Chapter Summaries

On the day before his Major Assignment Test, Ren Yi heard a strange thud at school and found university students gathered around a mysterious liquid they claimed came from a broken water pipe. He went home with his brother, Ren Man, who reminded him that he was about to grow up.

• Ren Yi celebrated graduating high school with his best friend Lu Zihan and discussed the Major Assignment Test scheduled for the next day.
• Ren Yi heard a wet, heavy thud near a dormitory, but Lu Zihan heard nothing; they found university students gathered around a spotless patch of floor and a strange liquid seeping toward Ren Yi.
• Teacher Zhang intervened, accepted a discipline committee member’s explanation that a student had broken a water pipe, and escorted Ren Yi and Lu Zihan away.
• Ren Yi noticed his shoe was soaked with sticky liquid before leaving school with his brother, Ren Man, on an electric scooter.
• Ren Yi told Ren Man about school and his summer plans, then reassured him that he had prepared for the test.
• Ren Man told Ren Yi that he was going to grow up, and Ren Yi agreed.

Ren Yi completed the Alliance’s deep-sleep test and woke to find the world shattered by a black-and-purple fissure and black waterfalls. He discovered Ren Man dead, became trapped as the black tide swallowed their building, and died.

• Ren Yi reviewed the test instructions and entered the sleep pod, where the Alliance’s test put him into deep sleep.
• Ren Yi woke exhausted at dusk, found the apartment empty, and could not reach Ren Man or his classmates by phone.
• Ren Yi opened the front door and saw a ruined neighborhood beneath a torn sky, with black liquid pouring from the fissure.
• Ren Yi found Ren Man dead beside the doorway and stayed with him as the world grew dark.
• The black tide swallowed the building, and Ren Yi died.

After waking from the major assignment test, Ren Yi discovered that his body had transformed into a shapeless mass of mist and tried to hide from Ren Man. As he explored his new senses beneath the sofa, he spotted a pair of eyes watching him from the narrow gap beside the wall.

• Ren Yi woke from the test and learned that its results would be released in seven days.
• Ren Yi left the sleep pod and saw his shadow writhing before his body melted into a mass of white mist.
• Ren Yi crushed a chair while backing away, then rolled beneath the dining table to hide when Ren Man came out of the kitchen.
• Ren Yi squeezed under the sofa and gradually gathered his eyes and ears while trying to understand his transformed body.
• Ren Yi stretched one eye's vision around the sofa, then used another eye to see a pair of eyes silently watching him from the gap by the wall.

Ren Yi transformed into a monstrous form after the Major Assignment Test, but Ren Man restored his human appearance and calmed him. Ren Yi began to question what they were and learned that the Alliance had no humans.

• Ren Man called to Ren Yi and used a vast darkness to force his monstrous body back into human form.
• Ren Yi followed Ren Man to dinner, noticed his usual chair was missing, and realized the food did not make him feel full.
• Ren Yi read messages from Lu Zihan, who seemed to have experienced only ordinary aftereffects from the test, and replied that he was out.
• Ren Yi asked Ren Man whether there were others like them in the Alliance, and Ren Man said there were no humans there.

Ren Yi learned that the people around him were all weirds and that he had awakened as one of them. After watching the Alliance news and reading his welcome letter, he began to accept the revelation and the rules governing his new life.

• Ren Man confirmed that Ren Yi's classmates, teacher, and neighbors were weirds with different shapes, then showed him Alliance One's news broadcast.
• Ren Yi saw the strange-looking anchors announce that 2,726 children had awakened as younglings and urge them to stay near their families and check their Weird Accounts.
• Ren Yi realized that no humans existed in the Alliance and that he, too, was a weird who had awakened as a youngling.
• Ren Yi opened the Alliance's letter, read its rules for citizens and families, and recognized that all children were raised as humans before awakening.

Ren Yi read the Alliance’s cub guidelines and decided to rely on Ren Man and the Alliance while he learned to control his new body. When his weird account showed that his unstable energy was about to cause physical collapse, Ren Man refused to reshape him, and Ren Yi blacked out.

