Chapter Summaries

Qiu Ming and his companions opened the sealed passage to the core of the Home of Evil Ghosts, intending to destroy it and free the trapped ghosts. After following a strangely charming doll underground, they found several dead players hanging ahead.

• Qiu Ming used the wooden token from the warden's office to open the hidden passage beneath an ordinary house.
• Wu Yong explained that destroying the Home of Evil Ghosts' core would free the ghosts and clear the Instance.
• A doll girl appeared and charmed Fang Jing, Wu Yong, Qiu Ming, and Huo Jun into taking her with them.
• The four descended into the passage, where Qiu Ming planned to contract with the powerful being sealed below.
• The group smelled fresh blood and discovered several dead players hanging in the air ahead.

Qiu Ming and the others followed the doll through the underground facility and found the Home of Evil Ghosts’ energy core, believing they were close to completing their mission. The doll led them to something nearby that left Qiu Ming stunned.

• Qiu Ming urged the group to ignore the displayed corpses and continue toward their mission, while Wu Yong comforted Fang Jing.
• Qiu Ming noticed the supernatural aura had vanished, but the group followed the doll when it began leading them onward.
• Qiu Ming explained that the pipes carried energy extracted from supernatural beings to power the Netherworld.
• The group reached a massive oval crystal that Qiu Ming identified as the Home of Evil Ghosts’ core and warned Huo Jun not to destroy it yet.
• The doll moved ahead of the group, and Qiu Ming shone his torch toward what Wu Yong pointed out, then reacted in disbelief.

Qiu Ming discovered that the sealed evil ghost had been killed, leaving the group afraid that an even stronger being was lurking in the Instance. As they prepared to destroy the crystal and confront the Instance boss, a system notification announced that the Instance's difficulty had increased and granted them a special bonus.

• Qiu Ming found fragments of the evil ghost's soul and concluded that an unknown force had killed it.
• Huo Jun, Wu Yong, and Fang Jing realized that a powerful being might be hunting them in the Instance.
• Qiu Ming led the group away from the crystal and proposed destroying it to complete their mission.
• The group heard chains scraping and encountered the warden of the Home of Evil Ghosts, the Instance boss.
• The system announced that the Instance's difficulty had increased and awarded the group a special bonus.

The team discovered that the doll had been influencing their judgment and turned against it after receiving the Instance's bonuses. When Wu Yong's attack failed against the doll's shadow monster, the team's own shadows began to move.

• Wu Yong, Huo Jun, Qiu Ming, and Fang Jing checked their bonuses and found their attributes doubled, with some gaining new abilities.
• Qiu Ming and Huo Jun grew suspicious of the doll, realizing it might have been affecting their judgment since they first encountered it.
• The doll dropped its gentle act, and Fang Jing used her insight ability to reveal its attributes: 600 constitution and 300 Mental Attribute.
• The doll's shadow rose into a towering monster and absorbed Wu Yong's storm of spikes without harm.
• As the team prepared to attack the doll together, their shadows began to come alive.

The puppet overwhelmed Fang Jing, Wu Yong, Huo Jun, and Qiu Ming after their Instance boost, killing Huo Jun and leaving the others desperate to escape. Qiu Ming abandoned them to reassemble the dead evil ghost and make a contract with it, while Wu Yong was captured by the warden and Fang Jing watched in fear.

• The puppet’s shadow trapped Fang Jing, Wu Yong, Qiu Ming, and Huo Jun until Huo Jun used his lightning-wreathed beast phantom to break free and strike back.
• The puppet swallowed Huo Jun and spat out his dead body, leaving Fang Jing, Wu Yong, and Qiu Ming stunned by its strength.
• Qiu Ming told Wu Yong and Fang Jing to hold the puppet off, then teleported away and left them behind.
• Wu Yong fled toward the Instance boss, but the warden caught him with a chain and cut off one of his arms with an axe.
• Qiu Ming reached the evil ghost’s sealed location and began gathering its soul fragments so he could restore it and make a contract.

Wu Yong and Fang Jing were tortured to death by the warden and Xiaobai, while Shen Hao gained Fear Points from their deaths. Shen Hao then turned his attention to the final remaining prey, planning to give them hope before taking it away.

