Recaps

Xia Xu used the surveillance footage to identify the van that had hit Meng Bochao’s father, while letting Meng Bochao and Yang Bowen believe his calculations came from a mysterious intelligence source. Meng Bochao’s trust and affinity toward Xia Xu increased as he prepared to investigate the van’s owner.

• Xia Xu decided not to surrender the research data or let Meng Bochao keep helping Griffin Jones, then asked Meng Bochao to pull up surveillance footage from the accident day.
• Meng Bochao told Xia Xu that his father’s accident had happened around 4:40 p.m. and that he had already backed up nearby surveillance videos.
• Xia Xu reviewed the footage and identified a white van as the vehicle that had hit Meng Bochao’s father.
• Xia Xu claimed he had used mathematical calculations to identify the van, while Meng Bochao and Yang Bowen suspected he had another intelligence source.
• Xia Xu told Meng Bochao and Yang Bowen to investigate the van’s owner, and Meng Bochao’s affinity for him rose.

Xia Xu sent A Tuo with Yang Bowen and Meng Bochao to investigate the van, then learned that he had earned near-perfect scores on the school’s monthly exams. His classmates were left stunned as teachers announced his outstanding results.

• Xia Xu assigned A Tuo to help Yang Bowen and Meng Bochao investigate the van and warned Yang Bowen to treat the dog carefully.
• Xia Xu gave A Tuo instructions and went home alone.
• The next day, Liu Xiulan announced the class’s English exam results and revealed that Xia Xu had scored 150.
• Xia Xu also scored 149 in math and a perfect 300 on the comprehensive science exam, astonishing his classmates and teachers.

Xia Xu scored exceptionally well on his exams and persuaded Tang Youxin to honor their bet after she accused him of hiding his ability. After his Chinese score confirmed he had passed the terms, Tang Youxin gave him a quick kiss on the cheek and ran off, leaving Xia Xu wishing he had made the moment last longer.

• Ma Bing accused Xia Xu of copying answers, but Xia Xu pointed out that nobody at school had scored higher than him.
• Xia Xu reminded Tang Youxin of their bet, and she initially said his perfect scores made it unfair.
• Xia Xu explained that he had studied hard and persuaded Tang Youxin not to back out, though she insisted they wait for his Chinese score.
• Xia Xu received 142 in Chinese and showed the result to Tang Youxin.
• After they left school, Tang Youxin surprised Xia Xu with a kiss on the cheek and hurried away.

After Yang Bowen and Meng Bochao tracked the stolen van to a gang of car thieves, they called Xia Xu for help. Xia Xu instructed A Tuo to subdue the gang, leaving Yang Bowen unsure whether the dog could take on more than a dozen people.

• Meng Bochao told Xia Xu that the van's owner had reported it stolen, and Yang Bowen and Meng Bochao had traced it to a gang of car thieves.
• Yang Bowen and Meng Bochao realized they could not safely force the gang to reveal where they fenced stolen vehicles, so they asked Xia Xu for backup.
• Xia Xu asked Meng Bochao to put A Tuo on the phone, and A Tuo excitedly responded to Xia Xu's voice.
• Xia Xu instructed A Tuo to subdue the car thieves without killing or striking vital areas.
• Xia Xu told Yang Bowen to point out the thieves to A Tuo, and Yang Bowen questioned whether A Tuo could handle more than a dozen people.

Xia Xu had A Tuo subdue a gang of car thieves, while Yang Bowen and Meng Bochao watched in shock as the dog displayed extraordinary strength and combat skill. After A Tuo defeated the gang, Meng Bochao nervously praised him as Brother Dog, but A Tuo ignored him.

• Xia Xu told Yang Bowen to point out the car thieves to A Tuo, assuring him that A Tuo was no ordinary dog.
• Yang Bowen directed A Tuo to the auto repair shed, where a dozen car thieves mocked the approaching dog.
• A Tuo bit one thief, then dodged and overwhelmed the men with powerful leaps and swift attacks.
• Yang Bowen and Meng Bochao watched A Tuo subdue the gang and wondered whether supernatural creatures existed beyond Werewolves.
• Meng Bochao nervously greeted A Tuo as Brother Dog when he returned, but A Tuo gave him an aloof glance and ignored him.

Xia Xu received footage from Grant showing a bone-spiked man attacking people in America, and they discussed the growing number of extraordinary threats. Grant then contacted Xia Xu to demand payment for his investigation into Catherine Aitchison.

