Recaps

Li Wei and Dr. Hugo rebuilt Stan with a promethium skeleton and a Rage Potion pump-heart, and Stan finally awakened on a full moon night as a violent, blood-hungry werewolf. After devouring the laboratory’s blood supplies, Stan demanded more, and Li Wei considered Gotham’s turmoil a possible source.

• Li Wei assisted Dr. Hugo as he installed a promethium skeleton and a Rage Potion pump-heart in Stan’s body.
• After two days, Stan awakened beneath Arkham Asylum and smashed through the laboratory glass in a feral state.
• Stan briefly recognized Li Wei, then charged into a neighboring laboratory and drank every blood bag he found.
• Stan regained some clarity but struggled to suppress his hunger, while Dr. Hugo confirmed that their blood supplies were gone.
• Li Wei noted that Gotham had grown turbulent again after City Hall proposed the Arkham District Development Plan.

Li Wei led Stan out of Arkham Asylum as his mutation overwhelmed him, and Stan hunted both Maroni Family and Falcone Family gang members in an alley. Stan regained his reason afterward, and Li Wei brought him back to the asylum to help him accept what he had become.

• Li Wei took Stan out of Arkham Asylum, but Stan's bloodlust took control and drew him toward the scent of blood.
• Stan charged into an alley where the Maroni Family and Falcone Family were fighting, and he killed a Maroni Family gang member despite being shot.
• Stan's wounds healed as he absorbed blood, and he slaughtered the gang members from both families.
• Stan regained some clarity amid the remains, and Li Wei greeted him from a rooftop, reminding him that he had promised Stan a chance to end evil himself.
• Li Wei brought the distraught Stan back to Arkham Asylum, where Dr. Hugo had just finished cleaning the laboratory and shut its door when he saw them.
• Li Wei called Dr. Hugo over to help Stan accept the truth about his transformation.

After learning how he had died and been resurrected, Stan agreed to join Arkham Asylum and the Glorious Evolution. Li Wei granted him Warwick’s Hero Template, transforming Stan into a powerful werewolf who could partly restrain his bloodlust.

• Li Wei told Stan how the Viper Potion had killed and resurrected him, leaving him responsible for the deaths in the alley.
• Stan accepted Li Wei’s invitation to join Arkham Asylum and hunt the evil in Gotham.
• Li Wei and Dr. Hugo revealed their Khada Jhin and Singed forms, and Stan drank alchemical potion from Dr. Hugo.
• Li Wei granted Stan Warwick’s Hero Template, and Stan endured a painful transformation into a werewolf.
• Stan discovered that the template gave him hunting instincts and abilities, including healing himself by injuring targets, while only partly controlling his craving for blood.

Stan became Gotham’s new urban legend after hunting gangsters, while Maroni and Falcone intensified their conflict over the mysterious killings. Li Wei hired Stan at Arkham Asylum and arranged for him to get a new identity, but a greater trouble soon emerged.

• Stan hunted criminals through the night, killing more than a hundred men from search parties sent by the Maroni and Falcone families.
• Maroni and Falcone mistook the attacks for a rival’s ambush, then chose to escalate their feud while rumors of a deadly beast spread through Gotham’s underworld.
• Li Wei presented Stan with an inflated damage bill, and Stan accepted a job at Arkham Asylum that would deduct most of his salary to repay it.
• Dr. Hugo confronted Li Wei about exploiting Stan, and Li Wei asked him to use the Court of Owls’ channels to obtain Stan a new identity.
• Li Wei reflected that Arkham Asylum needed to operate legally as it entered Gotham’s public eye, and the next development soon proved his foresight useful.

Gordon and Harvey questioned Li Wei at Arkham Asylum about the previous night, while Gordon suspected that Li Wei’s employee was the supposedly dead Stan Topolsky. The officers left without proof after Li Wei and Stan maintained their new identity story, though Gordon recognized Stan just before departing.