• The warden suppressed Wu Yong's mental power, tortured him with repeated axe wounds, and finally beheaded him.
• Fang Jing fled to the doll, hoping for a quick death, but Xiaobai immobilized her and sawed her into pieces.
• Shen Hao gained 6,000 Fear Points from Wu Yong, Huo Jun, and Fang Jing.
• Xiaobai showed Shen Hao her results, and he prepared to make the last remaining prey experience hope before taking it away.

Qiu Ming discovered that the evil ghost he had contracted was a powerful ancient general, but a scarlet force protected the crystal he needed to destroy. He fed the ghost the Home of Evil Ghosts’ inhabitants, making it vastly stronger, then returned to confront the Instance boss and puppet with confidence.

• Qiu Ming learned that his contracted general ghost had once wounded the Lord of the Netherworld, but the ghost could not damage the crystal because scarlet power shielded it.
• After hearing Wu Yong and Fang Jing scream, Qiu Ming decided to leave them behind and sought to strengthen the ghost by feeding it other evil ghosts.
• Qiu Ming released the general ghost among the evil ghosts roaming the streets, and it devoured them as they fled.
• The general ghost grew more than tenfold stronger, then returned to Qiu Ming’s body when he called it back.
• Qiu Ming returned to the Instance boss and puppet, convinced that his strengthened ghost could defeat them.

Qiu Ming ordered the ancient evil ghost he had contracted with to kill the Netherworld House warden, but the ghost feared the warden and could not defeat him. The warden bound the ghost and left Qiu Ming in despair, without allowing him an easy death.

• Qiu Ming summoned the transformed evil ghost and ordered it to kill the warden.
• The evil ghost resisted Qiu Ming’s command, and Qiu Ming realized it was afraid of the warden.
• Qiu Ming forced the evil ghost to attack, but the warden stopped its sword and shattered it.
• The warden bound the evil ghost with his iron chain and threw it down before Qiu Ming.
• Qiu Ming collapsed in despair, while the warden refused to let him die easily.

Shen Hao tortured Qiu Ming, absorbed the evil ghost into Xiaobai, and destroyed the Home of Evil Ghosts’ core to complete his missions. As the Instance began collapsing, a strange mist encroached on the Demon Domain and shook it.

• The warden tortured Qiu Ming until he died in agony, earning Shen Hao 2,500 Fear Points.
• Shen Hao used the Demon Blade to restrain the evil ghost, then had Xiaobai absorb it into her puppet’s core.
• Xiaobai’s Mental Attribute rose to 900, and she gained the ability to become intangible and shift between tangible and intangible forms.
• Shen Hao shattered the Home of Evil Ghosts’ crystal core within the Demon Domain, completing the mission to destroy the Home of Evil Ghosts.
• A strange mist spread into the Demon Domain and made it tremble.

Shen Hao drew the Mist into his Demon Domain, where it became scarlet fog under his control, then left the Instance with improved attributes, many Fear Points, and a new Demon ability. Back home, he found that news of the Demon's horrific actions had begun to spread among players, causing panic.

• Shen Hao let the Mist fill his Demon Domain and learned that it corroded and absorbed whatever it consumed.
• Shen Hao kept the Mist in his domain and concluded that powerful Netherworld beings made him unready to explore further without more Demon organs.
• Shen Hao left the Instance and returned home after spending the night inside.
• Shen Hao checked his panel and found his Mental Attribute had risen to 850, with 150,000 Fear Points remaining.
• Shen Hao awakened Demon Curse, an ability that could kill a target from any distance if they triggered its conditions.
• Shen Hao browsed the Horror Game forum and saw players discussing the newly cruel and evil Instance bosses with fear.

Shen Hao read players’ accounts of Instance bosses who had grown intelligent and cruel, while they remained unaware that Demons were controlling the bosses. Their posts also overlooked Xiaobai, and the chapter ended with the players debating the changes without realizing that players were behind the bosses.

