Chapter Summaries

Wu Heng expanded plans to trade food with the provincial region and nearby cities, then gathered supplies and cleared Zombie Hordes with Qi Hancai and Li Yahong. Back on Treasure Island, he drank several Level 2 potions and learned his bounty had risen to one thousand Gold Coins.

• Wu Heng agreed to consider trading food with the provincial region if they supplied advanced weapons, and Qi Hancai raised concerns about food demand and new arrivals.
• Li Yahong brought Wu Heng about thirty kilograms of gold and fourteen Corpse Cores, and he gave potions to her and Qi Hancai before asking them to recommend trusted people for training.
• Wu Heng joined Qi Hancai and Li Yahong in heading out to clear two recorded Zombie Horde locations.
• Li Yahong told Wu Heng that Ma Zhiyong and the county Disaster Relief Command appeared not to have left with the military, possibly because of a disagreement.
• Wu Heng returned to Treasure Island, drank two Intelligence Enhancement Potions and one Enhancement Potion, and gained Intelligence, Perception, Charisma, Strength, and Agility.
• Philippa told Wu Heng over the radio that his bounty had increased to one thousand Gold Coins.

Wu Heng learned that his bounty had risen to one thousand Gold Coins, helped Cavina select new members for Team Eleven, and gathered intelligence from Millicent at the Nautilus Tavern. The chapter ended with him witnessing the pardoned Pirate Leader Occam arrive at the harbor with a fleet and announce a campaign against pirates.

• Philippa told Wu Heng that the Blank Envelope had doubled his bounty to one thousand Gold Coins, and he explained that the increase likely followed the deaths of Hand of the Demon and five pirate leaders.
• Wu Heng warned Imilo about the higher bounty, and Imilo promised stronger inspections while Moya gave Wu Heng applications for Team Eleven candidates.
• Cavina selected a ranger and a Water Element caster for Team Eleven, and Wu Heng approved their applications.
• Wu Heng visited Millicent, reviewed her intelligence about pirate activity and the Yeke Kingdom, and gave her a Spatial Ring and two Level 1 Potions.
• Wu Heng saw Occam arrive at the harbor with blue-and-gold ships, silver-armored warriors, and captured pirates as Occam vowed to drive pirates from the trade routes.

Wu Heng established a laboratory for the Skeleton Bomber and gave Minnie and Andeviel stronger potions, which awakened Minnie’s fire ability. He then gave Corpse Core Potions to two trusted people in the Zombie World and learned that representatives from the provincial district were expected that afternoon.

• Wu Heng returned home after watching Occam escort the captured pirates away, then assigned the cleared stone room to the Skeleton Bomber to produce Rolling Thunder.
• Wu Heng gave Minnie and Andeviel higher-level potions; Minnie awakened a fire ability and accidentally launched an explosive fireball through the window.
• Wu Heng planned how to investigate the thousand-gold pirate bounty, improve his strength, and expand trade, then comforted Andeviel when she worried she had disappointed him.
• Wu Heng traveled to the Zombie World and met with Qi Hancai, Li Yahong, Qiangzi, and Wang Chenggang about cultivating trusted people with Corpse Core Potions.
• Qiangzi and Wang Chenggang drank Level 1 Corpse Core Potions and promised to keep the secret; Qi Hancai then told Wu Heng that provincial district representatives were expected that afternoon.

Wu Heng traded food for gold with the Provincial Rescue Team and negotiated weapons and ammunition for future exchanges. Back on Treasure Island, he completed the Missionary Codex’s required repentance and learned that the island lord had invited him to a ball.

• Wu Heng and Qi Hancai led a convoy to the station and prepared to meet the Provincial Rescue Team.
• Vice Commander Liu arrived by armored train with Yang Long and met Wu Heng, who agreed to exchange food for a little over twenty kilograms of gold.
• Wu Heng set weapons, ammunition, and military blueprints as conditions for future trades and requested autocannons and shells for the next exchange.
• The Provincial Rescue Team traded its gold for flour and departed, while Wu Heng returned to the mall with the gold.
• Wu Heng used Pious Repentance to clear the Missionary Codex’s negative energy before returning to Treasure Island.
• Andeviel told Wu Heng that the island lord had invited him, Deacon, and Vice Deacon Shiraque to a ball.

Wu Heng discussed Occam’s plans for Treasure Island, collected a large shipment of supplies, and asked Shiraque how ghosts could grow stronger. Shiraque shared two possible methods and then told him that Mackintosh had been attacked by snakes that emerged from corpses and might be dead.