• Gordon and Harvey arrived at Arkham Asylum to question Li Wei but were greeted by Stan, who introduced himself as Warwick Vander.
• Gordon felt Stan looked familiar, and Stan warned Li Wei that the officers had seen him at the Wayne Enterprises charity gala.
• Li Wei told Stan to stick to his Warwick Vander identity and then met with Gordon and Harvey.
• Gordon questioned Li Wei about his whereabouts and what he had heard at ten the previous night, and Li Wei described hearing wolf howls without revealing useful information.
• As Gordon and Harvey left, Gordon remembered Stan Topolsky, but Li Wei and Stan denied knowing who he meant, leaving Gordon unsure of his identification.

Gordon and Harvey failed to find evidence that Stan had returned as Warwick before a City Councilor’s assassination forced them to investigate the Falcone Family’s role in the Arkham District development dispute. Gordon then learned that Oswald Cobblepot had returned and was waiting at his home, putting Barbara in danger.

• Gordon and Harvey returned to the precinct to examine Stan’s body, but the coroner’s prepared corpse and Warwick Vander’s records gave them no reason to suspect a deception.
• The Police Commissioner assigned Gordon and Harvey to investigate a City Councilor’s murder, which appeared connected to the Falcone Family’s bid for the Arkham District development project.
• Gordon worried that the Falcone Family would kill more City Councilors and that he lacked the evidence or power to stop them.
• Barbara called Gordon and told him that Oswald Cobblepot had come to the house, alarming Gordon because he had pretended to kill Cobblepot and warned him to stay away from Gotham.
• Gordon told Barbara not to open the door and left for home, while Harvey agreed to organize the case files and search for evidence.

Li Wei learned that Fish Mooney had abducted Ian Hargrove, the explosive-making prisoner meant to become his next Hero Template vessel. He prepared to hunt down whoever had seized Ian and leave Gotham’s underworld with no doubt that Arkham Asylum could not be provoked.

• Li Wei expected Cobblepot to challenge Gotham’s two major crime families and considered shaping him into Graves the Outlaw.
• A transport vehicle from Blackgate Prison arrived at Arkham Asylum riddled with bullet holes, and its dying driver said Ian had been taken.
• Li Wei read Ian Hargrove’s file and became furious that someone had stolen the explosive genius who could bring Arkham subsidies and serve as Jigs’s vessel.
• Li Wei told Dr. Hugo and Stan to join him after dark, then searched Gotham with his widespread vision for clues.
• Li Wei spotted Fish Mooney at an abandoned factory, where her gang held Ian and forced him to make explosives.

Li Wei uncovered Fish Mooney’s plan to use Ian to rob Falcone’s vault and decided to kill her in Arkham Asylum’s first public retaliation. Li Wei, Dr. Hugo, and Stan attacked Fish’s hideout, where Stan charged the guards and Li Wei began picking them off; the assault was still underway.

• Li Wei learned that Fish had kidnapped Ian to break into Falcone’s vault and planned to use Li Wei to destabilize Gotham’s underworld.
• Li Wei decided Fish had to die and planned an attack that would make Gotham fear Arkham Asylum without leaving evidence behind.
• Li Wei brought Dr. Hugo and Stan out of Arkham Asylum, and they adopted the appearances of Alchemist Singed, Warwick, and Khada Jhin.
• Li Wei, Dr. Hugo, and Stan reached the abandoned factory, where they sensed Ian and the hidden sentries.
• Stan charged the factory amid a wolf howl, drawing a barrage of gunfire as he dodged the bullets.
• Li Wei fired Whisper and struck a machine-gun-wielding sentry in the head.

Li Wei, revealed as Khada Jhin, and Stan slaughtered Fish's gang and confronted Fish at the abandoned factory. Fish tried to bargain and then threaten them with explosives, but Stan used his fear-inducing howl to stop her before killing her, while Li Wei ordered Dr. Hugo to keep Ian alive.

