Chapter Summaries

Bi Shenghua met Old Wang and Auntie Zhang to discuss the rent and transfer fees for their neighboring shops, but they demanded three million. Armed men interrupted the argument and kidnapped her, forcing her to call Qingmu for a twenty-million ransom.

• Bi Shenghua drove to a remote card room and confronted Old Wang and Auntie Zhang about their demand for three million for their shops.
• Bi Shenghua rejected their price and left, but found two armed men waiting outside the room.
• A man in white revealed that he had tricked Old Wang and Auntie Zhang with a three-hundred-thousand deposit and ordered his men to threaten them.
• The man in white declared that he had kidnapped Bi Shenghua and demanded that she call her man to bring twenty million in cash.
• Bi Shenghua dialed Qingmu's number after the kidnapper threatened to shoot Old Wang and Auntie Zhang.

Qingmu and Hong Kui went to rescue Bi Shenghua from Jiang Deguan’s ambush at the old power plant, where they searched for a hidden sniper. After clearing several buildings, they found the men in the fourth building already dead.

• Bi Shenghua told Qingmu that Jiang Deguan had kidnapped her and Crow and demanded twenty million in ransom, so Qingmu set out to rescue them with Hong Kui.
• Huang Ziqiang warned Qingmu that Jiang Deguan had prepared an ambush and might have hired a sniper at the old power plant.
• Hong Kui studied the power plant’s surroundings, marked likely sniper positions, and sent Huang Ziqiang’s men to search the right side while he and Qingmu approached from the left.
• Hong Kui and Qingmu entered the first building, where Hong Kui killed three armed lookouts and killed the remaining man after learning he did not know the sniper’s location.
• After finding the next two buildings empty, Qingmu and Hong Kui discovered that the men in the fourth building had already been killed.

Qingmu, Hong Kui, and Li Wei fought their way into the old power plant to find the hostage, only to discover that Bi Shenghua and their neighbors had already subdued the kidnappers. The chapter left them reunited in the courtyard, with Crow scolding the captured men and Old Wang and Auntie Zhang.

• Hong Kui and Qingmu entered the old power plant after learning that an unknown ally had taken out a sniper.
• Hong Kui attacked Li Wei in the dark, but Qingmu stopped the fight before either man was seriously hurt.
• Li Wei explained that Xia Wenyuan had sent him to protect Qingmu and Professor Mei, and said his team had cleared the perimeter but had not found Hou Biao.
• Li Wei led Qingmu and Hong Kui toward the hostage’s location, and they found Bi Shenghua in a courtyard surrounded by subdued kidnappers.
• Qingmu recognized Old Wang and Auntie Zhang tying up a captive while Crow berated the men from a tree branch.

Qingmu and his allies captured Jiang Deguan, but Qingmu realized Hou Biao was watching them from a distant chimney with a TAC-50. Hou Biao demanded Jiang Deguan’s release and threatened to kill everyone to protect him.

• Crow told Qingmu that Bi Shenghua had been frightened, and Qingmu went to check on her.
• Huang Ziqiang arrived, recognized Jiang Deguan, and reflected that his ties to Qingmu might earn him credit with Hong Kui and the Xia Family.
• Qingmu questioned Jiang Deguan about Hou Biao and realized the sniper might be hiding nearby.
• Hong Kui and Li Wei spotted the distant chimney just as a TAC-50 round struck the ground near Qingmu and Jiang Deguan.
• Hou Biao called Qingmu and demanded that he let Jiang Deguan go, then threatened to kill everyone to keep Jiang safe.

Qingmu let Jiang Deguan escape after Hou Biao threatened the group, while Bi Shenghua confronted Old Wang and Auntie Zhang and silenced them. Qingmu and Bi Shenghua went to Hong Kui’s hot spring resort, where Bi Shenghua heard someone approaching as she soaked naked.

• Qingmu had Old Wang and Auntie Zhang untie Jiang Deguan, who left through the north gate after Hou Biao warned the others not to move.
• Bi Shenghua checked that Qingmu was unharmed, then threatened Old Wang and Auntie Zhang and demanded they keep quiet about the kidnapping.
• Bi Shenghua stabbed the man in white, while Qingmu judged that her actions would keep the neighbors from revealing what had happened.
• Li Wei and Hong Kui returned after failing to capture Hou Biao, and Li Wei told Huang Ziqiang to clean up and take over Jiang Deguan’s forces.
• Qingmu and Bi Shenghua accepted Hong Kui’s invitation to stay at the hot spring resort, where Bi Shenghua began soaking and heard footsteps behind her.

