Chapter Summaries

Feng Ya and Chen Hao completed their wedding ceremony and toasted the elders who had supported Feng Ya. Lin Feng and the elders gave the newlyweds a property near Chen Hao’s U.S. headquarters, leaving Feng Ya overwhelmed by their care and ready to begin their new life.

• Feng Ya and Chen Hao exchanged rings, kissed, and completed their wedding ceremony as the guests applauded.
• The newlyweds toasted their parents and the elders at Feng Ya’s family table, who blessed them and wished them a happy life together.
• Feng Ya and Chen Hao thanked Lin Feng and Lü Yi for attending, and Lü Yi gave them a document envelope as a wedding gift.
• An elder explained that the envelope contained the ownership documents and keys to a property near Chen Hao’s headquarters in the San Francisco Bay Area.
• Feng Ya and Chen Hao were stunned by the gift, then thanked Lin Feng and the elders as Feng Ya realized how deeply her father’s friends cared for her.

After Feng Ya and Chen Hao’s wedding, they received the final blessings of their guests and prepared to begin their life in the United States. On the drive home, Lin Feng spoke with Kong Xiang about the limits and importance of helping the people whose lives crossed their own.

• Feng Ya and Chen Hao thanked the departing guests, and Uncle Zhou gave Feng Ya a red envelope and urged the couple to care for each other in the United States.
• Feng Ya held the property documents and told Chen Hao she felt at ease as they stood together in the emptied banquet hall.
• Lü Yi told Lin Feng that Director Wei, Lawyer Zhou, and the other guests had left safely and that the property paperwork was sound.
• Kong Xiang asked Lin Feng whether helping a few people mattered amid widespread hardship, and Lin Feng said their actions could mean everything to those they had promised to protect.
• Kong Xiang accepted Lin Feng's answer, ended the connection, and Lin Feng rode on through the night reflecting on the wedding and Seattle's hardships.

Kong Xiang told Lin Feng about the exploitation and desperation he had witnessed among undocumented Latino workers in Seattle. Lin Feng interrupted him and demanded that he stop sharing such stories, leaving their connection in silence.

• Kong Xiang described how Miguel, an undocumented construction worker, was left with only five dollars from a day's labor.
• Kong Xiang recounted how an injured undocumented worker returned to the job and how his seventeen-year-old daughter became pregnant after turning to street work.
• Lin Feng abruptly told Kong Xiang to stop telling him about such things.
• Lin Feng admitted that he did not enjoy hearing the stories, and Kong Xiang fell silent.

After Kong Xiang revealed how witnessing desperate poverty and death was wearing him down, Lin Feng suggested that he anonymously livestream his accounts as an outlet and a way to make forgotten lives visible. Kong Xiang agreed and began setting up his first stream under the name Prisoner A.

• Kong Xiang poured out to Lin Feng how the suffering he witnessed was overwhelming him and leaving him with no one to confide in.
• Lin Feng recognized that Kong Xiang needed a safer outlet and suggested anonymous livestreams about what he had seen.
• Lin Feng advised Kong Xiang to disguise his voice and background, conceal identifying details, and begin with the three stories he had shared.
• Kong Xiang agreed to try livestreaming, and Lin Feng reminded him to protect himself and ask K for technical help if needed.
• In his Seattle apartment, Kong Xiang opened the streaming software, chose the name Prisoner A, and began adjusting his voice changer.

Lü Yi spotted Da Fei, Monkey, Iron Tower, and their associates targeting an old man outside the Gathering Treasures pawnshop. He reported their apparent return to organized scams to Lin Feng, who told him to come back without confronting them.

• Lü Yi recognized Da Fei, Monkey, and Iron Tower among a larger group gathered outside the Gathering Treasures pawnshop.
• Monkey persuaded an uneasy old man to return inside while the others watched the street and filmed passersby.
• Lü Yi memorized the gang members and location, then drove away without confronting them.
• Lü Yi called Lin Feng and described the gang's apparent new scam operation and its attempt to lure the old man.
• Lin Feng told Lü Yi to confirm the details, return, and avoid alerting the gang.

