**Puppet Chief Strategy (扶植傀儡帮主):** The tactic of installing a patsy to control a power structure is a recurring theme in Chinese historical and martial arts fiction. It reflects a sophisticated understanding of power: true mastery lies not in occupying every seat, but in controlling the person who does through invisible leverage. In the Mortal Stream version, Han Li optimizes this by adding an immediate assassination phase and a supernatural enforcer (Qu Hun) to suppress any rebellion—making the takeover as surgical and low-cost as possible.
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Definition
**Puppet Chief Strategy (扶植傀儡帮主):** The tactic of installing a patsy to control a power structure is a recurring theme in Chinese historical and martial arts fiction. It reflects a sophisticated understanding of power: true mastery lies not in occupying every seat, but in controlling the person who does through invisible leverage. In the Mortal Stream version, Han Li optimizes this by adding an immediate assassination phase and a supernatural enforcer (Qu Hun) to suppress any rebellion—making the takeover as surgical and low-cost as possible.
Story context
We open with Han Li deciding he’s had enough of waiting for Sun Ergou’s vague intelligence on the fanatical cult’s meeting, and he instead pivots to a far more direct plan: take over the Siping Gang itself. This chapter is a masterclass in Mortal Stream strategy—Han Li doesn’t just ask for an invite; he creates his own usurper. He identifies a useful but low-ranking pawn (Sun Ergou), dangles the promise of power to override his fear, and commits to a surgical strike against the gang’s leadership. The plan is cold, efficient, and ruthless: kill the chief and his three protectors, wipe out opposition with Qu Hun as an enforcer, and install Sun Ergou as a puppet chief. The ghostly pragmatism is so thick you could cut it with a Flying Sword. And just when you think the transaction is done, Han Li silently dispatches his Cloud-Wing Bird to tail Sun Ergou—showing that trust is a liability he cannot afford, even with his own cat’s-paw. Get ready for a chapter that proves the fastest way to a secret is to own the people who keep it.
Why it matters
This chapter embodies a core Mortal Stream principle: **“If you cannot find the key, take the lock.”** Instead of endlessly searching for the cult’s meeting point, Han Li simply decides to own the territory the cult operates in. The beauty is that he doesn’t do the dirty work himself—he outsources the takeover to a desperate pawn with everything to gain. The true star of the chapter is the brief, chilling exchange: “Subdue them? Heh. Why bother? Just kill them all.” That line is a perfect capsule of Han Li’s entire worldview: negotiation is just the appetizer; violence is the main course when it costs less. Keep an eye on the final detail: the Cloud-Wing Bird. Leaving the transaction with an insurance policy shows that even when Han Li appears to trust someone, he is already calculating the escape routes and contingency traps. This chapter is short, but tight as a drum—every word pushes the plot forward without a moment of wasted sentiment.
Quick facts
Source novel
A Record Of A Mortal S Journey To Immortality
First appearance
A Plan to Seize the Gang
Chapter references
1
Type hints
Siping Gang, Sun Ergou, Qu Hun
Guide tags
Military Strategy, Cunning Protagonist, Political Intrigue
Appears in chapters
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