Recaps

Li Qinwu opened a route between the Lower Hive and the surface, recruited the Silent One to guard his Brewery, and strengthened his ties with the PDF. He left Little Knife with a sniper rifle while heading toward a rebel camp, and his military connections helped deter the Underhive Gangs from targeting him.

• Li Qinwu and the craftsmen cut through the ventilation shaft’s steel barriers, allowing Little Train to reach the surface and opening a trade route.
• Li Qinwu invited the Silent One to live with him in the Lower Hive, intending to use the powerful psyker to protect his Brewery.
• Second Lieutenant Rudosen told Li Qinwu that Lieutenant Winchester planned to attack Old Man Sen’s rebel camp, gave him a sniper rifle and ammunition, and promised to notify him when Winchester moved.
• Li Qinwu agreed to take in a wounded soldier and the soldier’s three working-age relatives, earning Rudosen a favor with a company commander.
• Li Qinwu hid Little Knife with the sniper rifle and went toward the rebel camp, deliberately showing Little Knife his PDF connections to discourage the Fertilizer Gang from moving against him.

Li Qinwu traded an Autogun and medicine with the rebel leader, Old Man Sen, for food and learned that the leader was tied to a possible assassination target. After Old Man Sen gave him extra produce and livestock, Li Qinwu explained why the rebels could not profitably sell their resources to a neighboring world.

• Li Qinwu used a birdcall to signal the rebel sentries, then met Old Man Sen and traded a homemade gun and three tubes of disinfectant powder for food.
• Old Man Sen accepted the medicine, and Li Qinwu's system prompt confirmed the mission was complete and his favorability had increased to Lv. 1.
• When Li Qinwu heard the leader was called Old Man Sen, he suspected he was connected to Lieutenant Winchester's planned attack but hid his reaction.
• Old Man Sen exchanged the gun for seventy-five sacks of potatoes and gave Li Qinwu sacks of vegetables and more than ten alien chickens as gifts.
• Old Man Sen asked whether he could sell natural food to a neighboring Industrial World, and Li Qinwu explained that dangerous Warp travel made such trade impractical.

Li Qinwu brought three tons of potatoes back to his distillery and began brewing liquor while warning the Silent One to keep his Psychic Power use discreet. He left the first batch fermenting and expected it to earn at least fifty thousand dollars once distilled and sold.

• Li Qinwu collected Little Knife and the Silent One at the ventilation ducts, loaded the grain onto the Little Train, and warned the Silent One not to expose his Psyker abilities or cause trouble.
• Li Qinwu taught the Silent One to use Psychic Power indirectly, suggesting he accelerate objects as weapons and manipulate kidney stones to torment people.
• Li Qinwu warned the rebels that the Lower Hive was dangerous, then returned to his distillery without encountering obstacles.
• Li Qinwu sent Little Knife and several lackeys to Reno's Clean Water Guild to deliver the Memory Panel, buy brewing supplies, and bring Little Joel's family to work.
• Li Qinwu hired Little Knife's lackeys to process three tons of potatoes into mash and start fermentation for his first batch of liquor.
• Li Qinwu estimated that distilling the batch would produce 1,200 to 1,500 liters of liquor and bring in at least fifty thousand dollars at the lowest prices.

Li Qinwu assigned his crew duties at the Brewery and left to practice with his sniper rifle. After promising not to cause trouble, Silent One grew curious about Li Qinwu's Hideout and tried to pick its lock with Psychic Power.

• Li Qinwu dismissed Little Knife's underlings, then gathered his remaining crew and assigned them work at the Brewery.
• Li Qinwu gave Little Joel and Big Joel Autoguns and asked Big Joel to learn to fight.
• Li Qinwu gave Sansa her daughter's letter and assigned her to cook for the workshop.
• Li Qinwu gave Little Knife 5,000 Fertilizer Coupons to acquire supplies and liquor bottles for the Brewery.
• Li Qinwu warned Silent One not to cause trouble, then left equipped to practice his sniper rifle proficiency.
• Silent One waited until no one was watching, approached Li Qinwu's Hideout, and began trying to pick the lock with Psychic Power.

Li Qinwu entered the Duel Arena to practice with his sniper rifle and search for loot, then found an untouched row of high-level residences. He discovered an encrypted Electronic Personal Terminal worth an estimated 120,000 and continued searching the room.

