Chapter Summaries

After the destruction of his Pacifica District hideout and the deaths of Viper and three others, Big Snake hid in a Chinatown safe house and asked Director Blake for help identifying his attackers. Blake told him to stay hidden and wait for updates, but Big Snake remained unable to sleep, convinced danger was still near.

• Big Snake learned that his Pacifica District hideout had been destroyed and Viper and three other men had been killed.
• Big Snake hid in a secret Chinatown apartment with cash, passports, and a loaded Glock 17.
• Big Snake called Director Blake and asked him to find out who was coming after him.
• Director Blake promised to investigate using police resources and ordered Big Snake to stay hidden and keep his men inactive.
• Big Snake checked his pistol and tried to rest, but remained uneasy as the night continued.

Chief Blake organized a major police response to the murders and fire in the Pacifica District, publicly promising a sweeping investigation. Privately, he planned to control the investigation to protect Big Snake and himself.

• Chief Blake ordered every officer to attend an early-morning meeting about the four bodies found at the burned Pacifica District residence.
• Blake announced the formation of the Pacifica Task Force, canceled leave, and ordered officers to collect surveillance footage, expedite forensic work, and screen suspicious newcomers.
• Blake dismissed most officers and called senior officers to his office for a case analysis meeting.
• Blake privately resolved to manage the investigation so the police would not discover what they should not and Big Snake would remain safe.

An intruder confronted Director Blake at home and offered him a million dollars for Big Snake’s location. Blake accepted the bribe and revealed Big Snake’s hideout in Hunters Point, then sat alone with the money, looking exhausted and uncertain.

• Blake arrived home late and found a stranger waiting in his living room with Emily and Lily, who were frightened but unharmed.
• After Emily took Lily upstairs, Blake kept his pistol nearby and listened as the stranger offered him a million dollars to become an ally.
• The stranger asked Blake to reveal where Big Snake was hiding and argued that Big Snake’s death would remove a risk to Blake.
• Blake weighed the offer against his family’s safety and his own exposure, then gave the stranger Big Snake’s address in Hunters Point.
• The stranger thanked Blake and left the three briefcases of cash behind, while Blake sat down and stared at the money in silence.

Big Snake was killed by armed men who then took over the South District Black Snakes’ remaining territory in Bayview District. Increased police patrols and uncertainty about the new force kept rival gangs from moving against them, leaving the strangers in black as the neighborhood’s unseen masters.

• Big Snake waited in a safe house for Chief Blake to respond, then fought off intruders and was shot dead while trying to escape through a window.
• Three armed men confirmed Big Snake’s death and quietly left the house.
• Unfamiliar armed men took over the South District Black Snakes’ gambling dens, loan-sharking office, and drug packaging site, killing members who resisted.
• Rival gangs’ scouts discovered the new force guarding the territory and reported back, prompting the gangs to hold their positions.
• Chief Blake increased police patrols around Bayview District, helping preserve a tense calm as the new force blended into the neighborhood.

At Eagle Creek Ranch, Lin Feng heard that the South District Black Snakes had been subdued and arranged a legitimate job for Feng Ya so she could begin a normal life. He then told K to start preparations in California and continued reviewing the market report, knowing a greater storm was still ahead.

• K reported that Big Snake was dead, the Black Snakes’ businesses were under Lin Feng’s control, and the operation team had left San Francisco.
• Lin Feng asked whether Blake was reliable, and K said Blake was committed for now because he had taken the money and had vulnerabilities.
• Lin Feng ordered K to find Feng Ya a respectable clerical job and keep her away from Lin Feng’s affairs.
• Lin Feng told K that preparations in California could begin, and K agreed.
• After K left, Lin Feng read the California market analysis report.

After learning that Big Snake and the South District Black Snakes had been eliminated, Mike Anderson suspected Lin Feng was closing in on him and began preparing to flee Seattle. He arranged transfers, transport, medical cover, and a passport, leaving his future uncertain as night approached.

