Chapter Summaries

Xu Xi followed Polina’s likely route and watched as she and Dana were attacked, apparently confirming the identity of the Eerie Creature. He then noticed Winniever signaling from the corridor as Dana stumbled out of her room.

• Xu Xi revisited the exhibition hall’s photo wall, then followed a route he had inferred Polina would take.
• Yao Han, Lin Miao, and Luo Zongyun concluded that Xu Xi used overlooked details to predict events and find Polina.
• Xu Xi watched from the shadows as the Eerie Creature attacked Polina and then Dana.
• Xu Xi recognized the creature’s blue-green figure, long limbs, and seaweed-like hair from the surveillance footage.
• Winniever waved his flashlight toward Xu Xi, then looked down when Dana stumbled out of her room.

Xu Xi reasoned that the Blue-Gray Entities might be victims trying to drive players away, while the Living Corpse Man was their true enemy, and he searched the passage for clues. He stumbled upon dozens of Blue-Gray Entities, and as viewers expected him to die, he suddenly spoke.

• Xu Xi considered whether the instance was a faction war between the Blue-Gray Entities and the Living Corpse Man’s Rebel Army.
• Xu Xi decided he needed to find a way to deal with the Living Corpse Man, which would appear at noon the next day.
• Xu Xi walked deeper into the passage and encountered a Blue-Gray Entity crouching ahead of him.
• Dozens of Blue-Gray Entities appeared and blocked the passage, surrounding Xu Xi with hollow, black eye sockets.
• Viewers from around the world watched as Xu Xi stood his ground and suddenly spoke.

Xu Xi discovered that the Blue Entities were guarding the passage to the Dungeon and persuaded them to let him pass by presenting himself as a visitor. He reached the Dungeon, but found it empty, leaving him without the clue he had hoped to find.

• Xu Xi used his Camp map to locate the Dungeon and suspected it might contain a way to deal with the living corpse man.
• Xu Xi told the Blue Entities he was a visitor who meant no harm and would leave after looking around, and they moved aside.
• The livestream hosts and experts reasoned that the Blue Entities were likely former Camp victims guarding the passage, and that visitors might be protected.
• Xu Xi passed through the passage and found the Dungeon empty.

Xu Xi explored the abandoned Dungeon and found a hidden passage that a Blue Entity prevented him from entering, then returned to sleep. The other contestants assumed he was dead until he arrived late for breakfast.

• Xu Xi found a smooth stone slab concealing a passage in the Dungeon, but a Blue Entity blocked his way and escorted him out.
• The disheveled man in the monitoring room watched Xu Xi return to his room and refrained from using the broadcast to call him back.
• Xu Xi went to sleep, briefly worried about the livestream audience, then reassured himself that Rollback would erase any embarrassing actions.
• At breakfast, Saha guessed that the missing Huaguo contestant was dead, while Winniever, Polina, and Dana recalled details from the previous night.
• Xu Xi appeared in the front hall, greeted the other players, and sat in the empty chair.

Xu Xi ate breakfast calmly while the other players questioned him about the quiet night, then watched Dana get attacked by an invisible entity. The attack forced Dana out of the instance, and Xu Xi found himself facing a huge crowd of Blue Entities that only he seemed able to see.

• Xu Xi slept through the night and answered the other players’ questions by saying he had rested well and heard nothing unusual.
• Xu Xi noticed Dana just before a gust of wind swept at her from under the table, and she sprang backward to evade it.
• Xu Xi recognized the attack from his previous run, but Dana was still forced out after saying, “Retreat.”
• A mass of Blue Entities appeared before Xu Xi, and the lead entity turned to stare directly at him.
• The other players, unable to see the entities, grew wary of Xu Xi after seeing his meaningful glance toward Dana.

After Dana was attacked, Xu Xi withheld his information and decided to search for the red skull symbols instead of joining any challenge team. The other contestants questioned whether the symbols might be more important than the challenges, leaving Xu Xi's choice under scrutiny.

