape belief, even when clear proof is not presented.

Character interactions

• The Americans’ press conference shapes public reaction worldwide, while citizens respond to one another through public debate and online discussion.
• Shen Bing does not confront the Americans; instead, he benefits from the situation their announcement creates.
• International media portray Huaxia as a leader in the coming struggle, helping establish a new public narrative about its role.

Key events

• Following Huaxia’s destruction of the alien warship, people worldwide celebrate Huaxia’s strength and frame it as a quiet protector of humanity. The weapon used remains unknown.
• Shen Bing visits Gold Island, where research is expanding rapidly with more than 2,000 researchers and hundreds of projects.
• He debates whether to alter the rescued White House officials’ memories to make them loyal to him. Worried this could violate the system’s rules and jeopardize his earnings, he decides against outright control.
• At Qiuqiu’s suggestion, Shen instead orders that the officials be given a subconscious inclination not to oppose Phantom Immortal Technology, hoping to smooth the company’s entry into the U.S. market.
• Shen attends the first field test of the Gravity Control Device. The device successfully creates weightlessness and then increases gravity, demonstrating that the technology works.

Character developments and interactions

• Shen Bing shows both ambition and caution: he wants to use the rescued officials to advance his company, but avoids a risk that could undermine his plans.
• Qiuqiu offers a less extreme alternative to controlling the officials, and Shen readily accepts it. Difu carries out Shen’s order.
• Research professor Aike reports that the test chamber can theoretically vary gravity from zero to fifty times normal. Shen watches the experiment with amusement as the mice float, then struggle under increased gravity.
• At the end, Shen receives a call from Secretary Jiang and jokes about how busy he must be.

Significant themes

• Power and restraint: Huaxia’s strength is celebrated because it is portrayed as protective rather than aggressive; Shen likewise weighs how far to use his own influence.
• Technology and human control: Consciousness and memory manipulation offer powerful ways to shape people, raising questions of ethics and personal gain.
• Scientific progress: Gold Island’s expanding research program and the successful gravity test show Phantom Immortal Technology moving from theory toward practical applications, including aircraft, spacecraft, and weapons.

Key plot points and events

• Secretary Jiang informs Shen Bing that the Chief plans to visit Rongcheng and stop at Phantom Immortal Technology. Shen suspects the company—not the city—is the real reason for the trip, particularly because the company’s Charged Particle Cannon helped destroy an alien warship.
• Shen understands that the leadership depends heavily on his company’s technology in the fight against the alien threat, but he is reluctant to lose several days to a high-profile visit and its preparations.
• His urgency has nothing to do with research: he wants to travel during the National Day holiday to gather “qi of seven emotions and six desires,” which he believes is easiest to collect amid large, moving crowds.
• Shen tries to postpone the visit, then offers to go to Kyoto himself. When he admits he wants to travel, the Chief unexpectedly joins the call.
• The Chief accepts Shen’s plans and says he will wait for him in Kyoto. He asks whether Shen is going abroad; Shen answers that domestic destinations have more people, leaving the Chief puzzled by their apparent mismatch in understanding.

Character developments and interactions

• Shen Bing is shrewd about the government’s motives and confident in his importance, but he is also comically evasive about his real reason for wanting time off. He excuses the trip by saying he has not taken Yun Xue and the others traveling, privately apologizing for using them as cover.
• The Chief shows respect and patience toward Shen, recognizing his value and avoiding demands that might interrupt his work. He is amused rather than angry when Shen reveals his holiday plans.
• Secretary Jiang initially conveys the visit as a casual stop, then tries to reassure Shen that it will be brief. Their conversation is interrupted when the Chief takes over the call.
• Shen and the Chief have an awkwardly funny exchange: Shen’s remark about seeking crowded places sounds suspiciously relevant to the alien crisis, though he means only that crowds help him collect the energy he seeks.

