Chapter Summaries

Li Wei awakened in a fogbound city with a Detective identity and game-like character stats, then joined Inspector Lestrade and Fletcher as they investigated the Courtesan Killer. At a fresh murder scene, Li Wei spotted a shadow dropping from above and fired at it.

• Li Wei found himself healthy in an unfamiliar city and saw a character sheet identifying him as a Detective with only ten days of lifespan.
• Li Wei met Inspector Lestrade and Fletcher, showed his identification, and learned about the Courtesan Killer and the reward for clues.
• A woman's scream led Lestrade, Fletcher, and Li Wei to an alley, where they found a courtesan murdered and mutilated.
• Li Wei examined the crime scene and inferred that the killer had attacked the victim from in front after frightening her.
• Li Wei noticed a black shadow in the dead woman's eyes, drew his gun, and fired as the shadow lunged down from above.

Li Wei helped Inspector Lestrade survive an attack by the Courtesan Killer, then received a quest to investigate and bring the killer to justice. Facing only ten days left to live, Li Wei decided to pursue the case for the chance to gain thirty more days.

• Li Wei shot at the Courtesan Killer and shoved Inspector Lestrade out of its path, but the killer escaped up a wall.
• Lestrade questioned Li Wei, who described spotting the figure in the victim’s eye reflection and smelling blood and a chemical odor.
• A system quest appeared, tasking Li Wei with finding and bringing the Courtesan Killer to justice in exchange for a random skill and thirty extra days of lifespan.
• Lestrade offered Fletcher to drive Li Wei home, while officers searched the area for traces of the killer.
• Li Wei weighed spending his last ten days in peace against risking his life to pursue the killer, and chose to take the risk.

Li Wei learned more about the Empire’s steam-and-information age and decided to seek Inspector Lestrade’s help in catching the Courtesan Killer before his life countdown expired. Lestrade refused to officially involve him, then left Li Wei alone with the case file.

• Li Wei woke in his clock-tower home, examined his identification card, and read about the Empire’s Difference Engines, punch cards, and interest in occult studies.
• Li Wei learned from the newspapers that the Courtesan Killer had struck again and that Inspector Lestrade had publicly confirmed the killer was human and vulnerable to gunfire.
• Li Wei considered his dwindling ammunition and short life countdown, then decided to work with the police rather than search for the killer alone.
• Li Wei asked Inspector Lestrade to let him assist with the investigation, but Lestrade refused because there was no procedure for involving an outsider.
• Inspector Lestrade left for half an hour, and Li Wei picked up the case file from his desk.

Li Wei examined the Courtesan Killer case file, then followed the killer’s unusual clawed footprints from the crime scene toward Fog City’s Lower City. Inspector Lestrade revealed he had deliberately let Li Wei see the case file and hoped the young man would bring him surprises.

• Li Wei reviewed the four murders and noted that every victim was a young courtesan who had suffered a miscarriage, while a different organ had been removed from each.
• Li Wei tested his restored body and considered how his system skills might help him investigate the murders.
• Li Wei returned to the crime scene, climbed to the rooftops, and found footprints with sharp claw marks in front of the toes.
• Li Wei followed the footprints across three streets until they vanished in the mud near the Lower City, where he planned to question a witness.
• Inspector Lestrade told Officer Fletcher he had only pretended to forget to file the case documents and explained that he trusted Li Wei because of a hunch and his noble family’s heritage.

Li Wei questioned Jessie Chuck about the Courtesan Killer and learned that the victims obtained miscarriage medicine through intermediaries, leaving Doctor Dolittle an uncertain lead. After returning home exhausted, Li Wei discovered that smoking rapidly consumed his remaining lifespan and decided to sleep before continuing the investigation.

• Li Wei visited the Pink Lady Bar and persuaded its doorman to let him speak with Jessie Chuck.
• Jessie told Li Wei that steam engines had cost her and other women their textile jobs, and that she had entered the sex trade after their protest movement failed.
• Jessie explained that courtesans secretly obtained medicine through other girls and defended Doctor Dolittle as a kind, upright man.
• Li Wei investigated the other victims and found that, like Jessie, they had used intermediaries to get medicine from Doctor Dolittle, so he kept the doctor as a possible lead.
• Li Wei returned to his home in the clock tower and saw his remaining lifespan plummet after he lit a cigarette, so he put it out and went to sleep.

