Chapter Summaries

After completing the investigation at the Monastery, Li Wei gained new abilities and took King Solomon’s deteriorated sword and armor as souvenirs. He returned to Fog City to send the Queen a warning about the Disaster Cultists, then learned a royal engineer had called about his airship design.

• Li Wei received the Solomon's Wisdom trait and invested his skill point in Puppeteer, unlocking Compression Storage for his dolls.
• Li Wei’s group opened King Solomon’s coffin and found a rusted sword and tarnished armor, which Li Wei decided to take home.
• Annie received Ovelia’s permission to bring a research team back for an academic investigation, while Li Wei hurried back to Fog City.
• Li Wei gave Katie an investigation report for the Queen, warning of the Disaster Cultists and their possible continued use of old methods.
• Li Wei returned to the clock tower, instructed Kane to clean and display the armor and sword, and learned that Royal Engineer Howard Dylan wanted to discuss his flagship design.

Li Wei met Howard at the Royal Design Institute to explain his plans for a small, high-altitude Airship designed for reconnaissance, communications, troop deployment, and precise ground support. Howard agreed to build it, and Li Wei named it the Eye of the Sky.

• Howard reviewed Li Wei's Airship requirements and recognized that they focused on performance rather than appearance.
• Howard met Li Wei at the Royal Design Institute and asked why he wanted the Airship's unusual capabilities.
• Li Wei explained that he wanted to use the Airship for high-altitude reconnaissance, battlefield communications, reinforcements, and precise fire support.
• Howard agreed to design the Airship according to Li Wei's plan.
• Li Wei named the Airship the Eye of the Sky.

After Inspector Lestrade reported that a ninety-year-old corpse had fingerprints matching a missing twenty-year-old woman, Li Wei agreed to examine the body. The case left open the possibility that something mysterious had caused the two women to share fingerprints.

• Li Wei listened to news about rising international tensions and the Duchy of Seth asking the Empire to mediate its conflict with the Sasha Alliance.
• Inspector Lestrade visited Li Wei with tea and asked for help with a strange case.
• Lestrade explained that a forestry worker had found an elderly woman’s body in the woods, with no signs of murder or poisoning.
• The Difference Engine matched the corpse’s fingerprints to Julia Gabriel, a twenty-year-old tourist from the Bersock Kingdom whose whereabouts were unknown.
• Li Wei agreed to examine the body after Lestrade suggested the case might involve a mysterious force.

Li Wei examined an elderly woman’s inexplicably preserved corpse and took the strange death case from Inspector Lestrade for the Seventh Office. After studying the sparse files, he sent Anthony to trace Julia Gabriel’s journey to Fog City and planned to investigate where the body had been found.

• Li Wei noticed that the corpse had no injuries and remained unchanged despite being found in the woods, while police dogs refused to approach it.
• Inspector Lestrade explained that the police suspected the old woman had helped Julia Gabriel evade customs but had closed the case as an accidental death.
• Li Wei took the case and reviewed records showing that Julia was Bersokian, entered the Empire through a southern port last November, and had not officially left.
• Li Wei called Anthony and ordered him to investigate when Julia left Cologne and how she traveled to Fog City.
• Anthony arrived, accepted the assignment, and received Julia’s information while Li Wei planned to revisit the place where the corpse was discovered.

Li Wei investigated the logging site where a woman’s body had been found and discovered evidence that it had fallen from above. He sent three Bird Dolls to search for more bodies, and one called out almost immediately.

• Li Wei questioned the logging supervisor, who described how workers found the corpse after their dog refused to approach it.
• Li Wei examined the ditch and nearby road, finding no tracks that suggested anyone had carried the heavy body there.
• Li Wei climbed a tree and found a broken branch with threads caught on it, leading him to conclude that the corpse had fallen from the sky.
• Li Wei released three Bird Dolls to search the area for other bodies.
• A bird cried out overhead before Li Wei could finish speaking, and he realized the Dolls had found something unusually quickly.

