Chapter Summaries

Li Jie reported that his meeting with Falcone had produced nothing and received his promised bonus from Bob, who ordered him back to work next Monday. At the hospital, he met Selina Kyle and nervously turned down her request for a ride to the subway station.

• Li Jie’s G20 broke down, and he briefly encountered a strange homeless man who spoke Chinese before the man vanished.
• Li Jie told Bob that Falcone had given him nothing, collected two ten-thousand-dollar checks, and learned he would return to work Monday with a new partner.
• Li Jie visited Wilson in the hospital, where he met Lisa and Selina Kyle and gave Lisa one of his checks.
• Selina stopped Li Jie outside the hospital and asked him to take her to the subway station, but he claimed he could not afford a car.

Li Jie visited Blackgate Penitentiary and persuaded Otis Flanagan to pursue an appeal against his wrongful murder conviction. At a Gotham Police Department ceremony, Falcone tried to isolate Li Jie by singling him out for a reward, but Li Jie turned the money into a public fund and won the room’s support.

• Martin Thorwald allowed Li Jie to interview a prisoner at Blackgate, warning him not to cause trouble.
• Li Jie told Otis Flanagan that his murder case was riddled with errors and asked whether he wanted to overturn his conviction; Otis agreed to appeal.
• Chief Bob McGinnis told Li Jie that Falcone wanted him at a department ceremony, where Falcone planned to donate $500,000 and recognize Li Jie.
• Falcone publicly awarded Li Jie $50,000, prompting resentment among the assembled officers.
• Li Jie credited the department, his colleagues, Gotham’s citizens, and Falcone, then announced he would donate the reward to a fund for officers killed or injured in the line of duty.

Li Jie persuaded Bob to use donations, police support, and informant Otis Flanagan to build a path toward challenging Loeb’s power. Bob agreed to bring Otis out of Blackgate and help Li Jie secure more resources, while warning him not to rush the case.

• Bob praised Li Jie, then asked what he planned to do with the fifty thousand Falcone had given him, and Li Jie refused to let Bob take any of it.
• Li Jie showed Bob Otis Flanagan’s case notes and argued that Otis could serve as an informant despite the risks of overturning his conviction.
• Li Jie urged Bob to enlarge the officers’ benefits fund, build a record of accomplishments, and gather information that could eventually undermine Loeb.
• Bob agreed to pursue the plan, and Li Jie asked for funding, a promotion, vehicles, equipment, and heavy weapons.
• Bob said a prisoner transport vehicle would be ready the next morning and told Li Jie to assess a new recruit arriving at noon.
• Bob agreed to arrange Otis’s release from Blackgate as an undercover informant, but told Li Jie to conceal his identity and avoid rushing to overturn his conviction.

Li Jie took two inexperienced recruits on a domestic violence follow-up and found Harper Row and Cullen Row abandoned and starving in their apartment. He decided to remove the children from their abusive father’s care and carried them out with him.

• The station learned Li Jie had donated money to the police fund, and he agreed to train recruits Alan Wiggins and Anna Ramirez.
• Li Jie took Alan and Anna to Narrow Island, where he knocked an armed, drug-addled attacker unconscious after the rookies failed to stop him.
• Harper Row told Li Jie that her father, Marcus, continued abusing her and Cullen Row, locking them inside while he went drinking.
• Li Jie realized the children could not safely wait for child welfare services and decided to take them away from the apartment.
• Harper packed the children’s belongings, and Li Jie carried them out while ordering Alan to fetch warmer clothes.

Li Jie took Harper and Karen to Gotham Charity Clinic for a medical assessment, hoping to keep them from being placed in Gotham’s corrupt CPS system. After clashing with James Gordon over the legal process, Li Jie left the children under Leslie Thompkins’s emergency care for up to seventy-two hours.

• Li Jie asked Wilson to alert the media about the abuse case and arranged for rookies Anna and Alan to report the incident and deliver evidence to the precinct.
• Li Jie drove Harper and Karen to Gotham Charity Clinic, where Leslie Thompkins agreed to examine them.
• Li Jie asked Thompkins to certify that the children would face immediate danger if CPS took custody, but she said she would have to notify CPS the next day.
• Gordon objected to bypassing CPS and called for the agency to take custody, so Li Jie slammed him against a wall and accused him of letting children disappear through the system.
• Thompkins stopped the fight and arranged emergency shelter for Harper and Karen at her certified clinic under the city’s seventy-two-hour protection provision.
• Li Jie left the clinic while Thompkins took the children upstairs, and Gordon asked whether she believed he had been right.

