Spoilers from the novel
Before I delve into novel spoilers, I have a few things content notes to share:
It was honestly pretty hard following the pacing in the novel. Chapters were super short, no more than 1,000 words, I’d say. Translations were also a little off so I don’t feel that I fully understood the whole thing. Then, there were multiple minor characters that kept being mentioned/showing up which really just threw me off but again, maybe that was a translation thing. By the end of the novel, Xiao Yan and Heine’s relationship is hardly explored; they don’t get much screen time together (sad!!!). The ending was also very underwhelming.
Now, time for novel spoilers:
* In the last spoiler, I mentioned Jake’s father being the leader of the terrorist organization. His name is Valentin, and his ultimate goal is to achieve immorality. He’s lived for 270 years and has maintained this by organ transplant.
* It turns out that he “creates” children (Jake and Casey are his “children”) for the sole reason of harvesting their organs for himself. However, Valentin wants a new, stronger body, particularly one infected with the X Virus for its superhuman benefits. Jake is destined to die and offer his body to Valentin.
* However, Jake doesn’t want to die and give his body up. He wants to be his own person and hopes that Xiao Yan can help.
* Heine and his crew eventually rescue Xiao Yan and during the chaos, Jake and Casey make their escape, vanishing from Valentin and the organization.
* While the organization is busy finding Jake, Xiao Yan returns to the Shire where he is acquainted with the Colonel of the Torture Force, Colonel Xia. (From the descriptions, Colonel Xia sounds super hot!!! I’m waiting with bated breath for his debut in the manhua.)
* Because there has been so much betrayal and moles found within the Shire (i.e. Jake and Casey), Colonel Xia is ordered to enter Xiao Yan’s subconcious to ensure his innocence and loyalty to the Shire.
* This part gets super iffy with translations but my understanding is that Xiao Yan ends up locked in his subconcious again, and our sweet Heine goes back into Xiao Yan’s subconcious to wake him up… but before doing so, they of course must fuck.

I’m currently caught up to Chapter 132 of the manhua, and a lot has happened recently:
* Xiao Yan (Mason) has become a formidable special ops agent while still maintaining his status as a prestigious lieutenant researcher. He achieves this through X-2, a serum he developed from the X Virus that temporarily grants humans superhuman abilities. However, the effects only last around 21 minutes, and overusing it causes Xiao Yan to fall into a deep, near-comatose sleep from exhaustion.
* Because of his research and knowledge surrounding the X Virus, Xiao Yan becomes one of the organization’s most wanted targets. They specifically want his brain in order to extract the information he possesses.
* Heine (Henrik) keeps Xiao Yan close, both to protect him and to personally train him in combat, something Heine has never done for anyone else. His goal is to ensure Xiao Yan can survive and defend himself once the X Virus eventually consumes Heine.
* Xiao Yan and Heine finally confess their feelings to each other. Since physical intimacy between them is impossible, they instead connect through the dreamscape, where they can be together mentally and emotionally.
* The Shire is later attacked by the organization, with Xiao Yan as the primary target. During the attack, it’s revealed that Jake Wallace and Casey were double agents all along, secretly loyal to the organization.
* When Heine arrives to rescue Xiao Yan, Casey injects him with a serum that rapidly accelerates the X Virus in his body, essentially becoming a death sentence. In desperation, Xiao Yan gives Heine the completed X-2 serum, hoping it can override or counteract the accelerated infection.
* Jake Wallace then takes Xiao Yan away while Heine is left behind, writhing in agony and seemingly near death.
* When the special task force finally arrives, they find Heine completely unresponsive. However, later chapters reveal that he not only survives, but may actually be cured of the X Virus altogether (though the translations are somewhat unclear). What is certain is that Heine emerges even stronger than before and immediately begins hunting Jake while trying to rescue Xiao Yan.
* Meanwhile, Xiao Yan is being kept on an isolated island by Jake, against his will. Jake appears to genuinely love or obsess over him, and reveals that they are going to meet his father, the leader of the organization itself.
I’m going to begin reading the novel tonight. Let me know if you would like spoilers about the end.