Chapter Summaries

Li Jie and Wilson were sent to Krain Manor after Jonathan Crane’s fear-inducing gas incapacitated two officers. Li Jie recognized Crane as Scarecrow and prepared to enter the manor with Gordon, while the remaining officers held the perimeter.

• Li Jie warned a group of Eternal Brotherhood preachers not to cause trouble in his precinct.
• Gordon told Li Jie that Jonathan Crane had attacked officers with a gas that caused terrifying hallucinations and requested military-grade gas masks.
• Li Jie and Wilson drove to Krain Manor with four gas masks and met Gordon’s police team outside.
• Li Jie insisted that he and Wilson enter the manor while Gordon kept the other officers outside.

Li Jie and Wilson searched Krain Manor for Jonathan Crane, finding his fear experiments and taking some research and samples. Gordon spotted Crane fleeing into the woods, and Li Jie and Wilson joined the pursuit.

• Li Jie and Wilson cleared Krain Manor and found Jonathan Crane’s study filled with research on fear and experimental devices.
• Li Jie and Wilson pocketed selected research papers for Nygma while leaving the remaining documents for Gordon to report.
• Li Jie found concentrated aerosol samples and medicine bottles in Crane’s basement laboratory and took them.
• Gordon radioed that Jonathan Crane had been spotted fleeing toward the woods behind the manor.
• Li Jie and Wilson chased Crane into the woods, and Li Jie removed his fogged mask and urged the others to pursue the man in the brown coat.

Li Jie and James Gordon pursued Jonathan Crane into the woods, where Crane released fear gas that incapacitated Gordon and triggered a violent hallucination. While Li Jie fought to subdue him, Crane escaped, leaving the officers to take Gordon to the hospital.

• Li Jie and Gordon chased Jonathan Crane through the woods as the other officers fell behind.
• Crane triggered a cloud of fear gas, and Gordon collapsed after inhaling it.
• Li Jie shot at Crane, but Gordon attacked him while hallucinating threats to his daughter Barbara.
• Li Jie fought Gordon until the arriving officers helped restrain and cuff him.
• Crane escaped, and Li Jie told Wilson to take Gordon to the hospital before they returned to ask Ed for ideas.

Li Jie, Harleen Quinzel, and Edward Nygma examined Jonathan Crane’s fear-gas research while Harleen warned that Raven was distressed by a magical search for her. After recovering from the gas, Bruce Wayne began analyzing his blood to develop an antidote, determined to prepare for Crane’s next attack.

• Li Jie gave Nygma the notebook from the Manor and made him promise not to test the research on anyone without Li Jie present.
• Harleen told Li Jie that Raven feared someone was using magic to locate her, and Li Jie asked Harleen to keep Raven calm.
• Bruce Wayne woke after twenty-seven hours unconscious and learned that Jonathan Crane had escaped and that James Gordon was hospitalized after inhaling the gas.
• Bruce began analyzing his blood and brain-wave data to develop an antidote before Crane could strike again.
• Alfred warned Bruce against planting more surveillance devices at the Eastern District Precinct after the earlier listening device had been discovered.

Li Jie and Bob discussed restructuring the East End Police Department and its new funding, while Li Jie and Wilson visited Gordon in the hospital. Gordon agreed to seek information through underworld informants to find Krain and identify Raven’s magical pursuer, but refused to approach his old criminal acquaintance.

• Li Jie told Bob about Hugo Strange attacking Nygma and someone tracking Raven, and Bob said the East End needed to use its new resources to gain respect.
• Li Jie and Wilson visited the injured Gordon and told him Krain had escaped after using gas to incapacitate him.
• Li Jie and Wilson reenacted Gordon’s confused attack in the woods, embarrassing him into agreeing that Li Jie had won their fight.
• Li Jie told Gordon that Raven sensed a magical pursuer tracking her through Gotham.
• Gordon suggested asking the underworld for information, but refused to contact his old acquaintance because he was a criminal.

Li Jie and Wilson captured a member of the Eternal Brotherhood who had been following them and learned that the cult was gathering at an old textile mill near Narrow Island. Li Jie left to lead an armed response team there, while the detained believer remained in custody.

