Chapter Summaries

After failing to sway Jonathan over the case involving Lin Feng, Thomas Harris found a lucrative consulting contract from the Lin Foundation waiting in his office. He signed it, told Richard Walton that the police would no longer help him, and secured the agreement in his personal cabinet.

• Thomas Harris left Jonathan's office after staging his anger to show that he had opposed the decision to classify the case as a gang shootout.
• Thomas discovered a Lin Foundation Security Consulting Agreement offering him $3 million a year as a senior security consultant.
• Thomas told Richard Walton that Jonathan would not change the report and advised him to step aside or try to negotiate with Lin Feng.
• Thomas refused to help Richard further through the police department and ended their call.
• Thomas signed the consulting agreement and locked it in his personal filing cabinet.

Richard Walton learned that the police would not help him against Lin Mo and realized his opponent’s power and reach far exceeded his expectations. Trapped on his private island, he turned to the Fuqing Gang to arrange a discreet message to Lin Mo’s side.

• Thomas Harris told Richard Walton that the police route was blocked and that someone was determined to protect Lin Mo.
• Richard Walton reviewed the sparse intelligence on Lin Mo and feared that his opponent had erased his past and possessed powerful, unknown backing.
• Richard Walton concluded that business, legal, and political tactics had failed, while Lin Mo’s forces threatened to destroy the Walton Family.
• Richard Walton called an aide and ordered a boat and reliable people to reach the island before sunset.
• Richard Walton ordered the aide to contact the Fuqing Gang and arrange a meeting with someone who could make decisions for them.

Richard Thorne’s team launched a coordinated short-selling campaign against Northwest Logistics Group, using sell orders and negative online rumors to weaken investor confidence. NLG’s stock fell below major support and triggered algorithmic selling, and Thorne reported to K that the first-stage objective had been achieved.

• Richard Thorne’s analysts reported heavy selling in NLG shares, increased demand for put options, and negative online articles questioning the company’s Asian expansion and accounting.
• NLG’s CFO issued a statement denying operational and financial problems, but the stock resumed falling after a brief rebound.
• Thorne redirected part of the fund’s capital from borrowed-share short sales into out-of-the-money put options and instructed his team to monitor related ETFs and index derivatives.
• After NLG’s stock broke through the $45.20 support level, algorithmic selling accelerated its decline to $44.30 in less than three minutes.
• Richard Thorne told K that NLG had broken below key support and that the first-stage objective had been achieved, and K ordered him to continue as planned.

K told Thorne to keep borrowing small blocks of NLG shares at limited premiums while waiting for a catalyst, as the short-selling campaign stalled. Meanwhile, Alan Derrick and other investors positioned themselves to profit from either side of the coming market turmoil.

• Thorne warned K that conventional NLG share loans were scarce and costly, but K refused the big brokers' rates and ordered him to keep short-selling small available blocks at premiums of no more than 20%.
• K told Thorne to maintain bearish pressure and wait for the wind, leaving Thorne to adjust the strategy and guard their position.
• Alan Derrick told Old Walton that Goldman Sachs would not supply NLG shares to short sellers, while privately keeping lending and trading opportunities open to profit from both sides.
• Derrick assaulted his assistant Jennifer and explained that leverage and timing mattered more than promises as he planned to profit from the NLG conflict.
• Three investors discussed Silent Wind's short campaign and NLG's vulnerability, then agreed to wait and profit whichever side prevailed.

ABZ members forced Joe Wilson to take paid leave and negotiated with another Rick to keep him off NLG dispatches, but Rick planned to break his promise. The chapter ended with Rick trapped and badly injured after a camouflage truck rammed his pickup, as an Asian man in a black jacket stood over him.

• Four ABZ members approached Joe Wilson at the Bison Rest Stop and offered him double pay to take sick leave.
• A threatened Joe agreed to stay off work for a few days, then concealed what had happened from Rick and the other drivers.
• Two ABZ members offered another Rick double pay to take leave, and he negotiated for triple pay in advance.
• Rick agreed to stay off NLG dispatches for five days but planned to take the money and work elsewhere.
• The next morning, a camouflage truck rammed Rick's pickup at an intersection and disappeared into the fog.
• Badly injured Rick crawled from the wreck and saw an Asian man in a black jacket standing beside him.