Li Jie proposed a police-run program to help abused children and persuaded Bob that CPS corruption, rather than the Court of Owls, was the likely obstacle. He learned Bruce Wayne had returned to Gotham and discovered Whelan could earn a multimillion-dollar contract, leaving him stunned by the fortune his protégé might make.

• Li Jie gave reporter Vicki Vale a lengthy account of the police department’s child-protection policies, and Bob dismissed the off-duty staff before asking him about the publicity.
• Li Jie proposed gathering evidence of CPS corruption and creating a transparent police program funded by officers, donors, and philanthropists; Bob agreed to investigate and gave him an official letter with instructions for the next day.
• Bob warned Li Jie about the Court of Owls, but Li Jie used a rough profit calculation to argue that CPS was probably backed only by corrupt officials.
• Li Jie saw a newspaper report announcing Bruce Wayne’s return to Gotham and his planned appearance at a charity gala.
• Clark Kent told Li Jie that Whelan had signed a temporary contract and could earn over ten million dollars through a future draft deal, leaving Li Jie overwhelmed.

Li Jie collected a heavily modified GCPD van and brought Otis Flanagan out of Blackgate Penitentiary to pursue overturning his wrongful conviction. Bob McGinnis agreed to help if Otis used his rat network for the precinct, and Li Jie and Otis set out to confront the officer who framed him.

• Li Jie paid Dren and Junker for a heavily armored, upgraded GCPD van and thanked them for their work.
• At Blackgate Penitentiary, Martin Thorwald approved Otis Flanagan's release into Li Jie's custody, while a talkative guard escorted them through the handover.
• Otis's rat Bastian emerged from his clothes, and Li Jie allowed him to stay in the van after warning Otis to keep it clean.
• Li Jie explained that the officer who framed Otis was unlikely to remember his case, then brought Otis to meet Bob McGinnis.
• Bob offered to help overturn Otis's conviction in exchange for his work, agreed that Li Jie and Otis could pressure Fleck without killing him, and said Paul Perino would support them.
• Bob authorized Otis's temporary ID and supplies, and Li Jie warned him that the modified van consumed a lot of fuel.

Li Jie sought miniature recording equipment for his plan to help Harper and her brother, and Nygma built him a prototype. After Nygma suggested a more direct way to stop CPS, Li Jie tried to persuade him to transfer to the Eastern District Precinct.

• Li Jie failed to get Steven to make a recorder smaller, so he asked Nygma to build one small enough for a rat to carry.
• Li Jie visited the charity clinic, apologized to Doctor Thompkins with gifts, gave her cards for Officer Gordon, and received copies of documents concerning Harper and her brother.
• Li Jie bought a used Cherokee after bargaining the dealer down to twenty-five hundred dollars.
• Nygma presented Li Jie with a tiny recorder he had assembled from salvaged parts, and Li Jie invited him to dinner.
• Li Jie told Nygma about Otis, Harper, and her brother, and Nygma suggested threatening the CPS caseworker to stop the children being taken away.
• Li Jie urged Nygma to transfer to the Eastern District Precinct, and Nygma said he needed time to think.

Li Jie intimidated a CPS director into abandoning the case involving Harper and her brother, then spent Christmas on duty at the Eastern District Precinct. When reports came in of a caped figure attacking Falcone’s businesses, Li Jie investigated the wrecked crime scenes and realized the attacks marked the start of Gotham’s turmoil.

• Li Jie disguised himself and threatened Hall Randolph on Falcone’s behalf, warning him to stop CPS intervention for Harper and her brother.
• CPS declined to take Harper and her brother, while their father Marcus was arrested for theft and aggravated assault.
• Li Jie invited officers and prisoners to share a Christmas meal at the precinct, then sent Alan and Anna home after their shift.
• A report came in that a caped shadow had attacked Barent Restaurant, and Li Jie suspected Bruce Wayne had begun patrolling Gotham.
• Further reports led Li Jie to investigate attacks on Falcone’s warehouse and another restaurant, where he found numerous badly injured men and evidence of a brutal assault.

At a chaotic press conference, Li Jie criticized the shadow’s vigilante violence while avoiding a direct account of the night’s events. A boy’s bat-shaped brand threw the police response into disarray, and Li Jie used the attention to press for more funding and manpower for the Eastern District Precinct.

• Reporters crowded Gotham Police Central Headquarters, and Gillian Loeb brought Li Jie and James Gordon outside to address them.
• Loeb redirected questions about the shadow to Li Jie, who described the vigilante’s actions as aggravated assaults and irresponsible behavior.
• A homeless witness claimed he had seen a monstrous living shadow attack armed men near the Old Fish Head warehouse.
• A teenage boy tore open his shirt to reveal a fresh bat-shaped brand, prompting Loeb to flee and assign the case to James Gordon.
• Li Jie took the microphone and called for more resources, citing the Eastern District Precinct’s staff shortages and injured officers.