• Saha asked what had attacked Dana, and Briman questioned whether the contestants had experienced something unusual the previous night.
• Xu Xi inferred that he was being warned to leave or die, then told the group that information should be exchanged for something of equal value.
• The medical team took the unconscious Dana away, and the contestants regrouped after the announcer spoke over the loudspeaker.
• The contestants chose teams for three challenges, but Xu Xi declined to join any of them.
• Xu Xi said he would search for the red skull symbols, believing they might be the key clue, while Winniever and the others reconsidered the symbols' importance.

Xu Xi left the group to search for the red skull symbol while the others split up to pursue their assigned objectives. Viewers and commentators speculated that he had foreseen Dana’s attack and understood clues the other players had missed.

• Briman briefly offered to accompany Xu Xi, then declined, saying he had already agreed to challenge the Burial Forest with Geseling and Kuxiya.
• Xu Xi departed alone, and the remaining players split into four teams and headed for their objectives, with Winniever leading the group toward the Torture Tower.
• After leaving everyone’s sight, Xu Xi slowed down and realized he still had no idea where to find the red skull symbol.
• Viewers argued over whether Xu Xi had known Dana would be attacked, while others discussed the strange entities that had emerged from the walls and floor.
• At China Central Television, Luo Zongyun suggested Xu Xi’s temporary registration as a tourist let the entities recognize him, and Lin Miao suspected Xu Xi already knew what had been beneath the stone slab.

Xu Xi wandered through the Camp searching for the red skull symbol, then asked a Blue Entity to help him find it in exchange for leaving. The entity led him onward, while viewers and commentators speculated that his visitor identity let him interact with the entities differently from the other players.

• Luo Zongyun and Lin Miao explained that Xu Xi had chosen to act alone to explore the dungeon's rules and use his insight freely.
• Xu Xi wandered through the Camp without knowing where the red skull symbol was and considered using Rollback to question the slovenly man.
• A Blue Entity blocked Xu Xi and told him to leave, so he offered to leave if it helped him find the symbol.
• The Blue Entity accepted Xu Xi's request and led him away, surprising viewers watching the livestream.
• Luo Zongyun and Lin Miao suggested that Xu Xi's visitor identity had changed how the entities treated him.

Xu Xi found the Blue Entity’s victim dossier and learned that the Rebel Army had falsely labeled it a spy, while the entity warned him that the Rebel Army Leader was coming and could not be stopped. To test his theory, Xu Xi returned to the Dungeon and deliberately triggered a revival, but the corpse-like man killed him and every other player, leaving viewers puzzled by Xu Xi’s final words.

• The Blue Entity led Xu Xi to the Archives, where it revealed a red Skull Symbol and dropped a Victim Dossier for him.
• Xu Xi recognized the Blue Entity in a photograph and learned that its recorded execution as a spy was false; the entity had no tongue and communicated by writing.
• The Blue Entity warned Xu Xi that “he” was coming, urged him to retreat, and said the Rebel Army Leader could not be sealed or destroyed.
• Xu Xi headed to the Dungeon to test another theory, stood before the stone slab, and greeted the revived man with “See you again.”
• The corpse-like man killed Xu Xi and the remaining players, leaving the livestream chat to wonder what Xu Xi had meant.

Xu Xi pieced together that the instance’s key lay in the wish of a Blue-Gray Entity who had been falsely accused and executed, while the Living Corpse Man would awaken at noon the next day. After confirming the anniversary was tomorrow, he left the players wondering what he planned to do before entering the Camp.

• Xu Xi concluded that the Living Corpse Man could not be stopped and that the players needed to uncover the wish of the executed Blue-Gray Entity to clear the instance.
• The scruffy man called Xu Xi over to collect his prison uniform, and Xu Xi asked a staff member for the date and where the Rebel Army leader had killed himself.
• Xu Xi confirmed the date was the second and the leader had died in the Dungeon, then deduced that the massacre would happen at noon the next day.
• Briman asked the scruffy man when the islanders had died, and the man said their deaths had occurred on the third and that the challenge would begin tomorrow.
• As the staff opened the Camp gates, Xu Xi said he needed to take care of a personal bodily need first.

Xu Xi left the contestants to confront the shaman who had been possessed, warning him that a powerful wraith would wake at noon the next day and kill them all. After the shaman begged for a way to survive, Xu Xi held out his hand and asked for his phone.