• Wu Heng decided not to attend Occam’s ball, and Shanala later explained that Occam intended to clear pirates from the shipping routes and had won the merchant groups’ support.
• Wu Heng collected his delayed shipment, ordered more food, refined-iron weapons and armor, and asked Shanala whether she could arrange a train; she said it might take years to build.
• Wu Heng sent the supplies through a Portal and visited Shiraque to ask how ghosts could be strengthened.
• Shiraque said ghosts might grow stronger by devouring other souls or through material sacrifices, and encouraged Wu Heng to contract one.
• Shiraque told Wu Heng that Mackintosh had lost consciousness after black snakes burst from corpses at the port, and that Mackintosh might not have survived.

Wu Heng and Shiraque received their merit rewards and chose to exchange six Level 2 items for one Level 1 reward. Imilo assigned them separate investigations, sending Wu Heng to the closed Old Wooden Barrel Tavern and Shiraque to Lopes City.

• Wu Heng and Shiraque learned that the Old Wooden Barrel Tavern's leader had been assassinated and discussed the unexplained venomous snakes found in the corpse.
• Imilo told Wu Heng and Shiraque they had each earned six Level 2 Merit rewards, twelve Gold Coins, and six Level 2 item selections, or could trade the selections for one Level 1 reward.
• After examining the available items, Wu Heng and Shiraque chose the Level 1 reward, and Imilo gave them their bounty money.
• Imilo assigned Shiraque to follow up on a matter in Lopes City and sent Wu Heng to investigate the trouble at the Old Wooden Barrel Tavern.
• Wu Heng asked Imilo for books about raising ghosts, and Shiraque declined Wu Heng's offer to arrange a Skeleton Attendant for her trip.

Wu Heng gathered Team Eleven to investigate trouble at the harbor and followed Bald Man into the Old Wooden Barrel Tavern. In its underground room, they found Mackintosh dead in a coffin.

• Wu Heng asked Cavina to assemble her team for an investigation the next morning.
• Wu Heng collected finished Rolling Thunders from Bomb Man’s workshop and stored them in his Spatial Ring.
• Shanala told Wu Heng that harbor workers had been fighting and disrupting ships, and he agreed to look into it.
• Wu Heng and Team Eleven arrived at the Old Wooden Barrel Tavern, where Commander Fulvio tried to have them arrested before Bald Man explained they were there to investigate.
• Bald Man led Wu Heng and the others into the tavern’s underground room, where they found Mackintosh’s coffin.

Wu Heng investigated Mackintosh’s death and learned that she had been killed by snake venom after a snake burst from a corpse at the docks. After questioning the dead workers, he uncovered a possible lead: one had noticed a dwarf seeking work shortly before the incident.

• Bald Man told Wu Heng and the guards that Mackintosh had died from snake venom and that Old Barrel would pay 200 Gold Coins for help finding her killer.
• Bald Man recounted how a corpse exploded during a dockside dispute, releasing a snake that bit Mackintosh, and named Black Raven's Nest and the Sea Dog Gang as possible suspects.
• Cavina examined Mackintosh’s body and confirmed snakebite marks, while Bald Man said the corpses had been buried in the wasteland.
• Wu Heng and the others inspected the docks, dug up three corpses, and used Talk with Dead to question them.
• The first two corpses offered no useful clues, but the third recalled that a dwarf had asked for work that morning and accepted lower pay.

Wu Heng investigated Mackintosh’s murder by questioning the dead workers and learned that a suspicious dwarf worker might be involved. While the guard commander shook down the Black Raven’s Nest and Sea Dog Gang, Wu Heng planned to investigate the gang, and the commander learned that Wu Heng had questioned the corpses.

• Wu Heng questioned the third corpse, which described a long-haired middle-aged man with narrowed eyes and a scar near his lip, then named the Sea Dog Gang as a likely enemy of Mackintosh.
• Wu Heng warned Bald Man and the tavern patrons not to act on speculation, took the three corpses to the association, and planned to investigate the dwarf worker.
• Granda watched the guard commander question the Black Raven’s Nest and Sea Dog Gang, take money from both, and forbid anyone from leaving the island.
• Wu Heng reviewed the guard records but found no snake-related class or clear match for the dwarf worker, then decided to check the Sea Dog Gang the next day.
• A ranger told the guard commander that Wu Heng had questioned the corpses, and the commander regretted not inspecting them himself.

Wu Heng investigated Mackintosh’s magical death and followed a lead to the Sea Dog Gang, but its leader denied knowing the dwarf suspect. The search left the suspect’s whereabouts uncertain, and Wu Heng returned to the association to continue investigating.

• Shanala told Wu Heng that the Sea Dog Gang controlled about a quarter of the port’s business, and they discussed whether it could have killed Mackintosh.
• The coroner reported that Mackintosh’s injuries were not fatal and that magic had caused her death.
• Cavina gave Wu Heng files on Black Raven’s Nest and the Sea Dog Gang, and the team learned that a dwarf with a scar on his lower lip had gone to Sea Dog Gang territory.
• Wu Heng and Team Eleven questioned the Sea Dog Gang’s leader and inspected its dwarves, but found no one matching the suspect’s description.
• Wu Heng’s ghosts searched the gang compound without finding the suspect, so Wu Heng left and continued the investigation.