Li Wei investigated eight elderly foreign women found dead around Fog City and traced a tattoo on one victim to the Black Duck Society. A detained gang member identified the victim as his missing younger sister and pointed Li Wei toward Bucktooth, who had arranged her supposed job.

• Li Wei and the old butler examined eight bodies, found no clear time of death, and considered whether the killer operated outside Fog City.
• Li Wei spotted a gang tattoo on one victim and asked Inspector Lestrade about it.
• Inspector Lestrade took Li Wei to question a detained member of the Black Duck Society, who reacted with shock when Li Wei told him the tattooed woman was dead.
• The gang member said the victim was his seventeen-year-old younger sister, who had disappeared after seeking work through Bucktooth.
• Li Wei asked where Bucktooth lived, and the man prepared to tell him.

Li Wei searched Bucktooth’s home with Inspector Lestrade and found a custom matchbox that pointed toward a hidden connection. After hearing Anthony’s report about illegal immigrants being hired by nursing homes, Li Wei identified Seaside Nursing Home as the likely destination of the investigation.

• Li Wei and Inspector Lestrade searched Bucktooth’s abandoned home and concluded he had fled in a hurry.
• Li Wei found a custom matchbox bearing a lighthouse design and initials, but no other useful clues.
• Erin gave Li Wei a Punched Card recording of Anthony’s report about illegal immigrants being brought to Fog City for work, including jobs in nursing homes.
• Li Wei realized nursing homes could be involved in the victims’ lifespan theft and searched a map of the area around Fog City.
• Li Wei matched the initials on the matchbox to Seaside Nursing Home and identified it as a lead.

Li Wei led Military Intelligence Section Seven agents to the Seaside Nursing Home for an unannounced investigation, suspecting its director and the facility were connected to a body found nearby. After discovering the residents and staff seemed abnormal, he accepted bribes from Theresia Andres while continuing his investigation.

• Li Wei used Military Intelligence Section Seven's intelligence to learn about Theresia Andres's suspicious activities and the nursing home's proximity to the body-dumping site.
• Li Wei brought Katie and three agent teams to the Seaside Nursing Home and divided them to secure and investigate the building.
• A nurse gave Li Wei conflicting counts of the residents, and a doctor reacted to the inspection with apparent relief.
• An elderly resident grabbed Katie and warned her to leave before the demon ate her, while Li Wei used Soul Sight to detect abnormal souls among the people there.
• Li Wei confronted Theresia Andres, who offered him money and admitted to employing illegal immigrants, but claimed they had all left.
• Theresia watched Li Wei leave her office and cursed him after he continued the investigation.

Theresia prepared for Li Wei’s investigation while revealing that she and an immortal sorcerer had been sacrificing young women to summon an Old One. When the sorcerer tried to capture Katie in a storeroom, Katie escaped by charging through a wall and called for Li Wei.

• Theresia recalled how she became the sorcerer’s assistant and helped him conduct experiments on illegal immigrant women for a ritual promising her immortality.
• The sorcerer used Byakhee to dispose of the victims’ bodies and expected the Old One to descend soon.
• Li Wei sensed that the nursing home and its residents were deeply unnatural, while Katie searched the building for anything suspicious.
• An old man lured Katie into a dark storeroom, revealed that he could walk, and tried to control her life force with a spell.
• When the spell failed, the old man transformed and threatened Katie with tentacles, but she broke through the wall and called for Li Wei.

Li Wei and Katie uncovered a hidden cellar beneath the nursing home, where an immortal wizard was conducting a ritual to summon ancient beings. Li Wei interrupted the ritual, captured the wizard, and destroyed the Book of Dijan, causing the wizard to disintegrate and completing the quest.

• Katie told Li Wei that an old man had tried to grab her before vanishing, and Li Wei ordered C Team to evacuate the nursing home and arrest its director.
• Li Wei spotted the hidden passage behind an iron cabinet, and Katie tore the cabinet from the wall to reveal stairs leading underground.
• Li Wei and Katie found the wizard chanting in a cellar covered with blood-drawn runes, but his wounds healed after Li Wei shot him.
• The wizard summoned Byakhee, and Li Wei shot down the monsters while Katie charged the altar and bound the wizard with his own tentacles.
• Li Wei read the wizard's journal and learned that the Book of Dijan was tied to his failed attempts at eternal life.
• Li Wei burned the Book of Dijan, and the wizard crumbled into dust as the quest was completed.

