Recaps

Xu Xi sent his teammates to investigate several locations while he chose to seek out the People Wearing White Flowers, then secretly photographed them as they left. A screenshot revealed that Tang Shutong’s hand had turned greenish-gray, and Ji Yang suspected she had violated a rule connected to the mirror.

• Lin Zuo agreed to investigate the kitchen, Yu Hao chose the study, and the group assigned other locations for investigation.
• Xu Xi decided to look for the People Wearing White Flowers and arranged to meet the others by the Hanging Flower Gate before offering incense.
• As the players left the hall, Xu Xi secretly took a photograph of them with his phone, though the image was not saved for him to review.
• Ji Yang enlarged a livestream screenshot and spotted a greenish-gray tint on Tang Shutong’s exposed left hand.
• Ji Yang suggested that Tang Shutong had violated a taboo connected to the mirror, perhaps by fighting back during an attack.

Xu Xi and the other players compared clues about the Shen Family’s mysterious debt, Seventh Concubine’s request to erase her son Shen Jiayang from the family register, and the missing register. As the steward arrived to summon them for incense, the group still had no clear answers.

• Xu Xi wandered around the Shen Residence and found no one wearing a white flower.
• Yu Hao reported finding letters that linked a past Shen Family crisis and a debt to the well, while Lin Zuo described burned papers and a hidden kitchen door.
• Shi Weiwei and Tang Shutong said Seventh Concubine had asked them to cross her son Shen Jiayang’s name out of the family register and had revealed that Master Shen liked purple.
• Xing Ge said he had searched for the family register everywhere except the coffin.
• Xu Xi told Yu Hao that he had made no progress as the steward arrived to lead them to offer incense.

After the ancestral incense offering, Xu Xi found the bronze mirror back in his room and decided to explore the Shen Residence at midnight despite Rollback’s warning. He died after encountering a distorted figure in a dark, foul-smelling corridor, then returned to the candlelit moment before his death, still determined not to spend every night sleeping.

• The steward led the six players through the incense offering and told Shi Weiwei that she would keep vigil that night.
• The players agreed to wait and see what happened to Shi Weiwei and whether the missing Hang Ze would be found.
• Xu Xi found the bronze mirror back on his dressing table and threw it outside again.
• Xu Xi waited until midnight, opened his door, and entered the dark corridor despite Rollback’s warning.
• Xu Xi heard overlapping murmurs, found the floor slick with a dark liquid, and saw a small distorted figure approaching with a wet trail behind it.
• Xu Xi regained consciousness by the candle after dying, unable to remember how he had died but recalling a suffocating sensation.

After repeatedly dying to a watery shadow while exploring at night, Xu Xi heard a dog bark and discovered that the Shen Residence had shifted into a quiet, dawn-like state. He met a maid and Xueke, a dog mourning the late Sixth Young Master, and agreed to follow it toward the well.

• Xu Xi repeatedly left his room after Rollbacks and died whenever he encountered the watery shadow, then prepared to go back to bed.
• A dog barked, prompting Xu Xi to leave his room and find the residence transformed by gray dawn light.
• Xu Xi followed the barking and found a maid chasing a yellow dog named Xueke, who had belonged to the late Sixth Young Master.
• The maid explained that Xueke went to the well daily after the Sixth Young Master died and kept trying to lead people there.
• Xu Xi agreed to follow the maid and Xueke.

Xu Xi questioned a maid about the Sixth Young Master's death and learned that Seventh Concubine believed crossing his name out of the family register could bring him back. After Xu Xi opened the sealed well, Xueke jumped in and surfaced with a booklet, and Xu Xi returned to the dark side room as a crash sounded from the ancestral hall.

• Xu Xi learned that Master Shen had sealed the well after the Sixth Young Master's drowning and that Seventh Concubine had been grieving in seclusion.
• The maid explained that Seventh Concubine wanted to use Master Shen's precious brush to cross the Sixth Young Master's name out of the family register, believing this could return him to life.
• Xu Xi recalled seeing Master Shen clutching a broken brush stained with dark red ink in his coffin, then asked the maid about the family register and the Shen Family's debts.
• Xueke barked at the sealed well and tore at its talismans, so Xu Xi removed the talismans and lifted the bluestone slab.
• Xueke jumped into the well and surfaced with a soaked booklet in his mouth, while Xu Xi was suddenly transported to the side room.
• A deafening crash erupted from the direction of the ancestral hall as darkness pressed in around Xu Xi.

