Chapter Summaries

After the first story ended, the Players learned they would receive Story Points and discovered Destiny Cards that took effect when turned over. Moonlit Snow, Dark Clouds Part flipped her Yellow Destiny Card, revealing “Treasure Chest.”

• The book announced the first story’s score, Story Point rewards, and the start of the second story in twenty minutes.
• The Players received cards in different colors, and Chronicler warned everyone not to touch them until they knew whether they were dangerous.
• A system notice explained that the cards represented different destinies and encouraged the Players to search the Grand Library for hidden rules.
• Moonlit Snow, Dark Clouds Part decided to flip her Yellow Destiny Card while Bai Zhi moved away and warned the others to keep their distance.
• Moonlit Snow, Dark Clouds Part turned over her card and read the words “Treasure Chest.”

Moonlit Snow, Dark Clouds Part opened a Destiny Card and received an Elite Level Item, while Bai Zhi’s White Card triggered a dangerous arrow trap. As the group prepared for the second Story, Bai Zhi refused to join, leaving the others to handle it themselves.

• Moonlit Snow, Dark Clouds Part opened a Treasure Chest from her Yellow Destiny Card and found an unsettling gold coin that was an Elite Level Item.
• Chronicler wondered what rewards the Red Destiny Cards could produce, and Bai Zhi’s remark about fate triggered a rain of arrows around the table.
• After the arrows vanished, Chronicler urged the group to focus on the upcoming second Story and the whereabouts of the Story Shop.
• Moonlit Snow, Dark Clouds Part proposed three likely places or conditions for finding the Story Shop.
• Bai Zhi said he would not participate in the second Story because he had not recovered from the previous one, and he insisted the others could manage without him.

A new dark Fairy Tale story, [School], began as Xia Wen, Bai Zhi, and the others discussed its likely connection to campus bullying. The story left Xiao Ming trapped in a school where he alone saw students and Teachers transformed into objects, and he realized Xiao Bai had become a balloon.

• Xia Wen teased Bai Zhi about playing a Prince in the dark Fairy Tale, and he warned the group that [School] might involve campus bullying.
• Bai Zhi explained that the story used Complete Role-playing Mode and suggested a signal for recognizing allies.
• Instant, Chronicler, and Moonlit Snow, Dark Clouds Part entered the story as its three participants.
• The story introduced Xiao Ming and his friends entering a school swallowed by black mist, where Xiao Bai disappeared and the others denied ever knowing him.
• Xiao Ming saw Teachers and students suffering or transformed into objects, while Xiao Hong, Xiao Gang, and Xiao Xin could not see what was happening.
• Xiao Ming spotted a balloon outside the gymnasium and realized Xiao Bai had become it and had been following them.

Bai Zhi heard how Instant, Chronicler, and Moonlit Snow, Dark Clouds Part survived the second story as objects in an empty school, then compared their experience with the darker tale he had read. The group left the story behind as Bai Zhi explained how he would have handled the schoolchildren.

• The book closed after the second story ended, and A Pure Smile, Shy Blushing Cheeks confirmed that the story had unfolded as Bai Zhi had watched it.
• Instant, Chronicler, and Moonlit Snow, Dark Clouds Part returned to the Grand Library exhausted, revealing that they had played a Trash Can, a blackboard eraser, and a ping-pong ball.
• Moonlit Snow, Dark Clouds Part recounted how the trio had evaded destructive schoolchildren and escaped with one student's help.
• Bai Zhi described the different version of the school story in which Xiao Ming saw that many people and objects were transformed humans.
• Bai Zhi said he would have used the broadcast system to control the students, organize an examination, and search the school for clues.

After the School story received a score of 8.3, the survivors earned Story Points and new Destiny Cards, then tested their luck by drawing Destiny Entries. Their rewards varied from useful items and abilities to a dangerous trap, and Moonlit Snow, Dark Clouds Part unlocked a shop as the group prepared for the third story.

• The book rated the School story 8.3, awarded each survivor 8 Story Points, and announced that the third story would begin in 30 minutes.
• Bai Zhi, Xia Wen, Instant, Chronicler, A Pure Smile, Shy Blushing Cheeks, and Moonlit Snow, Dark Clouds Part opened their Destiny Cards.
• Bai Zhi received [BUFF], which let him adapt to extreme environments for three hours, while Xia Wen received the three-hour Lucky Halo.
• Instant's [Bottomless Pit] created a hole under him, but he narrowly avoided being swallowed.
• Chronicler received a whip from [Weapon], and A Pure Smile, Shy Blushing Cheeks received an iron hammer from [utensil].
• Moonlit Snow, Dark Clouds Part revealed [Shop], transforming the table into a shop interface as the survivors looked forward to the next story.