• Li Qinwu chose the Duel Arena and used Endurance and Strength Injections and a Holy Biscuit before heading to the workers' residences.
• Li Qinwu found nothing valuable in the easily accessible rooms and noticed that the uppermost residences were cut off by a broken staircase.
• Li Qinwu sprinted across a five-meter gap and pulled himself onto the highest platform.
• Li Qinwu searched an untouched residence and found an encrypted Electronic Personal Terminal estimated to be worth 120,000.
• Li Qinwu stored the terminal in his backpack and hurried to search the rest of the room.

Li Qinwu found Count White Tree’s insignia in a Strategic Warehouse and unlocked a mission offering him the choice to sell it, return it, or claim the count’s title. The count’s notebook revealed that he had detonated a nerve toxin bomb after his wife betrayed him and rival nobles destroyed his family, then came to the warehouse and killed himself.

• Li Qinwu searched the houses, collecting valuable game cartridges and finding a locked room he could not open.
• Li Qinwu found a centuries-old skeleton holding a rusted pistol and discovered a notebook and a shield-shaped insignia beside it.
• Li Qinwu identified the object as Count White Tree’s Insignia, which unlocked the mission Where To Go From Here? and presented him with choices about its fate.
• Li Qinwu read Count White Tree’s notebook and learned that rival nobles had killed the count’s children and that his wife had betrayed and poisoned him.
• Count White Tree detonated a nerve toxin bomb that killed an estimated 100 million people, then went to the Strategic Warehouse and shot himself.

Li Qinwu found a Black Card that could unlock containers in the White Tree Family’s strategic reserve warehouse. As someone approached, he considered using its five remaining charges to search the warehouse’s untouched containers.

• Li Qinwu decided to postpone investigating whether the White Tree Family still existed and collected valuable gold items from the remaining rooms.
• Li Qinwu searched the room again and found a Black Card hidden beneath Count White Tree’s decayed clothes.
• Li Qinwu learned that the Black Card had five uses left and was used to manage containers in the underground reserve warehouse.
• Li Qinwu tried the Black Card on a locked door, but it failed to open it.
• Li Qinwu eyed the warehouse’s unopened containers and considered bringing his underlings to search them before he spotted a torch approaching through the darkness.

Li Qinwu sniped at the Chemical Gang and the rats fighting over salvage in the Strategic Storage Warehouse to raise his firearms proficiency. He confirmed his first hit through the system panel and killed a second target, leaving the battle underway below.

• Li Qinwu surveyed a fight between more than eighty rats and over two hundred Chemical Gang members in the warehouse.
• He set up his PDF Sniper Rifle and gauged the fighters' distance at roughly eight hundred meters.
• Li Qinwu shot a Chemical Gang Poison Insect who had stopped to inject himself, then confirmed his proficiency had increased from 16 to 17.
• He fired at a second Poison Insect lingering behind the fighting and blew a hole through the man's chest, killing him.

Li Qinwu used his sniper rifle to kill members of the Chemical Gang and the Rats, then discovered that shooting a wounded enemy’s limbs increased his firearms proficiency. He aimed at a Muscle Dog’s hand to test whether he could gain even more proficiency.

• Li Qinwu sniped both the Chemical Gang and the Rats as their battle raged below, and the fighters eventually realized a sniper was attacking them.
• The Chemical Gang’s drugged Poison Insects surrounded the Rats, but Li Qinwu shot a gap in their encirclement and the Rats scattered.
• A drug-crazed minor leader awakened the Chemical Pig, which attacked people indiscriminately as the battlefield descended into chaos.
• Li Qinwu struggled to hit moving targets, then shot a fleeing Rat and tore off a pursuing Muscle Dog’s leg.
• Li Qinwu found that shooting the Muscle Dog’s other thigh raised his firearms proficiency from 58 to 59, then aimed at its hand.

Li Qinwu exhausted his ammunition destroying the Chemical Pig, then looted the battlefield and found an Antique Sword. After rats ambushed and wounded him, he healed himself and fought back, leaving one attacker fleeing as he gave chase.

• Li Qinwu used his remaining sniper rounds to cripple the Chemical Pig and raised his firearm proficiency to 91.
• Li Qinwu looted the battlefield, collecting supplies and an Antique Longsword.
• A group of Lower Hive rats ambushed Li Qinwu, shooting his leg and attempting to surround him.
• Li Qinwu used a Painkiller and medical kits to repair his leg, then prepared to fight the rats with the Antique Sword.
• Li Qinwu blinded the rats with a High-Intensity Flashlight and killed three of them in close combat.
• After healing his shattered shoulder, Li Qinwu pulled the sword from a corpse and chased the fleeing rat.