Xu Xi took Shi Weiwei’s place as the person keeping watch on the second night, leaving the others wondering why he had volunteered. As Ji Yang watched the livestream discussion of Xu Xi, the chapter ended with Xu Xi realizing his Rollback point had landed at this moment.

• The butler announced that Shi Weiwei would keep watch, but Xu Xi interrupted and volunteered to take her place.
• Yu Hao, Xing Ge, Shi Weiwei, and Lin Zuo wondered why Xu Xi had taken on the risk, while Yu Hao reflected on how veteran players learned to cooperate without relying on one another.
• Livestream viewers discussed Xu Xi’s personality and past actions as Ji Yang recalled how his view of Xu Xi had shifted from curiosity to certainty.
• Xu Xi realized that his Rollback point this time was at this moment.

After dying during a late-night disturbance, Xu Xi used Rollback to return to the rooster hour and took the Eldest Young Miss's place keeping vigil in the ancestral hall. He discovered the hall's objects were suppressed by the lanterns, endured a strange hunger and nausea after eating a pastry, and was still waiting there when someone knocked at the door.

• Xu Xi returned to the incense offering during the rooster hour and volunteered to keep vigil in the ancestral hall instead of the woman in the qipao.
• After the steward left, Xu Xi tried and failed to open the central coffin, then waited for the disturbance that had caused his death.
• Xu Xi photographed the hall and saw that its incense smoke, paper figures, coffin, memorial tablets, and offerings were all constrained by the lanterns' flames.
• A sudden supernatural hunger drove Xu Xi to eat the pastries, but nausea followed, and a photo revealed a blurry bluish shadow coiled around his stomach.
• Xu Xi chose not to use his cleansing or status-sealing items, accepting the discomfort as nonfatal, and heard a knock as the hour of the boar approached.

While keeping vigil in the Ancestral Hall, Xu Xi rejected suspicious soup and discovered that a shadow was following him, then survived its attack and continued toward the kitchen. The chapter ended with him searching the kitchen by phone light, still unsure why Rollback had not returned him to the incense offering.

• A maid wearing a white flower brought Xu Xi soup on Seventh Concubine’s orders, but he photographed it and saw that it looked thick and murky in the image.
• Xu Xi realized that the rules could warn him without guaranteeing his safety, then picked up the offerings and set off for the kitchen.
• Xu Xi spotted a shadow following him through the phone screen, and a face filled the camera view as something invaded his consciousness.
• A wet rope tightened around Xu Xi’s neck, but he crouched and waited until the shadow passed through him and vanished.
• Xu Xi reached the kitchen, set down the offerings, and searched the room using his phone screen for light.

Xu Xi discovered a back path to the courtyard and secretly saw Seventh Concubine with the second white-flower maid. He waited for the expected blast at the Ancestral Hall, where the memorial tablets exploded and a man climbed out of a pit.

• Xu Xi burned the offerings in the kitchen firebox and followed a narrow path to the backyard.
• Xu Xi spotted Seventh Concubine mending a garment while the second white-flower maid spoke with her, and Xueke's barking nearly exposed him.
• Xu Xi returned to the Ancestral Hall, replaced the offerings, and waited for the blast.
• The ground shook, and the rows of memorial tablets exploded instead of the coffin.
• A dust-covered man in tattered mourning clothes climbed out of a pit and met Xu Xi's bewildered gaze.

Xu Xi learned that Hang Ze believed players could escape by crossing their own names out of the Clan Genealogy, but Master Shen’s corpse awakened before they could try. After dying and rolling back, Xu Xi realized the corpse’s return had created a new danger and wondered how to survive without access to the brush.