Wu Heng watched the Sea Dog Gang as Old Barrel’s forces launched a bloody attack on them. By morning, the Bald Man had captured the scar-lipped dwarf Wu Heng had been searching for.

• Wu Heng sent Granda and Xiaoxiao to watch the Sea Dog Gang and identify anyone meeting its Dwarf Leader.
• Wu Heng questioned Millicent about the gang and stayed at the Nautilus Tavern while waiting for developments.
• Granda and Xiaoxiao returned with news that the Sea Dog Gang planned to send the man away and that the Old Wooden Barrel Tavern was watching them too.
• Old Barrel’s forces surrounded the Sea Dog Gang, shouted for revenge, and charged, beginning a battle that lasted through the night.
• Wu Heng went to the Combat Zone the next morning, where the Bald Man presented a half-dead dwarf with a scar on his lower lip.

Wu Heng completed the investigation into Mackintosh’s killer, attended Mackintosh’s funeral, and learned how the harbor’s upheaval had disrupted trade. In the Zombie World, he reviewed winter trade and new Zombie reports before setting out with Qi Hancai to inspect the North Railway Station.

• Bald Man identified the captured dwarf as a level 10 sorcerer from the Sea Dog Gang, and the guard commander took him away as a suspect in Mackintosh’s murder.
• Wu Heng returned to the Association, reported the investigation’s outcome to Imilo, and attended Mackintosh’s funeral with him.
• Wu Heng discussed the harbor’s shutdown and Old Barrel’s rapid defeat of the Sea Dog Gang with Shanala.
• In the Zombie World, Qi Hancai reported reduced winter trade, preparations to buy autocannons and shells from the military, and the relocation of residents from Dongan Village and the prison.
• Wu Heng ordered a convoy to inspect the North Railway Station, while Qi Hancai briefed him on newly reported Mutated Zombies and a Level 4 ghost that could drive people to suicide.

Wu Heng led the assault on North Station, killed its Big-Headed Zombie, and secured a fuel-powered train for the base. After visiting Xiaoxiao's mother and returning to Treasure Island, he learned that Imilo had found him a manuscript about cultivating ghosts.

• Wu Heng sent Skeleton Flying Dragons and his Skeleton Army to clear the Zombies at North Station and ordered Kranmu to kill the Level 2 Big-Headed Zombie.
• Wu Heng and Qi Hancai found an intact Green-Skinned Train in the station workshop, and Wu Heng told her to arrange for its modification.
• Wu Heng collected Corpse Cores, then took Xiaoxiao to visit her mother at the Old Factory Area before returning to Treasure Island.
• Andeviel told Wu Heng that Old Barrel had left two hundred Gold Coins as payment and that the steward wanted to see him.
• Imilo gave Wu Heng an old manuscript about cultivating ghosts.

Wu Heng received a manuscript on ghost rituals and successfully performed the Spirit Vision ritual on Xiaoxiao, giving her the ability to discern levels. Using her new skill, he spotted a level 15 professional among six people secretly leaving the harbor with Old Barrel’s group.

• Imilo gave Wu Heng a manuscript on ghost rituals, counting it as an advance on one Level 3 Merit, and told him to keep half of Old Barrel’s payment and hand the rest to the association.
• Wu Heng studied the manuscript, chose the relatively low-risk Spirit Vision ritual, and bought the required materials, including Owl Eyeballs.
• Xiaoxiao volunteered to undergo the ritual, and Wu Heng successfully granted her the Spirit Vision skill.
• Xiaoxiao discovered she could see people’s levels as colored auras and shared her view of six people preparing to leave the harbor by small boat.
• Wu Heng saw that five of the people were level 10 or below, while a hooded and masked figure had a vivid red aura indicating level 15.

Wu Heng learned that the Old Barrel Tavern members had secretly left Treasure Island and discovered that Shanala’s butler was a level 15 professional. He collected new goods and placed commissions through the Serpent Emblem Conglomerate, while Philippa learned that the bounty on Wu Heng had risen to 1,200 Gold Coins and included details about his companions.

• Xiaoxiao showed Wu Heng the Old Barrel people boarding a cargo ship and leaving Treasure Island, prompting him to worry that danger was increasing.
• Xiaoxiao revealed that Shanala’s strict Female Butler was a level 15 professional, and Wu Heng identified Shanala as the woman who sometimes visited at night.
• Wu Heng collected eight professional corpses and a flying dragon corpse from the Serpent Emblem Conglomerate, paid 22 Gold Coins, and commissioned level 15 corpses and rare materials.
• Philippa questioned Big Beard about giving a woman to Cripple, then learned that the bounty on Wu Heng had risen to 1,200 Gold Coins and that new intelligence listed his companions as above level 15.

