Lin Wei is a cutting-edge technology expert troubled by a technical bottleneck; Shen Tuo is a genius craftsman of the Northern Song, too far ahead of his time to be accepted. A thousand years apart, they face the same predicament: their ingenuity is constrained by outdated rules.
When Lin Wei discovers a collection of Song-dynasty components far beyond their time during an underwater archaeological expedition, her research is turned upside down. The aggressive involvement of the multinational giant Genesis Group, warnings from the ancient organization Kindling, and a series of nighttime laboratory raids make her realize that this is not merely an academic breakthrough, but the opening act of a battle over the fate of technology.
The most advanced technology did not originate in the future. It lies hidden deep in the past. A capitalist conspiracy seeking to monopolize technology in pursuit of eternal life collides violently with an ancient legacy devoted to “harmony between technology and nature.” The ethical foundations of modern science are shaken.
In the midst of the crisis, Lin Wei’s team retrieves The Essentials of Heavenly Craftsmanship, which records the philosophy of coexistence. Standing at the center of global attention, she faces a choice: hand it over to be sealed away, or withstand the pressure and release it to the public? Just as everything seems to have come to an end, a code hidden in the annotations of Dream Pool Essays quietly emerges, pointing to an even older source... The journey to uncover the mystery of “Heavenly Craftsmanship” has only just begun.
