Chapter Summaries

After the second day's jar count rose to sixty, Wen Xishu's group began opening them, and Oyer risked himself to save people and win several powerful items. The discovery of Shoe Woman's Left Eye blinded Chang Chuanbo and made the enemy's skirt hem and Skirt Sash invisible, leaving Wen Xishu unable to identify hostile faction members by sight.

• Ling Fu inferred from the mural that it tracked how many Shoe Woman-related items remained, while Wen Xishu predicted that the jar challenge would grow harder each day.
• At midnight, the mural showed sixty jars for the second day, and the four groups assigned people to open them despite resistance.
• Oyer used his Substitution Ring to save Bao Longtao from a shadow, then opened ten jars and gained a key, a cleansing horn, and the Gambler's Coin.
• Oyer realized Mila had been using him and refused to give her the key, while Bao Longtao used his hammer to rescue people from later shadows.
• Chang Chuanbo found Shoe Woman's Left Eye, which blinded him and gave the enemy's skirt hem and Skirt Sash the ability to appear as empty jars, defeating Wen Xishu's ability to identify them.

After Shoe Woman’s left eye escaped its jar and possessed a reckless team member, Wen Xishu realized it might have learned what was inside the remaining jars. He used Ouxilasi, a Divine Servant exposed by the Scorpion Dagger, to locate dangerous jars and left Shoe Woman facing a guarded collection of twenty sealed jars.

• The Goddess's Left Eye fled Wen Xishu’s candle flame, possessed a team member, and then returned to the goddess’s mural, where it replaced the painted eye.
• Wen Xishu warned that Shoe Woman might now know what was inside the jars, while Ling Fu’s group began opening theirs.
• Wen Xishu and Ling Fu noticed Ouxilasi’s odd reactions, and the Scorpion Dagger revealed Ouxilasi as a Divine Servant.
• Wen Xishu persuaded Ouxilasi to gather twenty jars and identify which ones should not be opened, then exposed him as Shoe Woman’s pawn.
• Ouxilasi tried to smash the jars, but Yue Yun struck him down before he could destroy them.
• Wen Xishu ordered Yue Yun, Xiao Jin, and Nissen to guard the twenty jars and taunted Shoe Woman about the next jar he would open.

Wen Xishu discovered that Shoe Woman could erase established facts and began using her hidden left hand to manipulate the jars, leaving the humans seemingly trapped. He realized the key might reveal the other half of the parchment, which could expose the ritual needed to defeat Shoe Woman, but he hinted that the parchment had more than two pieces.

• Wen Xishu opened four jars and found a calming song list, an empty jar, and the upper half of a parchment describing an ancient witch, the tower, and a ritual for absorbing its power.
• Flamingo appeared to find Shoe Woman’s ear, and Wen Xishu saw it use Hearing Is Illusion to erase the fact that Ouxilasi had gathered Shoe Woman’s dangerous items; the ear then vanished from everyone’s awareness.
• Wen Xishu explained the ear’s power to Ling Fu and secretly told him to keep the truth from the others so jar opening would continue.
• Zhang Xiaoheng opened a jar and revealed Shoe Woman’s Left Hand, which could transfer items between jars and threatened to overturn the humans’ remaining advantages.
• After realizing that a key could create enough distance to reveal the jar holding the parchment’s other half, Wen Xishu announced that the parchment could defeat Shoe Woman and suggested it had more than two pieces.

Wen Xishu used the restored parchment to learn the method for absorbing Tower Power, defeat the Shoe Woman, and eliminate the Orange Vortex. After the survivors were sent to the Guide, Wen Xishu prepared to continue clearing the remaining vortices during the Great Devourment.

• Wen Xishu sent Oyer back to the Bunker with the incomplete parchment, and A Miao duplicated it so the two pieces could be joined and restored.
• Oyer reached the Bunker, where the parchment crumbled; Evelyn suggested its uniqueness might explain the change while Albert and the others feared for Wen Xishu.
• Wen Xishu read the complete parchment story, learned Three Towers Sequence 35: Tower Power Absorption, and discovered that the Witch’s shoes had passed through Qiao Xi and other owners.
• Wen Xishu absorbed the Goddess’s Left Hand, disabling the Shoe Woman’s power to move items, then absorbed Qiao Xi’s relics and eliminated the Shoe Woman for the best ending.
• The Orange Vortex ended, and Wen Xishu warned the survivors to leave the Bunker’s Second Floor before other vortices could pull them in.
• Wen Xishu told the survivors he would enter another vortex to help end the Great Devourment, then everyone was teleported to the Guide while Zheng Zai planned to continue with him.

