Chapter Summaries

When five armed highway robbers blocked the mountain road, Chen Mo ordered Victor and James to take them out. Victor charged the axe-wielding robber, and James rushed to protect him as another robber aimed a rifle at his back.

• Victor stopped the carriage after finding a large tree trunk blocking the road.
• Five armed robbers emerged from the woods and surrounded the carriage.
• Chen Mo calmly ordered Victor and James to take out the robbers.
• Victor charged the axe-wielding robber, and his nails began to lengthen into claws.
• James saw a robber aim a hunting rifle at Victor, extended six bone claws, and rushed to stop him.
• A gunshot struck the robber's hand and made him drop the hunting rifle.

James and Victor fought the robbers who ambushed their carriage, killing one and wounding several others. Victor remained surrounded by three robbers as the injured axe-wielder prepared to strike him from outside the encirclement.

• A bullet from an unseen source struck the robber aiming at Victor, and James charged in and killed him with his bone spur.
• Victor dodged the burly axe-wielder's chop and tore deep gashes across his chest with his claws.
• Three other robbers joined the fight, striking Victor with gun butts, fists, and kicks as he continued attacking them.
• James rushed to help Victor and attacked a robber from behind while the others remained focused on Victor.
• The wounded axe-wielder picked up his axe and prepared to deliver a fatal blow to Victor.

James killed Tom with his bone spikes, and an unseen shooter saved Victor from Tom’s falling axe. When the remaining robbers attacked, the shooter wounded one and gave Victor and James time to regroup back to back.

• Tom swung his axe at Victor, but James stabbed Tom through the chest with his bone spikes.
• The axe kept falling toward Victor, but a gunshot knocked it aside before it hit him.
• The three remaining robbers charged Victor and James after discovering Tom was dead.
• A robber knocked James down and aimed his rifle at him, while another kicked Victor to the ground.
• A gunshot wounded the rifleman’s hand, making him drop his weapon.
• Victor and James got up and stood back to back, raising their claws against the surrounding robbers.

James and Victor fought the remaining highway robbers while someone inside the carriage shot their hands and disarmed them. The children charged again, but James was kicked down by an adult robber.

• James had already killed two robbers, while Victor had wounded the three who remained.
• The robbers realized someone inside the carriage had shot one of them and mistook the earlier shots for misses.
• Two robbers aimed their guns at Victor and James and the carriage, but the person inside fired three shots and injured all three robbers’ hands.
• The voice from the carriage told Victor and James to finish the robbers, and the children charged at them.
• James attacked a robber with his bone claws, but the man kicked him and sent him crashing to the ground.

Victor and James fought the robbers with their newly awakening abilities, and Victor killed one after realizing his claws were a gift rather than a deformity. James wore down his opponent and stabbed him repeatedly, leaving the fight unresolved as the robber held James's right hand fast.

• Victor overwhelmed the two robbers with his claws as their wounds and blood loss weakened them.
• Victor slashed one robber's throat, killing him, and felt freed from his shame about his claws.
• James repeatedly rose after being kicked down and kept attacking the robber with injured hands.
• James pierced the robber's thigh with a bone spike, then stabbed his waist with the spikes on his right hand.
• The robber grabbed James's right hand, so James pulled his left hand from the man's thigh and thrust it forward again.

James and Victor killed the robbers and emerged more confident after their first battle, while Chen Mo watched over them. Chen Mo praised and comforted them before heading to the tree blocking their road.

• James killed the robber attacking him with his bone claws, while Victor finished off the last enemy.
• James and Victor exchanged relieved smiles and recognized how much the battle had changed them.
• Chen Mo came to meet them, and the boys understood that his marksmanship had protected them throughout the fight.
• Victor reported that the robbers were dead, and James thanked Chen Mo.
• Chen Mo patted both boys on the head, then walked toward the fallen tree blocking the road.

Chen Mo cleared a tree blocking the road with a Sonic Cannon and told Victor and James that he also had special abilities, strengthening their trust in him. As the group resumed their journey, Chen Mo assessed the boys’ combat abilities and confirmed that James’s powers had only recently awakened.

• Chen Mo used a Sonic Cannon to blast the fallen tree off the road, astonishing Victor and James.
• Chen Mo told Victor and James that he had special abilities like theirs, and they felt greater trust in him.
• Chen Mo ordered the group to continue, and James took the reins while Victor approved of his younger brother’s performance in battle.
• Chen Mo reflected that he had protected the boys from lethal attacks during the fight so they could gain experience safely.
• Chen Mo determined that James had recently gained his bone claws and had enhanced strength, stamina, recovery, and regeneration, though his physical abilities were still below those of a sturdy adult.

After the battle with five bandits, Chen Mo examined James and Victor’s rapid healing and developing abilities. Victor learned to retract and extend his claws, accepted them as a powerful ability, and continued toward the United States with Chen Mo and James.