• Hang Ze told Xu Xi that players could leave the funeral by crossing their own names out of the Clan Genealogy and showed him a brush that could do it.
• Master Shen’s corpse burst out of its coffin and fixed its gaze on Hang Ze after he had destroyed the memorial tablets.
• Xu Xi faced the gathered Paper Figures while Hang Ze proposed they run, then saw Hang Ze holding Master Shen’s broken brush before he died and rolled back.
• Xu Xi concluded that the awakened corpse had changed the instance and that staying in his room or investigating could both lead to death.
• Xu Xi realized he had no way to obtain the brush or confirm whether the players were Shen Family members, and searched for another path to survive.

Ji Yang suspected that Xu Xi had changed the watch order because Hang Ze’s discovery of a hidden clue might trigger a Dungeon mutation that night. Xu Xi finished burning offerings and appeared to reveal a purpose behind his seemingly carefree behavior.

• Xu Xi left the stove and followed a path through a small door, while viewers speculated about why he had taken the watch.
• Ji Yang said he was considering a possibility and switched to Hang Ze’s livestream, which showed Hang Ze among mourners at another funeral.
• The viewers learned that Hang Ze had climbed out of a small coffin after his livestream returned, suggesting he had uncovered a hidden clue.
• Ji Yang and the viewers speculated that Hang Ze’s clue could cause the Dungeon to mutate and that Xu Xi had changed the watch order in anticipation.
• Xu Xi finished burning the offerings, and his actions began to hint at his real purpose.

Xu Xi realized he could burn the Shen Family Clan Genealogy to sever his ties to the family, and suspected it was hidden in the sealed Ancient Well. He sought out Seventh Concubine and offered to cross her son's name off the genealogy.

• Xu Xi decided that destroying the Clan Genealogy might remove the Shen Family's claims on him and let him leave the residence.
• Xu Xi guessed the genealogy was hidden in the sealed Ancient Well and went to find a creature that could retrieve it.
• Seventh Concubine stayed up embroidering while her maid urged her to rest and offered to pray for Sixth Young Master.
• Xu Xi entered the women's quarters, ignored the maid's objection, and told Seventh Concubine he could cross her son's name off the Clan Genealogy.

After Xu Xi escaped Shen Manor by destroying the Clan Genealogy, Ji Yang reasoned that the players could clear the instance by leaving as outsiders and avoid the Shen Family’s inherited debt. Yu Hao weighed the clues and the Ancestral Hall’s significance before a tremendous boom interrupted him.

• Xu Xi persuaded Seventh Concubine to open the well, had Xueke retrieve the Clan Genealogy, burned it, and left Shen Manor.
• Ji Yang theorized that the Shen Family’s rules were incomplete and that the players could escape their inherited debt by leaving as outsiders.
• Ji Yang concluded that the other players could clear the instance by walking through the Shen Family’s front gate.
• Yu Hao considered whether removing their names from the Clan Genealogy could free the players, but realized none of them knew their names.
• Yu Hao wondered what made the Ancestral Hall important on the second night, then heard a tremendous boom.

After Hang Ze’s explosion altered the Shen Family Dungeon, the players discovered that Xu Xi had already cleared it and escaped. The others followed Hang Ze through the open main gate, though Yu Hao remained unsure how they had completed the Dungeon.

• Ji Yang explained that Hang Ze’s destruction of the Ancestral Hall had changed the Dungeon, while Xu Xi had cleared it by burning the Clan Genealogy with the unusual Stove Hearth.
• Yu Hao, Xing Ge, Lin Zuo, Shi Weiwei, and Tang Shutong left their rooms to investigate the noise and encountered Hang Ze fleeing Master Shen, who had returned as a corpse.
• Hang Ze told the group he had taken Master Shen’s broken writing brush and urged them to find the Clan Genealogy and cross out their names; Shi Weiwei confirmed that Hang Ze had blown up the Ancestral Hall.
• The steward told the six players that the young master had already gone ahead and that he would not stop them from leaving.
• Hang Ze led the group through the open Shen Family gate, and Lin Zuo pulled Tang Shutong across when she froze; white light appeared as they escaped the Dungeon.

Yu Hao and the other players realized Xu Xi had carried their team through the Dungeon, while Hang Ze reflected on his bad luck and sought teammates for his next run. Online players celebrated Xu Xi’s rapid rise and hoped he could survive long enough to become a miracle.

