Recaps

Feng Wenbin asked Carroll Pharmaceuticals for unpublished technology to help him win Star Sea Biotech’s trust, and Charlie’s branch approved a failed Superbrain Drug byproduct project as bait. Feng delivered the documentation to Xia Xu, claiming the byproduct could transform the world if successfully developed.

• Feng Wenbin told Charlie he needed promising technology from Carroll Pharmaceuticals to prove his value at Star Sea Biotech and gain access to its secrets.
• Charlie brought Feng Wenbin’s proposal to the branch executives, who agreed to provide documentation for a failed Superbrain Drug byproduct project.
• Feng Wenbin presented the project documents to Xia Xu and insisted the byproduct could become a world-changing product with further development.

Xia Xu reviewed Feng Wenbin’s proposal for a dopamine receptor sensitizer and warned that it could be dangerously addictive if abused. He approved continued research and development but left production and sales for careful consideration after the drug was developed.

• Xia Xu read Feng Wenbin’s proposal and asked whether the dopamine receptor sensitizer was a banned substance.
• Xia Xu explained that increasing dopamine receptor sensitivity could make ordinary activities pleasurable but might also cause people to become dangerously addicted.
• Feng Wenbin said he had intended the drug to help people enjoy studying and working and to treat dopamine receptor dysfunction.
• Xia Xu warned Feng Wenbin that drugs could be abused and that controlling the sensitizer’s dosage would be difficult.
• Xia Xu approved continued research and development while requiring safeguards against abuse and strict confidentiality.
• Feng Wenbin began the project application process and selected personnel for the research and development team.

After settling Star Sea Biotech’s move and security arrangements, Xia Xu agreed to take Tang Youxin back home the next morning before they reported to Modu. Before leaving De City, he planned to deal with Five Hundred Bucks and rein in the unruly members of Team Two.

• Xia Xu treated the company to drinks and fruit before taking Tang Youxin to lunch.
• Tang Youxin asked when they would return, and Xia Xu said they would leave the next morning so she could visit Tang Zhan and pack.
• Xia Xu explained that Guo Feilong’s Security Team One was guarding the Xinyuan Building and that the Special Department’s involvement discouraged attacks on Star Sea Biotech.
• Tang Youxin teased Xia Xu about getting up early and proposed using the Mechanical Centipede Spine to shock him awake, prompting them to playfully tussle.
• Xia Xu refused to return that day because he needed to give Five Hundred Bucks instructions and put the elite spies in Team Two in their place before leaving.

At Star Sea Biotech’s training base, Xia Xu watched Security Team Two train and accepted Zhou Mingjie’s challenge. He dodged Zhou Mingjie’s rapid sword attacks with uncanny precision, leaving the fighter convinced Xia Xu could predict his moves.

• Xia Xu visited Security Team Two’s training base, where Zou Jin struggled through the running drills while the others rested.
• Instructor Zhang explained that Zou Jin’s limited fitness and combat skills made the shared training especially difficult for him.
• Zhou Mingjie challenged Xia Xu to a fight, renewing his wager that he would serve Xia Xu if defeated.
• Xia Xu accepted and faced Zhou Mingjie without taking a weapon or adopting a fighting stance.
• Zhou Mingjie attacked with his Eight-Faceted Han Sword, but Xia Xu evaded every strike with effortless precision.
• Zhou Mingjie halted his attack, stunned by Xia Xu’s ability to anticipate his movements.

Xia Xu revealed that technology let him predict attacks, then defeated Zhou Mingjie and Group Two’s challengers to establish his authority. He ordered security chief Zou Jin to spar with Zhou Mingjie after a short rest.

• Zhou Mingjie mistook Xia Xu’s attack prediction for the skill of a martial arts grandmaster, but Xia Xu explained that the Baize Early Warning System and other devices were behind it.
• Xia Xu and Zhou Mingjie resumed their fight, and Xia Xu defeated him despite Zhou Mingjie’s lethal skill and strength.
• Xia Xu challenged the rest of Group Two, beat the challengers one by one, and eventually knocked down a group at once.
• Xia Xu summoned Zou Jin and told him to rest and change before sparring with Zhou Mingjie, declaring that one of them had to go down.

Xia Xu equipped Zou Jin with technology that greatly enhanced his physical abilities and early-warning reactions, then sent him to fight Zhou Mingjie. Zou Jin won, and Zhou Mingjie realized Xia Xu might offer him a way to surpass the limits of ordinary martial arts.

