Recaps

Zhu Yan arrived at Villa No. 12 to enter [Cannibal House] and discovered that its landlord was desperate for players’ Bone Coins. After concealing his player mark and pretending ignorance, Zhu Yan tried to leave, but the landlord ordered him to show his left hand.

• Zhu Yan arrived at the dark villa district and hid his book and nearly empty fruit tea outside Villa No. 12.
• Zhu Yan met the decaying landlord and learned it wanted three Bone Coins in exchange for information about clearing the instance.
• Zhu Yan concealed the player mark on his left palm and pretended not to know about players or Bone Coins.
• Zhu Yan started to withdraw, intending to return disguised as a powerful creature, but the landlord stopped him and demanded to see his left hand.
• Zhu Yan held out his left hand while the landlord rubbed its own palm with a handkerchief, a trick Guan En had already tried.

Zhu Yan was trapped by the landlord and brought inside the hungry [Cannibal House], where he tried to buy time and learn its secrets. As the landlord led him upstairs, Zhu Yan secretly activated [Complaining], preparing to exploit the house’s nature.

• The landlord grabbed Zhu Yan when he tried to leave and dragged him into the garden, insisting he stay overnight.
• Guan En arrived at the quarantine zone and discussed the possibility that more than two players were in the instance with his superior, who urged him to prioritize the mission and his safety.
• The landlord dragged Zhu Yan into [Cannibal House], whose decrepit interior creaked and crackled with hunger.
• Zhu Yan asked about the players, but the landlord avoided answering and offered to show him his room upstairs.
• Zhu Yan agreed to follow the landlord and secretly activated [Complaining] as he crossed the creaking floor.

Zhu Yan tested the Cannibal House, confirmed it was level 4, and used [Roleplay] to impersonate a high-level horror creature when the landlord tried to feed him to it. The landlord feared the apparent member of [the Eye of the Abyss Club] and promised to feed the house two players that night, leaving Zhu Yan wondering who the other player was.

• Zhu Yan used [Complaining] on the Cannibal House and determined it was level 4, while the landlord was level 5.
• The landlord dragged Zhu Yan upstairs and shoved him into the Cannibal House, demanding that it leave half of him uneaten.
• Zhu Yan activated [Roleplay] and took on the appearance and voice of the ulcerated noblewoman from [the Hall of Mourning], making the landlord's attack miss.
• Zhu Yan invoked [the Eye of the Abyss Club] and accused the landlord of failing to pay the Cannibal House's rent.
• The frightened landlord apologized and promised to feed the house two players that night, prompting Zhu Yan to wonder who the second player would be.

Guan En arrived at the Cannibal House, where Zhu Yan was hiding after using a Universal Potion to heal his injuries. While Guan En met the landlord, Zhu Yan sneaked toward the unlocked attic to search for clues and the Rental Contract.

• Guan En found a fresh milk tea cup outside the house, then rang the doorbell.
• Zhu Yan healed his injuries with a Universal Potion and discovered that Guan En had arrived.
• The landlord checked Guan En’s left hand, saw his caged bird mark, and brought him inside.
• Zhu Yan avoided being seen and decided to search the attic while Guan En spoke with the landlord.
• Zhu Yan climbed the stairs and found an old attic door secured by an open brass lock.

Zhu Yan discovered the [Cannibal House] rental contract and learned that the landlord was [Plague Ghost] Walter, while the house’s weakness could not be revealed. He returned to his room with an audacious plan forming as Walter came upstairs.

• Zhu Yan searched the attic desk and found the [Cannibal House Rental Contract], which named [Plague Ghost] Walter as the lessee.
• Zhu Yan learned that the house was linked to its lessee, that it could be harmed by damage to the house, and that Walter was three months behind on rent.
• Zhu Yan read the contract’s terms, returned the papers to the drawer, and slipped back to his room.
• Guan En learned from Walter that two players were in the house and suspected Zhu Yan had disguised himself as a horror creature again.
• Walter threatened Guan En, then went upstairs to report to madam, while Zhu Yan waited safely in his room with a plan taking shape.

Zhu Yan used a high-level creature disguise to frighten the landlord into hiding Guan En, buying time to escape. As the landlord led Guan En upstairs, Guan En suspected another player had manipulated it and prepared to investigate.