Li Jie responded to a bank robbery and discovered the masked robber was spraying hostages with hot sauce rather than bullets. After arresting the bankrupt restaurant owner, Li Jie suspected Gotham was beginning to produce costumed criminals.

• Li Jie worried about the bounties on Batman and patrolled Gotham with Anna as the New Year began.
• Li Jie and Anna rushed to a reported robbery at Gotham Public Finance Bank after hearing that the masked suspects wore unusual clothes.
• Li Jie entered the bank and found a masked man holding hostages while a teller filled a bag with cash.
• The robber fired streams of red and yellow hot sauce at Li Jie, who shielded himself with his jacket, knocked the man down, and handcuffed him.
• Anna brought Li Jie the caller, who explained that the robber owned a restaurant and had gone bankrupt; Li Jie reflected that Gotham was starting to produce bizarre costumed criminals.

Li Jie and Bob prepared the East End police station for Bruce Wayne’s visit, and Wayne donated a million dollars after touring the precinct. Before leaving, Wayne privately asked Li Jie about Bob’s corruption and the caped vigilante, then gave Li Jie his direct contact information.

• Li Jie assessed Anna and Alan’s strengths and weaknesses for Bob, who asked him to help deal with Falcone’s demand to catch the caped vigilante.
• Bob learned Bruce Wayne planned to donate to the precinct, and he and Li Jie organized an urgent cleanup to present the station as poor but hardworking.
• Bruce Wayne toured the station, met Li Jie, and signed a million-dollar donation check while reporters watched.
• After the cameras were gone, Wayne asked Li Jie about Bob’s corruption, and Li Jie admitted Bob took dirty money but argued that he kept the East End stable.
• Wayne questioned Li Jie about the vigilante and the station’s last-minute cleanup, then gave him a business card before departing.

Otis helped Li Jie investigate Child Protective Services by using his rats to track officials and record Judge Joshua, then helped him steal financial records from a consulting company. After Edward Nygma admitted he could not decipher the records, he pointed Li Jie toward auditor Erika Hale.

• Otis gave Li Jie records of Child Protective Services officials’ movements and a tape of recordings made by a rat near Judge Joshua.
• Li Jie asked Otis to keep watch while he broke into a consulting company suspected of holding CPS off-the-books financial records.
• Otis sent his rats into the building to watch for danger, and Li Jie returned with a case full of financial documents.
• Li Jie told Otis he would find an accountant to examine the documents, while Otis worried the break-in would bring police attention.
• Edward Nygma failed to decipher the records but gave Li Jie the name of Erika Hale, a sidelined auditor who resisted corruption.

Li Jie and Anna Ramirez visited tax auditor Erika Hale to review records from a child trafficking case, then intervened in a dispute over Victor Fries's cryogenic research and his frozen wife, Nora. Li Jie temporarily stopped the company from shutting off her life-support system and went with Fries to inspect her condition.

• Li Jie and Anna Ramirez asked Erika Hale to analyze seized financial records, and she agreed to do the work for one thousand dollars.
• Li Jie and Anna encountered Victor Fries arguing with De Ligt Technology Investments directors over funding and equipment for his Cryogenic Projector.
• Victor Fries explained that his wife Nora had progressive cellular necrosis and depended on cryogenic hibernation to stay alive.
• Li Jie disarmed Fries and warned the directors that cutting power to Nora's life-support system could expose them and the company to criminal charges.
• The directors deferred the dispute to their legal department, and Li Jie impounded the projector and asked Fries to show him Nora and her life-support system.

Li Jie persuaded Victor Fries to consider commercializing his cryogenic technology to fund Nora’s care, then directed him to Bruce Wayne for protection. After Bruce agreed to keep the cryochamber powered, Li Jie tried to secure a share of the profits but was rebuffed.

• Li Jie saw Nora alive in Victor Fries’s cryochamber and asked whether freezing her would cure her terminal illness.
• Fries admitted he had no solution or funding, and Li Jie proposed selling cryogenic preservation to wealthy clients.
• Fries rejected the idea, fearing powerful interests would seize his research and take Nora as a test subject.
• Li Jie gave Fries Bruce Wayne’s business card and urged him to ask Wayne for support and protection.
• Bruce called Li Jie, agreed to keep Nora’s cryochamber powered, and warned him about legal and ethical complications.
• When Li Jie asked for a share of the profits, Bruce instead offered funding for the police department and revealed he had seen Li Jie’s insulting contact name for him.

