After an accidental leak of neurotoxic gas, Lin Xiao, an ordinary delivery worker, sees his brain development surpass its critical threshold and awakens the abilities to empathize with animals and control consciousness. From then on, he is swept into a struggle over consciousness spanning Earth and the stars.
The story begins in the dark corners of Xinhai City. Lin Xiao accidentally witnesses the truth about animals being tortured to death in a laboratory and discovers that New Era Tech is secretly building an "animal brain network": using octopus brains to manipulate finance, fish brains to store compromising information, and cat brains to monitor cities. His awakening becomes the key to breaking the conspiracy. While on the run, his fate becomes entwined with three very different women: Su Qing, the calm and brilliant founder of Deep Blue Tech, helps him unravel data mysteries with code; Zhao Yue, a bold and decisive former special forces soldier, stands with him against criminal forces; and Xia Wanxing, the enigmatic bar owner, shares fragments of consciousness with him through a mental link. From an accidental embrace in a ventilation duct to risking their lives for one another in a street battle, from sharing memories as their consciousnesses merge to a silent longing before a leap across the stars, the four forge bonds that transcend self-interest through one clash and collaboration after another.
As Lin Xiao's brain development continues to break through its limits (10% unlocks animal empathy, 30% grants control of data links, and 60% makes consciousness tangible), he gradually uncovers an even greater truth: the animal brain network is actually an energy source for consciousness cultivated by the alien Starlink Civilization, while the consciousness-devouring entities known as "Mind Eaters" are approaching Earth along the Starlink. From corporate battles and criminal crackdowns on Earth, to investigating a Starlink base on the far side of the moon, and finally to an interstellar showdown against the Mind Eaters, Lin Xiao's team wields "symbiotic consciousness" as a blade: humans and animals...