• Shen Hao read online accounts from players who had been tortured and killed by newly intelligent Instance bosses, then revived with most of their experience lost.
• Players described brutal encounters in the Executioner’s, Silent City, Headless Knight’s, and Home of Evil Ghosts Instances, with some blaming Bai Shuang for their deaths.
• Players’ accounts shared three features: they returned to life with lost experience, bosses tortured them cruelly, and Instance buffs failed to make the bosses beatable.
• Shen Hao realized Xiaobai’s ability had made the survivors overlook the doll, keeping her presence hidden from other players.
• Players speculated about bugs and the Lord of the Netherworld’s return, but they did not know that players were controlling the Instance bosses.

Shen Hao read players' theories about the abnormal Instances and learned that clearing one could grant extraordinary rewards, including the chance to become a Divine System Ability User. He concluded that the current crisis was different from past occurrences because he was a Demon opposing the players, and suspected a power linked to the Lord of the Netherworld had brought him into the game.

• Shen Hao read a forum comment advising players to kill themselves immediately when they encountered an abnormal Instance, and worried that this would deprive him of Fear Points.
• Shen Hao decided to conceal his identity as the boss longer and leave players with hope so they would keep trying to defeat him.
• Players speculated that the next abnormal Instance would be SS-rank or higher, and Shen Hao thought his own next Instance would likely be at least that rank.
• A player claimed that abnormal Instances had appeared several times before, became almost impossible to clear, and granted huge rewards to anyone who succeeded, including the potential to become a Divine System Ability User.
• Shen Hao reasoned that earlier abnormal Instances had not involved Demons and that the current one was caused by him rather than a game mechanic.
• Shen Hao inferred that the game's creator wanted players to eliminate the Lord of the Netherworld's remaining power, while another power, possibly connected to the Lord, had brought him into the game.

The Alliance Guild explained how players could identify and survive Anomalous Instances, revealing permanent bonuses that made players eager to enter them. Shen Hao feared the growing bonuses would turn him into a farmable boss, resolved to let no prey escape, and received notice that he had matched into a new Instance.

• The Alliance Guild announced that players could clear an Anomalous Instance by killing its boss and described signs such as special bonuses, intelligent bosses, and multiple teams.
• The Alliance Guild revealed that surviving an Anomalous Instance could grant permanent, stackable bonuses and urged players to prepare carefully for its boss.
• Players celebrated the prospect of Anomalous Instances and focused on becoming stronger rather than the Alliance Guild's warning about the Netherworld's awakening.
• Shen Hao concluded that the growing player bonuses threatened to make him a farmable boss and resolved to kill every player who entered his Instances.
• Shen Hao received a game-system notification that he had matched into a new Instance.

Shen Hao studied public guides for the SS-difficulty Monster Factory Instance and learned how players had nearly figured out how to kill its boss. He considered their strategies and prepared to enter as the mad scientist, where he would need to keep players from clearing the Instance too easily.

• Shen Hao learned that his next game would take place in the Monster Factory and read its background description.
• Shen Hao reviewed guides explaining that players could use blue liquid from the factory's monsters to mask their scent and survive near the boss's laboratory.
• Shen Hao learned that the mad scientist had pursued perfection, conducted experiments, and become a mindless monster after failing to complete his research.
• Shen Hao read that the boss could be weakened by making him go berserk until his energy cores were damaged, while an underground monster could join the fight.
• Shen Hao considered players' suggestions to lure the boss out with his notes or use his research to modify themselves, then recognized that he would have to account for those strategies.

Shen Hao entered an Instance as the Mad Scientist and examined the scientist’s grotesque body and abilities, wondering whether the scientist’s legacy was a Demon organ. When the players entered the Instance, Shen Hao left the laboratory to begin the hunt.

• Shen Hao checked his tasks and wondered whether the Mad Scientist’s legacy was a Demon organ.
• The system transformed Shen Hao into the Mad Scientist, whose body relied on blue energy cores for its strength and rapid recovery.
• Shen Hao examined the Mad Scientist’s abilities, including summoning a pet, modifying enemies, and resisting mental attacks, and learned that destroying the energy core was his weakness.
• The players entered the Instance, and Shen Hao left the laboratory to hunt them.