NLG Group’s logistics network was crippled by coordinated threats against its drivers, including the death of one driver, and executives discovered the union was not responsible. Richard Walton ordered emergency security measures and summoned Uncle Gong of the Fuqing Gang to hunt down the attackers.

• Karl found Hub Seven short of drivers and activated NLG’s level-three contingency plan as delays spread across the network.
• Smith accused Bob Jenkins and the Teamsters of organizing a surprise strike, but Jenkins denied involvement and demanded an investigation and compensation.
• NLG’s security chief reported that the drivers’ absences appeared to stem from targeted intimidation, not union action.
• Security reports linked most absent drivers to encounters with unknown Asian people, while an NLG driver named Rick had died in a suspicious truck crash in Idaho.
• Smith told Richard Walton that NLG was under violent attack and its transport network was breaking down.
• Walton ordered security protection and increased pay for drivers, then told Smith to contact Uncle Gong of the Fuqing Gang and arrange a meeting.

Alan Derrick planned to profit from NLG’s crisis while pretending to support Walton, and PacRim Logistics and Global Freightways prepared to poach NLG’s clients, staff, and assets. In Seattle, K shifted Mofeng Capital’s trading strategy and spread uncertainty as the crisis deepened, then reported to Lin Feng that events were proceeding according to plan.

• Alan Derrick promised Walton that Goldman Sachs would help stabilize NLG, but privately raised Mofeng Capital’s share-borrowing rate and sought information about its plans.
• Derrick told Jennifer that Wall Street would profit whichever side prevailed and outlined plans to lend shares, advise Walton, or buy NLG assets cheaply.
• David Hendricks and Michael Rosenthal met at Oak Hall and agreed to pursue NLG’s clients, employees, market opportunities, and valuable assets.
• K learned that NLG’s logistics disruption had worsened and that its competitors were moving against it, then redirected more capital toward NLG put options and competitor call options.
• K ordered financial bloggers and analysts to publicize NLG’s systemic risks and competitors’ stability, then told Lin Feng that the fishermen and wolves were in position.

Uncle Gong visited Lin Feng and offered to mediate his conflict with the Walton Family in exchange for compensation and an end to Lin Feng’s actions. Lin Feng rejected the proposal and walked away, leaving Uncle Gong waiting until Lü Yi entered and challenged him.

• Uncle Gong arrived at Lin Feng’s villa with bodyguards and a gift of aged pu'er tea.
• Uncle Gong urged Lin Feng to pay the Walton Family compensation and stop fighting, claiming he could secure a settlement.
• Lin Feng refused to back down or pay compensation, and Uncle Gong threatened him with his local influence and connections back home.
• Lin Feng left the reception room, saying he would solve problems his own way, while Uncle Gong angrily decided to wait for him.
• Lü Yi entered, sat in Lin Feng’s chair, and asked Uncle Gong who he was and whether he needed something from their boss.

Lü Yi brutally beat Gong Zhenhai after he insulted Lin Feng, then used the threat of a mounted heavy machine gun to make Gong Zhenhai submit. Lü Yi began demanding Gong Zhenhai's money and businesses, and Gong Zhenhai agreed to give them up as the chapter ended.

• Gong Zhenhai demanded that Lü Yi bring Lin Feng to negotiate, while his two attendants reached for their guns.
• Lü Yi struck Gong Zhenhai twice with a crystal ashtray, leaving him badly injured on the floor.
• Gong Zhenhai's attendants drew their guns, but a man outside aimed a mounted M2HB heavy machine gun at them through the window.
• Lü Yi held Gong Zhenhai down, demanded payment for his life, then helped him onto the sofa and asked for his money, Seattle businesses, and gray-market interests.
• Gong Zhenhai realized he had no choice and agreed to give everything up.

NLG’s paralysis drove away major clients, tanked its stock, and left Richard Walton facing the collapse of his company. As he ran out of options, Lin Feng called him.

• Amazon, Walmart, and other major clients shifted shipments from NLG to competitors and threatened legal action.
• NLG’s stock and bond prices plunged as media reports and market panic intensified.
• Derrick began quietly reducing his NLG holdings, while Hendricks and Rosenthal discussed poaching clients and acquiring NLG’s valuable assets.
• Richard Walton failed to restore operations or secure financing, and learned NLG had at most four weeks of cash left.
• Walton received a call on his encrypted satellite phone, and Lin Feng identified himself.