• James’s wounds healed rapidly, and Chen Mo recognized his exceptional self-healing as his strongest ability.
• Victor’s injuries had mostly healed, and the battle had strengthened and lengthened the claws on his fingers.
• Victor followed Chen Mo’s instruction and learned to retract and extend his claws at will.
• Victor took pride in his claws and saw himself as someone with powerful abilities rather than a monster or freak.
• Chen Mo, James, and Victor continued their journey toward the United States after defeating the five bandits.

After weeks of travel and battles, Chen Mo, Victor, and James reached New York, where Victor and James were amazed by the city’s bustle. Chen Mo brought them to a luxurious hotel, and the story left them entering its lobby.

• Victor and James fought off bands of robbers and bandits on the journey, steadily gaining combat experience while Chen Mo intervened less often.
• Chen Mo, Victor, and James crossed the Canadian border and continued east for nearly ten more days before reaching New York.
• Chen Mo observed how the early nineteenth-century city differed from the New York he remembered, while Victor and James marveled at its streets and buildings.
• Chen Mo guided Victor to a hotel near Fifth Avenue, where the dust-covered carriage stopped after nearly a month of travel.
• Chen Mo led Victor and James into the hotel lobby, and James remained composed because he had grown up in a wealthy manor.

Chen Mo began acquiring vast tracts of undeveloped land across northern Manhattan, ignoring New Yorkers who expected him to invest in areas poised for immediate growth. He planned to use his century-long stay to buy land throughout the future five boroughs before others recognized New York’s potential expansion.

• Chen Mo rented a luxurious hotel suite in New York and moved in with Victor and James.
• Rumors spread that a wealthy Chinese magnate was buying remote farmland north of the city, and New Yorkers mocked his purchases as foolish.
• Chen Mo used his wealth to buy up undeveloped land in what would become Midtown Manhattan and Upper Manhattan.
• Chen Mo planned to acquire land across the future five boroughs, using his knowledge of New York’s growth and the time he had before the movie’s story began.

Chen Mo bought land across Midtown and Upper Manhattan, then shifted his focus to building businesses rather than spending the rest of his gold. He resolved to avoid major changes to American technology and industry so the plot could still lead to Stryker’s X-Plan.

• Chen Mo acquired land outside New York’s existing urban area, securing future Midtown and Upper Manhattan.
• After spending nearly half his gold, Chen Mo stopped buying land and began planning business ventures to replenish his funds.
• Chen Mo rejected building automobiles because the necessary technology had not yet appeared and early steam-powered vehicles had little practical value.
• Chen Mo decided not to drastically alter American industry, technology, or military development because doing so might prevent the events leading to Stryker’s X-Plan.
• Chen Mo planned to use his knowledge of modern American history to claim opportunities shortly before they arose without substantially changing the course of development.

Chen Mo turned from buying Manhattan land to finding a new source of income and chose to enter the highly profitable fur trade. He set his sights on John Jacob Astor’s American Fur Company, which monopolized trade with Native American tribes along the Missouri River basin.

• Chen Mo continued buying undeveloped Lower Manhattan land through a team of trusted lawyers, accountants, and other professionals.
• Chen Mo decided to profit from existing industries rather than introduce advanced technology, and he chose the fur trade.
• The chapter described how merchants exchanged ordinary goods for valuable furs from Native Americans, then sold them at enormous markups.
• John Jacob Astor failed to break into the Northwest fur trade, where the Rocky Mountain Fur Company held sway.
• John Jacob Astor established the American Fur Company and used deception and force to monopolize the fur trade along the Missouri River basin.

Chen Mo took Victor and James from New York to Missouri, intending to use the American Fur Company's armed men as prey in a hunt that would train the two boys. After they entered the forest, the company's men learned of their arrival.

• Chen Mo set his sights on John Jacob Astor's American Fur Company and planned to use its armed force to hone Victor and James's combat abilities.
• Chen Mo left New York with Victor and James, who were relieved to escape the crowded city and eager to learn where they were going.
• Chen Mo told Victor and James they were going hunting in the forest, though their prey would be the company's armed men.
• After several days of travel, Chen Mo and the boys arrived at the Missouri forest and entered it on foot from a nearby village.
• The company's armed men received a report that the three outsiders had entered the forest.

Chen Mo led Victor and James into a Missouri forest, where they prepared to fight ten armed men from the American Fur Company who had followed them. As the pursuers approached, Victor and James readied their powers for battle while Chen Mo judged their combat instincts.

• A fur-buying party of ten armed men followed Chen Mo, Victor, and James into the forest.
• Chen Mo heard the pursuers approaching and stopped Victor and James, telling them their prey was armed men.
• Victor and James welcomed the chance to fight, believing the armed men were bandits or robbers.
• Victor and James extended their claws and bone spurs and turned toward the approaching men, while Chen Mo noted their poor combat awareness.

