Chapter Summaries

Zhao Zhiyong endured more than twenty-four hours of brutal interrogation by IRS agents seeking information about Lin Feng and the money, but he refused to speak. His unbroken silence left even veteran interrogators unsettled.

• Zhao Zhiyong was restrained under bright lights, white noise, sleep deprivation, and harsh interrogation in the IRS Seattle building’s basement.
• Agents subjected Zhao Zhiyong to painful stress positions and beatings while demanding Lin Feng’s identity, the money’s location, and his account passwords.
• Karl Miller and Tony Rodriguez threatened Zhao Zhiyong’s family and offered him a deal, but he never said a word.
• Tony Rodriguez questioned how an ordinary working-class man could withstand interrogation with such extraordinary endurance.

After more than thirty hours of torture, Zhao Zhiyong remained unnaturally unresponsive, alarming Richard Cohen and his agents. Cohen ordered a new round of investigation and interrogation while Zhao’s empty gaze briefly seemed to meet his through the one-way glass.

• Rodriguez stopped torturing Zhao Zhiyong after he showed no response beyond a brief jerk, then told Richard Cohen that Zhao seemed unable to feel pain or disconnected from his body.
• Sarah Mendoza reported that Zhao’s stable vital signs and endurance defied medical expectations, despite more than thirty hours of interrogation.
• Cohen ordered a thorough review of Zhao’s background, including an investigation into his time in Great East.
• Cohen told Rodriguez to rest and have the bureau’s “doctor” try drugs and psychological manipulation, while forensics analyzed Zhao’s clothes, hair, skin, and biological samples.
• Cohen stared through the one-way glass as Zhao’s unfocused eyes shifted and appeared to meet his gaze without emotion.

Lin Feng received a distress signal from Zhao Zhiyong, who was being tortured in the IRS Seattle office, and ordered a covert rescue before his evacuation team left the country. The chapter ended with K activating the mission and Lin Feng preparing for a violent confrontation with the force behind the arrest.

• Lin Feng felt Zhao Zhiyong’s distress through their connection and learned he was held in the IRS Seattle office’s second basement, Zone D.
• Lin Feng rejected K’s proposed legal response, concluding the captors were acting outside normal procedures and Zhao Zhiyong was in immediate danger.
• Lin Feng ordered Mr. Jin’s evacuation team to rescue Zhao Zhiyong alive without exposing themselves or compromising their escape.
• Lin Feng instructed the team to leave the captors a warning if rescue proved impossible, then evacuate and enter long-term radio silence.
• K agreed to contact Mr. Jin through an encrypted channel and initiate the operation.

Four masked attackers abducted two Saint Dian Hospital orderlies in the parking garage to obtain their keys and access cards. In the interrogation room, Zhao Zhiyong appeared to offer cooperation in exchange for safety and medical care, prompting Karl Miller to seek authorization to move him.

• Four masked attackers ambushed Frank and David in the hospital garage, drugged them unconscious, bound them, and stole their keys and access cards.
• The attackers locked Frank and David inside a hospital-marked Ford Transit van and dispersed.
• Zhao Zhiyong regained enough strength to call for someone from his interrogation room.
• Karl Miller entered after the guard reported Zhao’s request, and Zhao asked whether his personal safety could be guaranteed.
• Karl offered protection and a new life in exchange for Zhao’s cooperation, and Zhao asked to talk somewhere else with a doctor present.
• Karl left to request authorization while Zhao closed his eyes, concealing a faint, calculating expression.

Richard Cohen weighed whether Zhao Zhiyong’s request to talk signaled a genuine collapse or a calculated move, then ordered a controlled transfer to a more comfortable interrogation room. After receiving medical care and food, Zhao Zhiyong appeared calmer and waited for Karl Miller to begin the conversation.

• Karl Miller and Tony Rodriguez argued that Zhao Zhiyong was ready to negotiate, while Cohen remained suspicious of his behavior.
• Cohen ordered the medical team to treat Zhao Zhiyong and then move him to standard interrogation room B under close guard.
• A doctor treated Zhao Zhiyong’s injuries, and guards escorted him from interrogation room D-7 to room B with leg irons.
• Karl told Zhao Zhiyong to eat before they talked, and Zhao Zhiyong slowly finished the sandwich and water.
• Zhao Zhiyong looked at Karl in a more composed, inscrutable manner as the next stage of questioning approached.

