Chapter Summaries

Sing Sing offered Anton a records-room job and reassured him that the organization would support him while he recovered from Stryker’s genetic experiments. He then brought out makeshift recruitment contracts for the group to sign.

• Sing Sing told Riptide he would have to move the severed arm the next day.
• Sing Sing offered Anton an archivist position, and Anton asked whether he could still work and feared losing control.
• Sing Sing promised Anton medical help and support, while explaining that keeping him occupied could help prevent anxiety and genetic rejection.
• Sing Sing reminded Riptide that Anton’s treatment and resettlement would cost money, and Riptide promised to work hard.
• Sing Sing handed out temporary recruitment letters of intent, and Lorna objected to clauses about damaging property and twisting coworkers’ belt buckles.

Sing Sing persuaded Amy, Lorna Dane, Riptide, and Anton to sign contracts for work and care in China, then arranged a costly smuggling passage out of the United States. The group prepared to leave Newark Harbor by freighter at three the next morning, while Sing Sing worried over how to pay and document the fare.

• Sing Sing reassured Soft Serve that her ice cream ability could be used for production and disaster relief, and she signed the contract as Amy.
• Lorna checked Sing Sing's unusual safety clauses before signing her name, Lorna Dane, of her own free will.
• Riptide asked whether his brother could receive treatment, and Sing Sing promised a gradual recovery plan that would not force him to become a weapon.
• Anton agreed to sign, and Slug arranged passage for five people and a crate of industrial samples aboard a freighter leaving Newark Harbor at three the next morning.
• Slug quoted a smuggling fare of two thousand dollars per person, and Sing Sing refused Amy's twenty-seven dollars and sixty-five cents, insisting she keep it as emergency money.
• Sing Sing tried to bargain for an invoice or receipt for the fare, but Slug refused, leaving Sing Sing worrying about Director Wang and the agency finance department.

Sing Sing and his companions tried to pay Black Shark to smuggle them out of Newark, but Black Shark raised the price and threatened Lorna and Amy. After Lorna defeated his armed gang with her magnetic powers, Sing Sing saw Black Shark’s ability to swim through solid ground as a useful talent for clearing sewers.

• Slug led Sing Sing and the others to Black Shark’s freighter at Pier 17 and told them to pay for passage.
• Black Shark demanded thirty thousand dollars instead of the agreed price and offered to take Lorna and Amy in place of payment.
• Sing Sing berated Black Shark over his prices and threats until Black Shark ordered his gang to shoot the group.
• Lorna stopped the bullets and twisted the gang’s weapons into scrap, while Sing Sing collected the flattened bullets to sell.
• Black Shark revealed his mutant power by diving into the concrete dock and swimming through it.
• Sing Sing called Black Shark a sewer-clearing expert, enraging Black Shark as he prepared to attack.

Sing Sing defeated Black Shark at the dock and tried to recruit him for underground construction work. He eventually secured passage aboard Black Shark’s ship for five thousand dollars and obtained a receipt, though Black Shark remained reluctant.

• Sing Sing used his Pig Butchering Knife and Internal Energy to defeat Black Shark and scatter his crewmen.
• Sing Sing urged Black Shark to leave the underworld and join him in underground construction, but Black Shark refused.
• Sing Sing negotiated passage aboard Black Shark’s ship for five thousand US dollars by subtly threatening him with his knife.
• Black Shark wrote Sing Sing a receipt for ten thousand dollars, and Sing Sing accepted the crumpled flyer as proof of payment.
• Slug remarked that Sing Sing was the first person he had seen get a receipt from a smuggling captain.

Sing Sing and his companions boarded the Black Shark and made the ship’s filthy cargo hold more livable while Black Shark plotted to assert control. After the ship left port, Black Shark tried to move Lorna and Amy to his cabin, but Sing Sing stopped him from touching Amy.

• Slug gave Sing Sing an encrypted satellite phone and warned him not to contact anyone before resupplying off Vancouver unless there was an emergency.
• Sing Sing boarded the Black Shark with Lorna, Amy, Riptide, and Anton, then challenged the unsafe conditions in their cargo-hold quarters.
• Sing Sing organized the hold, set up a private rest area for Lorna and Amy, and found a sheltered place for Anton to rest.
• After the Black Shark left port, Sing Sing posted rules for the cargo hold, and Black Shark returned with four crewmen to impose his authority.
• Black Shark ordered Lorna and Amy to stay in the captain’s cabin and reached for Amy’s hair, but Sing Sing stopped his wrist with the Pig Butchering Knife.

