Chapter Summaries

Chen Mo’s hidden control over the government left the European bankers unable to profit from Lincoln’s death, and Zachary Taylor and Abraham Lincoln prepared to retaliate. Chen Mo summoned Victor and James and told them they would leave together to fight, though he did not say where they were going.

• Chen Mo had Zachary Taylor and Abraham Lincoln secretly control the Federal Reserve, the Republican Party, and Congress, while the bankers failed to secure loans from the government.
• Victor and James went to Chen Mo’s study after Lincoln told them Chen Mo had summoned them.
• Chen Mo put away the Knight's Greatsword and the painting in his study before telling Victor and James to pack for a departure the next day.
• Chen Mo told the excited brothers that they would go together to fight, marking the first time he had joined them in battle since they left the Missouri forest.

In 1961, Chen Mo, Victor, and James traveled aboard a US destroyer to join the first American Special Operations Forces sent to Vietnam. Victor and James looked forward to fighting alongside Chen Mo again, while keeping their unusual history and abilities hidden from the soldiers around them.

• Chen Mo’s confirmation reminded Victor and James of how he had protected and trained them during their early journey through the Missouri forests.
• In late May 1961, Chen Mo, Victor, and James sailed toward Saigon with the first batch of US Special Operations Forces deployed to Vietnam.
• Victor repeatedly asked when they would arrive and complained about having to travel by ship.
• James mocked Victor’s impatience and joked that he could have the President send a special plane to pick him up.
• Victor started to retort, but Chen Mo’s sharp glance made him lie back down and pretend to sleep.

After arriving in Saigon, Chen Mo was appointed commander of a newly formed special operations squad. He entered the squad’s dormitory with Victor and James and introduced himself as the commander of the First Special Operations Team.

• Victor and James stopped arguing and pretended to sleep under Chen Mo’s gaze.
• Two hours later, the warship docked at Saigon Port, and the special forces unit reported to the U.S. Vietnam Combat Command.
• The unit reorganized its soldiers into squads of sixteen, but the soldiers in Chen Mo’s new squad did not know who their commander would be.
• Victor entered the dormitory first, then stepped aside as Chen Mo entered with James behind him.
• Chen Mo introduced himself as Blake Chen, commander of the First Special Operations Team, and said he would lead the squad in battle.

General Paul Harkins introduced MACV-SOG and its dangerous covert missions, and Chen Mo led his squad on its first operation: raiding a village to capture senior North Vietnam personnel. The squad reached the village and prepared to attack after spotting hidden sentries and nearly a hundred armed guards.

• General Paul Harkins briefed four hundred special forces soldiers on MACV-SOG and its missions across Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia.
• Two days later, Chen Mo boarded a helicopter with Victor, James, and the rest of his squad, carrying only two M1911A1 pistols and their magazines.
• Chen Mo assigned two soldiers to guard the helicopter, then led the remaining squad toward the village targeted for a raid.
• Chen Mo observed hidden sentries and nearly a hundred armed guards around a house where more than a dozen men had gathered.
• Chen Mo sent two sniper-and-spotter teams to a hillside for cover and led the remaining ten men through the trees toward the village.

Chen Mo led the Special Operations Team through a guarded Vietnamese village, where two mysterious throwing knives killed sentries through a stone wall and left the squad stunned. Victor smashed one of the corpses’ heads while trying to retrieve a knife.

• Chen Mo identified hidden sentries and guided the squad past them, silently eliminating those they could not avoid.
• At a low stone wall, a loose stone alerted two Vietnamese sentries, but two throwing knives suddenly pierced through the wall and killed them.
• The squad found the sentries dead with knives embedded in their heads and saw smooth cuts through the stones where the blades had passed.
• The team wondered who had thrown the knives as two tall men approached the bodies and tried to pull them free.
• Victor failed to extract a knife, then smashed a corpse’s skull with his fist, splattering brain matter across the ground.

Chen Mo’s team recovered two throwing knives after Victor and James brutally killed the Vietnamese soldiers who had carried them, then advanced toward the village center. Chen Mo located the likely target in the largest house, but the surrounding buildings were filled with Vietnamese troops, making a stealthy approach difficult.

• Victor retrieved a throwing knife from a soldier’s shattered skull, while James crushed another soldier’s head and recovered his knife with improvised sticks.
• Victor and James cleaned the knives and respectfully returned them to Chen Mo, revealing to the team that Chen Mo had thrown them.
• Chen Mo put away the knives and led the Special Operations Team deeper into the village.
• Chen Mo sensed more than a dozen people in the largest house at the village’s center, where the team believed its target was located.
• The team hid behind a wall near eight surrounding houses and recognized that Vietnamese troops could observe the narrow paths to the central house.

Chen Mo led the Special Operations Team past the Vietnamese sentries by exploiting a gap in their attention, then ordered a surprise assault on the house holding their target. The team gained the upper hand inside, but nearly a hundred enemy soldiers outside were alerted and closing in.

