Chapter Summaries

Xu Xi escaped Room 106 by luring the White Humanoid inside with a candle and locking it in, then left Room 103’s occupants behind after the Burly Man accused him of being an eerie creature. He headed toward Room 101 alone.

• Xu Xi reasoned that the White Humanoid was attracted to the candle and hid behind Room 106’s door as he opened it.
• The White Humanoid entered Room 106 to reach the candle, and Xu Xi slipped out and locked it inside.
• Xu Xi walked toward Room 103, but the Burly Man stopped the Refined Man from opening the door because he suspected Xu Xi had been replaced.
• Xu Xi knocked repeatedly to frighten the people inside, called them idiots, and headed for Room 101.
• The Burly Man was left pale and embarrassed as Xu Xi continued exploring alone.

Ji Yang analyzed how the burly man and the refined man had tried to manipulate Xu Xi, while Xu Xi found room 101 unlocked and likely belonging to the innkeeper. He left the two men to choose whether to enter first, warning that he could release the entity from room 106 and that they might not survive it.

• Ji Yang told his viewers that the two men had underestimated Xu Xi and explained how they had tried to provoke and control him.
• Xu Xi inspected room 101, found its door unlocked, and inferred from the lived-in furnishings and missing register entry that it was the innkeeper's room.
• The burly man, the refined man, and the woman with the high ponytail caught up with Xu Xi at the doorway.
• The refined man apologized for the earlier test, but Xu Xi dismissed his excuse and demanded that one of the two men enter room 101 first.
• The burly man questioned Xu Xi's motives, and Xu Xi warned that he could let the entity in room 106 out again, adding that the men might not be able to survive.

Xu Xi warned the others not to enter the passage beneath the wardrobe, remembering that in a previous attempt it had trapped them until he killed himself. The group reconsidered going down, and the High-Ponytail Woman questioned why room 101’s door had been left unlocked.

• Xu Xi threatened to release the creature again unless the Refined Man, Burly Man, and High-Ponytail Woman entered room 101, and they complied.
• The High-Ponytail Woman discovered a hollow space beneath the wardrobe, and Burly Man pulled up the floorboards to reveal a narrow passage.
• When the Refined Man asked for his opinion, Xu Xi said going down would mean death, recalling how the tunnel had trapped them in a previous save until he killed himself.
• Xu Xi dismissed Burly Man’s demand for an explanation, and the Refined Man stopped Burly Man from attacking him.
• The High-Ponytail Woman asked why room 101 had not been locked if someone had opened it to release the creature.

Xu Xi proposed using the passage beneath the wardrobe to hide and lure out the unknown creature that had been manipulating them. The group took their positions in the dark and waited, and the door made a faint sound.

• The Refined Man and the High-Ponytail Woman concluded that the creature had led them to room 101 to reveal the passage as a trap.
• The Refined Man reviewed the mysteries they had yet to solve, including the missing occupants and innkeeper, while Xu Xi decided to turn the trap against the creature.
• Xu Xi suggested they enter the hole as bait, then hide there and elsewhere in the room to catch the creature when it came to check the trap.
• The High-Ponytail Woman hid in the passage with Xu Xi, while the Refined Man hid under the table and the Burly Man lay beside the bed.
• After the group waited in darkness, the door made a faint sound, and the Burly Man raised his head to look.

Xu Xi and the High-Ponytail Woman discovered that the passage beneath the wardrobe was a trap meant to imprison them, while the others captured the person who had tried to seal it. The captive identified himself as Yang Wu, who had come to find his missing sister, and accused the group of not being human.

• Xu Xi sent the High-Ponytail Woman farther into the passage, where she found it had no way forward and realized the group would have been trapped there.
• Xu Xi and the High-Ponytail Woman climbed out and saw the Burly Man restraining a young man as the Refined Man confiscated nails, a hammer, a plank, and a flashlight.
• The Refined Man questioned the young man, who resisted and asked why the group had come to the inn.
• The young man identified himself as Yang Wu and explained that he had come looking for his sister, who disappeared after staying at the inn.
• Yang Wu said he had tried to trap the group because he suspected they were not human.

Yang Wu explained the inn’s history and the disappearances, while Xu Xi’s question about candles led his teammates to suspect Yang Wu was an Impostor. The group decided to pretend they knew nothing and keep him close, as viewers noticed Xu Xi seemed to be guiding his teammates toward something.