Li Wei questioned Dr. Dolittle about the Courtesan Killer, then gathered rumors about the doctor’s late daughter, Amelia, from courtesans at the Pink Lady Bar. He suspected Dr. Dolittle’s surgical equipment might be connected to the killer and continued probing Amelia’s past.

• Li Wei visited Dr. Dolittle’s pharmacy and questioned him about the courtesans, pregnancy, and his daughter Amelia.
• Dr. Dolittle said Amelia had died in an accident six months earlier and ended their conversation; Li Wei left without ruling him out as a suspect.
• At the Pink Lady Bar, Li Wei asked Jessie and two other courtesans about Amelia, and one said she had seen Amelia embracing a well-dressed man.
• A courtesan claimed Amelia died in an accident while learning to operate a tentacled, steam-powered surgical machine in the pharmacy basement.
• Li Wei connected the surgical equipment to the precise wounds on the victims and asked the courtesans which school Amelia had attended.

Levi left the Pink Lady and was brought to meet the masked young boss of the Black Panther, who questioned him about the Courtesan Killer. After challenging Levi’s reliance on legal procedures, she announced that she would investigate the murder alongside him.

• Levi left the Pink Lady after declining the courtesans’ invitations, then encountered two muggers who led him to their boss.
• Levi learned that the gang was called the Black Panther and met its masked, teenage leader, who went by Scarface.
• The girl asked Levi what he had learned about the Courtesan Killer and listened as he explained why he was investigating.
• Levi refused the Black Panther’s help and argued that the killer should be brought to justice by following proper procedures.
• The girl criticized the rules and declared that she would investigate with Levi to see how he planned to catch the murderer.

Li Wei questioned Amelia’s boyfriend at the Royal Academy of Medicine and learned that Amelia died while operating an experimental steam-powered surgical machine in Doctor Dolittle’s illegal underground operating room. The boyfriend revealed that the room connected to the sewers, giving Li Wei a possible route linking Doctor Dolittle to the killer he had tracked.

• Li Wei posed as an insurance investigator and pressured Mr. Edwards into describing Amelia’s death.
• Mr. Edwards explained that Amelia had used the experimental apparatus to perform an operation without a medical license and died beside the operating table; he believed the patient had died as well.
• Mr. Edwards said Doctor Dolittle had warned him not to report the illegal operation, then signed Li Wei’s statement about the accident.
• Mr. Edwards revealed that the research group had carried the apparatus through the sewers to Doctor Dolittle’s underground operating room via the fifth waterway in the lower district.
• Li Wei told the girl that the killer’s footprints had disappeared near the river and suggested the killer might have escaped through the sewers into Doctor Dolittle’s chamber.

Li Wei abandoned his plan to enter Doctor Dolittle’s underground operating room through the polluted river and instead persuaded Inspector Lestrade to investigate the doctor’s drugstore. Li Wei found a concealed passage behind a bookcase, and he followed Lestrade inside.

• Li Wei and Katie left the filthy riverbank, and Katie said she would keep following him until he caught the killer.
• Li Wei reported Doctor Dolittle’s suspected illegal medical practice and drug sales to Inspector Lestrade, who agreed to investigate the drugstore with Officer Fletcher.
• Lestrade and Fletcher searched the drugstore while Li Wei watched Doctor Dolittle’s reactions and inspected a bookcase.
• Li Wei spotted a book with less dust than the others and pulled it, opening a hidden passage in the wall.
• Li Wei and Lestrade drew their guns and entered the concealed passage.

Li Wei and Inspector Lestrade discovered a grotesque creature in the operating room and fought it alongside Katie, who revealed surprising strength. As Li Wei prepared to shoot the wounded creature again, someone at the doorway ordered them to stop.

• Li Wei, Inspector Lestrade, and Katie entered the operating room and found a blood-red magic circle and three jars on the surgical table.
• Inspector Lestrade opened a jar, and Li Wei recognized the killer’s chemical smell before spotting a monster above the surgical lamp.
• Li Wei shot the monster, but it stabbed Inspector Lestrade in the abdomen before several baby-sized creatures emerged and attacked.
• Katie fought off the smaller monsters while Li Wei used his slowed-time perception to shoot them dead.
• The larger monster lunged at Li Wei, and Katie drove it back as Li Wei reloaded and aimed; a voice from the doorway ordered them to stop.