• Mike Anderson read R’s warning that Big Snake was dead and the South District Black Snakes’ base had been wiped out.
• Mike connected the destruction to Lin Feng and recalled other recent losses that suggested someone was systematically undermining him.
• Mike ordered a Swiss banker to speed up the transfer of his funds and told Allen to cancel his engagements and prepare a car and Gulfstream.
• Mike contacted his Canadian-border contact and confirmed that his passport was ready for pickup within two days.
• Mike checked the cash, passports, jewelry, and watches in his hidden safe, then accepted that he had to leave his home.

After Anderson Capital collapsed, Lin Feng learned that Mike Anderson had met an unidentified person and that anonymous evidence had implicated Senator Alan Crawford. Lin Feng arranged to meet Crawford, who agreed to see him the next day.

• K showed Lin Feng footage of Mike Anderson meeting someone in a black sedan shortly before his disappearance, but the person and their conversation remained unknown.
• K told Lin Feng that an anonymous evidence packet sent to the FBI named Senator Alan Crawford as a possible mastermind behind Anderson Capital's violations.
• Lin Feng told K to keep investigating Mike's car and communications, then asked him to arrange a meeting with Crawford.
• Crawford and his associates suspected that someone was using the anonymous tip to pressure him, and Crawford identified Lin Feng as the likely force behind it.
• Crawford agreed to meet Lin Feng at his private club in Bellevue the next day at three in the afternoon.

At dinner in Seattle, Philip Winslow pressured Lin Feng to share the businesses and resources he had taken over from Mike Anderson on behalf of influential associates. Lin Feng refused to be controlled and implied he would not keep the matter peaceful, leaving Philip to demand an answer within three days.

• Lin Feng met Philip Winslow at The Metropolitan Grill, where Philip ordered dinner and asked about Lin Feng's arrival in Seattle and takeover of Mike Anderson's businesses.
• Philip said Mike's resources and projects belonged to a wider circle and urged Lin Feng to share them with the people whose interests were involved.
• Lin Feng asked who Philip's friends were and whose interests he represented, but Philip refused to identify them and warned that their goodwill mattered.
• Lin Feng said he would not let others make decisions for him and asked what if he had never intended to handle the matter peacefully.
• Philip warned Lin Feng that someone less easy to deal with might approach next time, then demanded an answer within three days before leaving.
• Lin Feng tasted the wine after Philip departed and decided three days would not be necessary.

Mike Anderson fled Seattle under a disguise and headed for a private plane in Portland, believing his fraud had left investigators too far behind. At a motel, he discovered that Lin Feng had tracked him down, and he walked toward the door after someone knocked.

• Mike Anderson used a disguised double to make it appear that he had been hospitalized while he escaped in a Ford Focus.
• Mike drove toward Portland with a fake passport, planning to fly to Cancún and hide abroad.
• Mike heard a news report that Seattle police were investigating a major investment fraud case.
• Mike checked into a remote Portland motel and found an unfamiliar phone on the nightstand.
• Mike read Lin Feng's message on the phone and realized his escape plan had been exposed.
• Someone knocked on Mike's door, and he walked toward it, accepting that he had no way to flee.

Lin Feng confronted Mike Anderson in an abandoned warehouse, obtained the account details for his overseas funds, and left as Mike was killed. Days later, Lin Feng explained that the reported transfers concealed a wider scheme in which powerful people had taken the money, while the investigation focused on Mike.

• Mike woke tied to a chair in a warehouse and realized Lin Feng had orchestrated his downfall.
• Mike admitted defeat, gave Lin Feng his bank account information, and asked to see the person who had beaten him, learning Lin Feng was that person.
• After K left to verify the accounts, a suppressed gunshot sounded behind Lin Feng as he walked out, and Lin Feng told K to clean up.
• K confirmed the account details were genuine and that transfers had begun as Lin Feng departed for Seattle.
• News reports accused Anderson Capital Group of fraud, said Mike was missing, and announced an FBI investigation.
• At Eagle Creek Ranch, Lin Feng told K that the reported transfers were only marked on the books and that powerful people had taken the funds.

After the previous night’s violence, Lin Feng learned that NLG’s stock had been hit by concentrated short selling and accusations of financial fraud, wiping out billions in market value. He refused to issue a public response and ordered K to buy back every minority shareholder’s shares once the panic eased, believing those who had stayed silent had sided with his enemies.

