[1] In 2007, Wang Miao, one of China's leading nanomaterials experts, is enlisted by Shi Qiang, a detective who specializes in counterterrorism, in cases of strange apparent suicides in the scientific community.

During their investigation they encounter a mysterious organization called "The Frontiers of Science" and proceed to learn the truth behind how an extraterrestrial world depicted in a popular video game connects with the fate of humanity on Earth.

Wang Miao, a leading figure in nanotechnology research, is recruited by detective Shi Qiang to help infiltrate "The Frontiers of Science" – a group of elite theoretical physicists, some of whom have recently apparently committed suicide.

The phrase "physics doesn't exist anymore" seems to be something the deaths have in common and is also present in the suicide note of Professor Yang Dong, for whom Wang Miao feels affection after having met and photographed her during one of her experiments at the particle accelerator.

[18] In the United States, The New York Times critic Mike Hale noted that the series was faithful to the original text, with logical adaptations made to suit television.