After stopping an old wizard from summoning a mysterious great being, Li Wei learned more about the kinds of supernatural creatures in the world. He reported the case to Inspector Lestrade and was left wondering what the Old Ones were.

• Li Wei received his mission rewards and reflected that he had made the case safer by interrupting the old wizard's ritual before the great being could appear.
• Li Wei learned that the Nursing Home director had killed herself and that Military Intelligence Section Seven planned to relocate or treat the surviving residents; the eight corpses had crumbled to dust.
• Li Wei added the great being to his classification of supernatural creatures that could exist without relying on rumors or hearsay.
• Li Wei met Inspector Lestrade in Fog City and explained how he had stopped the old wizard and burned the Grimoire that granted eternal youth and immortality.
• Li Wei wondered what the Old Ones were, since the Empire's records of gods did not mention them.

Baron Cohen visited Li Wei to ask him to join a new private club whose young members wanted a prestigious guest. Li Wei agreed to visit the club before deciding whether to join.

• Baron Cohen worried that his club members would leave unless he attracted an influential guest.
• Baron Cohen recalled Li Wei from the Glorious Club and decided to invite him to join.
• Kane told Li Wei that Baron Cohen had come to see him, and Li Wei remembered their past connection.
• Baron Cohen described his club and explained why Li Wei's membership would boost its reputation.
• Li Wei showed interest in the club and asked to look around before deciding, and Baron Cohen eagerly offered to take him there.

Li Wei visited Baron Cohen’s Golden Mead Club and joined after approving of its relaxed, modern atmosphere. As he explored the library, several members arrived and were stunned to find him there.

• Baron Cohen showed Li Wei around Golden Mead Club and asked him to join.
• Li Wei read the club’s application, signed it, and became a member.
• Li Wei toured the mostly empty club and read the romance novel "Pain and Revenge" in the library.
• Several Golden Mead members arrived, and Li Wei introduced himself as a new member.
• The young members froze in astonishment when they recognized Li Wei.

Li Wei joined the Golden Mead Club and met four young members whose professions included writing, acting, horse racing, and painting. He played “Für Elise” for the group, stirred by memories of his former world, and decided to buy a piano for his home.

• Li Wei introduced himself to the Golden Mead Club members and explained that he had come to join after hearing about the club from Baron Cohen.
• Li Wei met Matilda, Joan Lista, Easter Dunn, and Brent Bess and learned about their work and how they supported one another.
• Easter told Li Wei that new members were expected to perform, and Li Wei chose to play the piano.
• Li Wei performed “Für Elise,” drawing applause from club members and servants who had gathered to listen.
• Joan praised the piece and asked if Li Wei had composed it, and he said it came from his homeland.
• Li Wei reflected on his life in this world and decided to buy a piano for his home.

Li Wei heard East Dune’s account of his niece Alice’s unexplained sleepwalking and disappearance, which seemed connected to Death Valley. He agreed to inspect the scene, leaving the mystery unresolved.

• Li Wei spent his free time at the Golden Mead Club, where Werewolf Kill became popular and Katie joined as his assistant.
• East Dune told Li Wei that his sister had been found unconscious and pregnant near Death Valley, later died after giving birth to Alice, and that his brother had raised the girl.
• As Alice grew older, she began sleepwalking and repeatedly said she wanted to go to Death Valley, though her family had never told her about it.
• The Dune family found Alice missing from her locked room one morning, with no damage to the doors or windows, and the police found no clues.
• East asked Li Wei to help, and Li Wei agreed to inspect the scene.

Li Wei investigated Alice's room and uncovered disturbing drawings and testimony suggesting that Alice sometimes behaved like someone else. He left the Dunn residence planning to investigate the town where Alice disappeared.