Li Qinwu fought his way through the rats who ambushed him in the Strategic Warehouse and recovered the gear they had tried to steal. He cornered the last three survivors at the escape gap, where he confronted them after arranging their teammates’ heads nearby.

• A terrified rat ran to warn his three teammates, but Li Qinwu followed and killed him before ambushing the others.
• Li Qinwu fought the three rats, killing two and chasing down the one who fled after his face was cut.
• Three other rats ignored their teammates’ screams and stole Li Qinwu’s sniper rifle and backpacks.
• The three thieves reached the escape gap and found seven bloody heads arranged beside it.
• Li Qinwu lit a cigarette and confronted the three men as they recoiled in fear.

Li Qinwu returned to the Hideout after a bloody fight, restored his injuries, and caught Silent One investigating the supposedly nonexistent space. Silent One agreed to teach him how to control gravity in exchange for promised goods, and the two headed into a passageway to practice.

• Li Qinwu extracted to the Hideout, recovered from his injuries, sorted his supplies, and maintained his sniper rifle.
• Li Qinwu caught Silent One painting Warp graffiti on the Hideout door and refused to let him inside.
• Silent One explained that the Hideout had no presence in the Warp, then agreed to teach Li Qinwu to control gravity for a reward.
• Li Qinwu gave Little Knife a bundle of skins to sell and drank the meat soup Sansa had made.
• Li Qinwu and Silent One entered a dark passageway to practice Psychic Power.

The Silent One taught Li Qinwu how to enter the Warp and channel its energy, guiding his soul through the Warp until he could do it himself. After Li Qinwu successfully released Warp energy, the Silent One began teaching him Gravity Control by rewriting an object's rules in the Warp.

• The Silent One told Li Qinwu to eat a Holy Biscuit, then explained how to draw Warp energy into his body through his soul.
• The Silent One repeatedly led Li Qinwu's soul into and out of the Warp, while their Holy Biscuit-protected souls burned the Wild Daemons that tried to bite them.
• After dozens of guided trips, Li Qinwu learned to enter the Warp on his own, draw its energy into reality, and release it from his palm.
• The Silent One demonstrated Gravity Control by making a screw hover and explained that it worked by rewriting the screw's essence in the Warp.
• The Silent One invited Li Qinwu to try changing the screw's rule himself.

Li Qinwu trained his Psychic Power and rewarded the Silent One with Holy Wine before helping Little Knife start a family. The Hideout became more like a home, while Li Qinwu wondered whether the Silent One needed a wife too.

• Li Qinwu learned to levitate a screw by altering its rules in the Warp, then began training with a heavy steel pipe.
• Li Qinwu gave the Silent One Holy Wine, whose effects thrilled him and cleared Warp corruption while boosting his mental strength.
• Over five days, Li Qinwu trained, managed production, and raised his attributes as his Psychic Power grew stronger.
• Little Knife gave Li Qinwu the money from selling poison-insect tattoos, and Li Qinwu returned it with extra funds for necessities and a wife.
• Little Knife brought home a woman, and Li Qinwu arranged a lavish wedding feast that brought the Hideout's residents closer together.

Li Qinwu distilled the brewery’s first batch of liquor and tested whether a Green Needle could help Little Joel’s spine. He diluted Holy Wine into one vat to create a drink that could attract repeat customers, then planned to sell the liquor in the Lower Hive.

• Li Qinwu injected Little Joel with a Green Needle and sent him to rest while he watched for changes in his spine.
• Li Qinwu and his workers distilled the fermented potato mash, producing 1,400 liters of liquor and additional low-proof liquor mixed with the heads and tails.
• Li Qinwu decided to have Little Knife sell the poisonous low-proof liquor outside in the Lower Hive.
• Li Qinwu diluted one capful of Holy Wine into a large vat of liquor and had Little Knife taste it.
• Little Knife felt refreshed after his first sip but found the second less remarkable, confirming Li Qinwu’s plan to use the drink’s fleeting effect to bring customers back.

Li Qinwu brought his liquor to the surface to sell it to Second Lieutenant Rudosen, while arranging a food trade with the rebels. The chapter ended with Rudosen amazed that Little Joel could walk again and Li Qinwu giving him a Green Needle.