• Khada Jhin's shot killed the sentry, and Stan charged into the factory and slaughtered the gang members as Fish realized Li Wei was Khada Jhin.
• After the slaughter, Li Wei arrived with Dr. Hugo and Stan, and Fish came out with Ian tied to a cart of explosives.
• Fish offered to serve Li Wei in exchange for her life, but he refused and asked whether he looked like a farmer.
• Fish threatened to ignite the explosives, but Stan's howl made her lose control, and Stan killed her.
• Li Wei told Dr. Hugo to keep Ian alive, then prepared to leave.

Li Wei brought Ian back to Arkham Asylum after Dr. Hugo poisoned the abandoned factory and Stan killed Fish. He began granting Ian the Demolition Genius Jigs Hero Template, leaving Ian writhing in agony as it entered his body.

• Stan killed Fish and brought her intact corpse to Li Wei, who ordered him to save it for later.
• Dr. Hugo released toxic gas across the abandoned factory, killing its plants and poisoning the soil.
• Li Wei had Stan hang Fish's corpse from a streetlamp, then took Ian and the others back to Arkham Asylum.
• Ian learned that Khada Jhin was the asylum director, Dr. Hugo was its attending physician, and Stan was its janitor.
• Li Wei bought the Demolition Genius Jigs template and pressed its orb of light into Ian, triggering agonizing pain.

Ian became a Yordle after receiving Jigs's Hero Template, gaining explosive-making knowledge and abilities, and joined Arkham Asylum as its first true patient. Meanwhile, Gordon investigated Fish's death and discovered evidence that Khada Jhin had killed her at an abandoned factory.

• Ian underwent a painful transformation into a small, fluffy Yordle and gained Jigs's physical abilities and demolition knowledge.
• Li Wei assessed Jigs's explosive abilities, while Ian accepted his new form and welcomed the chance to work on bombs at Arkham Asylum.
• Dr. Hugo took Ian to the underground Indian Hill Hospital, and Li Wei and Stan returned to their rooms.
• Gordon identified Fish, the Falcone Family's second-in-command, as the corpse found hanging from a streetlamp and recognized the wound as the work of Gotham Beast.
• Gordon and Harvey found a Flesh Lotus and corrupted ground in a nearby abandoned factory, realizing Khada Jhin had killed Fish there, and called for police support.

Gordon and Harvey traced Fish’s murder and Ian Hargrove’s abduction back to Arkham Asylum, where Li Wei calmly concealed any evidence linking him to the killings or Khada Jhin. Gordon left convinced the asylum was hiding something but unable to prove it, and reflected on how Gotham had changed since The Waynes died.

• After questioning a gang member, Gordon and Harvey learned Fish had abducted Ian Hargrove during his transfer from Blackgate Prison to Arkham Asylum, so they went to investigate the asylum.
• Li Wei prepared Ian to stick to their account, then welcomed Gordon and Harvey and agreed to let them question Ian and inspect the hospital.
• Gordon and Harvey found nothing suspicious in the hospital, and Stan appeared to be an ordinary cleaner as he greeted them.
• Ian told Gordon he had come to Arkham Asylum on his own after Fish’s men attacked his prison escort, leaving Gordon suspicious but without proof.
• Li Wei escorted Gordon and Harvey out, and Gordon told Harvey that The Waynes had once symbolized hope and the future for Gotham.

Li Wei watched Bruce Wayne begin training with Alfred and Cobblepot expand his underworld power while Gordon and Harvey searched for evidence against Arkham Asylum. He then interviewed Leslie Thompkins, whose impressive medical résumé changed his mind about turning her away.