Sing Sing discovered Edith Constance Sawyer, a blue-skinned Mutant who could teleport, hiding in a barrel aboard the freighter. After Edith explained her ability, she fell asleep from exhaustion in Sing Sing’s arms, leaving him trying to defend himself from Lorna’s accusation.

• Black Shark and his underlings left after Sing Sing threatened them, and Sing Sing explained why he was keeping Black Shark alive to steer the freighter.
• Sing Sing heard a noise in a barrel, opened it, and found a frightened blue-skinned woman hiding inside.
• Edith Constance Sawyer told Sing Sing, Lorna, and Amy that she had teleported aboard while fleeing the police and could transport people and things to places she had visited or could imagine.
• Edith grew exhausted after teleporting twice and fell asleep against Sing Sing, who protested when Lorna called him a pervert.

Sing Sing learned that Black Shark planned to kill the men and traffic the women, so he devised a plan to sabotage the ship while Edith ate enough to teleport them to China. The group prepared to escape, with Sing Sing focused on making Black Shark pay for breaking their contract.

• Sing Sing overheard Black Shark ordering his men to kill him and Riptide, throw Anton overboard, and sell Lorna and Amy to traffickers.
• Sing Sing stole food from the ship’s kitchen and brought it to the cargo hold, where Edith woke and explained her past and teleportation power.
• Edith agreed she could teleport all six of them to a construction site in China after she finished eating and had something sweet.
• Edith called Sing Sing a good person because he had protected Lorna and Amy, prompting Sing Sing to protest the label.
• Sing Sing told the group about Black Shark’s plans and stopped Lorna and Riptide from attacking before Edith was ready to teleport.
• Sing Sing instructed Lorna to sabotage the ship’s engine so Black Shark’s crew would be stranded at sea.

Sing Sing raided Black Shark’s cabin and crew lounge for money and valuables, while Lorna sabotaged the ship’s engine without sinking it. Edith teleported the group to China, leaving Black Shark to discover the damage, losses, and Sing Sing’s mocking note.

• Sing Sing broke into Black Shark’s cabin and took cash, gold, ammunition, and a gold lighter.
• Sing Sing knocked out four men gambling in the crew lounge and took their money and the blond man’s Rolex.
• Lorna welded the ship’s drive shaft and propeller together, disabling the vessel without sinking it.
• Edith teleported Sing Sing and the others to China while holding him, and the group vanished in a flash of purple light.
• Black Shark found his ship disabled, his valuables missing, and a sarcastic thank-you note on the cargo hold wall.

Edith’s drunken teleportation sent Sing Sing and the others crashing into an abandoned oil-field mud pit in the Taklamakan Desert, thousands of kilometers from their intended destination. As they tried to regroup, armed oil-field guards surrounded them and accused them of stealing oil.

• Edith’s drunken driving knocked out the teleportation system, dropping everyone into a mud pit and ruining Sing Sing’s knockoff Armani.
• Lorna attacked Sing Sing after he made a crude remark, while Sing Sing pulled the unconscious Anton out of the mud and tossed him to Riptide.
• Sing Sing realized they had landed at an abandoned drilling site in the Taklamakan Desert, far from their intended destination.
• Two camouflage pickups arrived with barking dogs and armed men, whose loudspeaker ordered the group to surrender as suspected oil thieves.

Sing Sing and the Mutants clashed with Zhao Hongqi and the oil workers before a high-pressure gas blowout sent poisonous hydrogen sulfide across the drilling site. Sing Sing called on Riptide and Lorna to contain the disaster, and Lorna prepared to use her powers on the failing drilling tower.

• Sing Sing claimed the team were 749 Bureau officials and argued with Zhao Hongqi after mud splashed onto his face.
• Zhao Hongqi ordered the workers to seize Sing Sing and the Mutants, but Sing Sing accused him of violating workplace safety rules.
• The drilling tower suffered a blowout, spraying drilling mud and hydrogen sulfide as workers and dogs collapsed.
• Sing Sing urged the Mutants to save the site, and Riptide agreed to clear the poisonous gas while Lorna said she could reshape the steel tower.

Sing Sing, Riptide, and Lorna stopped a dangerous blowout at a drilling site in the Taklamakan Desert, and Amy helped the workers recover. Sing Sing then called Director Wang to report the emergency landing and claim compensation for their work.