• Ren Yi read the cub guidelines, which stressed trusting family and staying close to them for seven days.
• Ren Yi planned to learn to control his body, inspect his weird account, and await the results of his professional aptitude test.
• Ren Man told Ren Yi he was too small and had no answer for what would happen when he grew up.
• Ren Yi accepted that he would stay home for seven days and leave the rest to his family and the Alliance.
• Ren Yi’s account listed his energy as unstable and displayed a countdown to physical collapse.
• Ren Man told Ren Yi to maintain his form himself, and Ren Yi blacked out.

Ren Yi woke to find himself unable to move or speak normally, then called Lu Zihan and learned that they had both transformed into weird beings. After managing breakfast and his phone, Ren Yi opened Weird Blog and found a trending guide to weirdness classifications.

• Ren Man brought Ren Yi breakfast but admitted he could not help him eat until Ren Yi managed to load his mouth module.
• Ren Yi answered Lu Zihan’s video call, and they discussed their transformations and their trust in their families.
• Lu Zihan told Ren Yi that he still planned to take a summer job at his uncle’s and that Ren Yi had been invited to join him.
• Ren Yi used tentacles to eat a shouzhua pancake and browse his phone, where he found unfamiliar weird-themed apps.
• Ren Yi opened Weird Blog and saw “Understand the weirdness classification in five minutes” at the top of the trending searches.

Ren Yi read an Alliance guide to anomalous being ranks and learned that Calamities had destroyed his former world. Reassured that the Alliance fought to prevent another such disaster, he resolved to stop it from happening again, and Ren Man announced they were going out.

• Ren Yi read the Alliance guide explaining anomalous being ranks, their food, and the abilities they gained as they advanced.
• Ren Yi learned that Calamities destroyed worlds and that the Alliance opened stable entrances for them while resisting those worlds' defenses.
• Ren Yi recalled the destruction he had seen during his awakening ceremony and vowed to punch Heartmare and prevent another catastrophe.
• Ren Man entered the room, restored Ren Yi's human form, and told him they were going out.

Ren Man took Ren Yi out to replace a chair, and Ren Yi confronted the strange forms of their neighbors and the Alliance’s rules for keeping unawakened children unaware of anomalies. At a crowded furniture store, Doctor Lin told them the families had come because it was time to move up to the next school.

• Ren Man gave Ren Yi the Alliance’s public conduct guidelines and took him out, explaining that Ren Yi had to stay with him.
• Ren Yi saw Aunt Du’s monstrous form and learned that the Alliance protected unawakened children from perceiving anomalies.
• Ren Yi rode with Ren Man through the neighborhood, where he noticed many people with nonhuman forms.
• Ren Man and Ren Yi arrived at a busy furniture store and wondered why so many families were there.
• Doctor Lin appeared and said it was time for the children to move up to the next school.

Ren Yi learned about the Alliance’s scarce school places and discovered that mirrors were dangerous after seeing his reflection in one. As Doctor Lin argued with the furniture-store owner over the broken mirror, the owner’s daughter held on to Ren Yi.

• Doctor Lin explained that the Alliance had only one school for its 2,726 children and that other schools had been turned into instances.
• Ren Man stored a chair inside his shadow while Ren Yi noticed a covered vanity mirror behind the counter.
• Ren Yi saw his reflection move, and Ren Man kicked the mirror apart before checking that Ren Yi was unharmed.
• Doctor Lin scolded the owner for leaving a mirror in a public area and demanded compensation as the two argued.
• The owner’s little girl tugged Ren Yi’s sleeve, identified the owner as her father, and continued holding on when Ren Yi tried to break up the argument.

Ren Yi witnessed Doctor Lin calm a frightened girl and learned that Ren Man was angry with Doctor Lin for letting Ren Yi near a mirror that could expose him. Ren Yi punched Doctor Lin at Ren Man’s urging, then regretted not hitting harder when he learned Doctor Lin’s name was Lin Xinyan.

• A frightened little girl ran to Ren Yi, and the surrounding crowd turned to watch her until Doctor Lin snapped her out of her distress.
• Doctor Lin told the shopkeeper that the Parent-Child Education Association would follow up, and the shopkeeper apologized to Ren Yi.
• Ren Man confronted Doctor Lin for putting Ren Yi near a mirror, then told Ren Yi to punch him.
• Ren Yi punched Doctor Lin’s shoulder, and Ren Man kicked Doctor Lin away before he fled.
• Ren Man told Ren Yi that Doctor Lin’s name was Lin Xinyan, and Ren Yi regretted not hitting him harder.

