Lungmen

Biodata

Background / History

Lungmen was seized by Wei Yenwu years before the novel's present events. It became a commercially oriented border city whose political, military, and financial authority were heavily concentrated under its governor. Edward Artorius, Talulah's father, later died in Lungmen; Wei kept his death secret for ten years. 23 177

Following Chernobog's fall, Rhodes Island contacted Lungmen with intelligence on the disaster. Ch'en purchased the information as a Catastrophe-investigation report and personally introduced Rhodes Island to Wei Yenwu, opening negotiations over a permanent docking arrangement. 36

Wei sought Rhodes Island's screening technology and military strength to manage post-Catastrophe Infected, proposing isolation and expulsion measures. Rhodes Island refused to participate in a policy that would abandon or kill the acutely infected, but subsequently established a free clinic in the Lower City. 38 42

As the threat of conflict with Ursus grew, Lungmen commissioned Rhodes Island to manage and protect the slums. The arrangement gradually expanded Rhodes Island's authority from security provision into administration of the Lower City, recruitment of local Infected personnel, and management of Infected prisoners. 59 76 93

During the Reunion Movement's offensive, Lungmen faced infiltrators in the slums and Sarkaz mercenaries who drove Infected Ursus refugees toward the city walls. Ch'en defied the prevailing reluctance of Lungmen's forces and intervened to secure the refugees' safety; the refugees were later entrusted to Rhodes Island for resettlement. 102 104 106 113

Wei Yenwu eventually transferred his available authority to Ch'en before departing on a diplomatic mission. Ch'en's ties to Wei's old network, record in the Guard Department, and public support positioned her to assume temporary—likely lasting—control of Lungmen. 160

Geography and Climate

• Lungmen is a mobile city and the administrative seat of Yan's Administrative District 019; the term “Lungmen” may also refer to the surrounding administrative territory. 77
• Its officially recorded population is four million, and its open, international character draws migrants alongside criminal and underworld activity. 78
• Lungmen lies near Chernobog, though wilderness and Originium veins create a climatic divide between the two locations. 160
• The city is generally humid, with severe storms common in summer and autumn; winter is ordinarily used to repair mobile-district infrastructure. 166
• A Catastrophe later turned parts of the city unusually hot and damp, while heavy rain flooded several districts and strained drainage systems. 160 166

Administration and Security

Government

• Wei Yenwu — Lungmen's governor during the early Lungmen arc. He controlled the city's finances and much of its military influence, while pursuing a plan to reposition Lungmen as an Infected-oriented logistics city. 56 177
• Ch'en — Initially Senior Superintendent and head of the Guard Department's Special Inspection Unit; later Acting Governor after Wei transferred authority to her. 36 160
• Lungmen Guard Department — Lungmen's principal sanctioned armed institution. Its duties lean toward policing, public order, traffic direction, civilian protection, and trade oversight rather than conventional warfare. 38 76
• Lungmen Army/Garrison — A separate military force deployed as the city entered war readiness. Its movement and command structure were subject to both Wei's influence and oversight from Yan's central authorities. 77 177

Political Position

Lungmen presents itself as diverse, open, and inclusive, but its actual role within Yan is more strategic: a gateway through which Yan's industrial goods and rare materials move outward, and a border city that monitors the surrounding region. 56

Wei sought to shift the city away from becoming another northern military post. His proposed alternative was a logistics and production center that could integrate Infected workers and veterans through an Infected community administered preferentially by Lungmen-origin Rhodes Island personnel. 56

Lower City

The Lower City, commonly called the slums, contains a large Infected population and suffers from overcrowding, illegal construction, gangs, street violence, and weak conventional policing. 42 78 102

• Rhodes Island's free clinics produced patient intelligence and helped identify Infected residents with traceable histories suitable for recruitment. 50 93
• Under Lungmen's security contract, Rhodes Island became the Lower City's effective administrator while nominally serving as a private security provider. 59 93
• Rhodes Island established facilities to detain and process Infected criminals after arguing that the Guard Department could neither fairly judge nor properly manage them. 76 96
• The contract did not automatically grant Rhodes Island responsibility for non-Infected Lower City residents; Ch'en later sought to expand the office's jurisdiction and staffing. 178
• Rhodes Island's presence significantly reduced deaths and injuries, though Oute estimated that order would collapse within days if the organization withdrew. 195
• A major fire later broke out in a densely packed Lower City tube-apartment building, prompting a citywide emergency response. 207

Economy

Lungmen's wealth is founded on trade, industry, and its position as Yan's gateway. Its powerful merchant class can influence the city indirectly through contracts, supply chains, stockpiling, and control of strategic materials. 38 59 70

• Commercial Union and major families — Merchant interests, including the Swire Family, hold substantial influence in Lungmen and predate or rival parts of Wei Yenwu's power structure. 125 126
• Underworld — The city's criminal sphere is associated with Rat King Lin Gey Rui and retains influence in the Lower City despite formal institutions. 75 76
• Rhodes Island holdings — Rhodes Island operates or controls interests in Lower City security, sugar production, metalworking, and Originium refining; it describes itself as the largest shareholder with operational control rather than sole owner. 195
• Originium refining plant — One of Rhodes Island's Lungmen operations employs mostly Infected workers. 195
• Lower City security contract — Rhodes Island's largest Lungmen business and its only operation explicitly described as running at an economic loss. 195
• Landship construction — Lungmen later becomes central to the construction of the Malta, with its office expected to maintain high profit margins to support the project. 220

Relationships

• Yan — Lungmen is a Yan border administrative district and trade gateway, though its military and political autonomy remain constrained by the imperial court. 56 77
• Rhodes Island — Initially a prospective trade partner, then a contracted security provider and long-term medical, administrative, industrial, and military partner in the Lower City. 36 59 195
• Reunion Movement — A major hostile force that planned to infiltrate Lungmen through refugee intake, undermine Rhodes Island's Lower City presence, and attack the city. 46 102
• Ursus — The looming Ursus–Yan border conflict drives Lungmen's militarization, martial law, refugee crisis, and eventual political transition. 56 171 177
• Swire Family — An influential commercial family whose assets and political position become targets during Lungmen's reshuffling. 124 126
• Lee's Detective Agency — A well-connected local organization positioned between Lungmen's legitimate and underworld spheres; it investigates Rhodes Island's growing role in the city. 79 80

Trivia

• Lungmen's official population is four million. 78
• The city is described as a place that “never sleeps,” though martial law temporarily forces its nightlife and ordinary activity to halt. 166
• Rhodes Island's Lower City work has fostered genuine public attachment among residents, though that support is portrayed as fragile and capable of turning into resentment. 195