Significant themes

• Technology and national dependence: The company’s weapons and tracking capabilities have become crucial to humanity’s defense, prompting the Chief’s personal visit.
• Duty versus personal aims: Shen’s apparent research commitments conflict with his private supernatural objective and desire to travel.
• Miscommunication and comic irony: Shen’s harmless explanation about crowds is heard against the backdrop of an existential alien threat, leaving the Chief—and Shen himself—unable to make sense of the conversation.

Plot points and events

• Shen Bing regrets accidentally saying something awkward, then speaks with the Chief, who asks him to come to the capital that afternoon to discuss several matters in person. The Chief arranges dinner and invites Shen Bing to bring both Yun Xue and Yuan Wei.
• Shen Bing tells Yun Xue they will travel to Kyoto for dinner and turns the trip into a National Day holiday outing. Though Yun Xue questions the idea of holiday crowds, he insists that “the livelier, the better,” because he hopes to gather more qi from people’s emotions.
• Back at the Gravity Control Technology experiment, Shen Bing sees the devastating results of a fifty-times-gravity test. Lab mice died at ten times gravity, and the trial demonstrates how gravity burdens every organ, not just the body as a whole.
• Aike reports that the technology is more useful for defense than offense and recommends producing a basic device capped at ten times gravity, since stronger versions require scarce materials and more advanced manufacturing. Shen Bing approves.
• Shen Bing asks for an update on Gold Island. Difu reports that its specialized-robot production line is operational, its power supply is supported by five nuclear-fusion reactors, and new underwater mineral deposits and mining facilities can supply the island’s expansion.

Character developments and interactions

• Shen Bing is decisive and opportunistic: he accepts the Chief’s invitation, persuades Yun Xue to join the trip, and makes a practical choice to prioritize affordable gravity devices.
• Yun Xue is affectionate but puzzled by Shen Bing’s sudden travel plans and his enthusiasm for crowded holiday destinations.
• The Chief treats Shen Bing warmly, arranging dinner and asking him to bring Yun Xue and Yuan Wei.
• Aike provides technical advice, while Difu delivers a confident progress report, showing the organization’s growing industrial independence.

Significant themes

• Power and its consequences: The gravity tests reveal the technology’s lethal effects, even at levels far below its maximum.
• Practical innovation: Shen Bing balances ambitious technology with current resource and manufacturing limits.
• Self-sufficiency and expansion: Gold Island’s reactors, mines, and automated production reduce dependence on vulnerable supply routes.
• Personal motives amid major plans: Shen Bing’s holiday outing is driven not only by leisure but also by his pursuit of qi from human emotions.

Key plot points and events

• Shen Bing confirms Gold Island’s rapid expansion: it is to reach ten square kilometers and one hundred levels within a month. The project relies on breakthroughs from the Underground Base, including its fusion reactor and seabed machinery.
• He orders Difu to send the people rescued from the moon back to the United States once they have been “worked over,” then returns to Rongcheng.
• At the Underground Base, Shen Bing tells Yun Xue and Yuan Wei to pause their research and get ready for a trip to Kyoto. Rosa jokes that they can simply buy anything they need, and Shen Bing pretends he had already considered this practical approach.
• Shen Bing travels to Kyoto aboard his company’s Wind God Type 1 aircraft, bringing his Bentley and documents about plans to deploy the Charged Particle Cannon.
• Secretary Jiang warns him that the Chief may question him. Shen Bing assumes the subject will be the cannon deployment.
• Yun Xue and Yuan Wei realize they are going to dinner at the Chief’s residence and become nervous. Secretary Jiang calls it a “family dinner,” though the conversation makes clear that important business will be discussed.
• The group arrives at the traditional government complex and enters a hall where the Chief and several senior officials are waiting.

Character developments

• Shen Bing remains confident and resourceful, but his casual insistence that the women need not pack exposes how little he has adopted ordinary wealthy-person habits. He also enjoys teasing Yun Xue about meeting the country’s top leader.
• Yun Xue and Yuan Wei’s enthusiasm for research is established, but Yun Xue’s anxiety about meeting the Chief reveals a more vulnerable, cautious side.
• Secretary Jiang is professional and discreet, tactfully navigating both the formal visit and the awkward presence of Shen Bing’s two girlfriends.