• Meng Bochao tried to ingratiate himself with A Tuo, amazed by the dog's strength and the company's extraordinary resources.
• Xia Xu left Meng Bochao's search for the hit-and-run driver to A Tuo and the professionals helping him.
• Grant sent Xia Xu a video of a man whose protruding bone spikes pierced people and blocked bullets before the footage ended.
• Xia Xu and Grant speculated about the attacker's origins, and Grant said the man had reportedly been killed by another Masked Freak.
• Grant reminded Xia Xu to stay safe, then demanded the overdue fee for investigating Catherine Aitchison.
• Xia Xu teased Grant about the unspecified price, and Grant quickly changed his tune when Xia Xu offered to send him money.

After Grant warned Xia Xu about another superpowered mutant, Xia Xu worried that Blue Ocean Star’s growing number of extraordinary incidents could spiral out of control. Luo Hongyun told him he had been asked to lead a new Special Action Team, and Xia Xu encouraged him to accept, then suggested Louise’s mother could care for her.

• Grant transferred fifty thousand to Xia Xu, who went home and continued combat training with Luo Hongyun.
• Xia Xu told Luo Hongyun he was unsettled by the growing number of strange threats and feared the world was changing rapidly.
• Luo Hongyun revealed that the authorities wanted him to return and lead a Special Action Team, though he hesitated because he had promised to teach and protect Xia Xu.
• Xia Xu encouraged Luo Hongyun to take the position, saying A Tuo could protect him and the team could help handle future threats.
• Luo Hongyun worried about leaving Louise, and Xia Xu said her mother would soon be able to take care of her.

Xia Xu used the Superbrain Drug to study advanced science and searched for a way to improve the drug. He recalled controlled-release tablet technology, which Blue Ocean Star lacked, and wondered if recreating it could control the Superbrain Drug’s side effects.

• Luo Hongyun reconsidered joining the government special department after Xia Xu urged him to consider the benefits of gaining influence and armed support.
• Xia Xu ended combat training with Luo Hongyun and went home to study while the Superbrain Drug was still active.
• After using his monthly exam results to confirm his grasp of high school science, Xia Xu decided to study university biology and medicinal chemistry.
• While reading about drug dosage forms, Xia Xu realized controlled-release tablet technology was missing from Blue Ocean Star.
• Xia Xu grew excited at the possibility that recreating controlled-release tablets could greatly reduce the Superbrain Drug’s side effects.

Xia Xu reasoned that controlled-release tablets could reduce the Superbrain Drug’s brain damage by keeping its effects steady, but he needed pharmaceutical experts to develop them. He began considering how to exploit the coming Superbrain storyline for research resources, business opportunities, and a core team for his company.

• Xia Xu concluded that controlled-release SB-13 could sustain low-level brain overclocking and reduce dangerous fluctuations, though it could not eliminate brain damage.
• Xia Xu recalled the structure of a controlled-release hypertension tablet but realized he would need pharmaceutical professionals to reproduce the technology.
• Xia Xu decided that Griffin Jones’s role in the Superbrain storyline seemed less important if controlled-release SB-13 could meet his needs.
• Xia Xu considered using the storyline to obtain pharmaceutical resources and financial gains, especially by anticipating Griffin Jones’s future business ventures.
• Xia Xu recognized that his immediate need was a strong company team and worried that Nine Suns Consulting Company might not have enough money to pay Meng Bochao’s bonus.
• Xia Xu wondered why Hong Bo had not yet introduced him to his doctoral-candidate cousin.

Xia Xu brought Olivia, Louise’s mother, to Luo Hongyun and learned that the Andra Group had kidnapped Louise as a test subject for its Transcendence Project. He suspected the project aimed to identify or reproduce exceptional inherited talents, leaving him with a clearer idea of why Louise had been targeted.

• Olivia arrived looking for Luo Hongyun, and Xia Xu recognized her as Louise’s mother and led her to Luo’s home.
• Xia Xu saw that Olivia had four-star combat and firearms talents and learned that she was known as Canary.
• Olivia’s fate revealed that a powerful American pharmaceutical group had selected Louise through her medical examination records for the Transcendence Project.
• Xia Xu connected the project to the Andra Group and reasoned that it had targeted Louise because of her five-star combat talent and inherited potential.
• Xia Xu considered that the Transcendence Project might be intended to improve or replicate exceptional talents.