Qingmu and Bi Shenghua shared a bottle of Lafite while soaking in a hot spring, and their relaxed evening was interrupted by Boss Coal. The crow arrived with news about Jiang Deguan’s escape still to tell.

• Qingmu startled Bi Shenghua by entering the hot spring room without knocking, then brought her an '82 Lafite to help settle her nerves.
• Bi Shenghua tasted the wine and confirmed it was genuine Lafite, though she could not tell whether it came from 1982 or 1983.
• Qingmu and Bi Shenghua drank and chatted together beside the pool, and Bi Shenghua quietly considered whether to visit South Korea.
• Qingmu decided they should head home so Boss Coal would not worry, but Boss Coal appeared at the window and joked about finding them together.
• Qingmu stopped Boss Coal from drinking and asked where Jiang Deguan had gone.

After learning that Li Wei and Kui Wolf had helped defeat him, Jiang Deguan realized he had lost his position and any chance of revenge. A crow’s caw brought back memories of the flood that killed his mother and his promise to care for his younger brother, leaving him sobbing.

• Jiang Deguan learned that Huang Ziqiang’s men had been taken over and that Li Wei and Kui Wolf had helped defeat him.
• Jiang Deguan gave his remaining cash to his men and told them to leave.
• Jiang Deguan remembered how he had saved his younger brother from a flood that killed their mother.
• Jiang Deguan recalled promising to provide for his brother and hearing his mother blame him for failing to protect him.
• Jiang Deguan heard a crow caw and began to sob.

Hou Biao helped Jiang Deguan escape before Huang Ziqiang could catch him, while Crow reported the chase to Qingmu. Crow then staged a drunken fall that brought Qingmu and Bi Shenghua together, leaving Bi Shenghua embarrassed after she realized Crow had arranged it.

• Hou Biao persuaded Jiang Deguan to flee with him to Jiang's old countryside home, and Huang Ziqiang arrived at the empty house soon after.
• Huang Ziqiang learned that Jiang Deguan had escaped and pursued the car after Crow reported its license plate.
• Qingmu called Huang Ziqiang to check on the pursuit, while Crow drank wine and sang at the pool.
• Crow pretended to fall from the chandelier, and Qingmu and Bi Shenghua caught him together.
• Crow whispered that he had helped Bi Shenghua, and she realized she was standing naked in the pool in front of Qingmu.

Huang Ziqiang’s men and the police forced Hou Biao and Jiang Deguan to abandon their car and flee into the mountains. As Huang Ziqiang’s group closed in, Hou Biao helped the wounded Jiang Deguan escape, leaving their next move uncertain.

• Huang Ziqiang harassed Hou Biao’s car and tipped off the police, forcing Hou Biao to abandon it at the Wu-Yue border and hide in the mountains with Jiang Deguan.
• Jiang Deguan urged Hou Biao to leave him behind and reflected on his responsibility for his younger brother’s life and death, but Hou Biao carried him onward.
• Huang Ziqiang’s men searched the mountain and exchanged gunfire with Hou Biao, who returned after finding a car and led Jiang Deguan toward it.
• Huang Ziqiang’s men shot Jiang Deguan in the leg as he and Hou Biao fled through the woods, forcing Hou Biao to carry him while they continued under fire.

Hou Biao brought the wounded Jiang Deguan toward his hometown, but Qingmu used hypnosis to draw Jiang Deguan toward the river. Hou Biao tried to stop him from drowning and confronted Qingmu on the bridge.

• Hou Biao treated Jiang Deguan’s gunshot wound, hid the stolen van in a scrapyard, and rode a tricycle toward Jiang Deguan’s village.
• As Hou Biao pushed the tricycle across the old stone bridge, he saw a vision of Jiang Deguan jumping into a cauldron of boiling oil and realized he was dreaming.
• Hou Biao woke to find Qingmu approaching on the bridge, and discovered that Jiang Deguan was missing from the tricycle.
• Qingmu said Jiang Deguan had left on his own, and Hou Biao spotted him entering his restored family home across the river.
• Jiang Deguan waded into the river, calling for his mother, while Hou Biao tried to reach him and Qingmu blocked his way.

Hou Biao discovered that Qingmu had hypnotized him with dreams in which Jiang Deguan died, only to find Jiang had actually survived so far. As Jiang revealed his childhood dream of becoming a scientist and saving humanity, Hou Biao was left confronting the possibility that his own life could serve a different purpose.