Character interactions

• Shen Bing and Difu coordinate Gold Island’s expansion and the handling of the moon rescuees.
• Shen Bing jokes with Rosa and Yun Xue about travel preparations, then playfully surprises Yun Xue with the true destination.
• Secretary Jiang briefs Shen Bing about the likely discussion and reassures the women, while pretending not to hear their private conversation in the car.
• Shen Bing, Yun Xue, and Yuan Wei enter the Chief’s residence together, where the chapter ends just before the meeting begins.

Significant themes

• Technological progress and national power: The Underground Base’s research drives ambitious construction and the planned deployment of a powerful weapon.
• Wealth, status, and normality: Shen Bing’s immense resources contrast with his lack of everyday rich-person instincts.
• Confidence versus apprehension: Shen Bing is at ease before a high-level political meeting, while Yun Xue and Yuan Wei feel the weight of the occasion.
• Public business and private life: The visit is framed as dinner, but its real purpose is an important discussion, blurring the line between social and official affairs.

Key plot points and events

• Shen Bing attends a private dinner with the Chief and other senior officials; his three companions, Yun Xue, Yuan Wei, and Li Xiao, are seated at a separate table so the leaders can discuss sensitive matters with him.
• The officials describe how foreign governments—especially the United States—have encouraged the public to believe Huaxia is responsible for confronting the alien threat, putting pressure on it to defend the world.
• Shen Bing argues that this tactic will backfire. Huaxia can deploy Charged Particle Cannons in space, avoiding the need to install weapons on foreign soil or seek other countries’ permission.
• He explains that solar power stations can supply the space-based cannons and that several cannons could cover each attack zone.
• When asked about the possibility of multiple alien ships attacking at once, Shen Bing lets slip that he sent a small spacecraft to the Moon for reconnaissance. He reveals that the alien base there contains only three warships, stunning the officials.
• The chapter ends with the leaders urgently asking how he managed to launch the spacecraft.

Character developments and interactions

• Shen Bing remains composed and self-assured, handling the leaders’ attempt to appeal to his sympathy without being drawn into it. His confidence in his technology is clear, though he accidentally reveals more than he intended.
• The Chief and the other officials begin by framing Huaxia as unfairly burdened by international pressure. They listen closely to Shen Bing’s plan, then shift from political concerns to amazement at his previously undisclosed lunar reconnaissance.
• Shen Bing and the leaders exchange polite dinner-table remarks before moving into a serious strategic discussion. Their respect for his expertise is evident, but his claims also leave them surprised and eager for details.
• Yun Xue, Yuan Wei, and Li Xiao are escorted to another table and do not participate in the central conversation.

Significant themes

• Political manipulation and unintended consequences: Foreign efforts to pressure Huaxia may instead make it easier for Huaxia to deploy defenses in space.
• Technological advantage: Shen Bing’s innovations give Huaxia options beyond conventional diplomacy and territorial constraints.
• Secrecy and disclosure: Shen Bing’s casual mention of the lunar mission dramatically changes the discussion—and risks exposing capabilities the officials did not know about.

Key plot points and events

• Shen Bing reveals that Phantom Immortal Technology has achieved civilian-grade anti-gravity technology. The leadership is stunned, especially at the prospect of applying it commercially and generating major economic benefits.
• When asked about future plans, Shen Bing keeps his next move secret and redirects the discussion to the alien threat.
• He describes the alien base on the Moon, including its wormhole, alien robots, and brain-based occupants. The leaders realize the aliens may be able to send reinforcements through the wormhole.
• The group learns that Shen Bing’s small spacecraft can carry two or three tons to the Moon, raising the possibility of delivering nuclear weapons to destroy the base.
• Shen Bing advises against attacking the base prematurely. Destroying it might provoke the alien civilization into sending a much larger force before Earth has deployed its charged-particle cannons.