Lin Feng ordered K to investigate the Treasure-Gathering Pawnshop gang, whose crimes were backed by the Yongli Gang. After receiving a detailed evidence package, he sent it to Wei Guanglin and demanded swift law-enforcement action.

• Lin Feng tasked K with gathering conclusive evidence against the scam gang around the Treasure-Gathering Pawnshop.
• K sent Lin Feng surveillance, financial records, victim reports, and evidence connecting the gang to Zhou Yongli and the Yongli Gang.
• Lin Feng called Wei Guanglin and told him to pursue an ironclad case, act swiftly, and investigate the gang’s backers.
• Lin Feng sent Wei Guanglin the evidence through a secure line and turned his thoughts back to the young man preparing to livestream in Seattle.

Wei Guanglin oversaw a coordinated police raid on the Treasure-Gathering Pawnshop and the Yongli Gang, acting on evidence provided by K. The operation ended with every target in custody, and Wei turned to building a thorough case as Lin Feng’s attention moved elsewhere.

• Wei Guanglin approved Old Wang’s plan to arrest the pawnshop gang members and Zhou Yongli’s associates simultaneously.
• Lü Yi watched the operation from a rooftop and relayed updates to Lin Feng over an encrypted channel.
• Old Wang ordered the raid at 3:30 a.m., and SWAT officers swiftly subdued Fei Qiang, Da Fei, Hou Wei, Monkey, and Zhang Tie, Iron Tower.
• Groups B and C arrested the remaining targets, including Zhou Yongli, who had tried to destroy his phone.
• Lin Feng told Lü Yi to instruct Wei Guanglin to follow the law and issue a public announcement, while Wei began preparing a press release and further investigation.

Kong Xiang launched his anonymous livestream as Prisoner A and recounted the exploitation and desperation faced by two struggling families in the United States. After viewers responded to his stories, Lin Feng approved Kong Xiang continuing, as long as he stayed safe.

• Kong Xiang started an anonymous livestream from a Seattle safe house using a voice changer and the name Prisoner A.
• Kong Xiang described how Miguel, an undocumented construction worker, earned only five dollars a day despite being promised a hundred.
• Kong Xiang recounted how J worked with a broken leg after taking an underground performance-enhancing injection, while his daughter A suffered severe bleeding after attempting an abortion herself.
• The livestream audience grew past a hundred, and viewers reacted with shock, questions, and requests for another stream.
• Kong Xiang ended the broadcast without answering questions or announcing a return.
• Lin Feng told Lü Yi that Kong Xiang could continue livestreaming as long as he stayed safe.

On Halloween in rainy Seattle, Kong Xiang prepared to livestream himself handing out candy, but three soaked children arrived and stared desperately at his half-eaten burger. Their hunger left Kong Xiang shaken as he realized they had come begging for food, not trick-or-treating.

• Kong Xiang livestreamed from a borrowed Seattle home and complained about the icy rain keeping children away from Halloween candy.
• Kong Xiang opened the door to three young children in soaked, cheap costumes.
• The children ignored the candy and stared hungrily at Kong Xiang’s half-eaten Big Mac.
• Kong Xiang said the children had come begging for food, and the livestream chat erupted after a brief silence.

Kong Xiang fed and sheltered hungry children who came to his door in the rain, then livestreamed the painful limits of what he could provide. After watching the broadcast, Lü Yi begged Lin Feng to help, and Lin Feng fell silent in thought.

• Kong Xiang gave the first three starving children snacks, warm water, and shelter, then ordered fifty meals from McDonald's.
• More than a dozen children arrived at Kong Xiang’s house, and he learned some were collecting food for their families.
• The delivery driver told Kong Xiang she was earning bail money for her imprisoned son, and Kong Xiang gave her a hamburger.
• Kong Xiang distributed the meals to children and their families, but several children arrived after the food ran out and cried.
• Kong Xiang ended the livestream after calling the situation “hell on earth.”
• Lü Yi watched the broadcast with Lin Feng and tearfully asked whether they could help, while Lin Feng remained silent and thoughtful.

Kong Xiang used a livestream to introduce the “Kill Line” theory, arguing that Americans with household net worth below $140,000 could be driven from financial hardship to death by a chain of systemic failures. The idea spread internationally and brought Prisoner A fame, while attracting more dangerous attention.