• Yu Hao checked the Huaguo rankings and recognized that Xu Xi, ranked 47th with only seven Dungeons cleared, had been the distant young man on their team.
• Hang Ze watched the rankings, credited Xu Xi with getting them through the Dungeon before his unlucky nature caused more trouble, and posted on the forum looking for tough teammates.
• Shi Weiwei and the others were similarly bewildered that they had cleared the Dungeon without understanding what had happened.
• Players on the forum discussed Xu Xi’s 24-place rise, analyzed how he earned so many floors, and worried about his rapid Dungeon pace and survival.
• The forum users defended Xu Xi against demands that he protect other players and expressed hope that he would remain a miracle.

After clearing the Shen Family Dungeon, Xu Xi returned to Player Space and discovered he had climbed to forty-seventh place in the Huaguo rankings. Tan Xingyun and Ji Yang reacted to his rise, while Xu Xi wondered about the Earring-Wearing Young Man who had disrupted his plans.

• Tan Xingyun checked the rankings after recovering and was stunned to see Xu Xi in forty-seventh place.
• Ji Yang and his livestream viewers discussed the Dungeon and reacted to Xu Xi reaching forty-seventh place.
• Ji Yang calculated that Xu Xi might need only a few more Dungeons to reach the 999th floor and felt both hope and fear.
• Xu Xi reflected on how easily Seventh Concubine, Xueke, and the Stove Hearth had helped him clear the Dungeon and leave the Shen Family.
• Xu Xi wondered whether the Earring-Wearing Young Man was his bane or a son of destiny, then checked his panel, which showed 588 floors climbed and a global rank of 293.

Xu Xi discovered that his first dungeon clear had set the global record and made him famous. After reading the forum’s messages of support, he closed the panel and wondered when he could enter a new dungeon.

• Xu Xi checked his rankings and saw that he had climbed to 588 floors.
• Xu Xi opened a popular forum thread about a player clearing 90 floors in one dungeon and read that the global shortest-clear record was 2 minutes and 48 seconds.
• A commenter confirmed that the record-holder was Xu Xi, and Xu Xi realized his First Instance had made him famous.
• Xu Xi read that players outside the dungeon were supporting him and that one commenter planned to survive until Xu Xi reached the top.
• Xu Xi closed the panel and wished he could enter a new dungeon.

Ji Yang began streaming Xu Xi’s new Dungeon and realized Xu Xi had been matched into an international flight Dungeon. Xu Xi and Itanu woke aboard the plane, and Itanu’s viewers worried that he might again be teamed with a Huaguo player.

• Ji Yang started streaming Xu Xi’s Dungeon and discussed Xu Xi’s growing attention from official commentators.
• Ji Yang identified the setting as an international Dungeon because no nearby-ranked Huaguo players were entering Dungeons.
• Xu Xi woke in a dark-windowed airplane cabin and wondered what kind of Dungeon he had entered and who his teammates were.
• Itanu woke on the same plane, recognized the international Dungeon, and tried to identify the other players.
• Itanu’s viewers recalled his previous Dungeon with a Huaguo player, while Itanu gave up trying to pick out his teammates among the many passengers.

Itanu found a news report about a fatal plane crash and suspected his flight was the one in the story. Aleksye gathered the players in the restroom, where Manya asked whether they had boarded a plane doomed to crash.

• Itanu read a magazine report about a plane crash that killed everyone aboard and wondered if it described their flight.
• Itanu recognized Aleksye as a player and followed her toward the restroom.
• Xu Xi recognized Itanu as a teammate and went to join the gathering.
• Aleksye met with Itanu, Manya, Xu Xi, and another player, while viewers recognized Xu Xi from the fourth Mixed-Team Competition.
• Aleksye asked whether they had read the magazine, and Manya noted that the plane had crashed with no survivors.

The players discussed how to survive the predicted plane crash and split up to investigate the flight and the news report. Xu Xi learned the flight had already been underway for nearly two hours and would last two more, then chose to wait for further clues.

