Chapter Summaries

Yan Dahai fled the Headless Knight, then turned to fight when he realized escape was hopeless. The Knight killed him with Soulfire, and Shen Hao received 1,000 fear points as he focused on his final remaining prey.

• Yan Dahai heard Su Su's scream and ran in fear, thinking of his young daughter as the Headless Knight pursued him.
• Yan Dahai stopped fleeing and sent his ghostly souls to attack the Headless Knight, but Soulfire burned them to ash.
• The Headless Knight rode through Yan Dahai, setting him ablaze until he died screaming.
• Shen Hao gained 1,000 fear points for Yan Dahai's death and noted that only one prey remained.

Han Rui, fleeing the Headless Knight, followed the Puppet Girl to his tomb, hoping to find a way to survive. Trapped there with the Headless Knight, she killed herself rather than let him kill her.

• Han Rui, exhausted and despairing, stopped running and considered killing herself, but could not bring herself to do it.
• Han Rui met the Puppet Girl, trusted her, and followed her to the Headless Knight's lair beside the Undead Tree.
• The Puppet Girl led Han Rui into the Headless Knight's tomb, then disappeared into the darkness.
• Han Rui tried to escape the tomb, but the Headless Knight forced her back down and revealed himself by a green flame.
• Han Rui found no way out and cut her own throat as the Headless Knight approached.

After leaving an S-rank instance, Shen Hao gained Mental Perception and Soulfire, upgraded his perception, and prepared to join another instance. Xia Bing then called him to take part in an operation because a teammate had died and returned at level 4, unaware Shen Hao had killed him.

• Shen Hao left the completed instance and returned to the real world, where he matched for another instance.
• Shen Hao discovered he had gained Mental Perception and Soulfire, and spent 1,000 Fear Points to extend Mental Perception's range to 75 meters.
• Shen Hao checked his Fear Points, then went out for breakfast.
• Xia Bing called Shen Hao and asked him to come to the guild for an operation after a level 21 teammate died in an instance and returned at level 4.
• Shen Hao recognized the teammate as the Soul-type Ability User he had killed and agreed to arrive in thirty minutes.

Shen Hao learned that the Blood Banquet Guild and Blood Moon Guild had both put him at the top of their wanted lists, though their planned operation in an S-rank dungeon would keep them occupied for now. Xia Bing then began briefing him on the mission he had been summoned to join.

• Shen Hao arrived late at the Alliance Guild branch, where Xia Bing told him the other mission members had already left.
• Xia Bing warned Shen Hao that the Blood Banquet Guild and Blood Moon Guild wanted him dead because he had survived being offered as a sacrifice to the Blood Banquet Guild's evil god.
• Shen Hao offered to act as bait again, but Xia Bing said the Alliance Guild would not abandon him and that the two organizations were focused on a major operation.
• Xia Bing explained that the organizations planned to enter an S-rank-or-higher dungeon, possibly to pursue a goal connected to their evil gods, using items that enabled dungeon entry.
• Xia Bing stopped answering Shen Hao's questions and began explaining the mission.

Shen Hao expected to watch from the sidelines while the Alliance Guild captured Wu Cheng, but the operation erupted into chaos when Wu Cheng unleashed a blood-red giant’s domain. Shen Hao realized he could no longer just tag along.

• Xia Bing told Shen Hao that the Alliance Guild planned to capture Wu Cheng, a level 20 Ability User wanted for a string of murders, and assigned Shen Hao to help guard the hotel perimeter.
• Shen Hao waited in the hotel lobby, playing on his phone while the operation began upstairs and frightened guests fled.
• After a heavy impact outside sent panicked guests rushing back into the hotel, Shen Hao went outside and saw Wu Cheng surrounded by Alliance Guild Ability Users.
• Wu Cheng charged at one of the guild’s level 20 members, who exploded into a mist of blood, then manifested a blood-red giant whose domain trapped everyone and stopped them from moving.
• Shen Hao realized he would have to take part rather than remain a bystander.

Wu Cheng used his blood-colored giant’s domain to slaughter the Alliance Guild members while Shen Hao gained Fear Points from their terror. As the trapped survivors panicked, Wu Cheng targeted Shen Hao, who considered using Soulfire against the phantom.

• Xia Bing warned the Alliance Guild that Wu Cheng’s domain made him effectively invincible, after two of their high-level Ability Users had already died.
• Wu Cheng killed more guild members with the blood-colored giant, and Shen Hao gained hundreds of Fear Points from the crowd’s fear.
• The trapped guild members blamed their leaders and pleaded for help, but Xia Bing’s assurance that Chairman Sun was coming did not calm them.
• Wu Cheng’s cruelty drove a young man mad, and he then fixed his gaze on Shen Hao.
• Shen Hao realized Wu Cheng would not spare him and wondered whether his Soulfire could kill the phantom.

Wu Cheng targeted Shen Hao, who used Soulfire to attack the blood-colored giant possessing him. After the flames briefly faded and the giant's power intensified, Shen Hao ignited them again, leaving the giant burning and its domain weakening.