• Xia Xu gave Zou Jin a Combat Uniform, an early-warning set, Superbrain Controlled-Release Tablets, and a Mechanical Centipede Spine, then explained how the equipment worked.
• Zou Jin tested the Mechanical Centipede Spine and learned that it boosted his power and speed at the cost of greater stamina use and muscle fatigue.
• Xia Xu brought Zou Jin back to the training ground, where Zhou Mingjie confidently agreed to fight him without his sword.
• Zou Jin used his enhanced abilities and early warnings to adapt to Zhou Mingjie's techniques and defeat him, astonishing the onlookers.
• Zhou Mingjie recognized Xia Xu as the source of Zou Jin's sudden transformation and saw him as a chance to grow stronger.

After building Zou Jin’s authority and briefing him on Security Group Two’s members, Xia Xu returned to De City with Tang Youxin. At the railway station, they ran into former classmates who were too intimidated by Xia Xu’s new status to approach until he greeted them first.

• Xia Xu reassured Security Group Two and privately told Zou Jin about the members’ obsessions so Zou Jin could win them over.
• Xia Xu and Tang Youxin left for De City the next morning after he spent the afternoon briefing Zou Jin and Zhou Mingjie.
• At the railway station, Tang Youxin apologized to Xia Xu and tried to kiss him, but he turned around and their lips met.
• Tang Youxin spotted their former classmates, including Ma Bing, who hesitated to greet them because Xia Xu and Tang Youxin had become famous and wealthy.
• Xia Xu walked over to greet Ma Bing and the others, easing their awkwardness as they excitedly asked about his company and fortune.

After returning to Star City, Xia Xu met with Liu Quande, who asked Star Sea Biotech to help the Special Department stabilize public opinion as the government prepared to disclose special incidents. Xia Xu agreed, leaving Star Sea Group poised to become a public model for advanced domestic technology.

• Xia Xu and Tang Youxin returned to Star City by train, while A Tuo traveled as checked cargo.
• Liu Quande invited Xia Xu to the Provincial Department to discuss Star Sea Biotech's cooperation with the Special Department.
• Liu Quande explained that the government planned to gradually disclose incidents involving Werewolves and use publicity to maintain public order.
• Liu Quande asked Star Sea Biotech to promote its Enhanced Dogs as part of the Special Department's public outreach.
• Xia Xu agreed, seeing the publicity as a chance to strengthen Star Sea Group's reputation and business relationships.

Xia Xu joined Tang Youxin and Tang Zhan for lunch, and Tang Zhan tacitly accepted his relationship with Youxin while asking him to look after her. After lunch, Xia Xu headed to a driving test center to get his license so he could collect the custom supercar built by Star Sea Industrial.

• Xia Xu walked into Tang Youxin's home and shamelessly joined her and Tang Zhan for lunch.
• Tang Zhan asked Xia Xu about their upcoming registration trip, and Xia Xu said he would travel to Modu early while Youxin went with her father.
• Tang Zhan acknowledged how much happier and more confident Youxin had become with Xia Xu, then left the table in a huff when he caught them flirting.
• Xia Xu teased Youxin and fed her lunch while Tang Zhan secretly ate a cold steamed bun upstairs.
• Xia Xu went to a driving test center to get his license so he could pick up the supercar Star Sea Industrial had built for him.

After getting his driver’s license, Xia Xu visited Star Sea Industrial to collect a customized, bulletproof supercar designed to carry his Spider-Shaped Predators. He praised the finished Venom car and left Zhou Xiaodong still waiting for a replacement general manager.

• Xia Xu got his driver’s license and arrived at Star Sea Industrial the next morning to pick up his car.
• Zhou Xiaodong complained that Xia Xu had promised to replace him as general manager but had only given him more work.
• Xia Xu explained that he could not yet find a suitable, trustworthy replacement and hurried Zhou Xiaodong to show him the car.
• Zhou Xiaodong introduced Xia Xu to the factory staff and showed him the black-and-white Venom-inspired supercar.
• Zhou Xiaodong explained that the bulletproof car supported brainwave control and had launch compartments for twelve Spider-Shaped Predators.
• Xia Xu tested the car, praised the work, promised the staff a bonus, and imagined building an even more advanced vehicle in the future.