• Xu Xi left the group and reasoned that clearing the Blue Entity’s name might not require the Production Team’s cameras or approval.
• Viewers watched as Xu Xi went to the shaman instead of taking care of a personal need.
• Xu Xi told the shaman that a powerful wraith was sleeping inside the area and would wake at noon tomorrow, killing everyone.
• The shaman believed Xu Xi and asked if he had a way to escape, and Xu Xi asked him to give him his phone.

Xu Xi borrowed the shaman's phone and tested whether he could contact the Anomaly Management Bureau from this instance, then returned to the Camp with the phone. He planned to use it for livestreaming, but left the others guessing about his purpose as the group prepared to enter.

• Xu Xi used the shaman's phone to call the Anomaly Management Bureau, but the call failed without indicating that the number was nonexistent.
• Xu Xi asked about Starsea, learned how to livestream, and borrowed the shaman's phone without promising he could save the man or the Production Team.
• Back at the Camp, Xu Xi deflected Winniever's questions with a blunt joke, while the players and livestream viewers speculated about his actions.
• At China Central Television, Jiang Jin and Lin Miao discussed whether Xu Xi's failed call proved that the instances were connected, and Yao Han asked why he wanted the phone.
• The scruffy man noticed Xu Xi had returned, gathered everyone, and urged them to enter the instance.

Xu Xi entered Fitali Camp and used a livestream to reveal that Xinli had been wrongly classified as a Spy, clearing the instance. He vanished just as the scruffy man and staff confronted him about using the wizard’s phone.

• Winniever and the other players entered the Camp, while Yurien warned that people could work together without trusting each other.
• Xu Xi encountered a group of Blue Entities and persuaded one to guide him to the Archives by saying he wanted to look around.
• Xu Xi used the wizard’s phone to livestream from the Archives and declared that Xinli, victim G-1179, had been wrongly classified as a Spy.
• A white light appeared beneath Xu Xi’s feet, signaling that he had cleared the instance.
• The scruffy man and several staff members entered the Archives to confront Xu Xi, but he vanished after saying he would keep the phone and wishing them luck.

Winniever and the remaining players learned that a Huaguo player had cleared the instance, and they tried to determine how he had done it. The livestream viewers saw the player trigger the clearance and vanish, while the other contestants remained inside the ongoing instance.

• Winniever considered the coming massacre anniversary and prepared to investigate when God Hunt announced that a player had cleared the instance.
• The remaining players gathered in the front hall, realized the absent Huaguo player was responsible, and suspected he had found a hidden clue.
• Polina suggested asking the staff and checking surveillance, while Geseling proposed using an incident to make the Production Team send someone in.
• The unkempt director arrived, angrily accusing someone of bringing a phone onto the filming premises, and Briman questioned him about it.
• Livestream viewers watched the Huaguo player use a booklet and the wizard's phone to trigger the clearance before disappearing in a white halo.
• Viewers debated how the player had cleared the instance so quickly as the other contestants continued competing.

Xu Xi cleared the fourth Mixed National Team Competition in forty-three minutes, astonishing Huaguo viewers and the commentators. Jiang Jin, Yao Han, Lin Miao, and Luo Zongyun tried to reconstruct his reasoning, but several details behind his shortcut remained unclear.

• Huaguo viewers reacted with disbelief and excitement when they learned Xu Xi had cleared the competition solo.
• Yao Han announced that Xu Xi had completed the instance in forty-three minutes, while livestream viewers praised his achievement.
• Jiang Jin asked what judgments had guided Xu Xi’s seemingly disconnected actions throughout the instance.
• Lin Miao and Luo Zongyun speculated that Xu Xi had noticed clues in the background, identified the Blue Entities as victims, and used his visitor identity to reach the Archives.
• Luo Zongyun wondered how Xu Xi had connected the wizard’s phone and a livestream to clearing the instance, and the commentators acknowledged they still lacked answers.

After Xu Xi cleared the Mixed-Team Competition in 43 minutes, Ji Yang watched the ten remaining players fail to repeat his method and get wiped out by the boss. Xu Xi received his rewards in Player Space, where a new player panel revealed he was 498 steps closer to the 999th step.