• Chen Mo used his heightened senses to guide the team through the enemy perimeter without being seen.
• Chen Mo found the target house unprepared and signaled the team to attack while he stayed back.
• Victor kicked in the door, and he, James, and the Special Operations Team opened fire on the Vietnamese soldiers inside.
• The team took cover and exchanged fire with the guards, gaining the advantage after their surprise attack.
• The team prepared to capture the high-ranking officer and escape before the alerted soldiers outside arrived.

Chen Mo guarded the Special Operations Team’s assault on the target room, using twin pistols to kill the Vietnamese soldiers rushing toward the building. Nearly half the defenders fell, while the survivors hid behind the walls and dared not advance.

• Victor and James led the Special Operations Team into the target room while Chen Mo stayed outside with two pistols.
• Chen Mo shot down Vietnamese soldiers pouring out of the houses in front of him, stopping their advance.
• When more soldiers emerged on both sides behind him, Chen Mo fired without turning to look and killed them as well.
• The Vietnamese defenders lost nearly half their number, and the survivors hid behind the walls, unable to cross the corners.

Chen Mo and two snipers decimated the Vietnamese troops surrounding the target house, allowing Victor and James to emerge with the captured Vietnamese official. Chen Mo sent them to clear the remaining enemies, and gunfire soon erupted in both directions.

• Chen Mo signaled the two snipers, who killed Vietnamese troops hiding by a wall and then targeted soldiers along the sides of the house.
• The Vietnamese survivors fled into nearby buildings and behind the house after their numbers were cut down.
• Victor and James led the Special Operations Team out with the captured Vietnamese official after clearing the room.
• Chen Mo ordered Victor to clear the houses ahead and James to eliminate eighteen soldiers behind the house.
• Victor and James attacked from opposite directions, and the enemy resistance dwindled as gunfire and screams sounded.

Chen Mo’s team completed its first mission without casualties after he single-handedly defeated more than a hundred Vietnamese troops, earning the Special Operations Team’s admiration. As the team went on to receive increasingly dangerous missions, Victor and James stayed disciplined, while Chen Mo continued looking for other mutants.

• Chen Mo led the team out of the village with their captive and returned safely to the helicopter.
• The snipers and their observer described witnessing Chen Mo’s overwhelming assault, and the team came to admire him.
• Chen Mo’s First Special Operations Team kept a perfect mission record and suffered no casualties while other teams lost many soldiers.
• Victor and James did not repeat the violent incident that would have led to their capture in the movie’s events.
• Chen Mo searched for other mutants but found none.

As missions in Vietnam grew more dangerous, Chen Mo, Victor, and James stopped hiding their extraordinary abilities, astonishing the Special Operations Team with their combat prowess and resilience. Chen Mo became a legend within MACV-SOG, and General Paul Harkins valued him as highly as the entire force of more than four hundred elite soldiers.

• Chen Mo gave up searching for other mutants and waited at Brooklyn Manor for William Stryker to appear in Vietnam.
• Victor and James revealed their claws, bone spikes, and powerful healing abilities during increasingly difficult missions, earning the awe and gratitude of their comrades.
• Chen Mo exposed his seemingly endless ammunition, overwhelming marksmanship, and superhuman strength while repeatedly rescuing Special Operations Team members.
• The First Special Operations Team maintained a record of zero casualties under Chen Mo's leadership, and its members and command came to respect and appreciate him and Victor and James.
• General Paul Harkins judged Chen Mo's value comparable to that of the entire MACV-SOG force.

William Stryker sought to recruit Chen Mo, Victor, and James for his mutant research department, but General Paul Harkins initially refused to release the MACV-SOG soldiers. General Munson intervened and secured the three men and their entire First Special Operations Team for Stryker, who learned they would return to the United States with him.

• William Stryker discovered that General Paul Harkins would not release Chen Mo, Victor, and James from MACV-SOG.
• General Munson contacted General Paul Harkins and persuaded him to transfer the three men to Stryker's research department.
• General Munson arranged for the entire First Special Operations Team of MACV-SOG to join the transfer.
• General Munson told William Stryker that the three mutants and their team would return to the United States with him.

William Stryker secured the First Special Operations Team for his newly formed mutant research department and announced that the X-Plan would soon begin. The team showed little enthusiasm about leaving Vietnam, while Victor and James were especially reluctant to give up combat missions.

• General Munson told William Stryker that the military would transfer the First Special Operations Team to his command and urged him to produce results quickly.
• William Stryker assured General Munson that X-Force was nearly complete and that he would expand the research department and begin the X-Plan.
• General Paul Harkins presented the sixteen members of the First Special Operations Team to William Stryker at the MACV-SOG camp.
• William Stryker told the team that they had been transferred to his secret research department and would leave Vietnam within an hour.
• The team accepted the news quietly, while Victor and James felt especially unwilling to leave the battlefield.

William Stryker recruited Chen Mo and the First Special Operations Team from Vietnam to join his secret mutant research division. At the hidden base, Chen Mo, Victor, and James were assigned to X-Force while the other thirteen soldiers became leaders in the base’s security force.