Lin Feng offered Richard Walton a chance to sell his and his family's NLG shares and designated core assets at the suspended market price in exchange for stabilizing the company. Facing bankruptcy and ruin, Walton accepted in principle and asked to discuss the details with his lawyer and family.

• Lin Feng called Walton and laid out NLG's worsening financial crisis and the threat of bankruptcy, lawsuits, and disgrace.
• Lin Feng offered to buy the Walton family's NLG shares and designated core assets at the suspended share price while restoring operations and providing transitional funds.
• Walton protested that the offer undervalued NLG, but Lin Feng warned that refusing would bring collapse, asset seizures, and possible investigations.
• Walton considered his family's future and, after several minutes, said he needed to discuss the details with his lawyer and family.
• Lin Feng said his team would bring an agreement and handover plan, then ended the call as Walton collapsed beside his desk.

Lin Feng’s side completed its takeover of NLG, restoring operations and sending the company’s stock sharply higher as the market reacted to its new ownership. With the financial trade winding down, K began planning the difficult work of integrating NLG.

• After thirty-six hours of negotiations, Richard Walton signed an agreement transferring his family’s NLG shares and core assets to Silent Wind Capital.
• Silent Wind’s takeover team secured NLG’s key departments while ABZ Team members persuaded drivers to return with cash incentives and security guarantees.
• NLG announced a change of control and resumed trading, with its stock rebounding to close more than 18% above its pre-suspension price.
• Alan Derrick ordered his assistant to investigate Lin Feng and Mofeng Capital, while David Hendricks and Michael Rosenthal suspended their operations against NLG.
• Uncle Gong watched the news of NLG’s change of ownership, recalled Lü Yi’s threat, and hid beneath his blanket in fear.
• K told Thorne to finish closing out the short positions and directed the data team to prepare an NLG integration plan within seventy-two hours.

K took control of NLG as interim CEO through a hidden ownership structure and launched a forensic audit of the company. The audit uncovered extensive suspected corruption, and K told Lin Feng that he was ready to begin the purge.

• The Walton Family received the agreed payment, while Chen Jianguo was named as NLG’s beneficial owner and authorized Lin Feng to control the shares.
• Chen Jianguo appointed K interim CEO, and K entered Richard Walton’s former office and ordered a review of NLG’s finances, operations, and major contracts.
• K summoned four senior executives and told them to provide records and cooperate with an external investigation by McKinsey-Holt.
• Howard James and his team examined NLG’s systems, finding suspected procurement fraud, questionable expenses, cost overruns, and transfers of company funds.
• K told Lin Feng the audit estimated $80 million to $120 million in abnormal losses, then said the purge could begin.

NLG shareholders and former executives plotted to curb K’s authority and undermine his leadership, believing they could force him to yield. K learned of their opposition, prepared to expose suspected misconduct at an extraordinary shareholders’ meeting, and armed himself as he awaited the confrontation.

• John Pittman, Calvin Ross, and Lisa Chen criticized K’s takeover and audit, dismissing him as an inexperienced outsider.
• Calvin Ross secretly met with Frank Miller, Sarah Jenkins, and Lisa Chen to plan a committee that would restrict K’s power and pressure him through internal resistance and financial demands.
• Golden Sun informants and NLG employees passed K fragments of intelligence about the Cedar House meeting and the opposition’s activity.
• K ordered Howard James to prepare a presentation of the audit findings and scheduled an extraordinary shareholders’ meeting for three days later.
• K requested short intelligence memos on the meeting’s participants and had a Glock 19 prepared and concealed beneath his suit.

K convened an extraordinary NLG shareholders' meeting and presented a preliminary independent audit that exposed widespread financial irregularities. Howard James's report ended with suspicious fund transfers still under investigation.

• K opened the meeting and asked Howard James of McKinsey-Holt to present the audit findings.
• Howard reported that NLG had paid fuel and parts suppliers above market rates, with suspected ties to executives and a shareholder.
• Howard identified $22.3 million in consulting and marketing payments with vague services and unverifiable offshore owners.
• Howard presented evidence that executives had claimed more than $8 million in potentially personal expenses as business costs.
• Howard reported major project cost overruns and abnormal transfers of funds, whose purpose remained under investigation.

After the audit exposed irregularities and losses at NLG, K silenced the executives’ excuses by firing into the ceiling and threatening them with violent consequences if they obstructed the recovery of funds. He left them with a one-week deadline for written explanations and repayment.