Bai Zhi questioned why the mutated A-rank Dungeon offered such powerful rewards but kept his suspicions to himself, hoping to find Night Owl and the Campus Belle. After the Story Shop appeared, he bought a Random Book and discovered that books from the Library could grant strange summoning abilities.

• Bai Zhi suspected the Dungeon’s rewards were too generous but stayed quiet because he lacked proof and wanted equipment for upgrading [Pluto] and the [Pitch Black Rubik’s Cube].
• The six Players entered the Story Shop after unlocking its appearance and found that their fourteen Story Points were insufficient for most merchandise.
• Bai Zhi bought a Random Book and learned that it granted ownership of a random Library book.
• Bai Zhi discovered that Postpartum Care of Sows could summon an old sow and wondered whether other books could summon their characters.
• Xia Wen revealed that her book was called Corpse Bone, then laughed at Bai Zhi’s book and its summoning effect.

Bai Zhi and the others discussed Random Books and decided who would enter the third story, which began with a five-person limit. Chronicler took the Heroine role before Xia Wen could choose it, while Instant stayed behind to recover.

• Bai Zhi warned Moonlit Snow, Dark Clouds Part that the summoning item might have hidden flaws, and the group bought Random Books without sharing their attributes.
• Bai Zhi asked Xia Wen why she was saving her Story Points, and she said she hoped to buy several books with her Lucky Halo.
• The third story, World of Lies, began with a five-participant limit and a registration countdown.
• Chronicler volunteered for Instant to stay behind and recover from his injuries, and Bai Zhi agreed.
• Bai Zhi asked the participants not to obstruct his plans inside the story, and Moonlit Snow, Dark Clouds Part agreed.
• Chronicler accidentally took the Heroine role before Xia Wen could register, so Xia Wen chose another available role.

Bai Zhi awakened in the identity of Xu Tingsheng, a high school student in a world that seemed ordinary, and questioned what the story called Lie meant. When a woman claiming to be Xu Tingsheng’s mother entered his room, Bai Zhi’s God's Perspective revealed that she moved in impossible ways, leaving him to suspect she was not human.

• Bai Zhi woke with Xu Tingsheng’s memories and learned that he was a handsome top student preparing for the College Entrance Exam.
• Xu Tingsheng’s supposed mother called from downstairs, though his memories said she should still be at work.
• Bai Zhi used God's Perspective and pretended to sleep as the woman entered his bedroom and stared at him for five minutes.
• The woman left a thermos of chicken soup, but her head and hand remained at impossible heights and she crossed the room in less than a second.
• Bai Zhi concluded that the woman was probably not human and wondered whether the seemingly ordinary world was truly a world of Lie.

Bai Zhi escaped Xu Tingsheng's home with the chicken soup, then lost contact with all five Shadow Guards and his Shadow Puppet after they searched the house. On the bus, he met the Chronicler, who asked how to deal with a doppelgänger of her mother, and he suggested destroying the phone that exposed the double.

• Bai Zhi suspected Xu Tingsheng's mother had unnatural stretching abilities, then left her chicken soup behind after receiving her message.
• Bai Zhi's five Shadow Guards and Shadow Puppet were suddenly wiped out while searching Xu Tingsheng's home.
• The Chronicler sat beside Bai Zhi on the bus and explained that her mother had received a message from her while they were together in an elevator.
• Bai Zhi asked why the Chronicler had taken the Heroine's role, and she said she was stronger than Instant and wanted to learn from him.
• The Chronicler asked how to handle the strange incident, and Bai Zhi advised her to pretend to smash her phone.

Bai Zhi and Chronicler returned to Libei Middle School to investigate the strange story, but found no sign of their other teammates. As evening study hall began, Bai Zhi spotted their unnaturally stretching Homeroom Teacher inspecting the class and warned Chronicler.

• Bai Zhi noticed his roommate swallow something after two black tentacles vanished into the boy’s mouth.
• A roommate stared at the sleeping Bai Zhi without blinking, then returned to his bed, while Bai Zhi found nothing else unusual during a search of the school.
• Bai Zhi and Chronicler failed to locate their other teammates and discussed how to make them find the classroom.
• Bai Zhi saw the Homeroom Teacher stretch her neck through the rear door window to inspect the students.
• Bai Zhi warned Chronicler that the Homeroom Teacher was above them, so Chronicler quietly switched to a Chinese workbook.