• K told Lin Feng that NLG’s stock had plunged more than 22% shortly after the market opened, triggering a trading halt amid concentrated algorithmic sell orders.
• K reported that Western Finance Network accused NLG of financial fraud, while a supposed minority shareholder filed an SEC complaint and news networks broadcast the allegations.
• Lin Feng learned NLG had closed down 47.3%, losing about two billion dollars in market value, and concluded that his opponents were willing to spend heavily to attack it.
• Lin Feng rejected K’s suggestion to issue a statement or contact the SEC, saying they should let the attackers believe they had won.
• K told Lin Feng that none of the minority shareholders had contacted them, and Lin Feng ordered him to buy back all their shares once the panic eased.

At Eagle Creek Ranch, Lin Feng learned that three hedge funds were coordinating the NLG short attack with help from minority shareholders and ordered a buyback strategy to pressure the suspected collaborators. With Philip’s associates remaining suspiciously quiet, Lin Feng prepared for a wider conflict and believed the real hunt had begun.

• K reported that NLG’s short positions led to three hedge funds whose settlements ran through the same Cayman Islands shell company.
• K told Lin Feng that twenty-three of NLG’s minority shareholders had likely lent shares to the short sellers, while fourteen others had shown concern and offered cooperation.
• Lin Feng ordered NLG to buy back shares from the fourteen cooperative shareholders at the pre-suspension closing price plus a ten percent premium.
• Lin Feng directed NLG to offer the twenty-three suspected collaborators twelve dollars per share and threaten to report evidence of their collusion to regulators and newspapers if they refused.
• K reported that Philip’s waiter had confessed to the murder and that the people behind Philip had made no public or business moves.
• Lin Feng said his opponents were waiting for him to make a mistake, then shredded the shareholder report and concluded that the real hunt had begun.

Philip Winslow met Lin Feng at a Seattle restaurant and demanded that he surrender Mike Anderson’s assets for five million dollars and leave the United States. Lin Feng rejected Philip’s intimidation without answering, and the chapter ended with him watching Philip leave, his gaze turning cold.

• Philip Winslow confronted Lin Feng over NLG’s falling share price, the SEC investigation, and the media scrutiny surrounding Lin Feng’s companies.
• Philip offered Lin Feng five million dollars to transfer Mike Anderson’s assets and leave the United States within thirty days.
• Lin Feng ignored the agreement and blew cigar smoke in Philip’s face, asking if Philip was trying to scare him.
• Philip used a racist insult and ordered Lin Feng to sign the agreement within three days, calling it his last chance.
• Philip left the restaurant, and Lin Feng left the agreement untouched as his expression turned cold.

Lin Feng watched as a waiter killed Philip and both of his bodyguards in a Seattle restaurant, then calmly sat down to smoke. As sirens approached, Lin Feng relit his cigar and watched the waiter.

• Lin Feng slid his chair away from the table as a waiter moved behind Philip.
• The waiter seized Philip by the hair and stabbed him in the neck, killing him.
• The waiter smashed one bodyguard with a wine bottle, stabbed the other in the throat, and slit the first guard’s throat.
• The restaurant erupted into panic, but the waiter sat down and lit a cigarette instead of fleeing.
• Lin Feng lit his cigar again as sirens approached outside.

After witnessing the restaurant murders, Lin Feng was questioned by Seattle police until Deputy Superintendent Jonathan Lee took over in secret. Jonathan revealed that a powerful political circle had discovered their relationship and warned him to stop helping Lin Feng, leaving Lin Feng to consider the threat.

• Police took Lin Feng and Lü Yi to the station to assist with the investigation into the restaurant killings.
• Lin Feng calmly answered officers’ questions and maintained that his meeting with Philip Winslow had involved ordinary business dealings.
• Jonathan Lee entered the interrogation room, dismissed the officers, disabled the recording devices, searched for hidden surveillance, and freed Lin Feng from his handcuffs.
• Jonathan Lee bowed to Lin Feng and told him that a congressman’s assistant had warned him not to interfere in matters involving Lin Feng.
• Jonathan Lee said the warning reflected the collective will of a powerful political circle, and Lin Feng replied that he understood.