Zhao Zhiyong claimed to have evidence that Lin Feng evaded taxes, then revealed it was an obscene taunt aimed at Karl Miller and Tony Rodriguez. Tony shut off the room’s surveillance and assaulted Zhao, while Karl watched and grew uneasy about Zhao’s apparent intention.

• Zhao Zhiyong asked Tony Rodriguez for a cigarette, then told Karl Miller and Tony that he had evidence of Lin Feng’s tax evasion.
• When Tony demanded to know where the evidence was, Zhao raised his middle finger and insulted him, saying he had left it at Tony’s mother’s house.
• Furious, Tony disabled the interrogation room’s recording and monitoring systems despite Karl’s attempt to stop him.
• Tony punched Zhao in the abdomen, making him vomit onto the table and himself.
• Tony grabbed Zhao by the hair and forced his face into the vomit while Karl stood by, troubled by Zhao’s continued calm.

Zhao Zhiyong endured Tony Rodriguez’s torture before turning the interrogation into a desperate counterattack. He grievously wounded Tony and then struck his own head against the table, leaving both men down as Karl Miller called for help.

• Tony Rodriguez forced Zhao Zhiyong’s face into vomit while Karl Miller watched and kept the guards from seeing clearly.
• Zhao Zhiyong broke his right thumb to slip his hand through the handcuffs, then bit off most of Tony Rodriguez’s left ear.
• Karl Miller and a guard pulled Zhao Zhiyong away, but Zhao seized a handcuff chain and stabbed Tony in the neck.
• Zhao Zhiyong slammed his head against the table and collapsed, while Karl Miller called for an ambulance.

Paramedics rushed Tony Rodriguez and Zhao Zhiyong from the IRS Seattle office to Saint Di'an Medical Center, while Karl Miller accompanied Tony in the ambulance. When Medic A tried to inject Karl with a sedative, Karl recognized the paramedics’ unnaturally precise movements as part of a deliberate procedure and realized he was in danger, but it was already too late.

• Paramedics found Tony Rodriguez critically wounded and Zhao Zhiyong dead in interrogation room B, then transported both men from the IRS building.
• Karl Miller rode in Tony’s ambulance with a young agent while Zhao Zhiyong traveled in the second ambulance.
• Medic A injected Tony with a pale yellow drug, and Medic B gave the young agent an injection that left him dazed.
• Medic A offered Karl a sedative, and Karl noticed the paramedics’ precise technique and coordinated behavior seemed suspicious.
• Karl froze as Medic A’s needle approached, recognizing danger too late.

Karl discovered that Medic A and Medic B were impostors working for Lin Feng when they attacked him and the young agent in the ambulance. A black-clad team intervened, subdued the impostors, and injected Karl with an unknown drug, leaving him unconscious as the chapter ended.

• Medic A strangled Karl while Medic B injected the young agent with an unknown drug.
• The ambulance stopped abruptly, allowing Karl to break Medic A's grip and fight back.
• Medic B attacked Karl with a stun gun, but a tranquilizer dart struck him and another dart forced Medic A to dodge.
• A black-clad intruder entered through the rear doors, held Medic A at gunpoint, and knocked him unconscious.
• The black-clad man injected Karl with an unknown liquid, and Karl lost consciousness.

Karl Miller awoke captive in an abandoned factory beside the gravely wounded Tony Rodriguez, where Lin Feng’s masked operatives held them. After Tony died in front of him, the operatives began torturing Karl, leaving him screaming as a barbed iron rod pierced his chest.

• Karl Miller woke restrained in an abandoned factory and recognized one of his captors as the black-clad man who had drugged him in the ambulance.
• Karl pleaded with the masked men to save Tony Rodriguez, but their leader coldly said there was no hurry.
• Tony woke, cursed the captors, and died after one operative pulled the metal projection from his neck wound.
• The masked men showed Karl crude torture tools, dragged him into the factory’s clearing, and forced him to kneel.
• The black-clad leader pushed a barbed length of rebar into Karl’s chest, and Karl screamed in pain.