• Zhu Yan confronted the landlord over three months of unpaid rent and dismissed its offer to provide a player's hand as payment.
• Zhu Yan threatened to send an inspector and ordered the landlord to lock Guan En in a room where he could not see Zhu Yan or the inspector.
• After the landlord left, Zhu Yan opened the window and assessed how to escape from the second floor.
• The landlord angrily pulled Guan En off the sofa and took him upstairs, while Guan En suspected a mysterious player had won the landlord's trust.
• Guan En followed the landlord toward his room with his service pistol ready and kept the milk tea cup as evidence.

Zhu Yan escaped the villa and prepared to return disguised as a horror creature, while Guan En deduced that another player had deceived the landlord and tried to turn it against Zhu Yan. The chapter left Guan En accusing the disguised player just as the doorbell rang.

• Zhu Yan climbed out of the window, descended the villa wall, and hid outside before Guan En could see him leave.
• The landlord warned Guan En not to look outside, and Guan En inferred that the mysterious player was hiding his escape from him.
• Zhu Yan read about plague ghosts, bought two human legs as props, and prepared to ring the doorbell while disguised.
• Guan En offered to help the landlord by claiming his ability was Detection and saying he knew the other player's background.
• After the doorbell rang, Guan En told the landlord that the person who had just pretended to be a high-level horror creature was a player who had deceived it.

Zhu Yan used Walter’s true name to stop the [Plague Ghost] from attacking him and gained control of the situation. He took Walter to the attic to inspect the house’s documents and began negotiating for the [Cannibal House], hoping to secure its treasures as well.

• The landlord suspected Zhu Yan’s warning was true, then attacked him outside the house.
• Zhu Yan called the landlord Walter, frightening it into stopping its attack and obeying him.
• Zhu Yan entered the house and ordered Walter to show him its legal documents and explain the instance.
• Walter admitted locking the players in their rooms and took Zhu Yan to the attic to retrieve the agreements.
• Zhu Yan learned that the [Cannibal House] was three months behind on rent and hinted that he wanted to acquire it.

Zhu Yan negotiated with Walter, the [Plague Ghost] landlord, to take over the [Cannibal House] in exchange for a human leg and a promise of two Bone Coins after the instance. After signing the [Sublease Contracts] and gaining information about the house, Zhu Yan took the keys and sent Walter downstairs to eat.

• Guan En watched Zhu Yan take control of the situation, then climbed out a window to act before the instance began.
• Zhu Yan persuaded Walter to accept a human leg and a promise of two Bone Coins in exchange for the house and its contents.
• Walter signed both [Sublease Contracts], and Zhu Yan signed them as the new lessee and made his player’s mark.
• Zhu Yan felt the contracts reveal that the [Cannibal House] was a weak, level-four house with a shabby armchair as its weak point.
• Zhu Yan took the keys from Walter’s dressing gown and ordered Walter to carry the human leg downstairs to eat.

Zhu Yan searched the attic and found a small machine he believed was the instance’s treasure, while Guan En crept back into the house and confronted him at gunpoint. With the instance starting in three minutes, Guan En tried to persuade Zhu Yan to return with him, unaware that Zhu Yan was the landlord he was seeking.

• Zhu Yan drove Walter into a room and locked it inside, hoping the house’s collapse would kill it, then ordered [Plague Ghost] to remove its slippers.
• Guan En returned to the house through a window and climbed toward the attic after hearing chewing sounds behind a door.
• Zhu Yan found a miniature typewriter-like machine and a note describing it as a tool that could print or modify anything except money, then took it and the other items from the wardrobe.
• Guan En entered the attic and aimed his pistol at Zhu Yan, telling him to come back with him before the instance started.
• Guan En claimed he only wanted to stop Zhu Yan and said the landlord was on his side, while Zhu Yan suspected the first claim was a lie and realized Guan En did not recognize him as the landlord.

Zhu Yan outmaneuvered Guan En and destroyed the [Cannibal House] by stabbing the chair with the dagger, clearing the instance. The announcement offered them a choice between returning to the real world and waiting for the [Monster Tram], leaving their next destination undecided.