• Li Qinwu packaged the liquor, loaded it onto the Little Train, and traveled to the surface with Little Knife, the Silent One, and the recovered Little Joel.
• Li Qinwu passed through the Mutant territory without incident but decided the Mutants remained a threat to his trade route.
• Parson met Li Qinwu at the ventilation shaft, and Li Qinwu asked him to arrange potatoes and other food from Old Man Sen in exchange for a PDF Automatic Gun.
• Li Qinwu gave Parson a tube of High-Purity Anti-Inflammatory Disinfectant Powder, and Parson rode off to fetch the supplies.
• Second Lieutenant Rudosen arrived and was stunned to see Little Joel standing again.
• Li Qinwu gave Second Lieutenant Rudosen a Green Needle and told him it could restore injured limbs.

Li Qinwu sold liquor to Second Lieutenant Rudosen’s PDF soldiers and arranged for them to resell it through nearby camps. He earned 78,400 credits from the trip and realized his small distillery could not meet the wider market’s demand.

• Li Qinwu asked Second Lieutenant Rudosen how he could sell liquor, and Rudosen explained that the PDF allowed soldiers to drink and run a military market.
• At Rudosen’s camp, Li Qinwu sold more than six hundred bottles of liquor for 4,800 credits, then learned the going price had risen to ten credits per bottle.
• Rudosen took Li Qinwu to the regiment’s market, where Li Qinwu saw civilian vendors disguised as soldiers and a rival selling chemical liquor.
• Li Qinwu offered Rudosen’s soldiers liquor for eight credits per bottle so they could resell it, and more than 120 soldiers quickly sold their stock to other camps.
• Li Qinwu paid Rudosen his agreed 30-percent share of the 112,000-credit proceeds and kept 78,400 credits.

Li Qinwu prepared to travel to the Middle Hive and learned that Lieutenant Winchester had a heavily protected force, including a Chimera Transport and a squad of elite bodyguards. Li Qinwu and Lieutenant Rudosen discussed ways to sabotage Winchester’s mission and arrange an ambush, and Rudosen agreed to give Li Qinwu advance warning.

• Li Qinwu sent Little Knife, Little Joel, Big Joel, and Silent One back to wait for the rebels’ food delivery, and asked Little Joel to carry a PDF Automatic Gun.
• Little Joel gave Li Qinwu a letter for his sister, and Big Joel asked him to bring back seasonings from the Middle Hive.
• Li Qinwu asked Lieutenant Rudosen about Lieutenant Winchester’s forces and learned that Winchester had 120 light infantrymen, a Chimera Transport, vehicles, and twelve elite bodyguards.
• Li Qinwu outlined plans to undermine Winchester’s attack by selling his soldiers alcohol, sabotaging the Chimera Transport, and coordinating with Old Man Sen.
• Lieutenant Rudosen agreed to arrange advance notice of Winchester’s mission and explained that a damaged Chimera engine would leave its Bird Spectrometer powered for only ten minutes.

Li Qinwu learned how to sabotage a Chimera Transport from Sergeant Nie Guojin and reflected on the possible presence of Machine Spirits. He then discussed wounded soldiers and the limited supply of Green Needle with Second Lieutenant Rudosen, leaving Rudosen able to buy only one injection per month.

• Second Lieutenant Rudosen introduced Li Qinwu to Sergeant Nie Guojin, who explained that powdered Ceramite in a Chimera Transport’s fuel could wreck its engine after about forty kilometers.
• Sergeant Nie Guojin warned that a vehicle’s Machine Spirit could react to mistreatment, leading Li Qinwu to wonder whether the driver could sense such spirits.
• Second Lieutenant Rudosen drove Li Qinwu to the Middle Hive and said he would send wounded soldiers and their families to Li Qinwu during his attacks on the rebels.
• Second Lieutenant Rudosen asked to buy Green Needle in bulk, but Li Qinwu offered him only one injection per month for 100,000 Fertilizer Vouchers.

Li Qinwu visited the Double Serpent Clinic to sell distilled medical alcohol, but haggled with the Two-Snake Doctor over its price. He demanded forty credits per 100 milliliters and left after the doctor tried to bargain by promising to start treating patients more compassionately.

• Li Qinwu traveled through the Middle Hive, where residents complained about food shortages and the threat of exile.
• A furtive person approached a complaining passerby and began preaching about the God of Plenty.
• Li Qinwu entered the Double Serpent Clinic and watched the Two-Snake Doctor attach crude mechanical thumbs to a patient without anesthesia, then eject him over his unpaid bill.
• Li Qinwu offered the Two-Snake Doctor ten bottles of distilled medical alcohol, but rejected his offer of five hundred credits.
• Li Qinwu demanded forty credits per 100 milliliters, and the Two-Snake Doctor tried to win a discount by promising to heal the sick and save lives.
• Li Qinwu became angry and left the clinic with his alcohol.