• Riptide drew the hydrogen sulfide gas into the air with a tornado while Lorna straightened and repaired the drilling tower and crushed the jammed blowout valve.
• Amy gave the workers conjured mung bean and mint ice creams, which eased their symptoms and won their gratitude.
• Zhao Hongqi apologized to Sing Sing for mistaking the team for spies and agreed to arrange a commendation banner and reimbursement.
• Edith woke up muddy and disoriented, while Sing Sing called Director Wang and explained that the team had landed in the Taklamakan Desert.
• After Sing Sing reported that they had stopped a major blowout, Director Wang praised him, and Sing Sing asked to discuss his compensation.

Sing Sing secured arrangements for the returning Mutants and introduced them as valuable talents to the workers at the deep-well project site. After military helicopters arrived, Ma Weiguo took Sing Sing and the Mutants aboard, while Zhao Hongqi promised to claim the workers’ expenses and order a commendation banner.

• Sing Sing pleaded with Director Wang to arrange positions, benefits, housing, and reimbursement for the Mutants, and Director Wang sent the Northwest Military Region to collect them.
• Sing Sing reassured Lorna and Amy that they were safe as long as they obeyed the law, then treated the workers to ice cream and described the Mutants as talents rescued from hardship abroad.
• Military-green Z-8 helicopters arrived, and Major Ma Weiguo met Sing Sing and the Mutants at the project site.
• Sing Sing introduced the Mutants to Ma Weiguo, and Amy gave him an ice cream that she produced with her cold-generating power.
• The Mutants boarded the helicopters, and Zhao Hongqi saluted Sing Sing and promised to seek reimbursement and order a commendation banner.

After arriving at the Northwest Military Region, Sing Sing and his companions washed up and ate, but Lorna nearly attacked Major Ma when she heard that the group would be isolated and tested. Sing Sing calmed her by disguising the procedures as employee benefits, leaving Ma impressed and Sing Sing asking for better meals and reimbursement for his ruined suit.

• Sing Sing and his companions discarded their mud-covered clothes, changed into training uniforms, and washed at the military region bathhouse.
• Edith eagerly ate meat buns and millet porridge in the mess hall, praising the food as China's McDonald's.
• Ma Weiguo told Ling Ling Qi that the foreign nationals needed isolated reviews and blood tests before being transferred.
• Lorna began distorting nearby metal objects as memories of American experiments made her believe she was being sent to another laboratory.
• Sing Sing held Lorna back and reframed the isolation and blood tests as paid leave and a pre-employment physical, persuading her to follow procedure.
• After Ma praised Sing Sing's handling of the situation, Sing Sing asked him to arrange red-braised pork and reimburse his ruined Armani suit.

Lao Li found that Lorna and the other returning Mutants had suffered severe physical and psychological harm, while Anton’s dangerous genetic condition made examination risky. Sing Sing brought the group to Beijing and introduced them to the 749 Bureau, where Director Wang welcomed them.

• Lao Li reported Lorna’s malnutrition, anemia, injuries, and trauma, and Sing Sing arranged recuperation, supplements, and psychological care.
• Lao Li warned Sing Sing that examining Anton could trigger a dangerous genetic reaction.
• Ma Weiguo arranged a flight to Beijing, and the group boarded after a logistics soldier gave Lorna food.
• On the plane, Sing Sing worked out the trip’s accounts while Riptide thanked him for treating the group well.
• Sing Sing brought the group to the 749 Bureau’s underground base in Beijing, where Director Wang welcomed them and assured them there would be no human experimentation.

Sing Sing and Director Wang argued over Sing Sing’s reimbursement claims and the money he took from a smuggling ship before turning to Anton’s worsening condition. Da Vinci arrived with his Cellular Coexistence Persuasion Device, and Director Wang reluctantly authorized him to treat Anton.

• Director Wang confronted Sing Sing about his reimbursement form and demanded to know where the money from the ship had gone.
• Sing Sing revealed that he had found gold chains among the money, then shifted the conversation to Anton’s poor condition.
• Da Vinci arrived carrying a toilet plunger fitted with a flashlight, an antenna, and a bell, and introduced it as the Cellular Coexistence Persuasion Device.
• Da Vinci claimed the device’s green Peace Light and radio white noise could persuade cells to coexist, while its suction cup could also provide cupping therapy.
• Sing Sing urged Director Wang to give Da Vinci’s invention a chance, and Director Wang ordered them to treat Anton and held them responsible if he died.