Xia Xu reflected on the Andra Group’s plan to replicate human talents, then went to school, where students were gossiping about his exam results. He teased Tang Youxin for sneaking a look to see whether he had arrived, and she smugly insisted she had kept her promise.

• Xia Xu considered how replicating and combining talents could transform humanity, but decided the Andra Group was still an enemy because of its schemes and its interest in Louise.
• Meng Bochao brought A Tuo to meet Xia Xu outside Star City No. 3 High School, and A Tuo greeted Xia Xu enthusiastically while Meng Bochao complained about being overlooked.
• Xia Xu entered school and found students discussing his sudden rise to first place in the mock exams and rumors that he had deliberately hidden his ability.
• Xia Xu caught Tang Youxin peeking into the classroom to check whether he had arrived and teased her about being shy and about her sneak attack.
• Tang Youxin protested that she had kept her promise, while Xia Xu complained that he had not felt anything; she privately took satisfaction in seeing him disappointed.

Xia Xu explained A Tuo’s enhancement serum and checked on Griffin Jones’s progress while his efforts to hire a manager and raise funds stalled. He returned home to find Louise locked out again, and took her in while her parents were away.

• Xia Xu told Meng Bochao and Yang Bowen that A Tuo’s strength came from a wolf-specific biotechnology serum, and warned them that werewolves were engineered rather than supernatural.
• Xia Xu learned that Griffin Jones was making an overall profit from frequent stock trades but had no new plot information to report.
• Xia Xu spent the next week and a half training and studying, but failed to find a Three-Star manager or meet Hong Bo’s cousin, while his available funds dwindled.
• Xia Xu tried to negotiate with interested investment firms for more funding, but the meetings produced no quick agreement.
• Xia Xu found Louise outside her home after she forgot her key, and invited her inside to stay with him and A Tuo.

Xia Xu arranged to meet Hong Bo’s cousin, hoping her business and finance expertise could help manage Star Sea Venture Capital. Yang Bowen then reported that Griffin Jones was heading to the airport to meet a financially gifted woman, signaling that Griffin’s story had moved into a new stage.

• Xia Xu joined Luo Hongyun, Olivia, Louise, and the wolfdog for their morning workout.
• Hong Bo told Xia Xu that his cousin, who had doctorates in business administration and finance, would arrive around noon, and Xia Xu arranged to meet her.
• Xia Xu set aside his plans to visit the Consulting Company and job market and spent the morning playing Wulin Picture Scroll.
• Yang Bowen reported that Griffin Jones had left for the airport, and Xia Xu learned that Griffin had arranged to meet a talented woman he had encountered in private finance groups.
• Xia Xu concluded that Griffin’s stock-market rise had completed one phase of the Superbrain storyline and that its plot had begun advancing again.

Xia Xu suspected that the returning financial expert Griffin Jones planned to recruit was part of Superbrain’s original plot, and asked Hong Bo whether his cousin was pretty. Griffin prepared to meet the woman, taking a Genius Drug pill so he could impress her and recruit her for his investment company.

• Xia Xu reasoned that the financial expert’s ties to Star City likely connected her to Griffin Jones’s story.
• Xia Xu turned to Hong Bo and asked whether his cousin was pretty.
• Griffin Jones admired his new hairstyle before heading to the airport to meet the financial expert he hoped to recruit.
• Griffin took a scarce Genius Drug pill, convinced the expert would help him build wealth and eventually make more of the drug.

Griffin Jones met Chen Leyao at the airport and tried to recruit her to his new investment company, Celestial Investment. He planned to win her over by proving the Genius Drug’s power, but her phone rang before he could continue.

• Griffin Jones greeted Chen Leyao at the airport and impressed her with his fluent Xia Kingdom speech.
• Griffin invited Chen Leyao to join Celestial Investment, but she asked for details about the company and its actual funds.
• Griffin admitted he had just over a million in funds and claimed he could multiply it many times over within a month.
• Chen Leyao asked whether Griffin had been involved in Star Sea Venture Capital’s successful investment, and he said he could make even better investments himself.
• Griffin expected Chen Leyao to doubt him so he could later prove the Genius Drug’s power, but her phone rang before he could continue.