Li Wei confronted Dr. Dolittle over the murders and his attempt to resurrect Amelia, then used the doctor’s own beliefs to turn the monster against him. After Dr. Dolittle died, Li Wei shot the monster, ending the threat and leaving the remaining cleanup to the police.

• Dr. Dolittle entered with Officer Fletcher as his hostage and demanded that Li Wei and the others drop their weapons.
• Li Wei identified the monster as Amelia, and Dr. Dolittle admitted that he had killed courtesans and used their organs and children in his resurrection ritual.
• Li Wei negotiated to release the monster in exchange for Officer Fletcher, then challenged Dr. Dolittle’s right to punish sinners under the Holy Lord’s teachings.
• Dr. Dolittle admitted he was willing to become a sinner to save Amelia, and the monster attacked and killed him.
• Li Wei shot the monster six times, then explained that he had expected it to attack Dr. Dolittle after the doctor acknowledged his guilt.

After the Courtesan Killer case, Li Wei collected his reward and unlocked several skills, then read about the Empire’s history. The elevator chimed as someone arrived at his clock tower, leaving Li Wei wondering whether a new client had come to hire him.

• Li Wei reviewed Doctor Dolittle’s diary and learned how Amelia’s accidental death led Doctor Dolittle to revive her through a ritual that turned her into a monster.
• Li Wei received five thousand pounds for helping solve the case, while Katie disappeared before he could give her share to her.
• Li Wei earned an SSS mission rating and unlocked Soul Sight, Death’s Eye, and the Diagnosis skill.
• Li Wei studied the Empire’s history, including its ancient eras, the fall of the Mekalon Empire, and the inventions that began the bronze era.
• The elevator chimed and began rising, prompting Li Wei to wonder whether someone had come to hire him.

Inspector Lestrade recruited Li Wei as a special investigative consultant to pursue a possible connection between Doctor Dolittle’s spellbook and Luddism. Li Wei accepted the commission, and Inspector Lestrade left him considering whether to hire a servant.

• Inspector Lestrade offered Li Wei a police consultant position with an annual allowance and a Telephone, explaining that investigators were reviewing cases with suspicious details.
• Inspector Lestrade showed Li Wei a photograph of the spellbook’s message, “Steel is a plague, machinery is corruption, technology is a curse!”, and identified it as a Luddite slogan.
• Inspector Lestrade said the police could not continue investigating officially because the case was closed and the church denied knowing the parishioner who gave Doctor Dolittle the spellbook.
• Li Wei accepted the commission, and Inspector Lestrade said Fletcher would arrange the details.
• Inspector Lestrade asked whether Li Wei had seen Miss Katie and suggested he hire a servant before leaving.
• Li Wei considered hiring a servant and reflected on the difficult working conditions many maids faced.

Li Wei used his police consultant position to hire Irene Roberts as a maid who could also handle secretarial tasks. Irene arrived at the clock tower, accepted the job and lodging, and began her new life in Li Wei’s household.

• Li Wei considered the benefits of his police credentials and asked Inspector Lestrade to help him find a maid.
• Irene Roberts arrived by Elevator, nervous about meeting her new employer.
• Li Wei reviewed Irene’s background and explained that he needed her to clean, cook, prepare tea, and take messages.
• Li Wei offered Irene a room in the clock tower and told her not to move anything on his desk.
• Li Wei set Irene’s pay at one pound a month with a three-month trial period, and Irene went to settle into her room.

Li Wei used Soul Sight at Doctor Dolittle’s funeral and discovered a woman connected to the dead doctor by a black thread. He followed her carriage and arranged to question its driver, Kent, leaving him with a lead on the person who had interfered with Doctor Dolittle’s soul.

• Erin reflected on her safe job serving Li Wei and wondered what he had been doing during his daily outings.
• Li Wei visited a church and learned that Doctor Dolittle’s body had been returned for burial among people he had saved.
• At the funeral, Li Wei used Soul Sight and saw a black thread linking Doctor Dolittle’s coffin to a woman in a black dress and veil.
• Li Wei watched the woman leave by hired carriage, memorized its license number, and learned from another coachman that her driver was named Kent.
• Li Wei headed to the Golden Fish Tavern, where Kent was expected to go around lunchtime.