Ren Yi learned more about his and Ren Man’s mysterious nature while developing control over his human form during the five days after the mirror incident. As the awakening results announcement approached, Ren Yi asked what weird beings eat and learned that the Alliance would provide what he needed to advance.

• Ren Man told Ren Yi that their race had only two members, that he had grown up alone, and that they had supposedly popped out of a rock.
• Ren Man explained that younglings were drawn to mirrors out of curiosity, while adults could use them, and said the little girl might have seen her father use one.
• Over five days, Ren Yi shattered into fragments, learned to float, developed a half-human form, and finally achieved a complete human appearance.
• Ren Man allowed Ren Yi to take a summer job once he reached E-Rank, following Lu Zihan’s invitation.
• On the day the awakening results were to be announced, Ren Man explained that weird beings fed on energies such as fear, pain, flesh and blood, or souls, and that the Alliance would collect what Ren Yi needed.

Ren Yi unexpectedly reached E-rank while waiting for his test results, leaving Ren Man and Doctor Lin puzzled about what he had consumed. Doctor Lin began explaining how anomalies gain strength through their rules, but Ren Yi’s own food remained unknown.

• Ren Yi noticed his Ghost Net status showed that he had advanced to E-rank, though he had not knowingly eaten anything.
• When Ren Yi’s test results failed to appear, Ren Man called Doctor Lin, who urged them to visit his clinic and promised to help Ren Yi reach E-rank.
• Ren Man and Ren Yi found Doctor Lin at the clinic, where Doctor Lin was shocked to learn Ren Yi had already advanced and insisted the Alliance could not have his energy crystal.
• Ren Man asked what Ren Yi’s food was, and Doctor Lin sent Ren Yi outside before deciding to explain anomaly food and rules.
• Doctor Lin described rule-triggered anomalies, which feed by carrying out their rules, and ammunition-type anomalies, which gain ability uses from things like lies or secrets.

Doctor Lin explained Ren Yi’s Illusion ability, which was fueled by positive emotions and could not be resisted once applied, though he had only one use before needing to make someone happy again. Ren Yi recognized that Ren Man’s happiness had already helped him advance and persuaded Doctor Lin to teach him illusion-weaving, leaving Doctor Lin agreeing to visit him at night.

• Doctor Lin classified Ren Yi’s ability as an Ammunition Type Illusion fueled by positive emotions, and explained that Ren Yi had one use until he made someone happy.
• Ren Yi showed Doctor Lin his panel and reasoned that Ren Man’s positive emotions had advanced his level, which Doctor Lin said could not be repeatedly harvested from the same person.
• Doctor Lin explained that Ren Yi’s Illusions lasted indefinitely and could not be resisted or broken, though at E-Rank they likely affected only part of a target’s vision.
• Ren Yi sent Ren Man outside and threatened to tell him that Doctor Lin had frightened him with Ren Man’s death during the awakening ceremony.
• Doctor Lin agreed to teach Ren Yi how to weave illusions and said Ren Yi should sleep in a sleep pod so he could visit at night.

Ren Yi learned about the purpose of instances and arrived with Lu Zihan at an internship instance intended to train newly born weirds. The chapter ended as they entered the room that would connect them to the instance.

• Ren Yi told Ren Man that Doctor Lin would tutor him in the sleep pod and asked Ren Man to share one of his rules.
• Ren Yi arranged to visit the residential complex with Ren Man, then spent the week adapting to his body and doing nighttime coursework.
• Ren Yi told Ren Man he was going to an internship instance with Lu Zihan after receiving Lu Zihan’s invitation.
• Ren Man dropped Ren Yi off at the Endless Game Hall, where Ren Yi met Lu Zihan and Lu Qing.
• Lu Qing explained how instances harvested energy from other worlds and warned Ren Yi and Lu Zihan not to underestimate human participants.
• Lu Zi said it was time to begin, and Ren Yi and Lu Zihan entered the small dark room.

Ren Yi and Lu Zihan revealed their true forms and compared their abilities before entering a dungeon. They agreed not to speak once inside, though Ren Yi questioned whether Lu Zihan’s rule would work against participants who did not contradict him.

