Chapter Summaries

Li Wei and his companions rescued Godney from a simple climbing nightmare, then entered the professor’s dream and found an ancient underground temple. After learning the temple’s ties to the professor’s deadly expedition and the Goddess of Night, they heard a scream from its depths and rushed toward it.

• Li Wei flew the ship to Godney’s cliff and rescued her, causing her nightmare to dissolve.
• Li Wei, Joe, and Godney reached an underground temple that Joe connected to the professor’s expedition, in which everyone but the professor had died.
• Li Wei entered the temple and recognized its statue as a goddess he had seen before, while Joe and Godney identified it as the Goddess of Night.
• Joe and Godney explained that the Nightmare Goddess was believed to be an incarnation of the Goddess of Night, whose faith had been divided among ancient kingdoms.
• A scream rang out from deep inside the temple, and Li Wei gripped his gun and led the others toward it.

Li Wei and the others followed the Archaeological Team’s tracks through the temple and found the old professor hiding from monsters in his nightmare. When a one-eyed batlike creature attacked, Li Wei aimed his Persuader at its eye and fired.

• Li Wei examined the campsite and used his detective skills to reconstruct how an attacker had driven the Archaeological Team deeper into the temple.
• The group followed the professor’s footprints until the professor grabbed Li Wei from the shadows and ordered everyone to hide.
• The professor warned them about monsters and admitted he did not understand what they were, while Li Wei recognized that the temple belonged to the Goddess of Night.
• After hearing wings in the passage, Li Wei lit the Gas Lamp and revealed a huge, one-eyed batlike monster.
• The monster lunged at Li Wei, who aimed the Persuader at its eye and pulled the trigger.

Li Wei and the archaeological team ventured deeper into the underground temple after defeating a Night Demon and learning more about the Goddess of Night. A collapse dropped them into a chamber where the professor was chained to a stone coffin, and Creed Jansen emerged with the Night Demons blocking their way.

• Li Wei killed a Night Demon that fired a beam from its eye, and Annie noticed that the creature had a human eye.
• The professor insisted that the team continue exploring the temple, then told Li Wei a legend that different human peoples descended from different gods.
• A local guide arrived with his son and warned that a demon was about to awaken; after the boy said something that shocked the professor, the ground split open beneath the group.
• Li Wei, Joe, Miss Godney, and Annie awoke unharmed in a deep chamber and found the professor bound in red chains extending from a stone coffin.
• Night Demons blocked Joe from reaching the professor, and Creed Jansen appeared and warned the group not to act rashly.

Creed revealed that he had led the archaeological expedition to the temple, where the professor opened a coffin and unleashed a being that killed Creed’s father and the others. In the dream world, Creed sought revenge by trapping the group, but Li Wei summoned a monster of his own as the chapter ended.

• Li Wei deduced that Creed was the child guide from the professor’s expedition, and Creed confirmed it before showing them his memories.
• Creed recalled how the Night Demons attacked the expedition and how the group reached a stone coffin deep inside the temple.
• The professor opened the coffin, and its black tentacles killed Creed’s father and the archaeologists before the professor destroyed it with dynamite.
• Creed said the resulting earthquake and tsunami destroyed his village, then revealed that he planned to use the dream world to take revenge on the professor and feed the being.
• Creed trapped Li Wei, Annie, Joe, and Miss Godney in the dream, but Li Wei summoned a huge monster that devoured one of Creed’s Night Demons.

Li Wei faced Creed after the entity inside him transformed him, and the Goddess of Night empowered Li Wei’s Persuader so he could destroy Creed. The Goddess warned that the gods would return and humanity would face a choice, but Li Wei remained intent on enjoying life in the present.

• Creed’s body changed as a monster emerged from within him, and he survived the Velociraptors’ attacks while Night Demons and prehistoric beasts clashed around them.
• Li Wei retreated with the others, but the Goddess of Night separated him from the group and transformed his Persuader with her power.
• Li Wei shot Creed with the empowered Persuader, and moonlight tore Creed apart as the world collapsed.
• The Goddess of Night asked Li Wei what he would choose when humanity faced a new choice, and he said he wanted to eat well, sleep well, and have fun.
• The Goddess of Night warned that the gods would eventually return, and Li Wei concluded he still had time to enjoy himself.

After returning from the Orlens Mountains, Li Wei learned that the war in Mericia had stalled because General Hao was negotiating with the rebels while their main force hid on Blaize Mountain. Li Wei volunteered to scout the mountain, leaving the story poised for his next mission.