• Li Jie and Wilson cornered the young follower in a dead end, planted drugs in his car, and arrested him.
• Wilson beat the young man during interrogation until he explained that the Daughter of Chaos had ordered him to track Li Jie.
• The young believer told Li Jie that the Eternal Brotherhood was meeting at an old textile mill near Narrow Island and was spread across several locations.
• Li Jie ordered twenty mobile-response officers to assemble with long guns and heavy armor.
• Li Jie briefed the officers that armed cultists were at the mill and ordered them to shoot if they met resistance.

Li Jie’s team found the Eternal Church’s abandoned factory and evidence that its followers were targeting Raven. After Raven explained that the Church of Blood wanted her as Brother Blood’s bride, the group questioned what new power the cult might be relying on, while Nygma worked to decipher its clues.

• Li Jie led a GCPD raid on the Old Textile Factory, but the officers found that the cultists had already fled.
• Li Jie discovered a frantic note and a blood-painted ritual design that mentioned a passage, a great bloodline, and Raven.
• Li Jie ordered Christopher to canvass the neighborhood while Wilson documented and collected evidence from the factory.
• Li Jie showed Nygma and Raven the recovered documents, and Raven identified the Eternal Church as the Church of Blood, whose leader wanted her as his bride and to bear his offspring.
• Nygma said he was trying to decipher the cult’s symbols, and Li Jie asked Harleen Quinzel how she would deal with the cultists.

Li Jie and Bob faced mounting threats while Cobblepot sought influence over East End business. Bob pushed Cobblepot to submit a gang-business proposal and hinted that he could help fund weapons and find the hidden cultists and terrorists.

• Li Jie and Otis discussed searching for the domestic abusers and pedophiles expected to return, then encountered Cobblepot at the precinct.
• Bob asked Li Jie to receive a visiting arms supplier and inspect the samples while he spoke privately with Cobblepot.
• Cobblepot offered Bob a $50,000 check and asked about future business arrangements in the East End, but Bob demanded a clear proposal for the coming bidding process.
• Bob told Cobblepot that the police prioritized peace and stability over profit, then reminded him that Li Jie blamed himself for former chief Barnes's fate.
• Bob revealed that Li Jie knew about Barnes and Falcone's vault, and mentioned the need to buy weapons to protect the police from hidden cultists and terrorists.
• Cobblepot offered to have his men find the terrorists, declaring that he could negotiate and loved Gotham too.

Li Jie met Ian Fleming, who delivered a vast arsenal for Gotham’s police precinct as samples requested by Chief Bob. The equipment was priced at $1.35 million, and Ian assured Li Jie he would make the weapons legal.

• Li Jie left his office to meet Ian Fleming, who said Chief Bob had sent him to provide tools for the sheriff’s troubles.
• Ian led Li Jie and Wilson to five trucks in the precinct’s underground garage and revealed racks of military weapons and tactical equipment.
• Ian showed them rifles, grenade launchers, machine guns, Javelin missiles, armor, and other gear sufficient for a twelve-man squad.
• Ian explained that Bob wanted officers to test the equipment and provide feedback before placing a formal procurement order.
• Ian quoted a final price of about $1.35 million and promised to make the weapons legal.

Ra's al Ghul prepared to destroy Gotham and capture Trigon's blood to restore the fading Lazarus Pit, believing Bruce Wayne and the city would serve as bait. Talia ordered the League of Assassins to board transports bound for Gotham.

• Talia told Ra's al Ghul that the vanguard had reached the waters off Gotham and the main force was ready to move.
• Ra's al Ghul explained that he planned to use the Church of Blood to summon Trigon and seize his blood when the demon possessed his daughter.
• Ra's al Ghul revealed that the Lazarus Pit was fading and that Trigon's blood could preserve it and the League of Assassins.
• Ra's al Ghul addressed a thousand assassins and declared Gotham their target and Trigon their intended prey.
• Talia shouted, "Board!", and the League of Assassins moved toward transports bound for Gotham.