• Zhu Yan convinced Guan En that stopping him could get them both killed, then revealed a way to save them as the instance began.
• Zhu Yan stabbed the armchair, dodged Guan En’s shot, and used [Humiliation] to weaken him before escaping the attic with the gun.
• The [Cannibal House] began melting, and Zhu Yan fled as the [Plague Ghost] rose amid the collapsing building.
• Zhu Yan aimed the gun at Guan En as the instance announced that Zhu Yan had cleared it and Guan En had been carried to victory again.
• The announcement offered Zhu Yan and Guan En the choice to call the [Monster Tram] and remain in the instance instead of returning to the real world.

Zhu Yan escaped the Plague Ghost by boarding the Monster Tram and chose a stop in Anwu City, while Guan En returned to the real world without seeing him. The chapter left Zhu Yan traveling with a Pseudo-human and the Plague Ghost furious after discovering it had been tricked.

• Zhu Yan used Roleplay to board the Monster Tram, leaving the Plague Ghost behind with a forged player signature on the rental contract.
• Guan En slipped a Transfer Rental Contract into his pocket and vanished back to the real world, telling the Plague Ghost it had been tricked.
• Zhu Yan selected stop 46, an old house in Anwu City's Plum Garden Subdistrict, and learned the tram would arrive in fifty minutes.
• A Pseudo-human wearing Zhu Yan's uncle's skin praised Zhu Yan after he claimed to be above level six, then prepared to leave at Pseudo-human Street.
• Guan En reached the cordoned-off intersection but did not see Zhu Yan among the special police officers.

Zhu Yan rode the Monster Tram after escaping the Devouring Villa, where the police arrested Guan En and searched for the remaining player. Zhu Yan learned that curing the Plague Ghost’s virus required finding the witch who made the Voodoo Doll, then received his instance results and rewards.

• Captain Huang ordered Guan En taken into custody and sent officers to search the villa, while Guan En insisted that the player had escaped with his belongings.
• On the Monster Tram, Zhu Yan asked the Voodoo Doll about the Plague Ghost’s virus and learned he would need to find the witch who created it to kill the virus.
• The Voodoo Doll called Zhu Yan a pseudohuman and a cross-dresser, but Zhu Yan realized it had not recognized his disguise.
• The system announced that both players had cleared the Devouring Villa instance but were about to die or mutate, and that Zhu Yan ranked first.
• The system awarded Zhu Yan ten rest days, bringing his accumulated total to thirty.

After clearing the dungeon, Zhu Yan received rewards that could help him build a new identity and delay the plague infecting him. He began researching witches and demons for a way to survive before his ten-day exemption ended.

• Zhu Yan received 50,000 yuan in rewards and chose 500 Bone Coins, while his player level and three abilities were reported.
• Zhu Yan learned that his new typewriter could create a unique identity card, fabricate a background and documents, and enter the information into human systems.
• Zhu Yan learned that he had contracted the Plague Ghost plague and would have died within a day, but Merry Happy Land granted him a ten-day Plague Exemption Period to seek a cure.
• Zhu Yan used Coexisting with Forbidden Things to read about witches, their hostility toward Plague Ghosts, and their dealings with demons, then began looking up demons.

Zhu Yan learned how to seek a deal with Demons and discovered that his tiny typewriter connected him to Mount Fangcun, which opposed Merry Happy Land. Meanwhile, the police failed to find him after he disappeared from the quarantine zone and planned to search the city.

• Zhu Yan read that Demons made equal exchanges through Witches, who and whose cats were fond of eating humans.
• Zhu Yan opened a hidden slot in the tiny typewriter and inserted his identity card, which the machine consumed before printing a message from its previous user.
• The message invited Zhu Yan to join Mount Fangcun and listed several Anwu City addresses, an activation password, and a one-Bone-Copper-Coin fee.
• Zhu Yan wrote Anwu City on the card, received the addresses and password “forward,” and put the card away with his Hall of Mourning savings card.
• The tiny typewriter began printing a new identity card as the police searched the quarantine zone and found no trace of Zhu Yan.
• Captain Huang and the middle-aged man concluded that Zhu Yan might have been transported elsewhere and planned a door-to-door identity-document search the next morning.