During evening self-study, Bai Zhi watched the Balding Homeroom Teacher patrol the classroom with his unnaturally long neck and swallow nine students. He then caused a sow to charge through the school to draw others to him and Chronicler, and the chapter ended after teachers captured it and no one admitted responsibility.

• Bai Zhi observed the Balding Homeroom Teacher stretch his neck across the classroom and swallow nine students while their classmates pretended not to notice.
• The Balding Homeroom Teacher inspected Bai Zhi and Chronicler, then left through the back-door window.
• Bai Zhi passed Chronicler notes explaining the teacher's patrol and revealed that he would use a sow to attract the others.
• A sow smashed through the classroom door and charged through the school, sending students fleeing and creating a commotion.
• More than a dozen Teachers captured the sow, and no one claimed responsibility for the classroom disruption.

Bai Zhi learned that Xia Wen feared failing a math test and asked the group whether they had encountered anything strange. After the twins left, A Pure Smile, Shy Blushing Cheeks warned him that the sister beside her was fake, and Bai Zhi later burned Xia Wen’s class’s exam papers to keep his promise to solve her problem.

• Xia Wen told Bai Zhi she expected to score about thirty points on a test despite her character normally scoring at least one hundred thirty, and he promised to help.
• Bai Zhi asked Xia Wen whether anything strange had happened at home; she said she had fallen asleep in the afternoon and woken hours later.
• Moonlit Snow, Dark Clouds Part told Bai Zhi that she and A Pure Smile, Shy Blushing Cheeks were avoiding their dormitory because of strange events, and A Pure Smile, Shy Blushing Cheeks secretly messaged that her companion was fake.
• Bai Zhi returned to his dormitory and sent his Shadow Puppet to the school office after lights-out.
• Bai Zhi's Shadow Puppet found Xia Wen's class exam papers and set the stack on fire.

Bai Zhi found the school office filled with strange faces after turning on the lights, then appeared in the Internet Cafe restroom to question Xiaoxiao about her claim that her twin sister was fake. He revealed that Xiaoyue had sent him the opposite warning, leaving both sisters' identities in doubt.

• Bai Zhi watched the exam papers burn to ash and found no useful clues in the office.
• Bai Zhi switched on the office lights and discovered faces covering the walls and ceiling; they opened their eyes and one-shotted his Shadowkhan.
• Xiaoxiao left Xiaoyue at the Internet Cafe computer and went to the restroom, where Bai Zhi suddenly appeared.
• Bai Zhi asked Xiaoxiao how she knew her sister was fake, and Xiaoxiao said she relied on differences in habits and speech.
• Bai Zhi showed Xiaoxiao a message from Xiaoyue claiming that Xiaoxiao was fake and asking him to find the real sister.
• Xiaoxiao asked whether Bai Zhi had sought her out because he believed her, and Bai Zhi replied that she was not the first person he had gone to find.

Moonlit Snow, Dark Clouds Part questioned whether her twin sister was really herself, while Bai Zhi tried to investigate the strange story and found that his Shadow Guards had been wiped out again. The chapter ended with Bai Zhi turning over in bed and coming face-to-face with a shattered face.

• Moonlit Snow, Dark Clouds Part noticed Xiaoxiao acting strangely and sent someone a message asking for help; a Shadowkhan delivered her a note.
• Xiaoxiao told Bai Zhi that one of the twins was fake and suspected her sister was a Monster called Lie, but Bai Zhi joked instead of taking her claim seriously.
• Bai Zhi showed Xiaoxiao an M1917 American-made Smith & Wesson, then vanished before she could react; she later left deep fist marks in the restroom wall.
• Bai Zhi woke in the dormitory and realized that all his Shadow Guards, including the Shadow Puppet, had been wiped out again.
• Bai Zhi noticed what appeared to be a Female Ghost on the bunk above him, rolled over to ignore her, and came face-to-face with a shattered face.

Chronicler survived a series of strange incidents at home by following Bai Zhi’s advice, then discovered a rule-based Anomaly beneath her bed. As her room door opened despite being locked, she hid under the quilt.

• Chronicler avoided choosing between two false calls from her mother by breaking a glass, following Bai Zhi’s text instructions.
• She sent Bai Zhi a message thanking him, and he replied with a single “O.”
• Chronicler spotted the shadow of a giant hand under her bed and used her Skill to identify it as an Anomaly that grabbed anything extending beyond the bed.
• The card vanished when someone turned the knob of Chronicler’s locked bedroom door, so she hid under the quilt as the door opened.