• Ren Yi accidentally knocked Lu Zihan’s head off, then picked it up and helped it reattach while Lu Zihan explained his form was still unstable.
• Ren Yi and Lu Zihan transformed together, revealing Ren Yi’s mist-and-tentacle form and Lu Zihan’s towering, armored body with bone blades.
• Ren Yi showed Lu Zihan his panel, revealing his illusion ability and rapid progress from helping anomalies in his community.
• Lu Zihan showed Ren Yi his rule: anyone who contradicts him within fifty meters could be teleported behind and beheaded.
• Ren Yi pointed out that participants might avoid contradicting Lu Zihan, and Lu Zihan insisted he could still defeat them with his physical strength.

Ren Yi and Lu Zihan entered the beginner-level Escape Room Instance, explored its five-room maze, and prepared to stop ten participants from escaping. Once the Instance began, the participants appeared, including three armed soldiers, while Lu Zihan remained frozen in his monster form on a display platform.

• Lu Zi sent Ren Yi and Lu Zihan through a mirror into the Escape Room Instance, where they learned its rules and that none of the ten participants could be allowed to escape.
• Ren Yi and Lu Zihan surveyed the five-room maze, identified its clues and gates, and discussed how Lu Zihan's teleportation and Ren Yi's shapeshifting could help them.
• Ren Yi transformed into a jade pendant and hung from Lu Zihan's wrist as Lu Zihan took his steel monster form and stood on a display platform.
• When the countdown ended, a restriction fixed both anomalies in place and ten ragged participants appeared in the first room.
• Ren Yi and Lu Zihan spotted three armed, trained soldiers among the participants, while the other seven screamed and huddled away from Lu Zihan.

Ren Yi and Lu Zihan watched a group of newcomers search Room One while Ren Yi secretly used his ability to make Lin Feng believe he had gained a system. The chapter left Lin Feng reading the system’s one-point talismans as the others gathered around him.

• Chen Fang, Lin Feng, and the other newcomers introduced themselves, and Old Deng identified himself and his companions as members of the Holy City Resource Collection Team.
• Old Deng ordered the newcomers to search Room One while Ren Yi and Lu Zihan discussed the group’s post-apocalyptic world and its view of trials.
• Lin Feng found a card behind the display stand that said the key was in the third coffin, then secretly took a jade plaque from Lu Zihan’s sculpture.
• Ren Yi used his illusion ability to make Lin Feng believe the plaque had activated an Invincible Contrarian System that rewarded arguments with contribution points.
• Ren Yi showed Lin Feng a system shop, then offered him an Aura Concealment Talisman and a Target Transfer Talisman for one point each.

Ren Yi used his system disguise to manipulate the participants and arranged for Lu Zihan to kill Chen Rui. After Lu Zihan attacked on the bridge, the survivors fled into the third room, where they found themselves trapped with the monster at the door.

• Ren Yi told Lu Zihan to kill Chen Rui once he could move, and sent Lin Feng a mission to become the team's sole leader.
• The participants crossed a narrow bridge into the second room, while three, including Chen Rui, remained behind.
• When Lu Zihan began striking the iron gate, Old Deng fired a warning shot and called Chen Rui across the bridge first.
• Lu Zihan appeared on the bridge and beheaded Chen Rui, but Old Deng's gunfire failed to stop him.
• The remaining participants escaped into the third room and locked the gate as Lu Zihan crossed the bridge, which then collapsed behind him.
• Lu Zihan struck the door to the third room while two participants were stranded on the other side and the others watched in terror.

Ren Yi and Lu Zihan pressured the survivors in room three while Chen Fang and Lin Feng formed a secret alliance to search for a key. Lin Feng found the key hidden inside a teddy bear, while Ren Yi watched their plans unfold.

• Lu Zihan kept chopping at room three's door as Ren Yi discussed the survivors and their next move with him through the Ghost Net.
• Chen Fang guessed that the anomaly teleported toward loud noises, so Old Deng ordered everyone to stay quiet.
• Chen Fang secretly told Lin Feng that the dungeon had limited escape slots and proposed that they take out Old Deng and his companion.
• Chen Fang deduced that the rooms were coffins and that the key was hidden among the dolls in room three.
• Ren Yi subtly drew Lin Feng's attention to a teddy bear, and Lin Feng found a key sewn inside it.