• Li Wei and the others returned from the Orlens Mountains, where Creed had died and everyone but Li Wei had forgotten their strange dream.
• Li Wei gained 100 days of lifespan, raised [Puppeteer] to LV4, and acquired [Mimetic Control] along with a new skin for the Persuader.
• Henry and Anthony explained that General Hao had delayed the Empire army’s advance by negotiating with the rebels and seeking recognition for the Continental Parliament.
• Henry said the main rebel force was concealed in the forests of Blaize Mountain, making an assault too risky for the Empire army.
• Li Wei asked for a Scout Boat so he could scout Blaize Mountain.

Li Wei mapped the imperial deployments on Clerent Mountain with uncanny accuracy, convincing General Hao that he could locate troops hidden in dense terrain. On Blaize Mountain, George Washington dismissed an imperial Scout Boat as ineffective, but the Empire launched a nighttime attack that ended with whistles descending from the sky.

• General Hao sent Li Wei to investigate the imperial troop deployments on Clerent Mountain, and Li Wei returned three hours later with a map marked with troop positions and numbers.
• General Hao saw that Li Wei's map almost exactly matched his secret defensive layout and concluded Li Wei could locate hidden forces.
• George Washington received word that the imperial army wanted to continue negotiations and explained his plan to inflict heavy casualties before Francis intervened diplomatically.
• George spotted an imperial Scout Boat over Blaize Mountain and ordered his camps to stay alert and conceal their positions.
• A soldier woke George to report that the Empire was advancing at night, and George saw the Cyclops overhead as lights flared and whistles plunged toward the mountain.

Li Wei used Soul Sight and General Hao’s peace-talk ploy to locate and destroy the rebels’ positions on Blaize Mountain, then helped capture their leaders. With the rebellion subdued, Li Wei looked forward to going home for the New Year.

• George dismissed the opening bombardment as a diversion, but reports revealed that several rebel battalions’ positions had been destroyed.
• Warren warned George that the Empire had found the rebels’ positions and tracked their retreat before dying in his arms.
• Li Wei used Soul Sight to track withdrawing rebels, and General Hao ordered the Cyclops to bombard their marked retreat routes.
• George ordered a retreat, but the Empire’s drop pods landed at the camp and Steam Mech Troopers captured the rebel leaders.
• General Hao’s letter had led Li Wei to identify the rebel headquarters, and Li Wei received confirmation that all rebel positions had been subdued.

Li Wei returned to Fog City celebrated for his role in suppressing the Mericia rebellion and learned the royal family would award him a knighthood and other honors. As he worried that his estate might send him back to Mericia, Ovelia invited him to travel with her to the Bisbaru District for a steam machinery expo.

• Imperial newspapers praised Li Wei's actions in Mericia, while General Hao credited him with helping the army defeat the rebels with almost no casualties.
• The royal family decided to award Li Wei the Distinguished Service Medal and Imperial Cross, in addition to the Meritorious Achievement Medal he had already earned.
• Katie and Erin congratulated Li Wei and discussed his possible estate, while Li Wei hoped the royal family would let him remain in Fog City.
• Li Wei learned that Fog City had been quiet since the Holy Lord Church's bases were raided, then Erin suggested hiring more servants after his investiture.
• Ovelia visited Li Wei with little Blackie and invited him to the Bisbaru District's Steam Inventions Expo by Orient Express.

Li Wei checked on his investment in Hank’s steam car company, then advised Inspector Lestrade on using the Scientific Investigation Team more effectively. He planned to travel to Bisbalu aboard the Orient Express for the World Steam Mechanics Expo, and Lestrade wished him a pleasant journey.

• Li Wei accepted Ovelia’s invitation to attend the Steam Mechanics Expo in Bisbalu in a week.
• Hank told Li Wei that his company had expanded to three factories and was thriving by selling high-end cars to the wealthy and specialized vehicles to government departments.
• Hank said the company would exhibit its latest steam car at the World Steam Mechanics Expo and hoped to win the competition.
• Li Wei met Inspector Lestrade for lunch, gave him a small ornament, and explained how the murders aboard the North Star had involved a vengeful spirit.
• Li Wei advised Lestrade to give the Scientific Investigation Team crime-scene evidence without details about the case or suspects, and Lestrade recognized the value of the approach.
• Li Wei told Lestrade he would travel to Bisbalu on the Orient Express, and Lestrade wished him a pleasant journey.