Cao Wenzhe, Du Ze, Jiang Wen, Zhu Heng, and Gan Lingling entered an SS-rank Instance and debated whether it had become anomalous. Gan Lingling's Shaman-type premonitions warned them to avoid the boss, but Zhu Heng and Cao Wenzhe wanted to attempt the nearly completed clear; the group remained divided as Zhu Heng sought Jiang Wen's support.

• Cao Wenzhe asked whether the Instance was anomalous, and Jiang Wen explained that an SS-rank Instance nearing a clear was a likely candidate.
• Zhu Heng and Cao Wenzhe welcomed the chance at an Anomalous Instance's rewards, while Gan Lingling and Du Ze feared its boss and the 90% experience loss.
• Cao Wenzhe suggested treating the Instance as normal and pursuing its clear by drawing the boss out of the laboratory and destroying the final energy core.
• Gan Lingling said her Shaman-type premonitions warned her that the Instance was anomalous and urged everyone to wait safely instead of fighting.
• Du Ze sided with Gan Lingling, and Zhu Heng turned to Jiang Wen in hopes of gaining her support for attempting the clear.

Gan Lingling convinced the team that they were in an Anomalous Instance too dangerous to explore, and the group decided to prioritize survival over rewards. She led them away from the Monster Factory toward the edge of the Instance, though she warned their chances remained poor.

• Cao Wenzhe and Zhu Heng urged the team to explore the Anomalous Instance for its permanent bonuses, while Gan Lingling insisted her predictions showed that entering the factory would lead to their deaths and lost experience points.
• Gan Lingling threatened to leave and withhold her support if the others explored, prompting Jiang Wen and Du Ze to abandon the idea.
• Cao Wenzhe and Zhu Heng agreed to stay with the group for now, hoping the others might change their minds or that they could explore briefly before the teleportation point opened tomorrow.
• Gan Lingling used her ability to choose a route leading away from the Monster Factory and toward the Instance's edge, saying it was their only hope of survival.

Gan Lingling led Cao Wenzhe, Zhu Heng, Du Ze, and Jiang Wen through the monster-filled city, using her danger-sensing ability to avoid threats and help Du Ze kill infected from a distance. They reached the Instance’s edge and hid in a house to wait for the teleportation point, but Gan Lingling felt that grave danger was still approaching.

• Gan Lingling persuaded the other four to follow her plan and led them away from the Monster Factory and its boss.
• Gan Lingling sensed threats along their route, and Du Ze used her shared vision to kill an infected person before it could summon nearby monsters.
• The group reached the Instance’s boundary but decided not to leave, since dying outside it would prevent them from reviving.
• Gan Lingling chose a nearby house as a place to rest until the teleportation point appeared, despite sensing that they remained in danger.
• Gan Lingling shared her vision with Du Ze, who killed three infected people inside the house, and the group settled in to rest.

Shen Hao maxed out Mental Perception, traced the five players, and replayed their recent actions to learn they were hiding rather than exploring the Instance. As the players debated whether to stay hidden, Gan Lingling sensed that someone was watching them.

• Shen Hao grew impatient when the players failed to reach the Monster Factory and decided to search for them.
• Shen Hao spent nearly ten thousand Fear Points to max out Mental Perception, gaining the ability to track auras and replay past events.
• Shen Hao followed the five players' auras and used Demon Power to learn they planned to hide and survive the Instance.
• Cao Wenzhe and Zhu Heng argued that the group should explore, while Gan Lingling, Jiang Wen, and Zhu Ze urged them to remain cautious.
• Gan Lingling suddenly sensed that someone was watching the group.

Gan Lingling sensed Shen Hao tracking the group with Mental Perception and temporarily blocked him. Cao Wenzhe led the players back toward the Monster Factory to search for the BOSS’s legacy, while Shen Hao returned to the factory to wait for them.

• Gan Lingling warned the group that Shen Hao was using Mental Perception to watch them and was closing in.
• Cao Wenzhe argued that hiding was pointless and proposed returning to the Monster Factory to search for the BOSS’s legacy while Shen Hao had lost track of them.
• Gan Lingling blocked Shen Hao’s perception for up to half an hour and agreed to lead the group back to the factory.
• Shen Hao realized Gan Lingling had blocked his ability and returned to the factory, expecting the players to come there.