• Ji Yang celebrated Xu Xi’s solo clear, then analyzed the ten remaining players as they tried to copy Xu Xi’s phone-and-livestream method without success.
• The remaining players searched for other clues but were attacked by the Blue-Gray Entity, and Ji Yang concluded they had missed the instance’s original solution before watching them get wiped out.
• Xu Xi examined the stolen phone in Player Space and realized its camera could have helped the Production Team see the Blue Entities, though he had already cleared the instance with his livestream method.
• Xu Xi received three random items and a three-month exemption from mandatory instances for winning the fourth Mixed National Team Competition.
• Xu Xi opened the new player panel and saw that he had climbed 498 steps, making the 999th step feel closer.

Xu Xi checked the player rankings and realized his six cleared instances had earned him nearly as many rungs as players with far more clears, suggesting he had faced unusually difficult challenges. He discovered the Huaguo forum, where players shared their relief and advice, and found a discussion about his ranking that called him badass.

• Xu Xi examined the Huaguo and global rankings, noticed he was ranked highly despite clearing only six instances, and suspected God Hunt had been targeting him with harder challenges.
• Xu Xi opened the Huaguo forum and saw players celebrating the chance to communicate with one another after being isolated in their spaces and instances.
• Xu Xi browsed posts where players vented and exchanged information about instances and rankings.
• Xu Xi found a discussion about his unusual ranking, and players speculated that he had survived six high-difficulty instances.
• Xu Xi felt dazed when players described him as badass for surviving those challenges.

After God Hunt revealed the Floor Count Rankings, people discussed Xu Xi’s sixth-floor count and defended his shortcut in the Mixed-Team Competition, while the rankings gave the public a clearer sense of hope. In J Province, Ji Yang watched Contamination spread again, then hurried to watch Xu Xi enter another instance.

• Huaguo forum users reacted to Xu Xi ranking 71st with six Floors and debated the difficulty of his instances and the Mixed-Team Competition.
• A video by He Sanshui showed that Xu Xi had cleared the instance using a shortcut, prompting forum users to dismiss foreign criticism of him.
• People discussed Huaguo’s two Elimination Cards and the small country of Honey Country leading the global rankings.
• The newly announced Floor Count Rankings gave ordinary people a clearer sense that the distant 999th floor could be reached.
• Ji Yang watched Contamination spread across J Province after another player failed an instance, despite Xu Xi’s previous cleanup.
• Ji Yang received an alert that Xu Xi had entered an instance and rushed to his vehicle to watch the livestream.

Xu Xi collected three new items in the Player Space and entered a Republican-era instance with six other players. At the Shen Residence, Hang Ze called the gloomy-looking place ominous and praised Xu Xi’s appearance, alarming the viewers who knew Hang Ze’s terrible luck.

• Xu Xi examined the Time-Reversing Sand, Cognitive Overwrite Mirror, and Misfortune-Sealing Piggy Bank, then added them to his inventory.
• Xu Xi focused on the 501 stone steps he still had to climb and entered another instance.
• Xu Xi found himself outside the Shen Residence in Republican-era clothing with six other players, including Hang Ze.
• The viewers recognized Hang Ze as an extreme bad-luck magnet and worried that he would make the instance more dangerous.
• Hang Ze said the residence felt heavy with yin energy and told Xu Xi he looked reliable.

The seven players entered the Shen residence for the funeral of Master Shen, their father in name, and learned he had died in the ancestral hall three nights earlier. The household separated them to change into mourning clothes, leaving Xu Xi alone in his room as the Third Young Master.

• An old butler greeted the seven players as the young masters and young ladies returning home and invited them inside for the funeral.
• Xu Xi entered the residence first, and the other six players followed before the gate closed behind them.
• Hang Ze questioned the butler, who said Master Shen had died three nights earlier in the ancestral hall and that the servants had found him there.
• The butler sent the men to the east wing and led Tang Shutong and Shi Weiwei toward the rear courtyard.
• A servant escorted Xu Xi to a room, addressed him as the Third Young Master, and went to fetch his mourning clothes.