Character developments and interactions

• Shen Bing demonstrates both the scale of his technological lead and his confidence in Phantom Immortal Technology’s ability to protect its secrets. He remains guarded about commercial plans and urges strategic caution.
• The Chief and senior leaders move from disbelief at the anti-gravity breakthrough to considering an offensive strike against the Moon base.
• Old Liu, an economic expert, focuses on the potential wealth and national benefits of commercial anti-gravity technology. He also objects to the aliens’ brain-based existence, calling it regression rather than progress.
• Old Wu stresses that the wormhole could allow endless reinforcements, while Old Zhou raises the idea of using nuclear weapons against the base.
• The leaders ultimately accept Shen Bing’s warning that an early attack could invite retaliation they are not yet ready to withstand.

Significant themes

• Technological advantage and economic power: A breakthrough can strengthen both military capabilities and civilian prosperity.
• Caution in conflict: The ability to strike first does not mean doing so is wise; provoking a stronger enemy could be disastrous.
• Different ideas of progress: The aliens’ survival as brains prompts debate over whether technological advancement is worthwhile if it strips away the body.
• Uncertainty and preparedness: Earth must account for the aliens’ potential reinforcements rather than assume the current force is all they have.

Key plot points and events

• Shen Bing reveals his plan for a global space-defense network using 43 Charged Particle Cannons. In theory, each cannon has unlimited range; Earth’s curvature is the main obstacle to covering the planet simultaneously.
• The leaders ask about the cost. Each cannon costs about two billion yuan to manufacture, while development cost at least US$200 billion. Shen proposes a fixed price of US$300 billion for the system.
• China’s leaders worry the country cannot afford the purchase, given its existing contracts with Shen’s company and other national expenses.
• Shen argues that defending Earth should not be China’s responsibility alone. The leaders agree to make other nations contribute financially or otherwise toward resisting the alien threat.
• Huaxia intends to retain control of the cannons regardless of who helps pay. Nations that refuse to contribute will still be left to face the consequences of an alien attack.

Character developments and interactions

• Shen Bing shows that his concern is not simply preventing an invasion: he sees the alien threat as leverage for persuading other countries to support a global defense system. He presents the plan casually, even pulling the drawings from his trouser pocket, and balances patriotic rhetoric with the need to earn his company a reasonable profit.
• The Chief and the other leaders move from surprise at the plan’s price to recognizing its strategic value. They accept Shen’s proposal to seek contributions from abroad while keeping command of the system in Huaxia’s hands.
• Old Liu raises the practical problem of China’s limited funds, prompting Shen to suggest sharing the burden. Old Zhou asks about the price and helps examine the proposed deployment plan.

Significant themes

• Collective responsibility: The chapter frames Earth’s defense as a shared duty, not one nation’s burden.
• Power, money, and control: Other countries may be asked to pay, but Huaxia will not surrender control of the weapons.
• Threat as opportunity: Shen views the alien danger as a way to secure international support for a defense policy that might otherwise be difficult to advance.
• Patriotism and self-interest: Shen presents his price as fair and invokes solidarity, while also acknowledging his company’s need for profit.

Key plot points and events

• After explaining how Huaxia could finance the large weapons project, Shen Bing says his company can produce two units per day. The Chief worries that deploying the full system would still take twenty-two days—potentially too long amid an alien invasion.
• Shen Bing and his companions leave the meeting. Secretary Jiang jokes that Shen is more interested in watching crowds than sightseeing; Shen admits that people-watching is enjoyable.
• At the hotel, Shen checks the Gate to the Immortal Realm, but the Nine-Headed Worm has not found the Water of Nonexistence.
• Shen’s father calls from Africa, where he and Shen’s mother are doing charity work. A mysterious, highly contagious illness has struck Kansang Town, killing more than ten people, and local doctors cannot identify it.
• Shen urges his parents to leave, but they refuse, convinced something unusual is happening. He arranges for advanced diagnostic equipment to be sent and dispatches Thorne and Lu Jiu to investigate and bring his parents home.

Character developments and interactions

• Shen remains practical and resourceful, quickly organizing medical support, but his parents’ refusal to leave makes him anxious.
• His parents’ extraordinary strength gives Shen some confidence in their safety, yet their decision to stay in a dangerous outbreak area unsettles him.
• Secretary Jiang’s friendly teasing shows his ease with Shen, while Shen’s dry humor keeps the exchange light.
• Shen’s father brushes off Shen’s concern and ends their calls abruptly, leaving Shen to act on his own.