• Yang Wu said he had come to the inn looking for his missing older sister and described the Impostors, the guests’ mutations, and the innkeeper’s disappearance.
• Yang Wu identified the creature in Room 106 as the mutated grandmother from Room 103, though he admitted he had never seen an Impostor’s true form.
• The Refined Man gave Yang Wu food and water, then passed a phone around so the group could discuss him privately.
• Xu Xi asked why the rules did not mention that candles attracted the White Humanoid, and his teammates interpreted the question as a hint that Yang Wu was the real Impostor.
• The Refined Man told the others to keep pretending they were unaware and stay close to Yang Wu; viewers commented that Xu Xi seemed unusually proactive and as if he were guiding the group.

The Burly Man suddenly began mutating, forcing the Refined Man, Xu Xi, the High-Ponytail Woman, and Yang Wu to flee as the White Humanoid also went berserk. Yang Wu led them toward a cellar, while viewers suspected that he and Xu Xi might be manipulating events.

• The Burly Man scratched himself bloody and began transforming into a creature like the White Humanoid.
• The Refined Man, Xu Xi, and the High-Ponytail Woman ran from the room, and Yang Wu followed them out.
• Yang Wu used the key to Room 101 to lock the Burly Man inside as the White Humanoid began pounding on its door.
• The Refined Man proposed retrieving the candle near Xiao Yuan's body, but Yang Wu warned it might not work and offered to lead them to the inn's cellar.
• Xu Xi noticed a small wound on the Burly Man's wrist and wondered whether it had caused the mutation.
• Viewers debated whether Yang Wu had deliberately led the players toward the cellar and whether Xu Xi was involved in the events.

Yang Wu led Xu Xi, the Refined Man, and the High-Ponytail Woman into a hidden cellar to escape the mutated Burly Man and the White Humanoid. There, he admitted he was not Yang Wu and revealed that much of what he had told them was fabricated, leaving the group with no clear answers about the inn.

• Yang Wu uncovered a hidden cellar entrance in the kitchen, and Xu Xi went down first, followed by the Refined Man and the High-Ponytail Woman.
• Yang Wu sealed the entrance and said the cellar would keep them safe from the mutated Burly Man and the White Humanoid.
• Yang Wu admitted he was not Yang Wu, claimed he was human, and said he had trapped the group in the underground passage because he feared them.
• Yang Wu confessed that he had invented much of his account of the inn, including the Impostors, and said he did not know whether the White Humanoid was the occupant of room 103.
• The Refined Man said they needed to learn what happened because one companion had died and the Burly Man had mutated.

Xu Xi was killed by the evolved humanoid after the young man revealed his experiment, then used what he learned in the reset to ambush the young man and escape with the High-Ponytail Woman into a barred-off room. The young man was left trapped in the cellar with the evolved creature approaching him.

• The evolved humanoid killed the Refined Man, and the young man admitted he had used toxin and special powder to make the creature evolve through killing and attract it to the cellar.
• Xu Xi questioned the young man about the powder, then died when the evolved creature attacked him.
• After waking at the scene again, Xu Xi attacked the young man with his backpack and struck him down using a series of underhanded blows.
• The High-Ponytail Woman changed course to join Xu Xi, and he led her into the small room and dropped the iron grate behind them.
• The young man recovered, but the evolved creature, drawn by the powder he carried, turned toward him.

Xu Xi and the High-Ponytail Woman evaded the Evolved Body by throwing their jackets outside the iron bars, then pieced together the young man’s layered traps. They remained trapped in the cellar while Xu Xi considered how to clear the instance.

• Xu Xi told the High-Ponytail Woman to throw their jackets outside, distracting the Evolved Body from them.
• The High-Ponytail Woman asked how the Burly Man had mutated, and Xu Xi explained that the young man had infected him with a toxin and used special powder to attract the Evolved Body.
• Xu Xi reflected on the young man’s linked traps and realized the High-Ponytail Woman’s necklace seemed to protect against physical attacks, not mental ones.
• The High-Ponytail Woman wondered whether Xu Xi had been manipulating events too, but changed the subject when he noticed her uneasy expression.
• The Evolved Body tore at the jackets and ignored the two survivors, leaving Xu Xi to focus on clearing the instance.