• Kong Xiang explained how unemployment, debt, housing loss, lack of insurance, and homelessness could form a deadly cycle below the $140,000 net-worth threshold.
• Kong Xiang described a former Microsoft engineer who went from earning $450,000 a year to dying in an abandoned drainage pipe within 180 days.
• Kong Xiang cited a Federal Reserve report that more than 40 percent of Americans could not produce $400 in emergency cash.
• The livestream peaked at over 600,000 viewers, and clips of the Kill Line theory rapidly spread across Chinese and overseas social media.
• The New York Times published an article about the Kill Line and the engineer’s case, making Prisoner A known internationally as the theory’s namer.

After his “Kill Line” livestream drew international attention, Kong Xiang noticed escalating surveillance around his Seattle safe house and feared that multiple groups were targeting him. He contacted Lin Feng for help and was left waiting in the locked, dark house.

• Kong Xiang noticed strangers, suspicious vehicles, and occupants in a house across the street watching his safe house after his livestream went viral.
• He saw a dark gray Honda Accord following him after a supermarket trip and barely lost it on the way home.
• Feeling unsafe, Kong Xiang called Lin Feng on an encrypted satellite phone and reported the surveillance and possible tailing.
• Lin Feng asked for details about the watchers, vehicles, and safe house, then ordered Kong Xiang to stay inside, draw the curtains, and keep the line open.
• Lin Feng told Kong Xiang he would handle the situation and ended the call, leaving Kong Xiang waiting anxiously in the dark.

Kong Xiang received Lin Feng’s assessment that surveillance in Seattle was closing in and was offered a choice between returning to China or staying to continue his work as Prisoner A. After weighing his safety against the people and stories he had brought to light, Kong Xiang began to state his decision, but the chapter ended before revealing it.

• Kong Xiang waited in fear in his dark Seattle streaming room after his call with Lin Feng ended.
• Lin Feng called back and warned Kong Xiang that his location might be exposed and he could no longer operate anonymously in Seattle.
• Lin Feng offered to arrange Kong Xiang’s safe return to China, erase Prisoner A’s online traces, and help him resume an ordinary life.
• Lin Feng explained that staying would mean greater danger and stricter protection, while allowing Kong Xiang to continue streaming and recording what he had witnessed.
• Kong Xiang thought of the people and stories he had covered, decided he feared fleeing more than facing the danger, and began to tell Lin Feng his choice.

Kong Xiang chose to stay and try to save people struggling below the Kill Line, and Lin Feng agreed to support him. Lin Feng planned to send protection and travel to the United States himself, while Kong Xiang waited in Seattle with renewed resolve.

• Kong Xiang recalled the people and stories he had encountered and decided he could not leave without trying to help them.
• Kong Xiang told Lin Feng, "I want to save them," and Lin Feng agreed to stand with him.
• Lin Feng said he would send people to protect Kong Xiang and travel to the United States himself.
• Lin Feng explained that he wanted to save fellow human beings, not the United States, and Kong Xiang accepted his instructions to stay hidden and keep in contact.
• After ending the call, Kong Xiang watched the blue-gray house across the street and felt determined rather than simply afraid.

Lin Feng ordered K and Blood Spear to protect Kong Xiang in Seattle, while asking the Golden Sun to provide covert intelligence and support. With the security network mobilized, Lin Feng prepared to enter the dangerous new battlefield himself.

• Lin Feng sent K detailed orders to deploy Blood Spear mercenaries to Seattle and establish covert security around Kong Xiang.
• Lin Feng contacted the Golden Sun and requested surveillance, intelligence, and logistical support for Kong Xiang and Blood Spear.
• Lin Feng assessed that the forces protecting Kong Xiang could delay threats but might not withstand a powerful state or vested interests.
• Lin Feng shut down the communications equipment and decided to cross over to the new battlefield himself.

After Kong Xiang’s crisis and the spread of the “Kill Line” theory, Lin Feng decided to travel to the United States to expand his influence and test whether the system’s summons would better suit the region he occupied. He began preparations to establish a clean North American identity and a foothold in Seattle before summoning someone there.