Wu Heng traded with the provincial zone for weapons and blueprints, then learned that Philippa had joined a pirate fleet and wanted his help attacking it. The chapter ended with Wu Heng asking her for more details about the three crews.

• Philippa joined Big Beard Babuchi's planned merchant-caravan raid after he invited her to join two pirate crews.
• Wu Heng raised newly purchased corpses in the Zombie World and assigned skeleton blacksmiths and leatherworkers to Zhao Yanqiu.
• Wu Heng met Vice Commander Liu at North Station and received gold, autocannons, shells, and rifle, grenade, and ammunition blueprints.
• Wu Heng stored the trade goods and inspected the station's new Gatling Autocannon and train modifications with Qi Hancai.
• Philippa told Wu Heng that pirates had learned about his two high-level Skeleton Attendants and that she had joined three pirate crews.
• Philippa asked Wu Heng to help her take down the pirate crews.

Wu Heng learned from Philippa about a pirate fleet and sailed to intercept it, preparing overwhelming firepower. When the pirates recognized him and tried to attack, he destroyed their boat with a Gatling Autocannon.

• Philippa told Wu Heng that three pirate captains were around level 10, identified her friend's ship, and gave him the fleet's route and arrival time.
• Philippa reported that Wu Heng's bounty had risen to 1,200 coins and that information about his Skeleton Attendants had circulated; Wu Heng warned Minnie and Andeviel to stay cautious.
• Wu Heng sent Sharktooth's ship ahead to Scorpion Pincer Island, then used the Ghost Train to reach the island and set out along the Lingaxi Shipping Route.
• Xiaoxiao spotted pirate ships attacking a merchant vessel, and Wu Heng armed his skeletons with autocannons, machine guns, rifles, rocket launchers, and grenades.
• Three pirate boats approached Wu Heng's ship, recognized him as Treasure Island's Vice Deacon, and prepared to attack.
• Wu Heng fired the Gatling Autocannon at the Yellow-Toothed Pirate's boat and shattered it, horrifying the surrounding pirates.

Wu Heng’s ship destroyed the pirate fleet’s attack and killed its captains, while Philippa kept her Iron Barrel Pirate Group’s betrayal hidden by pretending to fight. The remaining pirates fled as Wu Heng’s forces pursued them.

• Wu Heng’s skeletons and weapons destroyed the pirates surrounding his cargo ship, and he raised the fallen pirates as skeletons to guard the vessel.
• The main pirate fleet formed up to attack, while Philippa delayed joining the battle and ordered her crew to pretend to fight.
• Wu Heng’s ship devastated the fleet’s first two waves, causing the pirates to retreat and their formation to collapse.
• Xiaoxiao identified pirate captains among the fleeing ships, and Wu Heng shot two of them.
• The last targeted Pirate Captain was killed by a rocket and a follow-up shot, while fleeing pirates were shot at by skeletons or attacked by sea beasts.

Wu Heng defeated pirates attacking a merchant ship, rescued Captain Leopold and his crew, and returned to Treasure Island with a fleet of captured ships. He reported the operation to Imilo, then found an old book among the pirate captains’ possessions.

• Wu Heng turned dead pirates into skeletons and sent them to clear the ship cabins, then rescued Captain Leopold and the merchant crew.
• Philippa accused Babuchi of being an Association informant, but suggested a spy could be hiding in their fleet; Babuchi agreed to kill the other pirate groups and divide their ships.
• Wu Heng and the fleet returned to Treasure Island, where he delivered the two pirate captains’ bodies to the morgue and reported the raid to Imilo.
• Imilo praised Wu Heng’s operation and said he would raise Philippa’s record with headquarters after the autopsies were complete.
• Wu Heng examined the captains’ Spatial Rings and found an old book titled “A Brief History of Pirates—Omniscient One of the Emerald Sea.”

Wu Heng read about Hezel Reis, the Pirate King of the Emerald Sea, and found a hidden island map in a pirate’s book. He reported the clues to Imilo, then checked in with Philippa, who confirmed she was leaving the area and asked whether he had killed the two pirates.

• Wu Heng read that Hezel Reis had led the pirates using knowledge of fleet and merchant caravan locations, and suspected someone had inherited his ability.
• Wu Heng found a yellowed map hidden in the book and showed the book and map to Imilo, who warned that they could be clues or a misdirection.
• Wu Heng returned home, spoke with Andeviel and Minnie, and rested until the afternoon.
• Wu Heng contacted Philippa by radio, confirmed that the two pirates were dead, and said the association would seek her admission to the Whisperers once their identities were confirmed.