Xu Xi and the High-Ponytail Woman discovered the innkeeper’s organ-trafficking records and used them to contact the National Anomalous Management Bureau. A rescue team arrived, killed the Evolved Body, and cleared the instance, leaving two survivors and four victims.

• Xu Xi and the High-Ponytail Woman searched the cellar and found the innkeeper’s notebook, which implicated him in organ trafficking and mentioned the Bureau of Extraordinary Management.
• Xu Xi used powder from a jar to distract the Evolved Body while the High-Ponytail Woman kept it occupied, and he retrieved the phone from the Refined Man.
• The High-Ponytail Woman called the Bureau, which located them and promised that a rescue team would arrive in about two hours.
• A protective-suited rescue team arrived and shot the Evolved Body, then reported two survivors and four victims as the players cleared the dungeon.

After Xu Xi cleared the instance, Ji Yang replayed the events for his rapidly growing audience and explained how Xu Xi had recognized clues and manipulated the other players. Ji Yang’s commentary suggested Xu Xi had planned against the Burly Man and Refined Man, while viewers debated how much he had known.

• Xu Xi cleared the instance, and Ji Yang noticed that his livestream audience had surged to a million viewers.
• Ji Yang replayed the Room 106 incident and explained that Xu Xi had suspected someone in the shadows could control the White Humanoid.
• Ji Yang said the Burly Man’s refusal to let Xu Xi back into Room 103 made him an enemy, and viewers speculated that Xu Xi had schemed against him.
• Ji Yang explained that Xu Xi threatened the Refined Man and Burly Man into entering Room 101, lowering their guard while concealing his continued killing intent toward them.
• Viewers suspected Xu Xi had also played a part in the Refined Man’s death and noted a common link among the three dead players.

Ji Yang explained how Xu Xi manipulated the dungeon’s threats and players to expose Fake Yang Wu, survive the traps, and kill Fake Yang Wu and the Refined Man. The viewers concluded that Fake Yang Wu had made a simple dungeon far harder, while Xu Xi had outmaneuvered his schemes.

• Ji Yang explained that Xu Xi refused to enter the underground passage because he wanted to assess the danger and provoke the Burly Man into staying aboveground.
• Ji Yang pointed out the Burly Man’s fresh wrist cut and explained that Xu Xi let the injury serve as a test of Fake Yang Wu’s ability to cause mutations.
• Ji Yang said Xu Xi concealed what he had learned and let the Refined Man keep probing Fake Yang Wu, who used powder to direct the White Humanoids and lure the players into the cellar.
• Fake Yang Wu revealed his identity in the cellar to stall for the White Humanoids and mutated Burly Man to evolve, but Xu Xi killed Fake Yang Wu and schemed the Refined Man to death.
• Ji Yang explained that Fake Yang Wu’s three traps had made an otherwise simple dungeon far more difficult, and the viewers praised Xu Xi’s cunning.

Ji Yang learned that the ill-fated show "Shining Players" planned to livestream Xu Xi and decided to oppose the production team. After returning to the golden staircase, Xu Xi reviewed the dungeon, worried that he was becoming accustomed to dying, then accepted the risk and considered what had made the dungeon difficult.

• Ji Yang ended his livestream after hearing that "Shining Players" planned to feature Xu Xi, and he went to the show's official account to steer public opinion against the production team.
• Xu Xi returned to the golden staircase and assessed his progress, his teammates, and the three deaths among the five dungeon participants.
• Xu Xi realized that he was pleased to have died only four times and worried that his fear of death was fading.
• Xu Xi accepted that he might die if he could not survive and reviewed how the young man's traps had complicated the dungeon.
• Xu Xi checked that his wedding candy and spirit money were still in his pocket and considered the limits of items that required manual use.

Xu Xi entered another instance and found himself on a dirt road with five other players. Meanwhile, the Shining Players broadcast began livestreaming him despite viewers’ fury over the show’s suspected bad luck, and Ji Yang watched with dread for the player he saw as a seed of hope.

• Xu Xi chose to enter another instance rather than wait in the Player Space, and appeared on a dirt road with five other players.
• Song Yan hosted Shining Players as viewers flooded the broadcast with abuse and begged the production team not to livestream Xu Xi.
• Song Yan introduced psychology expert Cao Hongbo and mystery writer Ge Ying, then announced Xu Xi’s record-setting first-instance speedrun and the new livestream.
• Viewers spotted Cheng Xu among the players and debated whether his presence alongside Xu Xi meant the group would succeed or fall victim to the show’s jinx.
• Ji Yang watched the broadcast at home and worried that the show might endanger the hope he had discovered in Xu Xi.