• Li Wei watched Gordon leave Arkham Asylum without evidence and noticed Bruce Wayne ask Alfred to teach him how to fight.
• Alfred agreed to train Bruce, while Li Wei reflected on the formidable Batman Bruce might become.
• Cobblepot used Fish's death to seize her remaining forces and advance his plans to provoke a war between the Maroni and Falcone families.
• Harvey questioned why he and Gordon were targeting Arkham Asylum, and Gordon defended his father's principle against using unjust means for just ends.
• Stan told Li Wei that Leslie Thompkins had applied for a doctor's job, so Li Wei invited her in and began interviewing her.
• Leslie impressed Li Wei with her résumé, which included graduating from Harvard Medical School.

Li Wei accepted Falcone’s ten-million-dollar donation, settling the danger posed by Fish’s death, and asked Falcone to arrange for Gordon to work at Arkham Asylum. Falcone agreed, bringing Li Wei’s plan to draw Gordon and Leslie together closer to fruition.

• Li Wei told Stan, Ian, and Dr. Hugo to conceal their unusual abilities from Leslie, while Stan chose the new identity Warwick Vander.
• Falcone arrived at Arkham Asylum with Victor Zsasz and offered Li Wei another donation.
• Li Wei accepted Falcone’s ten-million-dollar check, and the two silently agreed that Falcone’s family would not be blamed for Fish’s death.
• Li Wei said Arkham Asylum needed better security and asked Falcone to help bring Sheriff Gordon there.
• Falcone agreed to arrange for Gordon to report to Arkham Asylum.

Li Wei’s maneuvering helped Arkham Asylum become Gotham’s feared underworld power while Gordon’s investigation went nowhere. When Gordon pursued Selina Kyle, a young witness to The Waynes’ murder, Li Wei recognized that her appearance could affect his plans.

• Falcone left Arkham Asylum after agreeing to arrange Gordon’s assignment there, and rumors of his visit strengthened Gotham’s belief that Arkham was behind Khada Jhin and the Gotham Beast.
• Maroni realized that even victory over Falcone would leave him facing Arkham Asylum, but he continued the war because he expected Falcone to kill him if he backed down.
• Gordon failed to get evidence from an underworld informant, while Li Wei watched his investigation and concluded that it was futile.
• Li Wei noticed that Selina Kyle claimed to have witnessed The Waynes’ murder and recognized her as a potential Catwoman Hero Template vessel.
• Gordon pursued Selina as a lead in his investigation of The Waynes’ shooting, prompting Li Wei to consider the consequences for his plans.

Li Wei ordered Ian, Warwick, and Dr. Hugo to create a huge disturbance to divert Gordon’s attention while Gotham’s underworld reshuffled. As Gordon and Harvey were trapped in a massive Maroni assault on the Falcone Family, a mysterious force began slaughtering Maroni’s men nearby.

• Li Wei considered the threat posed by Gordon and Bruce Wayne’s alliance and ordered Ian, Warwick, and Dr. Hugo to make a major commotion without causing too many casualties.
• Maroni launched an all-out attack on the Falcone Family’s strongholds, and Gordon and Harvey were pinned down by the gang’s overwhelming firepower.
• Explosions, screams, poison, and talk of the Gotham Beast erupted among the Maroni gang, abruptly easing the gunfire aimed at Gordon and Harvey.
• Gordon and Harvey used a small mirror to confirm that the Maroni gang was being slaughtered, then cautiously rose to look toward the explosions.

Warwick, Ian, and Dr. Hugo massacred a Maroni Family squad, then spared Gordon and Harvey and left them bewildered about their motives. The trio found the Falcone Family under attack by the Maroni Family, and Warwick appeared on the battlefield as both sides panicked.

• Warwick, Ian, and Dr. Hugo killed the Maroni gangsters with claws, bombs, and poison gas while Gordon and Harvey watched from behind a wall.
• Dr. Hugo stopped Warwick and Ian from attacking Gordon and Harvey, reminding them that Li Wei had ordered them not to cause too many casualties.
• Warwick, Ian, and Dr. Hugo ignored the two officers and left, while Gordon and Harvey wondered if the trio had come to save them before heading back to the police station.
• Warwick used his sense of smell to lead Ian and Dr. Hugo to a battle where the Maroni Family had cornered the Falcone Family inside a restaurant.
• Warwick appeared on the battlefield with a howl, filling both gangs with despair.