The Chronicler survived a nighttime encounter after her Skills and attributes were temporarily sealed, then reported the incident to someone who told her to check the door lock. The door was still locked, leaving the cause of the figure’s entrance unexplained.

• The Chronicler pretended to sleep when a figure entered her bedroom, then realized it had faked leaving and waited until it truly departed.
• She recalled a Mandatory Quest in a terrifying world where a worldwide Meme had trapped people in endless life and five surviving Players chose suicide after returning.
• The Chronicler confirmed her Skills and attributes had returned and used a Skill to check that the giant hand beneath the bed was gone.
• She recorded the encounter and messaged someone, who replied that she should check the door lock.
• The Chronicler found her bedroom door still tightly locked.

The Chronicler investigated why her door had locked itself again and received further advice from Bai Zhi about searching her parents’ room and deleting messages. Bai Zhi connected the Players’ abnormalities to the story’s background, but wondered why Xia Wen had not contacted him.

• The Chronicler found her door locked again and noticed something moving beneath her bed before messaging Bai Zhi.
• Bai Zhi offered three explanations for the Black Shadow and advised the Chronicler to search her house, especially her parents’ room.
• The Chronicler considered how to investigate her parents’ room despite her mother being home and her abilities sometimes becoming Sealed.
• Bai Zhi warned the Chronicler to delete messages as they arrived and distrust messages without emoticons.
• Bai Zhi reflected on the random Skill Sealing, his exchange with the Chronicler, and his theory about the story’s background, then wondered whether Xia Wen had fallen asleep again.

Bai Zhi questioned Xia Wen about the strange events she had encountered, then gathered Moonlit Snow, Dark Clouds Part and A Pure Smile, Shy Blushing Cheeks to explain what he had learned. After testing the unpredictable ability-sealing phenomenon, he concluded that the story’s danger escalated over time and announced that the group would skip school to pursue solid evidence.

• At breakfast, Xia Wen described hearing cats and finding many copies of her parents at home, while Bai Zhi and Chronicler reacted to her casual attitude.
• Bai Zhi joked that he had spent the night with a Female Ghost without falling in love, as Moonlit Snow, Dark Clouds Part and A Pure Smile, Shy Blushing Cheeks sat apart after their disagreement.
• On the rooftop, Bai Zhi gathered Moonlit Snow, Dark Clouds Part and A Pure Smile, Shy Blushing Cheeks and said they would discuss the truth once everyone arrived.
• Bai Zhi reported that Shadow Guards and Shadow Puppets had been wiped out in further incidents and that his tests found ability-sealing occurred unpredictably and independently among Players.
• Bai Zhi said he had pieced together the story’s background and told the group they would skip school that afternoon to obtain solid evidence.

Bai Zhi explained that the Players were Mirror Selves imagined in a Fantasy World, which was beginning to overlap with the Real World. He warned that Monsters could cross over and proposed several possible ways to end the story, though he did not know which would work.

• Bai Zhi explained that the Fantasy World and Real World overlapped imperfectly, causing Skills and objects to fail or change between them.
• Bai Zhi suggested that Xiaoyue might be Moonlit Snow, Dark Clouds Part's Mirror Self, and said the Players were imagined by people in the Real World.
• Bai Zhi revealed that he had seen a faint shadow of the Female Ghost in the Real World, showing that Monsters could cross over.
• Bai Zhi warned that the Monsters would increasingly invade the Real World, where the Players would be ordinary people and might not survive.
• Bai Zhi listed possible ways to end the story, including reaching the hosts, seeking psychological help, suicide, or destroying the world.

After returning to the Grand Library, Bai Zhi noticed a missing Player named Instant in his notes, though none of the others remembered him. He suspected the Library was itself a story, and the group was left confronting what that might mean for their rewards before the fourth story began.

• The five Players returned to the Grand Library and discussed how exhausting their previous story had been.
• Bai Zhi asked how many Players had entered the Dungeon, and the group realized there was an empty seat despite remembering only five Players.
• Bai Zhi showed the others a note naming Instant, a Player who was supposed to have joined Chronicler but whom nobody remembered.
• The Library announced a score of 9.7 for Story Three and said the fourth story would begin in one hour.
• Bai Zhi guessed that the Grand Library was itself a story, and warned that taking story rewards outside it might require a considerable price.