Lin Feng reflected on the invisible barriers facing Great East people in America and considered whether to leave or resist. He rejected returning home because he needed to stay in the United States to build his forces, and chose to fight.

• Lin Feng recalled how American society welcomed Great East investors while barring them from core interests and positions of power.
• Lin Feng concluded that his own challenges to established rules had made powerful interests determined to drive him out.
• Jonathan Lee offered Lin Feng two choices: return to Great East or remain and fight, warning that they could not yet withstand the government’s agencies.
• Lin Feng considered returning home while directing his existing forces remotely, but rejected the plan because his daily death soldier recruits depended on his location.
• Lin Feng chose to stay and fight, and Jonathan Lee pledged to stand by him.

Lin Feng deliberately pleaded guilty to a rushed obstruction charge and was sentenced to ten months in Washington State Penitentiary, where the warden helped carry out his plan. While his enemies celebrated his imprisonment and NLG’s share price rebounded, the warden reported that Lin Feng was safe and everything was going smoothly.

• The Seattle district attorney’s office charged Lin Feng with obstruction of official duties and brought him to a hearing that afternoon.
• Lin Feng pleaded guilty, and the judge sentenced him to ten months in Washington State Penitentiary; the judge tapped his gavel three times as a signal Lin Feng understood.
• Lin Feng arrived at the prison, completed intake, and was assigned a cell; the warden told him that his lawyer would visit the next day to pass along information and arrangements.
• The warden’s secret loyalty to Lin Feng enabled the imprisonment to proceed as planned, while Lin Feng settled into his cell calmly.
• After Lin Feng’s arrest spread through Seattle, NLG’s share price rose by eight percent and his enemies celebrated; the warden called an unlisted number and reported that Master was settled in and everything was going smoothly.

K met Robert Hines in a Seattle café, where Robert threatened Lin’s safety in prison and offered K money and a new future in exchange for betraying him. K pretended to accept, then secretly sent an associate to investigate who was behind Robert.

• On the third day after Lin Feng was imprisoned, Robert Hines met K and warned that Lin could suffer an accident or worse while serving his sentence.
• Robert offered K money and help with legal status in exchange for Lin’s asset records, personnel lists, and overseas financial information.
• K agreed to Robert’s offer and shook his hand, convincing Robert that he would cooperate.
• After Robert left, K wiped his hands and signaled a young man who had been watching from the café’s corner.
• K ordered the young man to investigate Robert and find out exactly who was behind him.

Lin Feng entered Block C of Washington State Penitentiary, where the guards brutally beat Morgan after he taunted him. The inmates and guards treated Lin Feng with new wariness as he settled into a private cell, while a new order began to take shape around him.

• Lin Feng arrived in Block C and drew the inmates’ attention with his calm demeanor.
• Morgan insulted and threatened Lin Feng, but Lin Feng ignored him and kept walking.
• Two guards entered Morgan’s cell and beat him until he was critically injured.
• The guards carried Morgan away on a stretcher, and the inmates reconsidered Lin Feng as someone protected by powerful forces.
• The guards escorted Lin Feng to a private cell and spoke to him more courteously.
• Lin Feng lay down in his cell as the neighboring inmates whispered about Morgan’s beating and then fell silent.

Lin Feng was transferred from ordinary Block C to Block X, a lavish prison unit where he could enjoy a hotel-like cell and extensive services. He viewed the secure block as a fortress and a strategic move, while the people outside remained unaware that the chessboard had changed.

• Guards escorted Lin Feng through secured underground checkpoints to Block X, where a guard addressed him respectfully and led him to room seven.
• Lin Feng inspected his luxurious cell, which included a private bathroom, designer furnishings, entertainment equipment, and a computer.
• The guard explained the room’s amenities and offered customized meals and arrangements for visitors.
• Lin Feng recognized that the block’s security and the warden’s loyalty made prison safer for him than being outside.
• Lin Feng declined further services and watched the courtyard from his window, thinking that he had come to play chess.