• After failing to find Jiang Deguan in the river, Hou Biao heard a gunshot and realized his experience had been a hypnotic dream; Jiang was dead in the scrapyard van, and Qingmu admitted he had hypnotized Hou Biao.
• Hou Biao aimed Jiang Deguan’s gun at himself, but Qingmu urged him to protect scientists and good people instead; Hou Biao said he would think about it.
• The scene shifted back to the mountain, where Hou Biao found Jiang Deguan alive and talking about accepting his fate.
• Jiang Deguan said he had dreamed of becoming a scientist who could save humanity, and Hou Biao froze at the words.

Hou Biao learned that Qingmu was not merely appearing in a dream, but was a consciousness capable of invading and inhabiting another mind. After Jiang Deguan fell to his death, Hou Biao stayed behind to recover his body and consider Qingmu’s offer to help save humanity.

• Jiang Deguan refused to leave the wilderness and told Hou Biao he was free to pursue his own path.
• Jiang Deguan fell backward from a towering rock and died in the mountain valley below.
• Qingmu told Hou Biao that he was not dreaming and explained that Hou Biao could become an Awakened.
• Hou Biao confirmed Jiang Deguan could not have survived the fall and said he would recover the body before deciding what to do.
• Bi Shenghua sat by sleeping Crow and, remembering how he had saved her, resolved to make him more tasty food.

After Jiang Deguan’s death, Hou Biao joined Qingmu and brought the cash Jiang had left behind, allowing them to establish a security company to protect scientists and their allies. As the company began operating, Professor Mei’s examinations revealed a new virus, which he named the Gray Brain Virus.

• Hou Biao left Jiang Deguan’s hometown after burying him and took the cash from Jiang’s cellar, deciding not to give any to the relatives who had gathered at the funeral.
• Hou Biao brought the money to Divine Crow Studio, and Qingmu recruited him to organize and train a security team to protect scientists from parasitic consciousnesses.
• Hu Xing arranged for Manager Wang to handle the money and company finances, and Qingmu established the security company with Hou Biao’s help.
• After Manager Wang recommended hiring a senior manager, Bi Shenghua suggested Yao Jingjing, who accepted the vice president role on a probationary basis.
• The security company began protecting Mei Yiqiu’s laboratory, the bar, and Mama Yao in the hospital, while Professor Mei discovered a new virus in brain examinations and named it the Gray Brain Virus.

Mei Yiqiu explained the Gray Brain Virus and its link to brain lesions in four patients, though its relationship to the invading consciousnesses remained unclear. The person who had tipped him off arrived at the laboratory, leaving Qingmu startled by the visitor.

• Mei Yiqiu described the Gray Brain Virus as an exceptionally tiny, targeted organism that attacked the cerebral cortex and could cause a vegetative state.
• Mei Yiqiu said tests from Elder Xia, Auntie Yao, Mr. Lester, and Peter Laboratory linked the virus to their brain lesions, but researchers had not established whether it was connected to the invading consciousnesses.
• Mei Ziqing suggested the virus might be a defensive response to consciousness invasion, but Mei Yiqiu said experiments had ruled out the proposed sources of the virus.
• Mei Yiqiu revealed that an anonymous correspondent had directed him to the virus and promised to bring more research material in person.
• A woman and a little girl appeared at the laboratory entrance, and Mei Ziqing recognized the woman as a previous visitor while Qingmu reacted with even greater surprise.

Situ Yuli gave Mei Yiqiu classified materials about Laboratory No. 19’s experiments linking human brains to the internet. She revealed that the internet had completely controlled the people implanted with neural chips.

• Mei Ziqing welcomed Situ Yuli and her daughter, who greeted Qingmu as Uncle Qingmu.
• Situ Yuli told Mei Yiqiu that she had worked at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory’s secret Laboratory No. 19.
• Situ Yuli gave Mei Yiqiu a USB drive containing records of the laboratory’s computer neural network project.
• Situ Yuli explained that the project implanted microchips in people’s spines to connect their nervous systems to the internet.
• Situ Yuli revealed that the internet completely controlled the people implanted with the chips.

Situ Yuli revealed that a failed chip experiment at Laboratory No. 19 had left its subjects dead and suggested the Gray Brain Virus might have originated from Toxoplasma. She proposed that the parasite could be manipulating humanity to favor cats, then began explaining a theory about parasitic consciousnesses arriving on Earth in feline hosts.