Chen Leyao met Xia Xu after her cousin Hong Bo invited her to meet the owner of Star Sea Venture Capital. Xia Xu recognized that her fate involved helping Griffin Jones establish Celestial Investment, leaving him aware that the original storyline had already begun to change.

• Chen Leyao took a call from Hong Bo, agreed to meet his investor, and ended her business discussion with Griffin Jones.
• Griffin Jones asked Chen Leyao for her work number and watched her leave in a taxi, suppressing his jealousy.
• Xia Xu and Hong Bo picked Chen Leyao up at the airport, and she was surprised to learn the young-looking Xia Xu owned Star Sea Venture Capital.
• Xia Xu examined Chen Leyao's fate and learned that she was meant to manage Griffin Jones's planned Celestial Investment.

Xia Xu examined Chen Leyao’s extraordinary business and finance talents and learned that her obsession was to become slightly uglier. He joked with her about his ability to spot talent, while Chen Leyao pointed out that they had only just met.

• Xia Xu saw that Chen Leyao had five-star business administration talent and four-star finance talent, befitting her role as the future business helmswoman in the Superbrain plot.
• Xia Xu noticed Chen Leyao’s unusual obsession to become a little uglier and wondered why someone so beautiful would want that.
• Chen Leyao noticed Xia Xu looking at her strangely and asked if something was wrong.
• Xia Xu praised Chen Leyao’s talent and claimed he could recognize potential at a glance, citing his investment in Hong Bo.
• Chen Leyao noted that she and Xia Xu had known each other for only one minute and twenty-three seconds, but admitted his investment in Hong Bo made his claim difficult to refute.

Xia Xu tried to recruit Chen Leyao as general manager of Star Sea Venture Capital by promising her a platform to use her talents and boasting of his ability to recognize talent. Chen Leyao challenged him to demonstrate that ability on a young waiter, and Xia Xu was startled by what he saw.

• Hong Bo left Xia Xu and Chen Leyao alone to discuss business at the restaurant.
• Xia Xu offered Chen Leyao the general manager position at Star Sea Venture Capital and argued that the company could give her room to grow.
• Chen Leyao said she would consider the offer if the company had strong advantages and prospects.
• Xia Xu claimed he could recognize people's talents at a glance, prompting Chen Leyao to challenge him to assess the young waiter who entered the room.
• Xia Xu opened the waiter's attribute panel, sucked in a sharp breath, and told him he had an extraordinary build.

Xia Xu discovered that waiter Jian Xiaohao had exceptional potential as an esports player and used the finding to impress Chen Leyao. He left the talent’s value as a possible future opportunity, while focusing on winning Chen Leyao over as a business manager.

• Xia Xu examined Jian Xiaohao’s profile and found four-star potential as an esports player, along with matching MOBA talent.
• Xia Xu realized that the unreleased game Hero Glory might present a future business opportunity and decided to ask Hong Bo about it later.
• Chen Leyao asked Xia Xu to explain his assessment of Jian Xiaohao, and Xia Xu said his build and habits made sports unsuitable for him.
• Xia Xu told Jian Xiaohao that his reaction speed, vision, and attention made him suited to esports, rating his potential at four stars.
• Chen Leyao questioned how Xia Xu could make such a bold claim about a waiter, and Xia Xu said the claim would be easy to verify.

Xia Xu used Jian Xiaohao’s gaming achievements to persuade Chen Leyao that gaming talent could become a profession and an investment opportunity, helping secure her interest in joining Star Sea Venture Capital. Chen Leyao asked about her five-star rating, then accepted Xia Xu’s offer with a laugh after he joked that she should not dress too attractively at work.

• Jian Xiaohao asked whether gaming counted as a talent, and Xia Xu argued that gaming could become a legitimate profession and even an Olympic event.
• Xia Xu asked Jian Xiaohao to help convince Chen Leyao, and Jian Xiaohao cited his high rankings in Battle of the Gods and Gun God Era.
• Chen Leyao conceded that Jian Xiaohao was exceptionally gifted at gaming and said Xia Xu’s predictions suggested an investment opportunity.
• Xia Xu invited Chen Leyao to join Star Sea Venture Capital, and she asked how many stars he rated her talent.
• Xia Xu rated Chen Leyao five stars and explained that the rating meant reaching the limits of humanity or an inhuman level.
• Chen Leyao offered Xia Xu her hand and called him boss, but he joked that she should avoid dressing too attractively at work because he already had a girlfriend lined up.