Hong Bo’s roommates urged him to return to Flying Boat Studio, but he defended his loyalty to Mr. Xia and explained that his modest role at Star Sea was his own choice. As the group headed out for drinks, a sleek supercar pulled up and its driver invited them along.

• Hong Bo visited Flying Boat Game Company and teased his former college roommates for working late.
• Hong Bo’s roommates urged him to return to the studio, arguing that he had repaid Mr. Xia’s investment and deserved a better position.
• Hong Bo rejected their reasoning, recalling that Mr. Xia’s original support had been an act of kindness rather than a calculated investment.
• Hong Bo explained that he had chosen an undemanding job at Star Sea so he could learn management and prepare for future responsibilities.
• The group made up and headed downstairs to find dinner, where a black-and-white supercar stopped and its driver invited them along.

Xia Xu offered Hong Bo responsibility for a new internet company with two hundred million in paid-in capital before Xia Xu left for university. Hong Bo accepted after Xia Xu assured him that Sister Le Yao and a prepared business plan would support him.

• Xia Xu found Hong Bo and his friends and invited them to dinner, saying he had matters to discuss before leaving for university in Magic City.
• Xia Xu told Hong Bo he had registered an internet company with two hundred million in paid-in capital and wanted Hong Bo to run it.
• Hong Bo hesitated because he doubted his ability to manage such a large company, while Old Zhou and the others silently hoped for the opportunity themselves.
• Xia Xu said he trusted Hong Bo's character, and promised Sister Le Yao's management help, professional hires, and a step-by-step business plan.
• Hong Bo accepted the folder containing Xia Xu's plan, then glanced at Old Zhou and the others, who tactfully left the table.

Hong Bo reviewed Xia Xu’s plans for Star Sea Network Technology and was stunned by the company’s potential across internet services, esports, and livestreaming. Xia explained how he intended to use the company’s funding and reach to build profitable platforms and support his other ventures.

• Hong Bo read Xia Xu’s plans for online services, esports, livestreaming, and games, and praised him as a monster.
• Xia Xu told Hong Bo to start with areas he knew and to approach the company behind Hero Glory about making a MOBA game, using the League of Legends proposal if needed.
• Xia Xu explained that he had invested 200 million of his 1.2 billion in cash into Star Sea Network Technology to develop Blue Ocean Star’s untapped internet markets.
• Xia Xu planned for Star Sea Network Technology to become a major source of funding for Star Sea Industrial and Star Sea Biotech, while also giving him influence over information and data.
• Xia Xu considered using games to gather combat data for Little White Flower’s Bai Ze System and to support future AR, VR, and virtual-reality technology.

Xia Xu traveled to Magic City with Tang Youxin and A Tuo, checked into a hotel, and spent the evening teasing Tang Youxin about sharing a room. The two went to bed at opposite ends of the bed, but Xia Xu struggled to resist admiring her feet beneath the covers.

• Xia Xu left for Magic City by train with Tang Youxin and A Tuo after giving Hong Bo and Chen Leyao instructions for Star Sea Network Technology.
• Xia Xu checked into a hotel, where the receptionist played along with his joke about having only one room left, and Tang Youxin reluctantly agreed to share a twin room.
• A Tuo tore up part of the hotel room, and Xia Xu coaxed Tang Youxin into going out for dinner and sightseeing.
• After returning late, Tang Youxin tried to book another room, but the receptionist said the hotel was fully booked, so they agreed to sleep at opposite ends of the bed.
• Xia Xu lifted the covers to let Tang Youxin get some air, saw her stockinged feet, and struggled to look away.

Xia Xu visited Gardner Psychiatric Hospital to meet Dr. Cui Xinghua, a potential surgeon for the Second Heart Project, and became suspicious of the facility’s unusually strict controls. Tylos’s Status Panel revealed that he was part of a plot called “Giants,” leaving Xia Xu considering the possibility of a secret giant-making project and how he might exploit it.

• After breakfast, Tang Youxin stayed at the hotel to work on her Bai Ze System while Xia Xu collected his Venom Supercar and drove to Gardner Psychiatric Hospital.
• Xia Xu signed the visitor registration form and followed Tylos through the hospital under strict rules that barred visitors from wandering or contacting other patients.
• Xia Xu tested the limits of the rules and concluded that Gardner’s vigilance went beyond ordinary psychiatric hospital precautions.
• Xia Xu saw Tylos’s Status Panel, which listed him as a supporting character in “Giants” and gave him surgical medicine talent.
• Xia Xu suspected the hospital might be hiding research into giant humanoid creatures and considered taking advantage of it if the opportunity arose.