Warwick, Ian, and Dr. Hugo joined the Falcone–Maroni gang war and targeted the Maroni Family, causing Li Wei’s Soul Essence to surge. Li Wei accepted the rising death toll and looked forward to spending his newfound earnings.

• Warwick ordered his group to attack the Maroni Family while sparing the Falcone Family, citing Falcone’s donation to the hospital.
• Warwick, Ian, and Dr. Hugo wiped out a Maroni Family squad and headed off to find another fight.
• Li Wei discovered his Soul Essence had jumped to 6749 and used Mass Infatuation’s vision to inspect Gotham.
• Li Wei realized the Maroni Family and Falcone Family were at war, with Warwick, Ian, and Dr. Hugo killing Maroni members and shifting the battle in Falcone’s favor.
• Li Wei decided the casualties were acceptable and expected his Soul Essence to exceed ten thousand by morning.
• Li Wei went back to bed, eager to spend his earnings after waking.

After gaining more than 13,000 Soul Essence from the Maroni Family’s deaths, Li Wei explored the shop and bought three hero templates with infinite growth potential. He left Aurelion Sol out of reach for now and ended the chapter owning seven Hero Templates.

• Li Wei checked his balance and found that he had gained over 11,000 Soul Essence overnight, mostly from the Maroni Family.
• Li Wei saw Warwick back at Arkham Asylum, disguised as an ordinary renovation worker, while Leslie arrived for work.
• Li Wei tried to purchase Aurelion Sol but discovered that he had to unlock every other Hero Template first.
• Li Wei found that the 3150-Soul-Essence templates had unlocked, including Sion, Thresh, and Veigar, whose powers could grow without limit.
• Li Wei bought the Sion, Thresh, and Veigar templates, bringing his total to seven Hero Templates and leaving 3634 Soul Essence.

Li Wei discovered that Hero Template growth talents could strengthen him independently of Soul Essence and ordered Dr. Hugo to buy insects for him to kill. Falcone donated one hundred million dollars to Arkham Asylum, hoping to secure Li Wei’s protection, while Gordon and Harvey were left with Falcone’s warning about Maroni.

• Li Wei confirmed that Sion, Thresh, and Veigar’s growth talents did not conflict with Soul Essence, and decided to build them up by killing insects and absorbing souls.
• Li Wei ordered Dr. Hugo to find as many insects as possible, and Dr. Hugo began negotiating with an agricultural technology company in Metropolis.
• Gordon and Harvey arrived at Arkham Asylum alongside Falcone, who warned Gordon to arrest the wanted Maroni before time ran out.
• Falcone met Li Wei and offered a one-hundred-million-dollar donation, fearing that Arkham Asylum’s fighters could destroy the Falcone Family as they had the Maroni Family.
• Li Wei accepted Falcone’s check and asked whether he had come for anything else.

Falcone sought Li Wei’s approval to take over Gotham’s underworld, but Li Wei refused to interfere and focused instead on expanding his bug supply. Gordon pressed Li Wei about his loyalties, while Dr. Hugo secured thirty million cockroaches and then received another hundred million dollars to buy more.

• Falcone offered Li Wei a hundred-million-dollar donation and asked for his views on Gotham’s underworld; Li Wei said he had no interest in it, and Falcone left believing he could unify the gangs.
• Falcone told Li Wei that Gordon would soon be transferred to Arkham Asylum as a security guard.
• Gordon asked Li Wei whose side he was on, and Li Wei said he was responsible only for his own interests before dismissing Gordon and Harvey.
• Li Wei called Dr. Hugo and learned that he had bought around thirty million cockroaches for five million dollars, with delivery scheduled at Gotham’s docks in three days.
• Li Wei gave Dr. Hugo Falcone’s hundred-million-dollar donation to buy more bugs, leaving Dr. Hugo stunned because the supplier’s cockroach stock was already depleted.

