The City's Algorithmic Dreamscape

In a metropolis, a new kind of brain-computer interface is quietly gaining popularity. “Mindspace” technology lets some people create their own dreams, simulate reality, and read memories. Though it was introduced to improve mental health, a string of surreal cases soon follows. Some people become hopelessly addicted to the virtual world, others are led astray from reality, and there are even bizarre murders and seemingly inescapable predicaments. Duan Xinglan, a neuroscientist, and police detective Xu Yuchen meet while investigating a case of “murder through manipulated consciousness.” They are joined by AI scientist Han Youlan, influencer Lin Yuanzhou, psychiatrist Ran Zilan, and hacker Zhao Chuqi. As they solve one bizarre urban case after another, they gradually approach the “truth about human nature behind mindspace technology” and unravel a vast conspiracy involving society’s collective memory, power struggles, and humanity’s yearning for what is real. Each of them is forced to face their deepest desires and fears, and in the end, their fates converge at the boundary between the real and the virtual. The entire city is reaching toward the unknown limits of the mind.