Xia Xu visited Cui Xinghua at Gardner Psychiatric Hospital and learned about the former surgeon’s strange bathtub-based self-diagnosis. Cui Xinghua’s Status Panel revealed a Five-Star surgical medicine talent and a connection to the “Giant” plot, but Xia Xu remained unsure whether he was sane or feigning madness.

• Xia Xu asked Talos about the hospital’s obese patients, and Talos explained that one patient’s depression had led to binge eating and severe obesity.
• Talos brought Xia Xu to Cui Xinghua, who stared at a bathtub containing a floating washbasin and cup as part of his self-diagnosis.
• Talos explained that Cui Xinghua tested whether he would use the basin or pull the bathtub plug, and Xia Xu questioned whether the circular test could establish his mental state.
• Xia Xu checked Cui Xinghua’s Status Panel and discovered his Five-Star surgical medicine talent, his supporting-character status in the “Giant” plot, and his obsessions with a patient’s death and healing his hands.
• Xia Xu considered Cui Xinghua’s ruined surgical career and unusual behavior, then concluded that he might genuinely be mentally ill.

On registration day, Xia Xu brought Tang Youxin to the International Scientific Research University and helped her settle into the girls’ dormitory. When she asked him to stay because she was nervous, he teased her by saying he wanted her.

• Xia Xu sent Yang Bowen, Meng Bochao, and the others to Magic City to investigate Gardner Psychiatric Hospital and search for characters from “Giants.”
• Xia Xu arrived at the university with Tang Youxin and A Tuo, drawing a crowd before they completed registration.
• Xia Xu bought bedding and other supplies, then helped Tang Youxin set up her room in the girls’ dormitory.
• Tang Youxin admitted she was scared of meeting her roommates and asked Xia Xu to stay with her.
• Xia Xu agreed to keep her company, then teased her by saying he wanted her.

Xia Xu helped Tang Youxin meet her new roommates and discovered that each possessed exceptional academic talents. He realized the International Scientific Research University was a rich source of promising people and looked forward to finding more.

• Xia Xu and Tang Youxin introduced themselves to Song Yu, who agreed to look out for Tang Youxin and joined them in meeting the other roommates.
• Xia Xu, Tang Youxin, and Song Yu met Ge Qingyan and Luo Lin, and the four roommates quickly became acquainted.
• Xia Xu checked the Status Panel and found that Song Yu had three-star talents in programming, statistics, and topology; Ge Qingyan had four-star programming talent and three-star mathematics talent; and Luo Lin had three-star talents in artificial intelligence and systems engineering.
• Xia Xu concluded that the university was a concentrated source of talent and regretted not checking the students during registration.

Xia Xu settled into the International Scientific Research University’s mechanical engineering dorm and reunited with Grant, who had enrolled to learn how to design and modify guns. When Xia Xu checked Grant’s Status Panel, he discovered that Grant had gained a three-star mechanical engineering talent that had not been there before.

• Xia Xu left Tang Youxin with A Tuo and walked to his mechanical engineering dorm after explaining why he had chosen the major.
• Xia Xu met his roommates Zhang Meng and Lü Dong, both of whom had notable mechanical engineering talents.
• Grant arrived as Xia Xu’s final roommate, and the two old friends joked about their money and past adventures.
• Grant explained that he had come to study gun design and modification while continuing to hunt werewolves.
• Xia Xu checked Grant’s Status Panel and found a new three-star mechanical engineering talent, though he remembered Grant had not possessed it before.

Xia Xu questioned Grant about his sudden mechanical-design talent and learned that Grant had been captured and operated on at an Andra Group experimental base before escaping. Xia Xu connected Grant’s new talent to Andra’s Transcendence Project, concluding that the project had likely succeeded or was close to it.

• Xia Xu pressed Grant to explain how he had gained admission to the International Scientific Research University and developed a new talent.
• Grant explained that he had entered the university through his achievements and connections, then came to the Xia Kingdom as an exchange student while tracking a mutated werewolf.
• Grant told Xia Xu that Andra had captured him at an experimental base and placed him on an operating table before he escaped with help from his werewolf transformation and Dorothea’s group.
• Xia Xu connected Andra’s research branches, including the Superbrain Drug and Mechanical Centipede Spine projects, to the Transcendence Project.
• Xia Xu concluded that Grant’s newly acquired mechanical-design talent showed that Andra’s Transcendence Project had succeeded or was close to success.