Li Jie oversaw the Eastern District Precinct’s conversion into a fortified base while searching unsuccessfully for ways to fight demons. Oswald Cobblepot supplied weapons and offered support, leaving Li Jie better prepared for ordinary attackers but still worried about supernatural intrusions.

• Gordon returned from the hospital and reinstated the citywide manhunt for Jonathan Crane, but the search found few leads.
• Li Jie returned to the precinct as Wilson supervised its extensive reinforcement and renovation.
• Cobblepot brought Li Jie a SIG SG 550 and two Colt Pythons as gifts, then proposed contributing to the precinct’s security upgrades.
• Under Edward Nygma’s plans, the precinct gained defensive positions, while Cobblepot arranged for weapons to be smuggled into its underground warehouse.
• Li Jie stocked the logistics warehouse with protective gear and essential supplies, but remained concerned that supernatural enemies could enter through portals.

Finn infiltrated the Eternal Church and discovered its plan to send believers to the Eastern District Precinct to demand the police surrender a girl they blamed for Gotham’s troubles. When Brother Blood and the Daughter of Chaos arrived, Brother Blood demonstrated his ability to heal a severe wound instantly, and they noticed Finn trying to escape.

• Finn attended the Eternal Church’s gathering to learn what the group was planning and secretly recorded the Guide’s speech.
• The Guide blamed the Eastern District Precinct and the girl in its custody for Gotham’s chaos, then urged believers to protest at the precinct the next day.
• Brother Blood and the Daughter of Chaos arrived, and the believers bowed to them in reverence.
• Brother Blood cut his own arm with a strange dagger, then healed the wound in moments, prompting the crowd to praise him.
• Finn tried to slip into a dark corner to escape, but the Daughter of Chaos and Brother Blood spotted him.

Brother Blood drained Finn’s life force after Finn tried to stab him, then prepared to face the police. At the Eastern District Precinct, Edward Nygma readied himself for a carefully monitored dose of Fear Toxin.

• Brother Blood’s attendants dragged Finn before him and forced him to kneel.
• Finn claimed he wanted bread, then attacked Brother Blood with a Switchblade.
• Brother Blood pulled the blade from his regenerating body and drained Finn’s blood until Finn died.
• Brother Blood declared that the police would be no match for Trigon’s power and asked whether they were ready to receive Trigon’s blessing.
• At the Eastern District Precinct, Edward Nygma sat ready for the Fear Toxin test as medical supplies and sedatives were set out.

Edward Nygma injected himself with a diluted Fear Toxin dose so he could record its effects, despite Li Jie and the doctors warning him of the risks. As the toxin began distorting his senses and thoughts, Nygma lost his grip on reality and announced that it was his turn to solve the riddle.

• Li Jie argued against Nygma using himself as a test subject, but Nygma insisted he was the most reliable source of data.
• Doctor Leslie Thompkins warned Nygma that the experiment violated medical ethics, while Harleen Quinzel showed interest in trying the toxin herself.
• Nygma asked Li Jie to end his life if the toxin permanently made him a paranoid, delusional madman, and Li Jie promised to help him.
• Nygma injected himself with 0.1 standard units of diluted Fear Toxin and asked Li Jie to record the time and dose.
• Nygma reported worsening sensory changes, whispers, and fear as the toxin disrupted his cognition, then shouted that it was his turn to solve the riddle.

Edward Nygma fought the Fear Toxin’s manifestation of the Riddler inside his mind and overcame it with help from the people around him. He woke with his reasoning restored and recognized that his worth did not depend on riddles.

• The Riddler confronted Nygma in a mindscape and used his fear of failure to weaken him.
• Li Jie answered Nygma’s riddle with “a fart,” disrupting the Riddler’s control, while Harleen Quinzel and others called out more unexpected answers.
• Nygma rejected the Riddler’s claim that he needed him and declared that he could remain himself without defining his worth through riddles.
• The Riddler dissolved, and Nygma’s vital signs stabilized as he woke in the hospital room.
• Nygma asked Li Jie to record the end time and concluded that Fear Toxin could be overcome through willpower and external support.