Li Jie pressured Fleck to admit he had framed Otis, then learned that fifteen young women had been found dead in Miller Bay under suspicious circumstances. He persuaded Bob to mobilize the precinct and cautiously approved involving Gotham’s gangs in investigating the cultists.

• Li Jie played Bob a recording about Joshua, and Bob agreed to take it to the prosecutor to help overturn a conviction.
• Li Jie arranged for Otis to prepare an account of his case, then confronted Fleck with evidence of his past crimes and forced him to memorize a confession to framing Otis.
• Alan told Li Jie that fifteen young women had been found dead in Miller Bay, and Li Jie recognized the case as a possible cult-related threat.
• Li Jie showed Bob the scene report and argued for increased patrols, roadblocks, and a forceful response to the growing number of lunatics and cults.
• Li Jie proposed using gangs to investigate dangerous cultists, and Bob cautiously agreed, warning him to leave no incriminating evidence behind.

Nygma deduced that a master hypnotist obsessed with Alice had drowned the victims and profiled the suspect as a possibly short man who wore a top hat. As Li Jie and the police pursued leads, the Cloaked Figure appeared near Triangle Bridge, and Li Jie decided to resume the investigation after getting some sleep and visiting an old friend.

• Nygma linked the victims’ matching dresses to Alice and the Mad Hatter, then profiled the suspect as socially isolated and possibly unusually short.
• Li Jie left the morgue with Nygma’s profile and continued investigating while Nygma declined his invitation to join the East End Forensics Division for now.
• Alan found a report of a girl who had returned from a kidnapping in a blue dress, white stockings, and black shoes, and Li Jie mapped it alongside the murder locations.
• Harvey Bullock and Gordon discussed the victims’ shared innocent, girl-next-door appearance, while Gordon doubted Nygma’s hypnosis theory.
• Anna told Li Jie that the Cloaked Figure had questioned thugs near Triangle Bridge, and Li Jie decided his team should rest before he visited an old friend the next morning.

Li Jie visited Cobblepot at the Iceberg Lounge to enlist his help finding a suspect who could hypnotize crowds. They struck a deal: Cobblepot would search for the suspect, while Li Jie would leave his East End businesses alone if Cobblepot kept them free of drugs.

• Cobblepot proudly prepared to enter the Iceberg Lounge, but Li Jie surprised him outside and asked to come in.
• Li Jie questioned Cobblepot about Falcone's plans and Zsasz, then gave him a police case summary about a suspect who could control people through hypnosis.
• Cobblepot realized Li Jie wanted help finding the suspect and negotiated for protection from raids in exchange.
• Li Jie agreed not to raid Cobblepot's East End establishments if Cobblepot eliminated all drugs, including weed, and offered information about Rupert Thorne's smuggling warehouse.
• Cobblepot agreed to search Gotham for the suspect, and he and Li Jie shook hands on a partnership.

Li Jie investigated the deaths of two officers and a shopkeeper, finding signs that the killer was covering up a search for a blue puff-skirt dress. As the evidence ran cold, Nygma proposed examining the victims’ brains and hinted he might join Li Jie in the East End.

• Alan told Li Jie that George and Steven had shot each other dead in Burnley, and Li Jie rushed to the scene suspecting the hypnotist had controlled them.
• Li Jie questioned a shopkeeper who said the officers had asked about a blue puff-skirt dress and white apron, then found a murdered woman and burned records at the Plume Costume Shop.
• Nygma told Li Jie that the surviving sales records revealed no buyer of the dress and suggested electronic pulses might have damaged the victims’ brains.
• Gordon agreed to seek authorization for Nygma to perform emergency autopsies, while Li Jie challenged Bullock and drove him to back down.
• Nygma asked Li Jie whether the East End still needed officers, and Li Jie welcomed him by joking that he could help carry equipment.

Li Jie arranged for Edward Nygma to transfer to the East End Police Department and learned that the killer’s latest victims had unusual burns suggesting experimental equipment. After Cobblepot traced the disappearances to the abandoned Grimm Toy Factory, Li Jie went there alone to confront the killer.

• Li Jie persuaded Bob to expand the police station and approved Edward Nygma’s transfer to run forensic, autopsy, and technical work.
• Nygma told Li Jie that the three latest victims had tiny burns near their temporal lobes and was developing a device to counter the killer’s hypnosis.
• Cobblepot traced suspicious food purchases and lost men to the north bank of the Sprang River, where he and Li Jie identified the abandoned Grimm Toy Factory as the likely hideout.
• Li Jie suspected his Higher-Dimensional Creation skill would protect him from hypnosis, then drove alone to the factory and entered its grounds.