Xia Xu reconsidered the danger of being entangled in Andra’s Transcendence Project, then settled into university life and attended the International Scientific Research University’s technology exhibition. The chapter left him unimpressed by exhibits that amazed his classmates, since he was already familiar with advanced technology.

• Xia Xu realized the Night Owl storyline might involve Andra’s headquarters and the Transcendence Project, and reassessed the risks of opposing the company.
• Xia Xu introduced Grant to Zhang Meng and Lü Dong, then treated Song Yu, Luo Lin, and Tang Youxin’s roommates to a late-night meal.
• Xia Xu completed the freshmen’s brief military training and observed the strong academic atmosphere among returning students.
• The university gathered its freshmen in a huge exhibition hall displaying robotics, automated systems, and experimental technologies to inspire them to study.
• Zhang Meng and the others noticed Xia Xu’s lack of excitement, and Xia Xu joked that he had facial paralysis.

At the university’s science expo, Tang Youxin overwhelmed students in hacking and robot competitions while Xia Xu watched from a distance. After Grant sensed a possible werewolf nearby, Xia Xu deflected the suspicion and agreed to start a research group with Zhang Meng and Lü Dong, seeing it as a way to recruit talent and invest in promising projects.

• Zhang Meng reported that Tang Youxin had crushed the hacking and robot contests, and Xia Xu recognized her from the crowd but chose not to approach.
• Grant told Xia Xu he sensed danger and a werewolf-like scent near the hall, which Xia Xu suspected came from A Tuo following Tang Youxin.
• Xia Xu joked about a bat-man and lied to Zhang Meng and Lü Dong that they were discussing building robots, prompting them to suggest forming a research group.
• Xia Xu agreed to start the group and considered how the university’s funding, laboratories, and expo could help him recruit talented students and invest in their research.

Xia Xu explored the research-group booths and became interested in the Super Spider Silk Protein Research Group’s material, which could help him upgrade his Spider-Shaped Predator designs. He offered to invest in the group, leaving its senior member stunned by his Star Sea Group business card.

• Xia Xu wandered through the crowded recruitment fair and inspected the research groups and their projects.
• A senior in a rubber suit explained that her group synthesized spider silk protein and demonstrated its extreme elasticity with a small piece of fabric.
• Xia Xu asked whether the group had a variant protein with high strength, rapid solidification, and strong adhesion, imagining how it could let his robots spray webs.
• The senior said the group had such a material but would only reveal details to members, then admitted the group needed research funding.
• Xia Xu offered to invest and gave her a business card identifying him as the owner of Star Sea Group.

At the International Scientific Research University, Xia Xu recruited Yang Xiaoshuang for a potential investment and encountered the Excavator Group, whose members he declined to join. Their talk of a talented mechanical engineering exchange student led him to recognize Victor’s name.

• Xia Xu examined Yang Xiaoshuang’s profile, admired her Four-Star proteomics talent, and told her someone would contact her about an investment.
• A chubby student invited Xia Xu to join the Excavator Group, pitching excavators as prerequisite technology for mechs, but Xia Xu declined after assessing the group.
• After Xia Xu left, the Excavator Group members comforted their friend and discussed a mechanical engineering exchange student rumored to have built circuit boards as a child.
• Xia Xu realized the student was not Grant and stopped when he heard the name Victor.

Xia Xu learned that the handsome exchange student Victor Spot was nearby and checked his status panel. He discovered Victor had five-star talents in mechanical engineering and physics, along with the fate of a protagonist in “Mechanical Age,” and worried about the upheaval Victor might cause.

• After turning down a chubby student, Xia Xu asked Yang Xiaoshuang whether she knew an exchange student named Victor.
• Yang Xiaoshuang pointed out Victor Spot, a striking blond-haired young man surrounded by women, and joked about his reputation as a womanizer.
• Xia Xu approached Victor and opened his status panel, discovering he was the protagonist of “Mechanical Age” with five-star mechanical engineering and physics talents.
• Xia Xu realized Victor might reshape technology and society, then hoped the student would cause less upheaval than his potential suggested.