Zhu Yan left [Merry Happy Land] with a newly created identity and returned to the real world near No. 178, Plum Garden, where signs suggested another instance was beginning. At the police station, Guan En concealed the plague risk from Captain Huang and noticed dark patches that might indicate Captain Huang was infected.

• The [Monster Tram] carried Zhu Yan through several stations while the art student's typewriter created a new identity and supporting documents for him.
• The announcer told Zhu Yan that his new information had been implanted in the human system, and he got off at No. 178, Plum Garden.
• After returning to the real world, Zhu Yan heard a woman and child crying and hurried away as he suspected an instance was about to break out nearby.
• At the police station, Guan En withheld information about the [Plague Ghost] and [Plague Exemption Period] because he feared isolation would prevent him from finding a cure.
• Guan En asked Captain Huang to let him go home to sleep, then noticed matching black patches on Captain Huang's arm and neck.

After returning to his apartment, Zhu Yan evaded a police investigation by disguising himself and presenting a valid identity card. He woke later to messages about a strange envelope, a Player Forum, and the coming descent of horror.

• Zhu Yan returned to his rental, washed up, and fell into a deep sleep.
• Captain Huang and a colleague visited Zhu Yan under the pretense of an anti-scam campaign and questioned him about his identity and family.
• Zhu Yan used a changed appearance and a valid ID card to convince Captain Huang he was not the player they sought.
• After leaving, Captain Huang discussed checking Zhu Yan's records and noted a dark patch appearing on his arm; his colleague also reported a growing patch on his skin.
• Zhu Yan woke in the afternoon and read group-chat messages claiming someone in Bailu City had received an envelope with a badge and ability card and heard that horror was about to descend.

Zhu Yan learned that [Merry Happy Land] had begun spreading, as reports of sudden deaths and a deadly incident at Myriad Forms Plaza surfaced. He entered the [Player Personal Center] to check his status.

• Zhu Yan read a chat group owner's account of players receiving badges and ability cards, including one ability called "Fish in Troubled Waters."
• Zhu Yan saw that Bailu City had been placed under lockdown amid reports of sudden deaths.
• Zhu Yan read police warnings advising residents to avoid Myriad Forms Plaza and report strange voices or small black envelopes.
• Zhu Yan overheard a video account describing Pseudo-humans emerging from a coffee shop at Myriad Forms Plaza and eating people before returning inside.
• Zhu Yan discreetly entered the [Player Personal Center].

After the Devouring Villa instance, Zhu Yan checked his improved abilities, bought a storage ring, and searched the Player Forum for information about Witch. He found a panicked post from another player whose forced mission involved Witch arriving at her home in thirty minutes, and opened her profile to look for more clues.

• Zhu Yan reviewed [Complaining] and [Humiliation], noting their limits against high-level players and horror creatures.
• Zhu Yan overheard rumors about a lockdown and an outbreak in Bailu while checking the online store.
• Zhu Yan bought and bound the [Savings Silver Ring], which provided five cubic meters of storage and kept food fresh and warm.
• Zhu Yan searched the Player Forum for Witch and found posts by a player called User Has Been Deregistered.
• Zhu Yan read the player's account of a ritual, a mysterious voice, and a forced mission requiring Witch to visit her home in thirty minutes.
• Zhu Yan noticed the reference to the 'Lesser Key of Solomon' and opened the player's profile to read her second post.

Zhu Yan read a player’s updates about a Witch and a Demon entering her instance, then decided to stock up on food without drawing attention. The player’s later posts showed her being attacked and failing her task, with only ten minutes left to live.

• Zhu Yan inferred that the player’s ritual had connected her to a Demon, which had come to collect payment alongside the Witch.
• Zhu Yan left the dumpling shop and planned to buy extra food discreetly because shortages and chaos were coming.
• The player reported that the Witch arrived with a black cat, acted friendly, and offered to speak to the Demon for payment.
• The black cat attacked the player, and she reported losing both thighs and suffering a broken neck.
• The player woke to find that she had failed her task and had ten minutes left to live.

Zhu Yan weighed risky ways to find the [Witch] while stocking up on supplies, eventually deciding a lower-level player might help him draw out the [Demon]. The chapter left him without a suitable teammate and unaware that a deadly outbreak was unfolding at the city hospital.