Significant themes

• Responsibility under uncertainty: Shen must protect his family while responding to a potentially dangerous public-health crisis.
• Humanitarian commitment and risk: His parents’ charity work leads them into danger, but their determination to help keeps them there.
• Ordinary life amid looming threats: Casual sightseeing and family calls continue alongside the alien-invasion preparations and the unexplained epidemic.

Key plot points and events

• Shen Bing is woken by Thorne, who reports that Shen’s parents are safe, but the mysterious illness in their town remains unexplained. Lu Jiu has confirmed that victims’ cells are mutating, but cannot identify the cause. Shen sends Master Qiao to investigate.
• Later that morning, Huaxia publicly confirms that the object shot down over Mong Province was an alien warship and reveals that the invaders have established a base on the Moon’s far side. The authorities call for international cooperation against the threat.
• Reporters press Huaxia to share its Charged Particle Cannon technology. The spokesperson says other nations could not manufacture the weapon even with its technical specifications, and that Phantom Immortal Technology will not sell the specialized production equipment.
• Huaxia announces a joint defense system: it will deploy cannons in space, first protecting its own territory, then potentially extending protection to countries that join.

Character developments and interactions

• Shen Bing is concerned for his parents and frustrated by the lack of answers about the disease. He responds by sending Master Qiao to help.
• Thorne delivers the update, while Lu Jiu’s inability to diagnose the illness underscores the mystery’s difficulty.
• At the press conference, CNN reporter Klaus initially demands access to the technology and becomes excited at the prospect of a transfer, imagining the fame and benefits it could bring. A Guardian reporter asks more practical questions and helps clarify that the real obstacle is Phantom Immortal Technology’s specialized equipment.
• The proposed defense system prompts reporters to question whether joining would mean surrendering control of their airspace.

Significant themes

• Alien threat and international cooperation: Huaxia presents the invasion as a danger to all humanity, requiring a coordinated response.
• Technology as power: Possessing the design is not enough; advanced equipment and production capability are essential.
• National interests and control: The joint defense plan offers protection but raises concerns about dependence and sovereignty.
• Uncertainty amid crisis: The town’s unexplained illness remains a separate, unresolved danger even as the alien threat takes center stage.

Key plot points and events

• Huaxia announces a Joint Defense System based on its newly developed Charged Particle Cannons. Countries can apply to join, after which Huaxia will assess their size and resources and set their required contribution.
• The proposal divides public opinion. Many ordinary people support the system as protection from alien attacks, while governments worry that Huaxia would gain overwhelming power over member nations. Some protesters demand shared oversight; a small minority accuse Huaxia of seeking hegemony.
• Huaxia then broadcasts the deployment of its first cannon. Commander Li reveals that it destroyed an alien warship over 300 meters long, punching a massive hole through its exceptionally durable hull and bringing it down.
• The cannon requires an immense amount of energy to fire, but its solar generator can recharge it in 24 hours. During the broadcast, it rises into the air using the newly revealed Anti-Gravity Technology and begins its ascent toward orbit.

Character developments and interactions

• Huaxia’s spokesperson presents membership as a straightforward application-and-payment process, reinforcing that Huaxia will evaluate and administer the system.
• Commander Li is visibly excited and proud as he explains the weapon’s power and capabilities. His exchange with Reporter Wang turns the broadcast into a public demonstration of Huaxia’s technological advantage.
• The reporter and viewers are stunned when the cannon floats upward. Commander Li clarifies that it cannot fly under its own power; it uses the company’s Anti-Gravity Technology.

Significant themes

• Security versus sovereignty: Countries want protection from alien threats but fear placing themselves under Huaxia’s control.
• Power and hegemony: A defense system meant to protect Earth could also give its operator decisive political and military leverage.
• Technological awe: The cannon’s destructive force, solar power system, and anti-gravity capability make Huaxia’s advances seem almost impossible to rival.