After Wen Xishu eliminated the first orange vortex, he returned to the Bunker, received Arnold’s legacy by consuming ten fingers, and immediately set out with a trusted team to tackle the next orange vortex. The Maze Train separated Wen Xishu and Yue Yun from their companions at the start, leaving them to investigate their unfamiliar carriage alone.

• The first orange vortex collapsed, and dozens of survivors returned to the Bunker as Albert and the fighters celebrated Wen Xishu’s victory.
• The Guide revealed that Wen Xishu had earned ten of Arnold’s fingers for leading the group, and Wen Xishu consumed them to obtain Arnold’s Energy Conservation Power rune.
• Wen Xishu returned to the Safe House and chose to enter the Maze Train, the largest remaining vortex, with Yue Yun, Nissen, Xiao Jin, A Miao, and Zheng Zai.
• Albert and Evelyn set out to clear a white vortex while discussing Wen Xishu’s abilities and Albert’s determination to protect him in the Bunker.
• Wen Xishu and Yue Yun woke in separate train carriages, each without their companions; Yue Yun began observing his carriage, while Wen Xishu prepared to assess his new support effects.

Wen Xishu used the Madman’s Dice to gain Slaughter Tower strength while exploring the first car of the Maze Train, where motionless passengers offered cryptic clues and invitations. After questioning them and piecing together possible connections, he entered the second car, leaving the others cautious in the starting car.

• Wen Xishu discovered that Neither Fish nor Fowl exchanged his Strange Tower powers for equivalent Desire Tower and Slaughter Tower abilities, while Static Health Bar kept his combat power at its peak until death.
• Wen Xishu examined the frozen passengers and recognized the Tea-Selling Old Man as a recurring figure who promised to wait for him in a carriage ahead.
• Wen Xishu questioned passengers and attendants, learning their repeated replies and receiving invitations to the next car from the Tea-Selling Old Man, the Female Attendant, two suspected robbers, and the Brat.
• Nissen, Yue Yun, Zheng Zai, A Miao, and Xiao Jin questioned passengers and found troubling clues about a possibly abducted girl, feuding migrant workers, and the Brat’s family, but none dared enter the next car.
• Wen Xishu suspected connections among the passengers, stopped seeking further invitations, and chose to enter the second car, where he saw a vast expanse of white.

Wen Xishu survived the anomalous Carriage 02 by avoiding the children’s footprints, then chose the lifespan-extending tea in Carriage 03 and learned that others might come looking for him. He reached the rest car, Car 03.5, discovered its telephones connected him to his companions, and made contact with Xiao Jin.

• Wen Xishu avoided the white footprints and the children in Carriage 02, reaching its front without meeting the trafficker’s gaze.
• Wen Xishu identified the Tea-Selling Old Man as dead and chose the black tea, which significantly increased his lifespan before the old man warned him not to climb the tower.
• Wen Xishu entered Car 03.5, a passenger-free rest car, and found five unsealed telephones among the seats.
• Wen Xishu realized the telephones could let companions share information about different anomalous cars and called out through one of them.
• Xiao Jin answered Wen Xishu and asked where he was and how his voice had reached the loudspeakers.

Wen Xishu learned that the Maze Train had expanded from a solo mission into a multiplayer mission and hurried onward while advising his companions to stay in Car 1. In Car 4, he investigated the passengers and gave the Tea-Selling Old Man a Good Card; in Car 5, the Female Attendant approached him with a cart covered by a foul-smelling white cloth.