• Aleksye asked what the players should do before the plane crashed, and Itanu and Yansheng argued that they needed to escape the outcome of no survivors.
• Xu Xi suggested confirming whether their plane matched the report and checking the current time; Aleksye organized an investigation, with Manya proposing that they regroup every twenty minutes.
• Xu Xi asked his seatmate for the flight number, route, and timing, but the Dungeon had obscured the flight details; the flight had nearly two hours left.
• Xu Xi showed his seatmate the crash report and learned it was more than twenty years old, so he concluded the reported crash was not happening in the present.
• Xu Xi stopped investigating and decided to wait for more clues, believing he could afford to wait two hours.

Itanu investigated the dust on his palm and became trapped in a dark, flooding lavatory before escaping back to the plane. After noticing the black-haired player watching him, he grew wary of the seemingly bored young man.

• Itanu found dust on his palm after taking a boarding pass and suspected he had picked it up in the lavatory.
• Manya watched the shadow of a pen on her armrest while Yansheng questioned a dozing passenger.
• Itanu returned to the lavatory, smelled something burnt, and saw dark water seep through the floor as the lights went out.
• Itanu heard footsteps and a rolling sound behind him, found the door by touch, and escaped when he opened it.
• Itanu exchanged a glance with the black-haired player and returned to his seat, wondering why the young man seemed bored and feeling wary of him.

Xu Xi investigated the plane’s strange black mist while the players compared clues about its missing crew and stopped time. The chapter ended with Aleksye asking Itanu what he had experienced in the restroom.

• Xu Xi photographed the plane and saw that it was filled with swirling black mist, then decided to wait before investigating the restroom again.
• Itanu discovered that twice as much time had passed outside the restroom as he had experienced inside.
• Xu Xi rejoined the players in the restroom and found nothing visibly unusual there.
• Aleksye reported that the plane’s key information was hidden and that the cockpit and cabin had no crew, though the passengers seemed normal.
• Manya said her tests showed that time was standing still on the plane, and Aleksye asked Itanu what he had experienced.

Itanu reconsidered Xu Xi’s earlier questions and suspected they had been hints about the plane’s unusual relationship with time. He asked Xu Xi if he knew something, then changed the subject and shared his own experience while continuing to search for the answer.

• Itanu connected Xu Xi’s questions about the plane and the time with the revelation that time had stopped.
• The others followed Itanu’s gaze to Xu Xi after noticing his grave expression.
• Itanu asked Xu Xi whether he knew something, leaving Xu Xi baffled when he gave no explanation.
• Itanu realized he might have been rash and began describing his recent experience to the group.
• As he spoke, Itanu continued considering whether the flight information, stopped time, and the news pointed to a special state.

Ji Yang explained how Xu Xi’s hints suggested that the plane might be the one from a crash over twenty years ago, existing at or near the moment of the crash. In the restroom, Itanu described escaping the darkness by following footsteps and a rolling sound, but Yansheng pointed out that the aisle had been empty.

• Ji Yang told viewers that 248’s reminders about the flight number, the time, and the old news story hinted that the plane’s identity and timeline were obscured.
• Ji Yang speculated that the plane could be the aircraft from the crash, despite its possibly changed flight number, and might be caught at the time of the crash.
• Ji Yang concluded that 248 may have learned the Dungeon’s truth after questioning the NPC.
• Itanu told the players that footsteps and a faint rolling sound from behind him had helped him escape the darkness.
• Aleksye questioned Itanu about the sounds, and the players suspected a flight attendant had pushed a meal cart down the aisle.
• Yansheng said the aisle had been empty.

Yansheng and the others heard a food cart approaching and discovered a flight attendant that ordinary passengers could not see. He warned the group to return to their seats and fasten their seat belts before she reached them, then left the restroom and left the choice to everyone.

• A cabin announcement warned of turbulence as the sound of a food cart rolling closer interrupted Yansheng’s plans.
• Yansheng opened the restroom door and saw a pale, lifeless flight attendant pushing a rust-covered cart past passengers who did not react to her.
• Yansheng quietly closed the door and told Xu Xi and the others that their perception differed from the other passengers’ and that the attendant might treat them as uncooperative.
• Yansheng warned that the attendant would arrive in about two minutes, said she blocked the forward aisle, and urged everyone to return to their seats with their seat belts fastened.
• Yansheng left the restroom after telling everyone to decide for themselves.