Li Wei met Ovelia aboard the Orient Express and advised her to reconsider the Baskerville Family’s inheritance traditions. In the Salon Car, he reunited with Anthony and encountered an uneasy first-class passenger and a married couple as the train headed toward the Steam Mechanics Expo in Bisbalu.

• Li Wei arrived at the station and joined Ovelia aboard the Orient Express, where she told him she feared the Baskerville Family’s inheritance rules could cause future resentment between her children.
• Li Wei argued that the family had already abandoned its old traditions and could let go of them completely, leaving Ovelia to consider his advice.
• Li Wei went to the Salon Car and found Anthony, who said he was traveling to Bisbalu for work related to the Steam Mechanics Expo.
• Anthony complained about the quarrelsome independent inventors traveling in third class and pointed out a disheveled man sitting in the Salon Car.
• A married couple entered the Salon Car, and Anthony joked that they would keep their distance before admitting he had no girlfriend.

Li Wei spent a peaceful day aboard the train chatting with passengers, including Joanna Bedrick, who told him about her brother’s death at Claiborne’s Manor. On the third morning, the train stopped in a rainstorm because debris blocked the track, and Li Wei headed to breakfast after confirming nothing else had happened.

• Joanna Bedrick introduced herself and her daughter Lisa to Li Wei, then asked about his arrest of the rebel leader in Mericia.
• Joanna revealed that Claiborne had killed her younger brother and recounted embarrassing stories from his life.
• Li Wei later spoke with Ovelia, and the passengers spent the next day socializing before retiring for the night.
• On the third morning, Li Wei discovered the train had stopped in the wilderness because rocks, mud, and trees blocked the track.
• The attendant said the passengers would have to wait for the rain to stop before workers could clear the route, and Li Wei asked whether anything else had happened aboard the train.

Li Wei investigated the train’s delay in the Death Forest and warned Ovelia to stay alert. When the briefcase-carrying passenger was found dead, Li Wei privately asked Anthony whether he had killed him.

• Anthony told Li Wei that passengers believed the train’s stop in the Death Forest was a bad omen, and Li Wei sent him to learn more.
• A train attendant explained that mudslides blocked both sides of the train, leaving the passengers stranded with supplies for about a week.
• The anxious briefcase-carrying man collided with Ovelia, spilling his belongings, then hurried away after she helped him gather them.
• Li Wei told Ovelia that the delay could be dangerous and urged her to watch for anything unusual.
• A train attendant summoned Li Wei after finding the briefcase-carrying passenger dead in his compartment.
• Li Wei questioned Anthony privately and asked whether he had killed the passenger.

Li Wei investigated Robert Hadment’s murder with Anthony, who revealed he had been secretly following Hadment on an espionage assignment. Li Wei concluded the killing most likely was a robbery and murder, with the culprit still aboard the train, and decided to question passengers in the first-class cars.

• Anthony told Li Wei that he had been assigned to watch Hadment, who was suspected of dealing with foreign spies, and denied killing him.
• Li Wei learned that Hadment was carrying a large amount of money and recalled that Hadment had hurriedly packed his belongings after colliding with Ovelia.
• Li Wei examined Hadment’s body and ransacked compartment, concluding that someone had struck him from behind and searched the room.
• Anthony checked the train’s head count, but Li Wei rejected the theory that the killer had escaped with the goods because nobody was missing.
• Li Wei noticed the money was gone and reasoned that Hadment may have been killed for it, with the culprit likely among the first-class passengers.
• Li Wei decided to question the passengers in the first-class cars.

Li Wei questioned the first-class passengers about Robert Hardment’s murder, looking for signs that the apparent robbery concealed a spy’s work. Ovelia and the Hardmans gave their accounts, but Elena’s statement that her husband had left their compartment while she slept raised questions as the inquiry continued.

• Li Wei commandeered the Salon Car and questioned the passengers from first-class cars A and B, beginning with Ovelia Baskerville.
• Ovelia said she had visited Anna Louise’s compartment before lunch, then rested and played with Little Black until she heard the commotion; she reported nothing unusual.
• Anrenis Hardman angrily denied knowing anything about Robert Hardment’s death and said he and his wife had rested after lunch.
• Elena Hardman said she had fallen asleep and later found her husband absent; Anrenis told her he had gone outside for a smoke.
• Anrenis returned to end the questioning, led Elena away, and Li Wei told Anthony Carest to call the attendant.