• Wen Xishu called Xiao Jin and his other companions, learned they were waiting in Car 1, and told them to stay there while he advanced toward Car 16.
• Wen Xishu found police officers in Car 4, learned how the Good and Evil Cards worked, and put a Good Card on the Tea-Selling Old Man after hearing his repeated wish to bring back those who had strayed from their homeland.
• Wen Xishu questioned the passengers in Car 4 and uncovered troubling clues about the human trafficker, the male attendant, the robbers, the college couple, and the family, but he withheld his remaining cards.
• Wen Xishu entered Car 5 and discovered that avoiding the strange phenomena made the passengers stand and stare at him, so he resumed watching the car.
• Wen Xishu noticed the Female Attendant's cart was covered by a foul-smelling white cloth, and she stopped beside him to ask what he wanted to buy.

Wen Xishu survived the Brat’s and Female Influencer’s stages, shared what he had learned with Xiao Jin and the others, and reached Car 8. There, he uncovered evidence that the supposed human trafficker was not the true villain and turned his attention to the little girl.

• Wen Xishu reached into the Female Attendant’s cart and was chosen by a monstrous baby that drained his life force and could help him face the Female Influencer.
• Wen Xishu used the Murder Football to disrupt the Brat’s hide-and-seek game, then raced through Carriage 06 and kicked the Brat, cracking his head.
• Wen Xishu stopped the Female Influencer’s rotting flesh by sacrificing a finger, then forced the baby into her belly and escaped to Car 7.5.
• Wen Xishu told Xiao Jin and the others how to handle the stages he had encountered, then continued to Car 8 and gave the Female Attendant his second Good Card.
• Wen Xishu learned that the human trafficker’s children came from an orphanage and, instead of marking him Evil, questioned the little girl, who asked why the police had not arrested the trafficker.

Wen Xishu earned the train mission’s Invitation Letter by exposing the little girl’s deception, then entered the Desire Tower’s twenty-ninth floor and used his overwhelming strength to destroy a Myanmar trafficking compound. As he raced toward Cloud City, the little girl and her Ruinbringer servant realized that a Challenger had disrupted their repeating game in a way they could not explain.

• Wen Xishu used the Mirror to catch the little girl secretly mocking him, gave her the Evil card, and received an Invitation Letter before she vanished.
• Wen Xishu consulted Liu Ruyan and Ji Boda, learned that the twenty-ninth floor might involve a Gifted person retaining memories through loops, and entered the mission.
• Wen Xishu awoke bound in an Old Burma Compound, broke free, killed its armed militants, and told the trafficked workers they could escape.
• Wen Xishu followed the Fate Compass toward Cloud City at tremendous speed while police prepared to investigate the orphanage.
• The Orphanage Director reported that Wen Xishu had wiped out the compound, and the little girl realized a Challenger had entered the game.

Jiang Qing used her Sequences to turn the city’s elite troops into toys and nearly broke Qin Feng, Tang Yi, and Old Tai by tormenting their memories. Just as Qin Feng was forced to shoot an orphan, Wen Xishu arrived at the Orphanage and intervened.

• Jiang Qing learned from Fang Zhizhou that the city’s elite troops had been sent to the Orphanage, and she decided to turn Qin Feng, Tang Yi, and Old Tai into toys to confront the newcomer.
• Qin Feng, Tang Yi, and Old Tai found the elite troops transformed into toy-sized figures, and Qin Feng realized the Orphanage was using toys to transport people.
• Jiang Qing’s Sequences surrounded the three agents, distorted their memories, and began transforming their bodies into toys.
• Qin Feng resisted Jiang Qing’s control, but she forced his gun toward an orphan and threatened him with the prospect of killing his own child.
• Wen Xishu appeared in the fog and shot Fang Zhizhou, interrupting Qin Feng just as the gun went off.

Wen Xishu confronted Jiang Qing after realizing Aquarius had empowered her, and she transformed into a Dominant Tier Red Eerie Shadow. As Jiang Qing overwhelmed him and his allies, Wen Xishu broke free of her mental attack by manifesting his will to survive, then turned his barrage into a force of killing intent.

• Wen Xishu identified Fang Zhizhou as the Ruinbringer and learned from his memories that Aquarius had given Jiang Qing Black Coffin Blood to unleash her potential.
• Wen Xishu attacked Jiang Qing, but she transformed into a Dominant Tier Red Eerie Shadow and began overpowering him.
• Qin Feng, Tang Yi, and Old Tai helped Wen Xishu land repeated attacks using their Sequences, but Jiang Qing trapped them in the Blood Mist Dreamscape and left Wen Xishu alone.
• Jiang Qing's distorted memories nearly broke Wen Xishu, but the other soul within him urged him to survive, allowing him to manifest the barrage messages and escape his toy form.
• Wen Xishu spent more tower power to change his barrage from “Stay alive” to “Kill her,” frightening Jiang Qing with the overwhelming killing intent.