• General Paul Harkins told the team that Chen Mo, Victor, and James would join a group of people with special abilities, while the other soldiers would lead the research base’s security force.
• Chen Mo agreed to obey the reassignment, reassuring Harkins and William Stryker.
• Chen Mo and the First Special Operations Team left Vietnam that night and returned to the United States the next day.
• William Stryker brought the sixteen soldiers through a hidden waterfall entrance to the mutant research division’s mountain base.
• Stryker assigned Chen Mo, Victor, and James to X-Force and made the other thirteen soldiers squad leaders responsible for training guards and strengthening the base’s defenses.

William Stryker tested Chen Mo, Victor, and James to determine their abilities and value to X-Force. He was impressed by their strength and healing, and saw Chen Mo’s spatial ability as a way to overcome a gatling gun’s ammunition limits.

• William Stryker relied on the Special Operations Team to strengthen the base’s defenses and improve its guards, while they followed his orders and obtained his approval for changes.
• Victor and James demonstrated their claws and bone spikes, exceptional physical abilities, and rapid healing under machine-gun fire.
• Chen Mo revealed that his physical abilities were eight times those of ordinary people and stored a military jeep in his space before releasing it.
• William Stryker realized Chen Mo could use his spatial ability to reload firearms instantly and envisioned him wielding a gatling gun.
• William Stryker concluded that Chen Mo’s space could hold hundreds of thousands of gatling gun shells, removing the weapon’s usual ammunition constraint.

Chen Mo demonstrated the destructive power of his modified M61 Vulcan Cannon at Stryker’s secret base, then met the other X-Force members watching him. The chapter ended with Agent Zero and Wade introduced as the team’s strongest members, each unimpressed by Chen Mo’s display.

• Chen Mo tested his modified gatling gun and used it to penetrate a one-meter-thick special alloy steel plate.
• William Stryker, Victor, James, Agent Zero, Wade, and two other X-Force members watched Chen Mo fire at the range.
• Agent Zero and Wade looked disdainfully at Chen Mo as he held the gatling gun.
• The narration described Agent Zero’s enhanced physical abilities and exceptional marksmanship, which had earned Stryker’s trust.
• The narration described Wade’s enhanced physique and swordsmanship, including his ability to deflect bullets with his twin katanas.

After meeting the returning X-Force members, Chen Mo drew Wade’s challenge by demonstrating his 20 mm Gatling gun’s overwhelming power. Wade froze when Chen Mo aimed the weapon at him, realizing his blades could not stop its shells.

• Bradley, John Wraith, and Iron Fist Fred returned from a mission and acknowledged Chen Mo’s strength.
• Wade and Agent Zero dismissed Chen Mo’s Gatling-gun demonstration, believing their own skills could match him.
• Wade walked toward Chen Mo and asked to try his Gatling gun to prove his superiority.
• Chen Mo turned and aimed the Gatling gun at Wade, stopping him in his tracks.
• Wade realized his blades could not block or split the Gatling gun’s powerful 20 mm shells.

Wade challenged Chen Mo to a blade contest after surrendering to the gatling gun, and Chen Mo accepted. Wade left confident that his provocation had worked, while Victor and James trusted Chen Mo’s blade skills.

• Chen Mo stopped the gatling gun before firing, and Wade lowered his hands after surrendering.
• Wade tried to regain his dignity by challenging Chen Mo to compete with blades.
• Chen Mo raised the gatling gun toward Wade again and asked whether he was sure about the blade contest.
• Wade agreed and specified that they would use only blades, and Chen Mo nodded.

Chen Mo and Wade faced off in a katana duel, and Chen Mo effortlessly controlled the fight while using only one sword. Wade realized Chen Mo far surpassed him in swordsmanship, strength, speed, and experience.

• Chen Mo put away his gatling gun and drew two Katanas, prompting Wade to eagerly accept the chance to fight a fellow swordsman.
• Wade charged Chen Mo with a rapid pair of slashes, but Chen Mo blocked both and knocked Wade’s blades aside.
• Wade renewed his attack, and Chen Mo countered and blocked him without moving his feet or using his left-hand sword.
• After more than a dozen exchanges, Wade recognized that Chen Mo was holding back and that his own swordsmanship was vastly inferior.

Wade asked Chen Mo to use his full strength in a sword fight, hoping the pressure would help him improve. Chen Mo overwhelmed Wade and ended the bout with both blades at his neck.

• Wade recognized that his brief fight with Chen Mo had revealed a chance to advance his swordsmanship and asked Chen Mo to use his full strength.
• Chen Mo raised both Katanas and attacked at increasing speed, forcing Wade to defend without finding an opening to counter.
• William Stryker watched Chen Mo gain the advantage and decided that Chen Mo would be a stronger, more reliable addition to X-Force than Wade.
• Chen Mo warned Wade before accelerating beyond his reactions, slipping past his twin swords and stopping his blades beside Wade's neck.
• Wade lowered his swords, realizing that Chen Mo's full strength was far beyond what he had faced earlier.