• Wu Cheng chose Shen Hao as his next target, and Shen Hao decided to use Soulfire rather than spend his Fear Points on Gaze into Death.
• Shen Hao ignited dark green flames within Wu Cheng, burning him and the blood-colored giant and weakening the barrier's suppressive force.
• The flames gathered around the giant's arm, which fell and burned to ash before the fire went out, allowing the giant's domain and killing intent to grow stronger.
• Wu Cheng threatened to kill everyone, but Soulfire erupted again and engulfed him and the giant before the giant could act.
• The blood-colored giant recognized a terrifying ancient aura in the flames as its form dimmed and melted, and its wavering domain began to release its hold on the crowd.

After Soulfire killed the blood-colored giant, Shen Hao joined the guild members in demanding compensation for the disastrous mission. A week later, he received cash and a largely useless Gold Member title, then learned he had been matched with a new instance.

• Soulfire burned the blood-colored giant to ashes, ending his domain and earning Shen Hao 2,000 Fear Points.
• The survivors blamed Xia Bing for the mission’s disastrous outcome, and Shen Hao joined their demands for an explanation and compensation.
• Sun Wanli apologized to the guild members and promised compensation for everyone who took part in the operation.
• A week later, Shen Hao received 300,000 in cash and the honorary title of Gold Member from the Alliance Guild.
• Shen Hao learned he had been matched with a new instance.

Shen Hao bought and studied the expensive guides for the S-rank Dragonstone City dungeon, learning about its executioner boss, dangerous nighttime fog, and patrol routes. The later teams’ guides mostly recommended hiding and slacking off, leaving Shen Hao with no new information about how to clear the dungeon.

• Shen Hao purchased the Dragonstone City guides for over a million yuan, leaving him with less than a million of his prize money.
• Shen Hao read that the dungeon required surviving for 24 hours and that the executioner patrolled the city center, while black fog made the city dangerous at night.
• Shen Hao learned that later teams had mapped the executioner’s route and hiding spots, and that the boss was weakest at night.
• Shen Hao read that the third team had survived safely by hiding in the boss’s territory at night and treating the dungeon as a sightseeing trip.
• Shen Hao found that the fourth and fifth teams, and those after them, had mostly slacked off and made small improvements to the map.

Shen Hao read the guides for the tenth instance, which described the old man, the Executioner, and the prison inside the Executioner's cage. He entered the instance the next day, now serving as its new boss and knowing the old guides were outdated.

• Shen Hao read a guide explaining that the old man could grant a blessing and that the Executioner guarded a cage containing a prison.
• Shen Hao found a later guide describing the cage's hidden space and another guide that laid out how to enter it, find the Moon Goddess, and defeat the Executioner with her blessing.
• Shen Hao realized that the instance had gained a new boss, making the existing guides worthless to the teams attempting to clear it.
• Shen Hao prepared to enter the instance the next day and eagerly awaited being pulled into the game world.

Shen Hao became the Executioner, a powerful undead dungeon boss tasked with hunting players and killing the prisoners who claimed to be gods. When the players entered the dungeon, he set out to kill the old man who offered them a blessing.

• Shen Hao entered the gloomy dungeon and took over the Executioner's body.
• He inspected the Executioner's attributes and learned that his scythe could drag targets into an execution chamber to torture them.
• Shen Hao discovered his tasks: kill every player in the dungeon and kill the prisoners in the cage.
• After the system announced the players' arrival, Shen Hao decided to ambush the old man who would give them a blessing.

Zhou Xinyu joined Wang Shan, Feng Sen, and Jiang Zhichao in an S-rank dungeon, where they chose to pursue a full clear and went looking for a deity’s dependent whose blessing could strengthen them. When they found his usual spot empty and discovered fresh blood in the street, a corpse suddenly fell from the sky.

• Jiang Zhichao offered to guide Zhou Xinyu through the dungeon, and the group agreed to try to clear it.
• Feng Sen explained that a deity’s dependent could grant them a temporary 50% increase to their base attributes, so the four set out to find him.
• The group reached the old man’s usual location, waited, and searched nearby buildings, but found no sign of him.
• Zhou Xinyu spotted a fresh pool of blood in the street, and Jiang Zhichao wondered if it belonged to the old man.
• Wang Shan warned the others to look out, and a corpse fell from the sky.

Feng Sen and the others found the old man from the dungeon guide dead in the street and suspected a mysterious figure had targeted them. They decided to wait until night to enter the danger zone, but as they made plans, a figure appeared nearby.

• Feng Sen searched the surrounding rooftops, then examined the corpse and identified it as the old man from the guide.
• Feng Sen concluded that someone had killed the old man and thrown his body from a great height after the group arrived.
• Jiang Zhichao, Wang Shan, and Feng Sen decided they could still clear the dungeon by reaching the goddess in the cage, while Zhou Xinyu warned that the mysterious killer made the plan dangerous.
• Feng Sen drew a rough map and the group agreed to wait until night before entering the danger zone, with Zhou Xinyu reluctantly going along.
• A figure appeared on the street, and Feng Sen urged the others to approach it.

Feng Sen and his teammates confronted a powerful man in black, who revealed himself as the dungeon boss and attacked them with his scythe. The boss tore Feng Sen’s soul from his body.