Wen Xishu used Mental Barrage’s Sequence Ultimate to kill Jiang Qing, then warned Qin Feng about the coming apocalypse and urged him to go to Wind City. The mission ended with Wen Xishu receiving a level-seven mission fragment and learning that his actions had changed the Strange Tower’s storylines and drawn Libra’s attention.

• Wen Xishu used the killing intent from the other soul inside him to overwhelm Jiang Qing’s defenses, and the barrage made her experience the revenge of those whose memories she had distorted until she died.
• Wen Xishu learned from the barrage that Jiang Qing had manipulated memories behind the train events, while Tang Yi and Old Tai helped the Orphanage’s children return to normal.
• Wen Xishu told Qin Feng that the apocalypse was coming and advised him to go to Wind City, and Qin Feng promised to remember before Wen Xishu disappeared.
• The Strange Tower restarted the floor 29 mission, changed the Maze Train into the Chosen Train, and awarded Wen Xishu the level-seven mission fragment Land of Hidden Dragons.
• Wen Xishu gained affinity with Tang Yi, Mao Tai, and Qin Feng, unlocked their recruitment prerequisites, and drew Libra’s attention while losing affinity with Aquarius.

Wen Xishu and his companions progressed through the Chosen Train’s trials, which tested their abilities and inner qualities, while Xiao Jin remained trapped in the Fear Car and Nissen was barred from advancing by the train’s bloodline requirement. Wen Xishu, Yue Yun, A Miao, and Zheng Zai entered the final carriage, where a conductor announced the last test would require each of them to make the most important decision of their lives.

• Wen Xishu learned that his companions’ memories had been replaced with a simulated account of their journey through the Chosen Train, and they explained how they had cleared its first eight carriages.
• Wen Xishu and the others passed the Disguise Carriage, then entered the Fear Car, where Yue Yun, Nissen, A Miao, and Zheng Zai overcame their fears, but Xiao Jin remained behind.
• Wen Xishu led Yue Yun, Nissen, A Miao, and Zheng Zai through the Emotion Car and the willpower trial in Carriage 14, while they continued to worry about Xiao Jin.
• Nissen became unable to move at the entrance to Carriage 16, and Wen Xishu realized the train excluded him because he did not share their bloodline; Nissen urged the others to continue without him.
• Wen Xishu, Yue Yun, A Miao, and Zheng Zai entered the final carriage, where a conductor welcomed them and announced that each would make the most important decision of their life.

Wen Xishu learned that the Chosen Train’s final test offered him godhood by sacrificing his companions, while Wei Ping'an explained the Hidden Dragon Plan and its links to the Swan Project, Jin Zhenyuan, Aries, and Libra. Wen Xishu and all his companions refused the ritual, survived the train, and prepared to return to the Bunker.

• Wei Ping'an welcomed Wen Xishu, Yue Yun, Zheng Zai, and A Miao to Carriage 016 and sent each of them into a separate room for the final test.
• Wei Ping'an told Wen Xishu about the Swan Project, Jin Zhenyuan, Ark, the Underground Fortress, and the Hidden Dragon Plan, then offered his companions as sacrifices to improve Wen Xishu’s abilities.
• Wei Ping'an warned Wen Xishu that only one person could leave the carriage, while he tempted Zheng Zai, Yue Yun, and A Miao to sacrifice Wen Xishu for his talents.
• A Miao and Zheng Zai refused the ritual, and Yue Yun rejected it after struggling with the temptation to take Wen Xishu’s talents.
• Wen Xishu did not accept the ritual, and Wei Ping'an revealed that all four had refused, making them the second group to finish the train with no apostle emerging.
• The carriage returned to normal, Wen Xishu reunited with Xiao Jin, Nissen, Yue Yun, Zheng Zai, and A Miao, and the group celebrated their survival before planning to meet at the Bunker.