Chen Mo let Victor and James fight the American Fur Company men pursuing them, while he kept the boys safe by shooting the enemies’ Muskets from their hands. The boys fought through their injuries as Chen Mo observed their combat styles and considered how to prepare them to face armed foes on their own.

• Victor and James spotted the American Fur Company men among the trees and charged at them.
• The men aimed their Muskets at the boys, but Chen Mo fired ten shots and knocked the weapons from their hands.
• Victor and James plunged into the group, wounding two men before the others drew close-range weapons and fought back.
• The boys and the remaining men traded injuries, but Victor and James kept attacking as their wounds failed to weaken them.
• Chen Mo watched the fight and studied how Victor and James used their claws.

Chen Mo led Victor and James through the Missouri forests, using their battles with American Fur Company men to test their healing abilities and improve their combat skills. As they traded supplies for furs and trained along the way, Chen Mo began designing specialized fighting techniques for them.

• Victor and James wiped out the American Fur Company squad that had pursued them, with Victor killing the last resisting squad leader.
• Chen Mo led the pair deeper into the forest and gave them machetes to clear a path.
• Chen Mo used his keen hearing to locate Native American tribes and company patrols, trading supplies for furs and directing Victor and James to attack the patrols.
• Chen Mo identified weaknesses in Victor and James's fighting styles and coached them until they fought more flexibly and used the forest to ambush their enemies.
• Chen Mo began designing a distinct set of fighting techniques for Victor and James based on their abilities and styles.

Chen Mo trained Victor and James in fighting styles suited to their claws, then sent them to attack American Fur Company forces on their own. Their growing campaign spread among Missouri’s Native American tribes, and Chen Mo also took them to trade with the people they encountered.

• Chen Mo developed a savage, vital-point-focused Tiger Claw style for Victor and a boxing-and-dagger style for James, and both teenagers mastered their techniques through training and battle.
• Chen Mo stopped assisting Victor and James, who used stealth, terrain, speed, and surprise attacks to defeat armed men carrying muskets.
• The two clawed fighters killed more American Fur Company personnel, weakening the company’s control over the Missouri region and spreading their legend among local tribes.
• Native Americans welcomed the attacks because the company had long exploited and violently oppressed them, while their scattered tribes had been unable to unite against it.
• Because targets were scarce in the vast forest, Chen Mo took Victor and James to trade with Native Americans they encountered while continuing to hunt company forces.

Chen Mo, Victor, and James reached a Native American tribe and offered goods in exchange for furs. The chief welcomed the prospect of new trade after seeing their wares, especially a kerosene lamp.

• Chen Mo led Victor and James to a Native American tribe and was surrounded by its warriors.
• The chief warned Chen Mo that armed American Fur Company teams would not let them trade safely, but Chen Mo said they had already encountered several teams.
• Chen Mo unpacked knives, metal containers, liquor, and other goods, impressing the chief and the gathered warriors.
• The chief asked about a kerosene lamp, and Victor lit it so Chen Mo could explain how it resisted wind and rain.
• The chief tested the lamp's flame and was delighted that it stayed lit.

Chen Mo traded supplies for furs among Native American tribes, including the Lakota, while Victor and James fought off tribesmen who tried to rob them. Their powers were witnessed firsthand, turning rumors about two supernatural warriors into reality and spreading fear and reverence among the tribes.

• Chen Mo sold kerosene lamps and fuel to Chief Geronimo at prices he considered fair and traded supplies with the Lakota for many furs, including a giant bear hide.
• Chief Geronimo praised Chen Mo's trade and saw Chen Mo, Victor, and James off, promising the Lakota would prepare more furs for their return.
• Chen Mo, Victor, and James continued trading across the region, replacing their stored supplies with valuable furs.
• Some tribes tried to seize their goods, but Victor and James killed those who took part in the robberies and intimidated the survivors.
• Native Americans witnessed Victor and James's claws, bone spikes, and resilience, confirming the rumors of two fierce humanoid beasts and spreading fear and reverence for them.

Victor and James earned the names Sabretooth and Wolverine from Native American tribes for their formidable fighting. As Chen Mo continued trading furs and hunting American Fur Company teams with them, he explored the forest and found no human activity in a previously unchecked area.

• Native Americans named Victor Sabretooth and James Wolverine, and both boys took pride in their new names.
• Chen Mo, Victor, and James continued attacking American Fur Company purchasing teams and trading for furs as they traveled through the forest.
• After a trade, Chen Mo stored three large bundles of furs in his space and led the boys toward unexplored territory.
• Chen Mo used his extraordinary hearing to survey the area and found no sign of human activity.
• Chen Mo reflected that he had chosen fur trading and forest exploration to make his long stay in the world more interesting.