• Situ Yuli told Mei Yiqiu and Qingmu that internet-linked chips had induced a second consciousness in test subjects, most of whom developed schizophrenia-like behavior.
• Situ Yuli recounted how Laboratory No. 19 was attacked five years earlier, killing her project team and destroying equipment, and said the chip recipients she had tracked were all dead.
• Mei Yiqiu questioned how the chip research related to the Gray Brain Virus, and Situ Yuli hinted that the virus likely originated from Toxoplasma.
• Mei Ziqing explained what Toxoplasma was, and Situ Yuli described theories that parasites can alter host behavior and that Toxoplasma might influence human attraction to cats.
• Situ Yuli proposed that parasitic consciousnesses had first arrived on Earth in feline hosts and were now correcting an evolutionary mistake, before her explanation continued.

Situ Yuli explained her theory that Toxoplasma could carry parasitic consciousness and trigger the Gray Brain Virus when an invading consciousness met resistance. She revealed that her husband, Situ Xingzhi, had sent her to Professor Mei, and the chapter ended as Qingmu asked Miss Xia to speak privately.

• Situ Yuli proposed that Toxoplasma carried parasitic consciousness and might release the Gray Brain Virus to destroy a resisting host's brain.
• Mei Yiqiu said Situ Yuli's information and theories could help them understand the crisis and asked why she had brought them to him.
• Situ Yuli said her husband had directed her to Professor Mei and that she had delayed meeting him until she could confirm he was safe.
• Situ Yuli identified her missing husband as Situ Xingzhi, and Little Meimei asked whether the adults could find her daddy.
• Qingmu asked Miss Xia to speak with him in private.

Qingmu questioned Situ Yuli in a dream and learned that she was Xia Xiaoxiao, Xia Wenyuan’s daughter, who had fled Laboratory No. 19 and faked her death with help from her husband, Situ Xingzhi. Xia Xiaoxiao agreed to contact Situ, while Qingmu ended the conversation by asking whether she knew he had visited the music academy in Wuzhong.

• Qingmu drew Situ Yuli into a dream, where she revealed that Situ Xingzhi had sent her an encrypted email mentioning Qingmu and advising her to seek his protection if she was in danger.
• Situ Yuli confirmed that she was Xia Xiaoxiao and explained that she had left the Xia Family five years earlier, later taking her husband’s surname.
• Qingmu told Xia Xiaoxiao that her father, Xia Wenyuan, was among Professor Mei’s case samples, and she worried that the alien-consciousness invasion had targeted her family.
• Xia Xiaoxiao said she had escaped from Laboratory No. 19 while being hunted by a powerful group, and that Situ Xingzhi had helped her fake her death.
• Xia Xiaoxiao offered to send Situ Xingzhi an encrypted email conveying Qingmu’s and Professor Mei’s wishes, though she did not know whether he would come.
• Qingmu asked Xia Xiaoxiao whether she knew Situ Xingzhi had been to the music academy in Wuzhong.

In Xia Xiaoxiao’s dream, she explained why she trusted Situ and asked Qingmu to help arrange a secret reunion with her parents and take Meimei as his goddaughter. After she woke, Mei Yiqiu discussed the dangers of internet consciousness and the lost chips, and Qingmu realized he might be able to find one.

• Xia Xiaoxiao told Qingmu that Situ avoided meeting her and Meimei to protect them, and she trusted him despite not knowing everything about his troubles.
• Xia Xiaoxiao explained why she could not return openly to the Xia Family and planned to leave Meimei with her parents before seeking Situ.
• Xia Xiaoxiao asked Qingmu to become Meimei’s godfather so he could help entrust her to the Xia Family, and Qingmu agreed to discuss it with Elder Xia.
• Mei Yiqiu said Situ’s experiment could help his Space Box project and warned that internet consciousness could endanger Dream Guide players.
• Situ Yuli said the people she had tracked were dead and their chips destroyed, and Qingmu realized he might still be able to find one.

Qingmu and Mei Yiqiu discussed Liu Huaian’s chip and Xia Xiaoxiao’s information, while Mei Yiqiu warned that a hidden trap might lie behind the events guiding their research. Qingmu then visited Xia Wenyuan’s family to arrange a secret treatment, but Xia Bozhou objected to the secrecy.

• Xia Xiaoxiao said Liu Huaian’s symptoms matched chip experiment results, and Mei Yiqiu offered to retrieve the chip from the authorities.
• Xia Xiaoxiao left after giving Qingmu her number, and Qingmu chose the West Mountain Hot Springs Resort for her meeting with Xia Wenyuan and his wife.
• Mei Yiqiu told Qingmu that the chain of discoveries might be an elaborate trap, though he could not identify who had set it.
• Qingmu visited the Xia residence and asked Wu Lixia to bring Xia Wenyuan for a special treatment without anyone else accompanying them.
• Xia Bozhou challenged Qingmu’s secrecy and insisted that Xia Wenyuan’s treatment should take place at home.