Zhang Huiyun never imagined that the popcorn machine passed down through her family would spit out quantum bombs instead of corn, that the stainless steel basin beneath the village's old locust tree was a time-space key, not a crock for pickling vegetables, or that even the spittle flying from her mouth when she cursed could form a "dumbass" barrage on the Ye Group's satellite surveillance feed. Only when Zhao Tiezhu, an undercover agent in navy-blue workwear, showed her the "Property of the Ye Group" stamp on his butt did she learn that everyone in the village was a living Wi-Fi hotspot. Their cursing could disable satellites, the acidity of their pickling crocks could crack genetic locks, and the quantum husky that kept stealing her underwear was actually a time-space inspector sent by Qin Shi Huang to the 21st century. At that very moment, Chairman Ye Mingxuan, in his mechanical-dog form, laughed as he carried the master tapes of The Animal World in his jaws. "Tremble! Once every creature in the universe sees a cheetah and wants to chomp on dog food, even the village mutts will have to pay me royalties!" Zhang Huiyun hefted the popcorn machine and sneered. "Funny, my ancestors supplied dog bowls to Ying Zheng's imperial household. Back then, your Ye family was still up in the trees chewing wild fruit!"