Sing Sing pitched government jobs for the captured Mutants, convincing Director Wang that Riptide and Polaris could serve as valuable emergency and aerospace specialists. The chapter ended with Director Wang rejecting Sing Sing’s request for travel compensation and an Armani suit reimbursement.

• Sing Sing proposed making Riptide a special-duty firefighter who could fight fires, disperse dangerous gases, and rescue people during disasters.
• Director Wang approved Riptide’s appointment as captain of a special-duty firefighting brigade and promised him a private dorm room and a generous meal allowance.
• Sing Sing proposed that Polaris become a rocket recovery and precision landing expert at the China Aerospace Science and Technology Group, where she could find acceptance and purpose.
• Director Wang listened as Sing Sing described Polaris’s traumatic past and plans for her future at Jiuquan.
• Sing Sing asked Director Wang to approve his compensation and Armani suit reimbursement, and Director Wang angrily ordered him out.

Sing Sing negotiated Amy’s and Edith’s assignments with Director Wang, proposing roles that accommodated their abilities and needs. Director Wang praised Sing Sing’s work, then attacked him when he requested reimbursement for his damaged Armani and emotional trauma.

• Sing Sing persuaded Director Wang to assign Amy to a cold-drink stall at Jiuquan Space City, with emergency disaster support as a secondary duty.
• Sing Sing explained that Edith’s teleportation ability activated automatically when she faced mortal danger and proposed using her as an emergency photographer and site surveyor.
• Director Wang agreed to keep Edith at headquarters, restrict her access to alcohol, and provide her with a dedicated meal allowance.
• Director Wang praised Sing Sing for bringing the recruits back and earning their trust, then asked what reward he wanted.
• Sing Sing submitted a reimbursement request for his Armani and emotional trauma, and Director Wang clamped his legs around Sing Sing’s neck.

Sing Sing brought Mortimer from the Tiankeng Village project office back to the courtyard to meet his new coworkers and share a meal. As the group celebrated their jobs and newfound security, the displaced Mutants settled into the feeling that they had found a home.

• Sing Sing gave the newly arrived special talents a courtyard house and arranged Chinese lessons as they adjusted to their new workplace.
• Sing Sing visited Mortimer at the Tiankeng Village project office and learned that he had shortened the construction schedule by two months and earned a model worker award.
• Mortimer returned to the courtyard with Sing Sing and reunited with Riptide, whom he had known when they were fugitives.
• Over hot pot, Mortimer showed the others his social security card and described how his coworkers welcomed him as Master Mo.
• Sing Sing vowed to look after the group, and Polaris, Riptide, Soft Serve, and Toad raised their glasses to their hopes for the future.

Sing Sing and his companions learned that Anton had recovered after Da Vinci treated him with an improvised toilet plunger device, leaving him with enhanced electromagnetic abilities. Anton reunited with Riptide and was assigned work at the 749 Bureau, while Sing Sing asked Director Wang about their benefits.

• Sing Sing received Director Wang's call announcing that Anton had improved and hurried to the underground medical room with the others.
• Da Vinci claimed his Cellular Coexistence Persuasion Device had cured Anton, and Dr. Fan confirmed that Anton's rejection response had disappeared and his magnetic signals had stabilized.
• Anton woke, found that he could move without pain, and produced silver sparks that briefly activated a nearby medical instrument.
• Sing Sing assigned Anton to organize the 749 Bureau's archives and serve as temporary communications support.
• Riptide embraced Anton and thanked Sing Sing and Director Wang, and Sing Sing asked Director Wang to hand out the benefits.

Sing Sing requested cell phones and accessories for the returning special recruits, and Director Wang approved the equipment. Anton insisted on starting work as an archivist, so Director Wang arranged for him to settle in near the medical room and visit the underground archives.

• Sing Sing reassured Director Wang that he was not claiming expenses and requested phones so the recruits could stay in contact.
• Sing Sing listed uses for phones, including translation, recipe, and drinking-reminder apps, and Director Wang ordered rugged phones with encrypted SIM cards and protective accessories.
• Anton tried to leave his hospital bed and asked to see his archivist workstation, despite Doctor Fan's recommendation that he remain under observation.
• Director Wang arranged a room near the medical room and assigned Xiao Liu to show Anton around before taking him to the archives.
• Riptide accompanied Anton, who thanked Sing Sing at the doorway, and Sing Sing asked him to buy two cartons of cigarettes after he got paid.