Key plot points and events

• Phantom Immortal Technology launches a Charged Particle Cannon into the sky using anti-gravity technology, which Commander-in-Chief Li confirms during a live broadcast. Its rapid deployment shocks governments worldwide.
• The weapon’s height and long range make it a formidable defense for Huaxia, capable of threatening aircraft, ships, and targets across neighboring countries. Though it needs a full day to recharge, its attacks are described as nearly impossible to evade.
• With aliens already present, countries find it difficult to object to Huaxia’s deployment as an arms race. But they are uneasy about being within the cannon’s range and having to trust Huaxia’s assurances that it will be used only against extraterrestrials.
• Neighboring nations quickly seek admission to Huaxia’s joint defense system. Huaxia sets fees in U.S. dollars: Japan pays $10 billion, Korea $8 billion, and Mongolia $5 billion. By 9 p.m., fifteen neighboring countries have joined, contributing nearly $80 billion.
• The funds are transferred to Phantom Immortal Technology’s overseas account. Shen Bing says this will support manufacturing and purchasing materials on Gold Island, though the narrator reveals his real plan is to put the money into the “game.”

Character developments and interactions

• Commander-in-Chief Li calmly confirms the cannon’s anti-gravity propulsion, while Reporter Wang reacts with excitement and praises Phantom Immortal Technology as a national pillar.
• Shen Bing is shown managing the financial arrangements with senior leadership, while secretly pursuing a different use for the money.
• Foreign governments shift from hesitation to urgent cooperation: their leaders fear the weapon’s reach, but recognize that refusing Huaxia’s protection could leave them exposed to alien attacks.

Significant themes

• Technological disruption: Anti-gravity technology makes conventional rocket research seem obsolete, much as firearms once displaced swords.
• Power and deterrence: The cannon gives Huaxia overwhelming strategic leverage, reshaping how neighboring countries approach it.
• Security versus sovereignty: Nations accept protection even while uneasy about placing their safety—and territory—within another country’s power.
• Pragmatism in crisis: The alien threat prompts rapid decisions, financial concessions, and cooperation that would normally take months to negotiate.

Key plot points and events

• With an alien invasion looming, Shen Bing visits the crowded Badaling Great Wall with Yun Xue and Yuan Wei. He chooses the site because its long, narrow layout lets him pass many visitors efficiently.
• Pretending to buy snacks, Shen Bing slips away, activates his clothing’s invisibility, and races along the wall. He gathers large amounts of emotional qi—especially Joy, but also substantial Sorrow and Fear—from the tourists.
• The collection reassures him that his plan is working. He returns to the sightseeing trip, recognizing that people’s happiness, grief, and anxiety reflect the public’s mixed response to the invasion.
• Meanwhile, American leaders fear that Huaxia’s joint defense system is rapidly eroding U.S. influence. The chapter ends with a startling development: the missing U.S. president and nearly a thousand abducted White House personnel return.

Character developments and interactions

• Shen Bing balances his hidden mission with his desire to spend time with Yun Xue and Yuan Wei. He uses a playful cover story to collect emotional qi, then feels more optimistic after the haul.
• Yun Xue is energetic and confident, while remaining suspicious of Shen Bing’s unusually attentive behavior.
• Yuan Wei responds warmly to Shen Bing’s concern, blushing at his affectionate remarks.
• Li Xiao offers to buy the snacks but accepts Shen Bing’s order to stay behind and protect the women.
• American vice president Kedun is frustrated and alarmed as Huaxia’s defense network threatens to undo decades of U.S. geopolitical work.

Significant themes

• Fear and uncertainty: The invasion drives people to travel while they still can, protest, and seek protection.
• Public emotion as power: Shen Bing’s magical artifact turns intense feelings into a resource, making the crowd’s emotional state consequential.
• Changing global power: Huaxia’s expanding defense system reshapes international alliances and weakens American influence.
• Ordinary life amid crisis: Tourism and personal relationships continue even as the world faces an existential threat.
• Unanswered mystery: The return of the abducted Americans raises new questions about what the aliens want.