Li Wei traced the Courtesan Killer investigation to the exclusive Glorious Club but could not enter without a connection. Katie rejoined him and arranged to bring him inside, leaving them poised to investigate the club together.

• Li Wei learned from coachman Kent that the woman had gone to the Glorious Club on Squirrel Street.
• Li Wei asked Inspector Lestrade about the club and learned that he needed a recommendation to enter.
• Li Wei reunited with Katie, offered her half the Courtesan Killer reward, and told her he was investigating the Glorious Club and its possible connection to the spellbook.
• Katie called Li Wei and arranged for them to visit the Glorious Club together the next day.
• Katie arrived in formal noble attire, and she and Li Wei entered the club at a busy time to investigate.

Li Wei and Katie visited the Glorious Club to draw out the veiled woman connected to their investigation, but discovered that she was Lady Claytie, owner of the Pink Lady Bar. Lady Claytie’s reaction raised doubts about the explanation behind the courtesan murders, and Li Wei received a mission to investigate her true purpose.

• Baron Cohen admitted Li Wei and Katie to the Glorious Club after receiving a request from an important but unseen person.
• Li Wei and Katie mingled with club members while waiting for the woman Li Wei had seen at the church to appear.
• Li Wei recognized the arriving woman as Lady Claytie, who looked startled and uneasy when she saw him.
• Li Wei and Katie left the club, and Li Wei questioned why Doctor Dolittle had targeted courtesans rather than other sinners.
• Li Wei suspected Lady Claytie had given Doctor Dolittle the spellbook or directed the attacks, and the system activated the mission “Darkness and Shadow” to investigate her true purpose.
• Li Wei told the carriage driver to stop.

Li Wei returned to the Glorious Club to watch Lady Claytie, but witnessed her being killed by a supernatural curse and rescued her body from the burning building. He asked Inspector Lestrade for her ashes so he could use Soul Sight to search for the mastermind, then returned home at dawn.

• Li Wei left Katie behind and secretly returned to the Glorious Club, where Soul Sight let him locate Lady Claytie.
• Li Wei saw Lady Claytie report to someone through a mirror before a curse killed her and a fire began consuming the room.
• Li Wei broke into the room, turned the mirror facedown, carried Lady Claytie's body out, and contacted Inspector Lestrade.
• Inspector Lestrade and Officer Fletcher examined Lady Claytie's belongings and records, while Li Wei requested some of her ashes to track her killer with Soul Sight.
• Li Wei returned home at dawn, told Erin to rest, and went to bed after considering why Lady Claytie's superior had killed her.

After Lady Claytie’s death at the Glorious Club, Li Wei realized her murder might let him trace the supernatural mastermind through Soul Sight. He and Katie searched Lady Claytie’s office at the Pink Lady, where Li Wei opened a hidden safe and found a black notebook that caught his attention.

• Li Wei read that reporters had linked him to the Glorious Club fire and considered using Lady Claytie’s ashes to identify whoever was connected to her death.
• Katie visited Li Wei, and he explained Lady Claytie’s supernatural death and his suspicion that her plan had focused on Doctor Dolittle carrying out a sacrifice rather than succeeding.
• Li Wei and Katie returned to the Pink Lady to search Lady Claytie’s office for clues.
• Katie discovered a safe behind a painting, and Li Wei opened it by listening for its mechanism.
• Li Wei found financial records, punched cards, and a black notebook in the safe, then sensed that something in the notebook was wrong.

Li Wei and Katie searched Lady Claytie’s office and uncovered an ancient underground hall resembling the Holy Lord Church’s sanctum. After seeing a vision of a black-robed woman on the altar, Li Wei investigated the throne but found only the All-Seeing Eye symbol.

• Li Wei suspected the safe and its notebook were a decoy, so he and Katie searched the office again.
• Katie found a pull ring that shifted the bed and revealed a hidden staircase beneath it.
• Li Wei and Katie descended the ancient stairs, opened a stone door with one of Lady Claytie’s keys, and entered an underground hall.
• Li Wei saw a black-robed woman with silver-white eyes seated on the altar, but the figure vanished when he looked again.
• Katie recognized the hall’s layout as resembling the Holy Lord Church’s sanctum and explained that its throne symbolized the Holy Lord’s seat.
• Li Wei climbed the altar and found the All-Seeing Eye carved into the throne.