Xia Xu hired Chen Leyao as Star Sea Venture Capital’s general manager for an annual salary of eight million, then tasked her with setting up the company. After dinner, he signed her employment contract and arranged for Meng Bochao to investigate the game Hero Glory.

• Chen Leyao tested Xia Xu by asking for an annual salary of eight million, and he agreed enthusiastically, sealing her agreement to join Star Sea Venture Capital.
• Xia Xu named Chen Leyao the company’s general manager and asked her to sell the company’s Flying Boat Studio shares, rent an office, establish its structure, and recruit staff.
• Xia Xu asked Hong Bo about Hero Glory, but Hong Bo had not heard of it, so Xia Xu decided to have Meng Bochao investigate instead.
• After their meal, Xia Xu signed Chen Leyao’s employment contract, officially adding her to Star Sea Venture Capital.

As the Gaokao approached, Xia Xu tried to ease Tang Youxin’s anxiety about their different academic prospects. He gave her water mixed with Superbrain Drug to help her study, leaving them teasing each other during lunch.

• Xia Xu noticed Tang Youxin’s growing anxiety about the Gaokao and reassured her that she could easily reach a second-tier university cutoff.
• Tang Youxin revealed that she was upset because Xia Xu seemed destined for a first-tier university, but she refused to let him choose a less prestigious school for her sake.
• Xia Xu offered Tang Youxin a way to improve her grades and handed her a thermos containing water mixed with Superbrain Drug.
• Xia Xu warned Tang Youxin to take only tiny sips because the drug could harm her health and cause dependence.
• Tang Youxin asked whether the drug was magic, and Xia Xu insisted it was science before teasing her for being cute.

Xia Xu approved Chen Leyao’s negotiations to sell Flying Boat Studio and learned that Griffin Jones’s Celestial Investment was trying to recruit her. He dismissed the threat and reviewed Meng Bochao’s research on the game Hero Glory.

• Xia Xu helped Little White Flower finish reviewing her coursework with the Superbrain Drug, easing her worries.
• Chen Leyao reported that Zhonghai Investment valued Flying Boat Studio at twice its total assets, and Xia Xu let her continue negotiating.
• Chen Leyao told Xia Xu she planned to meet the head of Celestial Investment, which had repeatedly sought her out.
• Xia Xu recognized Celestial Investment as Griffin Jones’s company and trusted Chen Leyao not to join it.
• Xia Xu read Meng Bochao’s files on Hero Glory, a rough, little-known game resembling League of Legends that had held several closed tests.

Xia Xu decided to invest in the developer of "Hero's Glory" and have Chen Leyao seek its Xia Kingdom operating rights for Hong Bo. Meanwhile, Griffin Jones tried to recruit Chen Leyao by offering her a Superbrain Drug pill, but she rejected the idea of taking an unidentified substance.

• Xia Xu chose to invest in the "Hero's Glory" developer rather than buy the game outright, and planned for Chen Leyao to negotiate for its Xia Kingdom operating rights.
• Chen Leyao met Griffin Jones at a café after informing Xia Xu, and told Griffin she was satisfied with her current company.
• Griffin Jones insisted Chen Leyao was uniquely suited to work with him and argued that her visit meant she would hear him out.
• Griffin Jones offered Chen Leyao a sealed bag containing a Superbrain Drug pill, claiming it would show her Celestial Investment's potential.
• Chen Leyao asked Griffin Jones whether he expected her to take an unidentified pill with no manufacturer, production date, or quality certification.

Griffin Jones tried to persuade Chen Leyao to take his supposed Genius Drug, but her suspicion made her refuse. After taking the tablet himself, he offered to demonstrate its effects by answering questions about strangers or solving difficult problems, leaving Chen unconvinced but curious.

• Chen Leyao distrusted Griffin Jones's unregulated drug and rejected his claims that it could make someone a genius.
• Griffin Jones apologized and took the Superbrain Drug himself to demonstrate its effects.
• A waitress brought coffee that Griffin Jones had ordered for Chen Leyao, who suspected he had researched her tastes.
• Griffin Jones claimed he had memorized the waitress's appearance and offered to reproduce it or answer questions about passersby.
• Chen Leyao pointed out that Griffin Jones could have arranged the waitress's appearance in advance, so he invited her to test him with strangers or difficult questions.