Li Jie used a promised relief payment and a lineup of policewomen to expose the protesters’ prejudice and turn their march into a brawl with anti-racism and feminist groups. He ordered officers to wait until the groups had fought before moving in to make arrests.

• Li Jie spent four skill points to gain Divine Possession, a random supernatural power he could borrow for fifteen seconds once every ten days.
• Li Jie, Nygma, and Wilson saw a crowd outside the old station demanding that the police hand over a demon’s daughter, and Li Jie warned Raven to stay away from the windows.
• Bob forbade Li Jie from using force against the protesters, so Li Jie went outside and offered twenty dollars to anyone who stayed quiet before asking what the demon’s daughter looked like.
• Li Jie brought out Dominique, Bronnie, and Petty as possible candidates, and the protesters objected to their height, weight, and race; Petty then confronted them over their racism.
• Wilson summoned anti-racism and feminist groups, whose members clashed with the devotees, and Li Jie told the police to wait until the fight ended before making arrests.

After Raven disappeared from the precinct, Li Jie and the others realized she had fled alone while burdened by guilt and fear. Harleen Quinzel warned that Raven might seek out the people hunting her, so they began trying to find her before she could confront them.

• Li Jie returned to the precinct with Wilson after learning Raven was missing and found Anna restrained by shadowy tentacles Raven had left behind.
• Anna explained that Raven had left through a portal because she did not want to be a burden, and Harleen Quinzel identified her departure as an adolescent, guilt-driven attempt at self-sacrifice.
• Li Jie, Wilson, Harleen Quinzel, and Anna recognized that Raven was alone, had no money, and could encounter her abusive father or dangerous pursuers.
• Harleen Quinzel reasoned that Raven might head to a symbolic or isolated location and warned that she could deliberately approach the people hunting her to settle things.

Li Jie and the search teams used Nygma’s homemade detector to hunt for Raven across Gotham. They found her hidden beneath the Three-Gate Bridge, where Li Jie approached and asked whether she had eaten dinner.

• Nygma demonstrated a detector that could sense magical residue, and Li Jie organized teams to search Gotham for Raven.
• The teams searched abandoned coastal sites and Narrow Island, but the detector’s intermittent readings led to false trails.
• Near the Three-Gate Bridge, Nygma’s team picked up a stronger, shifting signal, and Harleen suspected Raven was hiding beneath the bridge deck.
• Otis confirmed Raven was below the bridge, and Li Jie followed a maintenance stairway to an inspection platform.
• Li Jie found Raven sitting at the platform’s edge and asked if she had eaten dinner.

Li Jie welcomed Raven back, reassured her that she belonged among Gotham’s misfits, and gave her a revolver. He then announced his plan to punish her for leaving without warning, while Gordon and Wilson heard the commotion from below.

• Harleen and Li Jie found Raven at a high spot overlooking Gotham, where Raven apologized for leaving without saying goodbye.
• Raven worried that being Trigon’s daughter put everyone in danger, but Li Jie and Harleen reassured her and invited her to eat with them.
• Back at the East End officers’ quarters, Li Jie told Raven not to conjure things from cartoons and gave her a Colt Python for protection.
• Harleen asked for a revolver, and Li Jie gave her one before stopping both girls from going to the shooting range.
• Li Jie produced iodine and a belt and said he would punish Raven for leaving, while Gordon and Wilson discussed the noise from upstairs.

Li Jie showed James Gordon a hidden stockpile of weapons and offered to supply Central Headquarters, forcing Gordon to weigh his principles against protecting his officers. Gordon accepted 120 rifles, and Li Jie told him to arrange an unmarked pickup that night.

• Li Jie led James Gordon into a large concealed storeroom filled with AK-74s, grenades, and RPG-7 launchers and rockets.
• Gordon angrily accused Li Jie of turning the precinct into an arms-smuggling operation, but Li Jie said the weapons were intended for Central Headquarters and had paperwork.
• Li Jie reminded Gordon how badly equipped officers had suffered in past battles with armed criminals, and Gordon reconsidered his objections.
• Gordon agreed to take 120 rifles, and Li Jie instructed him to send people with unmarked vehicles to collect the shipment that night.