• K asked the shareholders and executives to respond to the audit findings, and Calvin Ross, Frank Miller, Sarah Jenkins, and John Pittman defended the questionable practices as business necessities.
• The executives joined in attacking the audit and warning that K’s management would damage NLG, while K watched without interrupting.
• When Calvin Ross proposed a Special Executive Committee, K drew a Glock 19 and fired into the conference room ceiling.
• K threatened to target the executives and their families if they kept him from recovering the company’s money, then left the gun on the table in front of Calvin Ross.
• K gave the executives one week to provide detailed written explanations and return the funds, then adjourned the meeting.
• After K left, the executives remained terrified, and Calvin Ross curled up and trembled beside the gun.

After surrendering NLG and destroying the evidence on his Pacific island, Richard Walton fled the United States for South Korea, hoping to survive and eventually rebuild his power. He arrived in Seoul under a false identity and was greeted with lavish honors by Lee Byung-hun’s men.

• Richard Walton and Jack confirmed that the island’s records and surveillance storage had been destroyed, while the staff were paid off and sent to Fiji.
• Walton arranged discreet medical care and a new identity for Brandon, then chose South Korea over Europe, Great East, and Japan as his refuge and possible base for a comeback.
• Walton and six bodyguards escaped by sea, transferred to a private jet, completed financial arrangements in Zurich, and flew via Almaty to Incheon.
• Director Kim greeted Walton at the airport on Lee Byung-hun’s behalf with a motorcade and escorted him into Seoul.

Walton arrived in Seoul and was lavishly entertained by Lee Byung-hun while Lee’s people kept close control over his movements. After two weeks of flattery and luxury, Walton agreed to cooperate with Lee, who ordered his men to pull in the net as Walton passed out drunk.

• Director Kim welcomed Walton to Lee Byung-hun’s villa and gave him a temporary encrypted phone, which Jack’s bodyguards inspected.
• Walton’s guards found no detectable devices inside the villa but discovered that Lee’s security controlled the grounds and monitored access.
• Lee Byung-hun treated Walton to luxury cars, banquets, famous entertainers, fine dining, and a private casino, while Jack warned him that Seven Star Group was keeping them under watch.
• Walton tried to learn about their old business accounts, but Director Kim repeatedly avoided giving him details, and an actress’s comment suggested Lee Byung-hun had suffered financial losses in America.
• At a dinner with political dignitaries and Middle Eastern sovereign wealth fund representatives, Lee Byung-hun called Walton his brother and promised their money would be safer with him, and Walton raised a glass to their cooperation.
• Lee Byung-hun’s men carried the unconscious Walton to a car, and Lee called someone to say that the fish was drunk and the net could be pulled in.

Walton and his bodyguards were held captive in an abandoned warehouse, where Director Bai tortured Walton while demanding his money. Walton offered a secret $50 million account to stop Director Bai from shooting him, and Director Bai paused to consider the offer.

• Walton woke bound inside a blue drum beside his captured bodyguards, with a cement mixer waiting nearby.
• Director Bai arrived and had the interpreter remove the rag from Walton’s mouth so Walton could offer his money for their release.
• Director Bai rejected Walton’s promises and shot off most of Walton’s right ear when Walton pleaded for time to access his accounts.
• Director Bai pressed his pistol to Walton’s temple and began counting to three.
• Walton revealed a secret Swiss account containing $50 million and gave Director Bai its access codes, causing Director Bai to pause before firing.

Walton surrendered fifty million dollars to the white-suited man, who transferred the funds to the Seven Star Group before sealing Walton and his bodyguards in cement-filled barrels and sinking them near the Japan Trench. Lee Byung-hun confirmed the job to Lin and received a consulting fee, while Walton’s fate was left buried at sea.

• Walton gave the white-suited man the account details and authorization password for his secret Swiss account.
• The white-suited man’s subordinate transferred fifty-four million dollars to an offshore account belonging to the Seven Star Group.
• The white-suited man had his men lock Walton back inside a barrel and told him that Mr. Lin sent his regards.
• Walton fired a gun inside the barrel and died, and the white-suited man ordered cement poured into the barrels containing Walton and his bodyguards.
• The crew welded the barrels shut, carried them to sea near the Japan Trench, and dropped them into the deep water.
• Lee Byung-hun messaged Lin that the job was done and received a consulting fee from a Cayman Islands account.