Li Wei considered establishing an insect farm to supply the cockroaches needed for his ongoing enhancements, while Gordon was framed and fired from the Gotham police department. Gordon arranged to seek work at Arkham Asylum, and Li Wei secured approval for his transfer, leaving him ready to begin the Gordon Enhancement Plan.

• Li Wei realized that buying hundreds of millions of cockroaches would not meet his continuing needs, so he added an insect breeding factory to his plans.
• The Police Commissioner fired Gordon over a bullet from his service weapon, admitting that officials had framed him to take the blame for a Maroni Family member’s death.
• Gordon asked to work as a security guard at Arkham Asylum, and Harvey followed him out after warning the Police Commissioner she would regret the decision.
• Gordon told Harvey he suspected Li Wei and Arkham Asylum were not what they seemed and planned to investigate the asylum.
• Li Wei arranged land for the insect farm through Falcone but found that manufacturers could not provide suitable equipment at a price he wanted to pay.
• The mayor asked Li Wei whether to approve Gordon’s transfer, and Li Wei told him to approve it so Gordon could report to Arkham Asylum the next morning.

Li Wei began his plan to bring Gordon back to the Gotham Police Department by challenging him to understand Gotham’s politics, while Gordon settled into Arkham Asylum and grew closer to Dr. Leslie. That night, Cobblepot came to Li Wei asking him not to support Falcone as Cobblepot tried to take over the Falcone Family’s power and become Gotham’s underground king.

• Li Wei welcomed Gordon to Arkham Asylum, told him he would return to the Gotham Police Department, and said he needed to understand that politics was the art of struggle and compromise.
• Gordon began investigating Arkham Asylum but found no secrets, then spent the day becoming familiar with Dr. Leslie and flirting with her.
• Li Wei watched Gordon and believed Leslie’s help would eventually make him understand Gotham’s politics and become enhanced.
• Cobblepot visited Li Wei alone and asked him not to help Falcone while Cobblepot tried to seize the Falcone Family’s power and take Falcone’s place as Gotham’s underground king.

Li Wei agreed to let Cobblepot move against Falcone, hoping Cobblepot’s rise would earn him another Hero Template. The next morning, Li Wei detonated a shipment of cockroaches with a massive bomb, leaving Gotham stunned and the police searching an empty crater.

• Li Wei accepted Cobblepot’s plan to overthrow Falcone and urged him to pursue his ambition to become Gotham’s underground king.
• Cobblepot left Arkham Asylum and told Butch to drive him back so they could prepare to betray and kill Falcone.
• Li Wei went to the docks, collected two containers holding three thousand cockroaches, and had them delivered to a secluded corner of Arkham.
• Li Wei used Jigs’s bomb skill to blow up the containers, creating a huge explosion and mushroom cloud that alarmed Gotham.
• Li Wei fled the scene, and heavily armed Gotham police arrived but found no evidence.

Li Wei sought Bruce Wayne’s cooperation on an insect farm while revealing Gotham’s looming underworld conflict to Gordon. When Gordon tried to warn the police, Li Wei stopped him and urged him to pursue greater influence so he could change the city more broadly.

• Li Wei realized that the souls of thirty million cockroaches had greatly increased his strength, armor, and ability power, and decided to approach Bruce Wayne about an insect farm.
• Li Wei asked Gordon to arrange a meeting with Bruce Wayne, and Gordon agreed while asking about the morning’s explosion.
• Li Wei dismissed the explosion as insignificant and told Gordon that Cobblepot planned to overthrow Falcone.
• Gordon tried to leave to warn Harvey and the police, but Li Wei refused to approve his leave.
• Li Wei argued that Gordon could save more people by rising to a position of power, and Gordon challenged him over whether becoming commissioner was within his control.