Chapter Summaries

During Star Sea Biotech’s recruitment, Tang Youxin brought Xia Xu a highly qualified researcher, Professor Feng Wenbin. Xia Xu recognized Feng as a Carroll Pharmaceuticals plant carrying an experimental drug, and the chapter left him aware of the threat behind the recruitment.

• After the security interviews ended, Xia Xu filled management vacancies with dependable mid-level staff, but struggled to find elite researchers.
• Tang Youxin returned and led Xia Xu to Professor Feng Wenbin, whom she had persuaded to interview at Star Sea Biotech.
• Xia Xu checked Feng’s status and discovered his four-star medicinal chemistry talent, three-star biology talent, and connection to the Superbrain Drug.
• Xia Xu identified Feng’s prototype drug as an incomplete Carroll Pharmaceuticals replica with reduced potency and fewer effects.

Xia Xu exposed Feng Wenbin as a Carroll Pharmaceuticals spy who had been lured by an inferior Superbrain Drug imitation. He offered Feng a position at Star Sea Biotech and revealed that the company possessed superior, side-effect-free versions and the complete research documentation, leaving Feng reconsidering his loyalties.

• Xia Xu recognized that Feng Wenbin had taken Carroll Pharmaceuticals’ weakened Superbrain Drug prototype and inferred that the company had sent him to infiltrate Star Sea Biotech.
• Xia Xu confronted Feng Wenbin about his ties to Carroll Pharmaceuticals, but Feng stayed silent rather than admit or deny them.
• Xia Xu warned Feng that he could face a military court, then offered him the Molecular Drug Laboratory’s chief researcher position with triple the industry salary and top-priority resources.
• Xia Xu deduced that Carroll Pharmaceuticals was controlling Feng Wenbin through his desire for the Superbrain Drug and its research.
• Xia Xu told Feng Wenbin that Carroll Pharmaceuticals had obtained the drug from him and revealed Star Sea Biotech had more effective versions, including one without side effects, and the complete research documentation.
• Feng Wenbin realized Star Sea Biotech could offer him the drug and a chance to work on its research, making it seem preferable to remain with Carroll Pharmaceuticals.

After taking Star Sea Biotech’s Superbrain Controlled-Release Tablet, Feng Wenbin switched his loyalty to Xia Xu and was welcomed into the company’s research team. He met his new colleagues, learned about Star Sea Biotech’s biological breakthroughs, and asked to investigate K protein.

• Feng Wenbin pledged himself to Star Sea Biotech after experiencing the effects of the Superbrain Controlled-Release Tablet.
• Xia Xu appointed Feng Wenbin chief researcher of the Molecular Drug Laboratory and invited him to join the Superbrain Drug research project.
• Feng Wenbin told Xia Xu that Carroll Pharmaceuticals had no leverage over him or his family, and agreed to keep playing along with the company for now.
• Xia Xu introduced Feng Wenbin to Jiang Hai and the others, then took him to meet Gu Haiming at the Biological Genetics Laboratory.
• After seeing the laboratory’s work on K protein and other breakthroughs, Feng Wenbin asked to research K protein, and Xia Xu approved.

Star Sea Biotech’s new security hires gathered for onboarding, and Guo Feilong and Zou Jin noticed that several recruits seemed suspiciously professional. Xia Xu revealed he had already separated the unusual recruits into Team Two and assigned them rigorous training away from headquarters.

• Guo Feilong arrived early and met Zou Jin, who had spent the night arranging treatment and hospital transfers for his family after receiving money from Xia Xu.
• After joining the Security Department, Guo Feilong observed that several recruits were gathering information, studying the building, and checking its equipment, so he and Zou Jin decided to warn Xia Xu.
• Xia Xu arrived and assigned Guo Feilong to lead Team One at headquarters, while Zou Jin became Team Two’s leader.
• Guo Feilong realized Xia Xu had identified the suspicious recruits and placed them in Team Two, though he wondered why Zou Jin had been assigned there.
• Xia Xu announced that Team Two would undergo theoretical and practical security training at the company’s factories, warehouses, and direct-sales outlets.

Xia Xu put Guo Feilong in charge of security at Star Sea Biotech and assigned the infiltrators to training and factory guards. The factions that sent them realized Star Sea Biotech had identified and trapped their agents, while Dr. Charlie’s team believed Feng Wenbin could not be bought.

• Xia Xu appointed Guo Feilong to lead Star Sea Biotech’s security team and planned to train Zou Jin to monitor the infiltrators.
• The factions behind the spies discovered that every one of their people had been assigned to Group Two and began to suspect Xia Xu had uncovered their plans.
• Star Sea Biotech’s contracts, confidentiality clauses, and high compensation made it difficult for the infiltrators’ handlers to withdraw them or keep their loyalty.
• The factions blamed one another for delivering elite personnel to Star Sea Biotech, while Carroll Medical Laboratory’s Xia Kingdom branch praised Dr. Charlie for sending Feng Wenbin.

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.