Karl Miller was tortured by four men in black and then thrown into a locked room with a pack of vicious dogs. The men left him to his apparent death inside the factory, beside Tony’s corpse.

• The executioner repeatedly injured Karl Miller with rebar, a horseshoe, a splintered mop handle, clamps, and a stretcher while the other men restrained him.
• After nearly an hour, the men dragged Karl, badly injured and barely conscious, toward a rusted door in the factory.
• The executioner opened the door, revealing several large, vicious dogs waiting in the darkness.
• The men shoved Karl into the room, and the executioner shut the door as Karl screamed in terror.
• The dogs attacked Karl inside the room, and his cries soon faded into silence.

At Eagle Creek Ranch, Lin Feng learned that Zhao Zhiyong had survived the torture and ordered care for him, while directing K to quietly eliminate Cohen and Daniel and confirming that Tony and Karl had been dealt with. Lin Feng then let Mike Anderson believe he was interested in investing more money, while Mike planned to lure him deeper into a fraudulent scheme.

• K reported that Zhao Zhiyong had been rescued with severe injuries, and Lin Feng ordered the best care for him.
• Lin Feng told K to make Cohen and Daniel disappear in apparent accidents and learned that Tony and Karl had already been dealt with.
• Lin Feng called Mike Anderson to ask about his investment, and Mike claimed it had gained more than ten percent and offered him additional shares.
• Lin Feng asked Mike to send a detailed report and proposal to K rather than agreeing to invest more.
• After the call, Mike mocked Lin Feng and planned to create a more enticing report to persuade him to invest another large sum.

Richard Cohen feared that the missing ambulance crew and captured prisoner Zhao Zhiyong might expose his corruption, so he began protecting himself and severing ties with Daniel Crawford. He then resolved to use federal agencies and a fabricated national-security narrative to target Lin Feng.

• Richard Cohen learned that the ambulances carrying Zhao Zhiyong, Tony Rodriguez, Karl Miller, and another young agent had vanished, and ordered a subordinate to secretly investigate Tony and Karl’s tax records for leverage.
• Cohen told Daniel Crawford that Zhao had been taken and two agents had disappeared, rebuked Daniel for his outburst, and ended their cooperation.
• Cohen feared Lin Feng’s retaliation but reasoned that he could turn the federal law-enforcement system against him.
• Cohen began planning an internal report that would frame Lin Feng as responsible for an attack on federal agents and link him to foreign forces or terrorism.

Richard Cohen received a call from an unidentified person who revealed knowledge of his corrupt transactions and threatened to expose him. As the caller appeared to demand his life, a burst fire-suppression pipe launched a valve fragment through Cohen’s car window and killed him, leaving his death to appear accidental.

• Richard Cohen found a leaking fire-suppression pipe beside his car in the IRS Seattle garage and decided to leave it alone.
• An unknown caller recited details of Cohen’s secret transactions and claimed to possess evidence against him.
• Cohen tried to learn whether the caller wanted money or for him to stop investigating Lin Feng, but the caller left the demand unfinished.
• The corroded pipe burst, and a valve fragment shattered Cohen’s car window and struck his temple, killing him.
• The caller finished the threat with “your life” and ended the call as water, the car alarm, and approaching footsteps filled the garage.

After Cohen cut ties, Daniel Crawford panicked and left his office to confront him. A staged glass trap killed Daniel in the parking garage, and a hidden operative confirmed the plan had succeeded before escaping.

• Cohen ended his cooperation with Daniel Crawford, leaving Daniel frightened by Lin Feng and the disappearance of the IRS agents.
• Daniel hurried out of All-American Express to seek Cohen, then yelled at an employee who accidentally spilled coffee on his suit.
• Daniel drove toward the garage exit and stopped when he saw a dirty cloth obstructing the ramp.
• Daniel pulled away the cloth, releasing a concealed pile of glass that fell on him and fatally pierced his neck.
• A hidden operative confirmed Daniel's death and began the evacuation procedure.

Seattle authorities officially classified the deaths of Richard Cohen and Daniel Crawford as unrelated accidents, despite both incidents appearing unusually convenient and suspicious. The public investigations closed, while unseen observers understood that someone had arranged the deaths.

