The Tide Controller

The story begins when top-ranked college entrance exam student Han Fei breaks into a restricted area around an abandoned floodgate on the Qiantang River in the dead of night, investigating the mysterious disappearance of his father, Han Weiguo. He is immediately hunted by military drones. At the brink of death, he accidentally uses his bloodline and his father’s keepsake, a notebook of tidal totems, to activate a hidden facility beneath the floodgate: the “Geotide Core.”

Through footage left behind by his father, Han Fei learns that his family has guarded the core for generations. The facility can control the tides of the Qiantang River and even the East China Sea, making it vital to the nation. His father did not disappear by accident: he was killed by Hailong Group, which sought to seize the core.

Soon after, Hailong Group’s armed forces storm the core. Cornered, Han Fei instinctively summons the core’s power for the first time, conjuring a devastating “tidal bore” out of thin air and wiping out the attackers in an instant. But Hailong Group quickly launches a campaign of public opinion, smearing him as a terrorist who detonated the floodgate and making him a public enemy.

Caught in a double web of technology and propaganda, Han Fei refuses to give in. From his father’s final words, he realizes that power lies not only in control but in forging alliances. Using the core, he senses two potential factions drawn by the unusual tides: the Cao’e River Boatmen’s Guild, which represents a human intelligence network on the water, and the mysterious merfolk, representatives of an ancient underwater civilization. He sends out a goodwill signal and successfully establishes initial ties with both, laying the groundwork for building his own faction.