Li Wei interrogated the train attendant, Mrs. Bedrick, Lisa, and the other passengers about Hardment’s murder, then revealed that the train attendant had killed him and stolen his money. The attendant faced the evidence, but the chapter ended before he answered Li Wei’s challenge about the fingerprints.

• Li Wei questioned the train attendant about finding Hardment’s body and learned he had used a master key to enter the room.
• Mrs. Bedrick described seeing Hardment late at night, while Lisa admitted that he had stared at her and revealed that her mother had planned to confront him.
• Lisa said she and her mother heard a thud from next door at 3:28, and the other passengers confirmed that no attendant had come to announce afternoon tea.
• Li Wei instructed Anthony to find the Train Conductor, then gathered everyone in the Salon Car to announce that Hardment had been robbed and murdered.
• Li Wei accused the train attendant and explained that he had entered Hardment’s room with the master key, killed him, and stolen the money.
• Anthony presented gold coins and a bloodstained hammer found in the train attendant’s rest area, and Li Wei challenged him to explain the blood and fingerprints.

After the attendant confessed to murdering the researcher, Li Wei suspected the victim himself had been valuable to the enemy. That night, Ovelia found a strange black punched card, and Little Black sensed danger outside as Li Wei examined his new revolver, the Punisher.

• The attendant confessed that he had killed the victim while trying to rob him, and the train crew locked him up and stored the body.
• Li Wei told Anthony he suspected the enemy had wanted the researcher himself, while Anthony searched the victim's room.
• Ovelia found an unfamiliar black punched card in her bag as Anna helped her prepare for bed.
• Little Black growled at the window, so Ovelia turned off the lights and decided to seek Li Wei's help.
• Li Wei admired the powerful .50-caliber revolver he had received as a reward and named it the Punisher.
• Ovelia knocked on Li Wei's door after Little Black sensed danger outside.

The attendant tried to escape after seeing the dead man he had murdered, but both were transformed by spreading vines. As the forest attacked the train, Li Wei activated an escape quest, ordered the train to move, and prepared to attach the Ghost Ship Core to the carriage.

• The attendant tried to break open the lounge window, but a figure appeared behind him and attacked him with vines emerging from its mouth.
• Li Wei, Ovelia, and the Train Conductor found the attendant and the murdered man entangled in vines, and Li Wei set the corpses and vines on fire with an Incendiary Bullet.
• A roar shook the forest, and Li Wei received the quest to escape with as many people as possible.
• Li Wei ordered the Train Conductor and driver to move the train despite the floodwater, and he burned vines that attacked the locomotive.
• Li Wei revealed the Ghost Ship Core and chose to attach it to the carriage.

Li Wei fought to get the train and its passengers through a flood and an attack by the forest’s vines, using an inventor’s explosive fuel to destroy the threat. The train escaped the vines and a mudslide, while a towering blast rose behind it.

• Li Wei ordered passengers into the front carriages and told them to abandon their luggage so the train could move faster.
• When vines seized the rear of the train, Li Wei learned that several inventors had stored dangerous devices in the baggage car.
• Li Wei took an inventor’s highly flammable fuel and uncoupled the baggage car as vines reached for his carriage.
• Li Wei fired an Incendiary Bullet into the fuel barrel, triggering a massive explosion that burned away the vines and dispersed the Ghost Train’s mist.
• The blast cleared the mudslide from the tracks, allowing the train to continue safely.

Li Wei and the survivors continued their journey to Bisbalu after escaping the forest, while Ovelia returned a punched card that Anthony believed belonged to the murdered man. Li Wei received his quest rewards and chose Steady Shot, leaving Anthony to travel with him so they could investigate the card in Bisbalu.

• Li Wei compensated the inventors for their destroyed belongings, and Anthony worried that his superiors would punish him for failing to protect the man he had followed.
• Ovelia gave Li Wei a black punched card that her maid had accidentally picked up after Ovelia collided with the victim.
• Anthony suspected the card was what the victim had been searching for and decided to take it to an expert in Bisbalu rather than report it to his superior.
• Li Wei and the remaining passengers boarded a new train for Bisbalu, while most second- and third-class passengers waited for a return train.
• Li Wei completed the Escape Alive quest, gained four hundred days of lifespan and other rewards, and selected Steady Shot.
• The train arrived in Bisbalu without further trouble.