• Seattle investigators concluded that Richard Cohen had been killed by a metal fragment propelled through his car window when a corroded fire pipe burst during a pressure test, and the IRS supervisor accepted the accident ruling.
• Investigators determined that Daniel Crawford had died when glass fell from an improperly secured truckload after he pulled a canvas obstructing the garage exit, and they classified his death as an accident.
• The police ordered the waste removal company and All-American Express to address safety failures, while officials prepared reports and follow-up measures.
• News coverage and public speculation spread, but the official conclusions described both deaths as accidents and the public investigations faded.
• The chapter ended with Seattle returning to its ordinary routine as hidden observers recognized the deliberate force behind the deaths.

Lin Feng attended Daniel Crawford’s funeral and publicly rejected shareholders’ attempts to sell him All-American Express shares, presenting himself as respectful of Daniel and his legacy. As he left, he privately considered waiting for the company’s crisis to worsen before taking control on more favorable terms.

• Lin Feng attended Daniel Crawford’s funeral with K while Lü Yi waited in the car.
• After offering condolences to Daniel’s widow, Lin Feng was approached by James Howard, Miller, and Watson, who asked to discuss All-American Express’s future and their shares.
• Lin Feng publicly refused to discuss acquiring the company at Daniel’s funeral and said talks could wait until the funeral was over and the company had stabilized.
• Lin Feng left the cemetery in the Maybach and told K to drive.
• In the car, Lin Feng considered letting All-American Express’s turmoil and falling stock price create a better opportunity to gain control.

After the deaths of Cohen and Daniel drew intense scrutiny in Seattle, Lin Feng decided to shift his strategic focus to California while keeping NLG as a discreet rear base. He ordered preparations for expansion into Los Angeles and left Jonathan in Seattle to monitor events and protect their interests.

• Jonathan Mitchell warned Lin Feng that investigators, politicians, and powerful local families were scrutinizing the deaths of Cohen and Daniel and wanted Lin to keep a low profile or leave Seattle.
• K assessed California, especially the Greater Los Angeles Area, as a better place for expansion than Seattle.
• Lin Feng ordered NLG to operate discreetly, other assets to be consolidated, Seattle intelligence operations to enter a silent period, and resources to shift toward California.
• Lin Feng instructed K to arrange a quiet move to California for him and a small core team, while Jonathan remained in Seattle to maintain his position and report developments.
• Lin Feng declared that the Seattle operation was ending for now and directed K to prepare for the next stage in California.

At Isabella de la Cruz’s Seattle art preview, Mike Anderson explained to Lin Feng how operators used controlled supply and inflated prices to turn art into a vehicle for tax avoidance and money laundering. Lin pretended to accept the lesson and bought three paintings, while privately viewing Mike’s scheme as part of a larger hunt.

• Mike Anderson bought several of Isabella de la Cruz’s paintings and told Lin Feng that art operators could control supply, inflate prices, and move money through art sales.
• Mike encouraged Lin Feng to invest, and Lin pretended to be persuaded before choosing three paintings.
• Mike put the paintings on his bill and introduced Lin to Isabella, presenting him as a discerning investor.
• Mike and Isabella went to the VIP lounge to discuss her next paintings, leaving Lin alone in the exhibition hall.
• Lin watched them leave and privately regarded the art-market scheme as part of a hunt Mike did not know was underway.

At the exhibition, Lin Feng explained how Mike Anderson was manipulating the art market to attract investors and launder money, then revealed that he had bought paintings using nearly cost-free Superdollars to infiltrate Mike’s financial channels. Lin Feng suspected Mike was preparing to flee and resolved to turn the trap around, leaving Mike unknowingly caught in Lin Feng’s larger hunt.

• Lin Feng explained to Lü Yi how Mike and other market makers inflated art prices by manufacturing scarcity, demand, and prestige.
• Lin Feng identified Mike as a key operator behind the exhibition and explained how he used art sales to draw in new investors and move money.
• Lin Feng told Lü Yi that he had paid for the paintings with Superdollars, using Mike’s operation to process their funds and learn about his laundering channels.
• Lin Feng suspected that Mike was desperate for funds because his scheme was nearing collapse and he might be preparing to flee Seattle.
• Lin Feng declared that Mike could not take their money and that he intended to pursue Mike and the network behind him.