• Feng Sen warned the group that the motionless man in black might be the killer, and Wang Shan charged him.
• Wang Shan’s strongest punch failed to move the man, who grabbed Wang Shan’s arm and nearly crushed it.
• Zhou Xinyu’s nails could not harm the man, while Feng Sen freed Wang Shan with a surprise attack and the team regrouped.
• The group decided to retreat, but the man in black produced a scythe, confirming he was the dungeon boss.
• The boss swung his scythe at Feng Sen and tore his soul from his body.

The Executioner dragged Feng Sen’s soul into the Execution Chamber and tortured him until he passed out, then returned him unharmed to reality. When Feng Sen saw Shen Hao approaching again, his terror drove him to stab himself in the heart.

• The Executioner pulled Feng Sen into the Execution Chamber, where a spiked, snakelike restraint cut into his body.
• The Executioner gouged out Feng Sen’s eye, and Feng Sen passed out before Shen Hao ended the execution.
• Shen Hao returned to reality while the other three survivors fled, and Feng Sen later woke up uninjured.
• Feng Sen saw Shen Hao approaching again, panicked at the thought of enduring the torture once more, and stabbed himself in the heart.

After Feng Sen killed himself, Shen Hao set out to hunt the three remaining players. They questioned whether their dungeon guide was fake, hid in an apartment, and heard the executioner knocking at their door.

• Shen Hao received 900 Fear Points from Feng Sen's suicide, bringing his total to 1,400, and went after the three remaining players.
• Jiang Zhichao, Wang Shan, and Zhou Xinyu escaped and blamed their unexpected danger on the dungeon changing, not necessarily on a fake guide.
• Wang Shan guessed the cage might have moved and turned the former safe zone into a danger zone, while Zhou Xinyu urged them to focus on surviving until the teleportation point opened.
• The three decided to hide in a residential building, fearing both the executioner and the black fog that might appear at night.
• After they barricaded themselves inside an apartment, someone politely knocked at the door, and they realized the executioner had found them.

Wang Shan, Jiang Zhichao, and Zhou Xinyu tried to escape the Executioner, but he captured all three and dragged their souls into his Execution Chamber. The Executioner prepared to choose which of them would face him first.

• Wang Shan, Jiang Zhichao, and Zhou Xinyu jumped from a sixth-floor window to evade the Executioner, but found him waiting below.
• Wang Shan concluded that the knocking had come from a helper and realized the Executioner had anticipated their escape.
• The Executioner caught Wang Shan as he tried to reach the roof and dragged his soul into the Execution Chamber.
• Jiang Zhichao and Zhou Xinyu fled separately, but the Executioner caught them and pulled their souls into the chamber too.
• The Executioner asked who would go first, then said he would choose when none of them answered.

The executioner tortured Jiang Zhichao in the execution chamber while Wang Shan and Zhou Xinyu watched, then the three returned to reality when their fifteen minutes were up. Terrified that the executioner would drag him back, Jiang Zhichao killed himself by slamming his head into a building.

• Jiang Zhichao tried to redirect the executioner toward Wang Shan and Zhou Xinyu, but the executioner chose him first.
• The executioner pried off Jiang Zhichao's fingernails and peeled the skin from his fingers while Wang Shan and Zhou Xinyu watched in terror.
• The executioner prepared to peel the skin from Jiang Zhichao's face, but the group's fifteen minutes in the chamber ended and they returned to reality.
• Jiang Zhichao feared being dragged back into the chamber and slammed his head into a building, killing himself.

Shen Hao tortured Wang Shan in his execution chamber until Wang died, then turned his attention to Zhou Xinyu. Zhou fled, still hoping to escape despite knowing her chances were slim.

• Shen Hao gained Fear Points after Jiang Zhichao killed himself, while Zhou Xinyu and Wang Shan watched in terror.
• Wang Shan tried to kill himself by hurling himself into a building, but he survived and the executioner stopped him from fighting back.
• In the execution chamber, Wang Shan chose 100 cuts, but Shen Hao continued torturing him until he passed out and died before the cuts were complete.
• Shen Hao closed the execution chamber and saw that Zhou Xinyu had run several dozen meters away.
• Zhou Xinyu kept fleeing because she could not bring herself to commit suicide before losing all hope.

Zhou Xinyu failed to escape Shen Hao and, unable to endure the torture he threatened, killed herself after he ordered her to. Shen Hao gained Fear Points, but before he could hunt the self-proclaimed goddess, a system notification revealed new intruders who could not revive.

• Zhou Xinyu exhausted herself fleeing the executioner, then tried and failed several times to kill herself with a steel nail.
• When the executioner stopped his scythe at her plea, Shen Hao ordered Zhou Xinyu to end her own life and refused to spare her.
• Zhou Xinyu drove the nail into her temple, and Shen Hao gained 1,000 Fear Points, bringing his total from her hunt to 1,600.
• Shen Hao prepared to go to the cage and kill the usurper who called herself a god.
• A system notification announced that people had entered the dungeon illegally and could not revive if Shen Hao killed them, exciting him.