• Zhu Yan searched the Player Forum for information about [Demons], then rejected summoning one because the [Demon] and [Witch] could kill or exploit him.
• At the city center hospital, a police officer's body melted into purplish-black liquid, triggering panic as people reported another patient with the same symptoms downstairs.
• Zhu Yan filled his cart with food and household goods while considering whether he could enter [Merry Happy Land] and face the [Witch] and [Demon] himself.
• Zhu Yan reasoned that a lower-level player could perform the ritual while he stayed outside, then enter shortly before the instance began to avoid facing the bosses directly.
• Zhu Yan considered asking Guan En to help but realized Anwu City was too large for him to find Guan En.

Zhu Yan met Guan En in the old district and learned that Guan En had helped trigger a plague outbreak among police officers and medical workers. With the police station sealed and Guan En exposed to the infection, the two agreed they needed each other to survive.

• Zhu Yan spotted Guan En waiting in the old district, changed back to his original appearance, and approached him after confirming that plainclothes officers had left.
• Guan En told Zhu Yan that the plague had begun when an officer went door to door, and admitted that he had infected the officer while Zhu Yan took the blame.
• Guan En explained that infected officers and medical workers had fallen ill and died, prompting the police to suspect Zhu Yan had made a deal with the [Plague Ghost] to spread the plague.
• Guan En said the police station had been sealed, surveillance areas had been disinfected, and plainclothes officers had been quarantined, leaving him free to meet Zhu Yan.
• Guan En told Zhu Yan that they were both desperate to survive and had to rely on each other.

Zhu Yan and Guan En planned to attract the [Demon] using a ritual altar, hoping to find a way to keep Guan En alive. They arranged to meet after Guan En bought ritual supplies, and Guan En asked Zhu Yan for a phone number so he could contact him when he heard the broadcast.

• Guan En told Zhu Yan that Bailu City was managing food and quarantine zones under centralized control, and that Zhu Yan’s aunt wanted him dead but would soon enter another instance.
• Guan En asked Zhu Yan to help him survive, and Zhu Yan shared what he knew about the [Witch], the [Demon], and three polluted forum posts.
• Guan En searched online and found a local seller offering crystals, candles, a wand, and a brass sword for an altar.
• Guan En ordered the supplies and arranged a pickup, then explained that he planned to learn the ritual from a video site and try to attract the [Demon].
• Guan En gave Zhu Yan his address and asked him to leave a phone number so Guan En could notify him when he heard the broadcast.

Zhu Yan waited near Guan En’s hotel room while Guan En prepared a ritual to summon [Witch] and obtain vaccine doses. When [Demon] appeared in the emergency stairwell, Zhu Yan used his aristocratic-lady disguise and invoked [Eye of the Abyss] to intimidate it.

• Zhu Yan traveled to the Fortune Source Hotel and chose the emergency stairwell near room 1030 as his hiding place.
• Zhu Yan transformed into a high-level horror creature while Guan En returned with ritual supplies and arranged an altar in his room.
• Guan En grew uneasy about a chill near the emergency exit and asked Zhu Yan to come over, but Zhu Yan told him to begin the ritual while he waited.
• As Guan En recited the prayer and two candles went out, [Demon] floated up the stairwell toward Zhu Yan.
• Zhu Yan claimed that a friend of [Eye of the Abyss] had foreseen a good show, and [Demon] feared that the club had come to collect a payment.

Guan En wished for a cure to the plague, while Zhu Yan manipulated [Demon] into granting the wish as part of a crueler scheme. [Demon] entered the room believing Zhu Yan would stop the other player, unaware that Zhu Yan planned to deceive both sides.

• Guan En wished for medicine to cure the plague or for himself and his friend to become healthy and immune.
• Zhu Yan confronted [Demon] in the emergency stairwell and learned that Guan En had wished for a cure to Plague Ghost disease.
• Zhu Yan used [Complaining] to frighten and weaken [Demon], then criticized its plan to kill the players without granting their wishes.
• Zhu Yan ordered [Demon] to grant Guan En's wish first and let the players believe they had survived.
• Zhu Yan told [Demon] to work with [Witch], offer the players what they wanted without demanding payment, and make their hopes rise before betraying them.