Lin Shen was in the command cabin of an upgraded Jiaolong submersible, descending to a depth of 10,000 meters in the Mariana Trench to study how materials deform under extreme water pressure. Suddenly, an unknown energy storm erupted on the seabed, filling the area with white light. The submarine's pressure hull triggered an alarm, and Lin Shen lost consciousness just as the escape capsule launched. A flash of white light later, he awoke beside the Wei River on the outskirts of Xianyang and was arrested as an assassin. It was the thirty-second year of Qin Shi Huang's reign. The emperor had just returned from his eastern tour and was troubled by the empire's poor efficiency and the Six Kingdoms' remnants plotting to restore their fallen states.