• Lin Feng concluded that protecting Kong Xiang and intervening in North America required locally rooted people and resources, not just the Golden Sun’s external network.
• Lin Feng reasoned that the range and quality of his summons might correspond to his location and focus, and decided to test the theory by summoning in the United States.
• Lin Feng told K to prioritize the “Lin Mo” investment-immigration plan, prepare Seattle properties, and arrange local legal and accounting firms.
• Lin Feng assigned K to coordinate domestic affairs after his departure, with Lü Yi serving as liaison, and planned to take Liu Zhenjun and selected men to Seattle.
• Lin Feng prepared to travel under the public pretext of assessing investments and expanding North American operations, intending to summon on American soil.

During the flight to Seattle, Lin Feng tested whether the system’s summons responded to his location and strategic needs. The system summoned Jonathan Lee, a powerful Seattle police deputy chief, and Lin Feng landed determined to use him carefully as the game began in North America.

• Lin Feng reflected on the need for a foothold in North America and decided to test whether the system would summon someone suited to the region.
• Lin Feng reached out to the system and successfully summoned Jonathan Lee, Seattle Police Department deputy chief overseeing major operational units.
• Lin Feng concluded that the system’s summons were shaped by his location and needs, and recognized Jonathan Lee as a powerful strategic asset.
• Lin Feng told Lü Yi to wake up as their plane descended toward Seattle.
• Lin Feng landed in Seattle, ready to begin the game on a new board.

Lin Feng and Lü Yi landed in Seattle, where Lü Yi’s boastful greeting led two men to insult them and Lü Yi swiftly beat them down. Lin Feng calmly accepted the bald man’s threat to call the Wild Dog Gang, and the pair left for the shuttle bus as the injured man summoned help.

• Lü Yi stepped onto the airport apron and shouted that America’s king had returned, while Lin Feng reflected on the system’s summoning rules and Jonathan Lee’s arrival as a useful asset.
• Two Black men mocked Lü Yi and Lin Feng with racist insults, prompting Lü Yi to confront them.
• Lü Yi kicked the bald man in the groin, punched and kicked his dreadlocked companion, and knocked both men down.
• Lin Feng told the bald man, who threatened him with the Wild Dog Gang, that he was waiting for them, then walked toward the shuttle bus with Lü Yi.
• The bald man called for help as Lin Feng and Lü Yi boarded the shuttle bus and left.

Lin Feng and Lü Yi entered the United States, where customs officer Dawson stole a jade cicada and a brass pocket watch during their baggage inspection. Lin Feng stopped Lü Yi from confronting him and told him to remember Dawson’s badge, leaving Lü Yi eager to pursue revenge after they got settled.

• Lin Feng and Lü Yi waited nearly an hour in the foreign nationals’ line before Dawson questioned them and inspected their luggage.
• Dawson pocketed Lin Feng’s jade cicada and mocked him as an Asian man carrying something valuable.
• When Lü Yi nearly attacked Dawson, Lin Feng restrained him and told him not to make trouble yet.
• Dawson stole Lü Yi’s brass pocket watch, and Lin Feng told Lü Yi to remember the officer’s badge and find someone to shoot him from the shadows.
• Lin Feng and Lü Yi left customs with their belongings repacked, and Lin Feng said they would get settled first.

Lin Feng arrived with Lü Yi and K, but members of the Wild Dog Gang blocked their way in the parking lot. Lü Yi swiftly dropped their leader, and the Blood Spear mercenaries surrounded the gang with MP5s as the injured man reached for a hidden gun.

• K met Lin Feng and Lü Yi at the airport and escorted them toward their cars with the Blood Spear mercenaries.
• Two cars blocked the parking lot exit, and members of the Wild Dog Gang confronted Lin Feng’s party, including two men Lü Yi had already beaten.
• The gang’s tattooed leader threatened Lü Yi and jabbed a finger at his chest.
• Lü Yi bent the leader’s finger backward and kicked him between the legs, leaving him collapsed on the ground.
• The eight Blood Spear mercenaries encircled the gang and aimed their MP5s at them.
• The injured leader reached toward a concealed gun at his waist.