Li Qinwu sold his medical alcohol to the Two-Snake Doctor, then visited the Imperial Cult Cathedral to deliver a letter to Sister Teresa. The missionary returned with a girl, leaving Li Qinwu about to learn what had happened to the letter.

• Li Qinwu sold his alcohol to the Two-Snake Doctor for 2,000 credits, completing a task and unlocking new medical items.
• The Two-Snake Doctor asked Li Qinwu to bring him a ton of alcohol, unlocking a task that promised his friendship.
• Li Qinwu paid a missionary to deliver a letter to Sister Teresa, then shouted a dramatic account of the God-Emperor and Horus during the worship service.
• A nearby believer heard Li Qinwu's words and silently wept, while Li Qinwu remained unaware that anyone had heard him.
• The missionary returned from the cathedral's depths and revealed a girl to Li Qinwu.

Li Qinwu gave Sister Teresa money, Holy Biscuits, and a letter to deliver to her family before leaving the cathedral. After Mother brutally punished Teresa and denied her dinner, Teresa ate one of the biscuits, and the chief priest sensed a faint sacred aura nearby.

• Sister Teresa asked Li Qinwu to take her to visit her parents, but he refused and accepted a letter to deliver to them instead.
• Li Qinwu gave Sister Teresa five hundred Fertilizer Vouchers and several Holy Biscuits before leaving the cathedral.
• Mother accused Sister Teresa of being late and struck her more than a hundred times, then canceled her dinner.
• Sister Teresa read her family's letter in the dormitory and ate one of Li Qinwu's Holy Biscuits.
• The chief priest passed the dormitory, sensed a faint sacred aura, and stopped.

Li Qinwu bought costly seasonings and visited Reno, who invited him to inspect the Brewery and offered him a repair vehicle for investigating a wastewater leak. After Li Qinwu explained that Mutants had occupied the leak site, Reno honored their deal and joined him for a meal at the Brewery.

• Li Qinwu spent nearly two thousand credits on seasonings and considered making soy sauce and Northeastern Soybean Paste to sell.
• Li Qinwu visited Reno at the Clean Water Guild, where Reno praised the Memory Panel and asked about Li Qinwu's brewing.
• Reno took Li Qinwu and ten guards through the Lower Hive in survey vehicles and offered him one to investigate a long-neglected wastewater outlet.
• Li Qinwu told Reno that Mutants had occupied the outlet and formed a cult around the leaking wastewater, so Reno gave him a repair vehicle as promised.
• Reno toured Li Qinwu's Brewery, and Sansa prepared a lavish meal for him and his guards.
• Li Qinwu shared diluted Holy Wine with Reno and said Lower Hive residents were the most authentic Hive City folk because they were from underground.

Li Qinwu learned from Reno how to enter the Spire's noble market and gain status, then accepted Reno's offer of unlimited water in exchange for dealing with nearby Mutants. He led his armed brewery workers toward the Mutant camp, planning to attack from the small train.

• Reno told Li Qinwu that selling wine to Spire nobles required a Middle Hive brewery, proper paperwork, refined packaging, and wines such as grape wine, then explained several paths to Spire status.
• Reno advised Li Qinwu that a regiment armed with PDF weapons could force nobles to negotiate, and described a rebel leader who had won amnesty, a barony, and a PDF regiment.
• Li Qinwu explained that limited water and electricity were restricting brewery production, and Reno offered to supply unlimited water if Li Qinwu dealt with Mutants near a sewage outlet.
• Reno got drunk and fell asleep, so Li Qinwu let Reno's underlings rest and eat while he prepared the brewery's young men for an expedition.
• Li Qinwu armed Big Joel, Little Joel, Little Knife, and Silent One, then took them by small train toward the Mutant camp and ordered Silent One to protect the others.

Li Qinwu and the Little Train ambushed the Mutants who had sabotaged the railway and escaped their trap. After the Silent One lifted the train across the broken tracks, Li Qinwu pursued the fleeing Mutants and began eliminating them along the trade route.

• The Silent One warned Li Qinwu that the Mutants had damaged the rails and were trying to lure the train into derailing.
• Li Qinwu stopped the Little Train and ordered everyone to fire, killing dozens of Mutants and driving the survivors away.
• The group reloaded and found a section of track completely excavated, but the Silent One lifted the Little Train so it could cross safely.
• Li Qinwu ordered Little Knife to head for the Mutant Tribe and eliminate the threats along the trade route.
• The Little Train caught up with the fleeing Mutants, and Li Qinwu shot them from the cargo bed as they ran.