• Li Wei examined Alice's room and reconstructed how Mrs. Dunn had put her to bed and locked the door, finding no signs of forced entry.
• Li Wei discovered hidden drawings showing Alice smiling as animals died in different gruesome ways.
• Li Wei questioned Alice's maid, who described Alice killing a baby bird while seeming unaware of what she had done.
• The maid told Li Wei that she had seen Alice sleepwalk with a frightening expression while muttering in an unfamiliar language.
• Li Wei thanked the maid, left the Dunn residence, and asked the rider where the town was.

Li Wei, Katie, and Ms. Dun arrived in Clover Town to investigate Death Valley and learned that the locals avoid the place because people who enter disappear. After hearing that Old Luo Ge had found Ms. Dun’s sister, Li Wei decided to visit him that night.

• Li Wei, Katie, and the rider reached Clover Town and checked into the Horn Inn, where the innkeeper David recognized the rider as Ms. Dun.
• Ms. Dun explained that her sister had stayed at the inn after being found, and Li Wei asked David about Death Valley.
• David said the town’s people tried to forget Death Valley and warned that some who went there disappeared.
• David directed them to Old Luo Ge, who had found Ms. Dun’s sister and still hunted in the mountains every day despite being nearly ninety.
• Li Wei questioned whether Old Luo Ge had found Alice’s mother in the forest and decided to visit him immediately, asking Ms. Dun if she knew where he lived.

Li Wei, Katie, and East Dun visited Old Luo Ge to learn about Death Valley and the disappearance of Alice. Luo Ge recounted Silver Valley’s violent history and revealed that Alice’s mother had rapidly become full-term after approaching the valley; Li Wei left to investigate Death Valley.

• Li Wei persuaded Old Luo Ge to let the group into his cabin by explaining that Alice had disappeared and that Luo Ge had rescued her mother.
• Old Luo Ge told them that Silver Valley’s priest had taken control of the mine, demanded child sacrifices, and killed those who resisted before the valley disappeared beneath thick fog.
• Old Luo Ge said he had met Miss Dun carrying a sketchbook two days before finding her pregnant at the entrance to Death Valley, though neither he nor East Dun knew what happened to the sketchbook.
• Li Wei thanked Old Luo Ge and said he planned to go to Death Valley.

Li Wei identified the ritual in Death Valley as a Spirit Descent Ritual and decided to investigate with Katie before calling for reinforcements. Old Luo Ge joined them, and the three reached the misty entrance to Death Valley.

• Li Wei used Solomon's memories to recognize the priest's ritual as a Spirit Descent Ritual and wondered why the Holy Lord Church prohibited idols.
• Li Wei decided to enter Death Valley with Katie and sent Military Intelligence Section Seven a telegram with instructions to call for help if they failed to return within three days.
• Old Luo Ge insisted on joining Li Wei and Katie, saying he felt responsible and wanted to return to Death Valley to see his parents.
• Li Wei, Katie, and Old Luo Ge followed the increasingly overgrown trail through the forest as the animal sounds and sunlight faded.
• Old Luo Ge stopped at the valley entrance, where dense white mist concealed the path ahead.

Li Wei, Katie, and the old man explored the abandoned Silver Valley settlement and entered its smelting plant to investigate the missing miners and the silver statue. They discovered grotesque Doll parts hanging from the ceiling, which came alive after Li Wei fired, and he prepared to fight them with a plan.

• Li Wei, Katie, and the old man crossed into Silver Valley and searched the abandoned mining settlement for the statue, which the old man said was inside the mine.
• The old man recalled how the priest had turned the settlement’s square into an execution ground, while Li Wei reflected on the Queen’s efforts to control the Holy Lord Church.
• Li Wei noticed that the settlement had no remains despite its bloody history, and the group approached the smelting plant.
• Li Wei entered the smelting plant with Katie and the old man, where they found countless silver-lit Doll limbs hanging from the ceiling.
• Li Wei shot at the hanging Dolls, causing them to fall and awaken, then told Katie he had a plan and reached for a folded paper.