Xu Xi and five other players arrived in Ninghe Village, where Village Chief Zhu explained that more than sixty villagers had died in three years after a fire killed Awang’s mother and several elderly residents. He left the players with the village’s belief that Awang’s mother had returned as a vengeful ghost to punish those who had gossiped about her family.

• The suited man accepted Village Chief Zhu’s welcome on behalf of the six players and led the group toward Ninghe Village.
• Village Chief Zhu said Awang’s father had died at a construction site, leaving Awang and his mother to struggle with poverty and village gossip.
• Zhu recounted how a fire three years earlier killed Awang’s mother and several elderly villagers while Awang was away picking wild vegetables.
• Zhu said more than sixty villagers had died in three years, despite the police finding nothing unusual.
• Zhu explained that villagers blamed Awang’s mother’s supposed affair and believed her ghost was taking revenge on those who had insulted her family.

Village Chief Zhu brought six players to his village to deal with A-Wang's mother within three days, while asking them to pose as his wife's relatives. At dinner, the players grew suspicious of the village and its food, and the young man in the black hoodie suddenly reached for his chopsticks.

• Village Chief Zhu asked the players to resolve the problem within three days and conceal their identities from the villagers.
• At the village entrance, Village Chief Zhu introduced the players as relatives of his wife, and Xu Xi suspected the villagers were hiding something.
• Village Chief Zhu brought the players to his home, where they met his grandson and wife.
• The man in the suit invited Village Chief Zhu and his grandson to eat, but Village Chief Zhu refused, leaving the players wary of the meal.
• While everyone hesitated over the food, the young man in the black hoodie reached out with his chopsticks.

Xu Xi and the other players ate at Village Chief Zhu’s home, discussed the village’s secrets, and planned to investigate before dark. After they split up to gather clues, the livestream experts praised the man in the suit’s leadership and said Xu Xi’s choice to test the food showed psychological insight.

• Xu Xi ate first to test whether the food was poisoned, and the other players followed after seeing nothing happen.
• Village Chief Zhu offered the players three neighboring houses and warned that the families of the mysteriously dead villagers had also died, so the players agreed to stay separately.
• The players discussed whether Village Chief Zhu was hiding information and agreed to question villagers, meet outside Awang’s house, and return to their lodgings before dark.
• The six players asked Village Chief Zhu for Awang’s address, then each chose a direction and dispersed to investigate.
• On the livestream, Cao Hongbo said the man in the suit had good social skills and leadership, and that Xu Xi’s decision to test the food suggested he understood psychology.

Cao Hongbo and Ge Ying analyzed Xu Xi’s composure and the village’s likely connection to human nature while the players explored. Xu Xi joined the chatty young man in a baseball cap, and they discovered an unusually ripe patch of wheat as villagers gathered nearby.

• Cao Hongbo said the village chief’s reactions seemed genuine and praised Xu Xi’s calmness and confidence.
• Ge Ying suggested the village’s tragedies might be tied to human flaws and remarked that Xu Xi remained as silent as ever.
• A young man in a baseball cap caught up with Xu Xi and proposed that they explore together.
• Xu Xi and the young man found a patch of ripe wheat standing out among the green fields.
• The young man headed toward nearby villagers to ask about the wheat, and Xu Xi followed him.

Xu Xi and the other players investigated a strange ripe wheat field and gathered clues about a series of unexplained deaths in Ninghe Village. They regrouped near Awang’s house, where the evidence raised new questions about the latest three deaths and Awang’s mother.

• Xu Xi and the young man in the baseball cap questioned villagers, who warned them to stay inside for three days, avoid going out at night, and ignore knocking.
• Xu Xi found dark soil with a strong bloody smell in the ripe wheat field, and the young man guessed it had been watered with human blood.
• The players gathered near Awang’s house, and the man in the suit reported that three villagers had died half a month earlier and that older women blamed Awang’s mother.
• The tall, thin man said the latest grave was from two months ago and that sixty-three gravestones listed the cause of death as unknown.
• The players questioned why the three recent deaths had no graves and why villagers still suspected Awang’s mother, while the girl in the long dress began sharing what she and the curly-haired woman had learned.