After clearing the second Orange Vortex, Wen Xishu returned to the Bunker, rejected Liu Zizai’s attempt to separate him from his teammates, and set out alone for an ancient castle mission. Meanwhile, Liu Zizai gave the Demon Blade to the jealous Miyamoto Yoshiki and urged him to challenge Wen Xishu after the Great Devourment.

• Xiao Jin woke in the Guide’s space, worried that his performance on the Maze Train had been poor, and planned to return to the Bunker.
• Wen Xishu received two runes after achieving Level Six Completion, then learned that important beings might notice him if he ended the Great Devourment.
• Liu Zizai ordered Yue Yun, Nissen, Zheng Zai, and A Miao away from Orange Vortices, but Wen Xishu returned and used his Safe House authority to expel Liu Zizai.
• Wen Xishu’s teammates chose not to join him at the Ancient Castle Storytelling vortex, and he departed alone while Xiao Jin went to the upper floors.
• Liu Zizai summoned Miyamoto Yoshiki, gave him the Demon Blade, and told him to challenge Wen Xishu after the Great Devourment.
• Wen Xishu entered the third Orange Vortex, hoping its ancient castle mission would lead him to more Tower Power.

At a Constellation meeting, Aries warned Sagittarius not to target someone useful to her, while the others argued over whether to interfere. In the Ancient Castle Storytelling game, Wen Xishu learned that contestants had to tell stories of their evil deeds for an audience whose anticipation affected survival, as Chef’s grisly tale began to outshine Snake-Tongued Woman’s.

• Aries called the Constellations together and warned Sagittarius not to kill the person she considered useful, while Cancer cautioned that he had become too powerful to eliminate easily.
• Wen Xishu chose Three Worlds Resonance after rolling triple threes, then inspected the other seven contestants and noticed that they had different audience comments and anticipation scores.
• The castle’s voice announced that the contestants had to tell stories about evil they had committed, and that the contestant with zero anticipation would die.
• Shifty-Eyed Man barely told a story about stealing from his neighbor, leaving his anticipation at two and revealing that the lowest-scoring contestant could be executed after the stories and incidents.
• Snake-Tongued Woman’s story about seducing a married man sent her anticipation soaring, but Chef then described deep-frying his mistress and turning his wife into wife cakes, causing his score to surge.

Wen Xishu and the other seven storytellers finished sharing tales of their misdeeds, then entered rooms where those stories began to become real. Wen Xishu encountered An Jincheng, who greeted him warmly, leaving Wen Xishu unsure which version of his old acquaintance had appeared.

• Chef, Snake-Tongued Woman, and Lecturer Man told stories that earned high anticipation scores, while Wen Xishu drew viewers in with a tale about persuading the An Family Brothers to abandon their wealth.
• Wen Xishu reasoned that the story reenactments could endanger storytellers whose targets were stronger than they were, as Brat’s tale about tormenting a courier provoked viewers to anticipate his punishment.
• Fool described forcing people to eat filth, and Bald Spider Man recounted killing a robbery ringleader and taking the money.
• The storytellers’ scores placed Brat first and Wen Xishu fifth, after which servants led all eight participants to rooms for their story reenactments.
• Wen Xishu entered his room and greeted An Jincheng, who was surprised to see him and asked whether Wen Xishu had brought them there.

Wen Xishu welcomed An Youxuan and An Jincheng, learned about Deep City, and offered them refuge in Wind City while the Storytelling Club’s incidents unfolded around the other participants. After the Shifty-Eyed Man was eliminated and round two began, Wen Xishu used the story-manifesting mechanism to reach the other Wen Xishu by invoking his longing to see Wen Chaohua.

• An Youxuan thanked Wen Xishu for helping the brothers give up their inheritance, and An Jincheng described Deep City’s dangerous supernatural conditions.
• Wen Xishu offered the brothers a safe place in Wind City, and they reacted with gratitude and awe.
• The incidents exposed the Snake-Tongued Woman’s manipulation, the Chef’s violence, the Delivery Worker’s kindness toward the Brat, and the bald spider man’s death; the Shifty-Eyed Man’s anticipation score remained at one.
• The Storytelling Club began its second round with a rule requiring each story’s villain to be stronger than the previous round’s villain, and the knight statues killed the eliminated Shifty-Eyed Man.
• As the lecturer told a story about a girl, Wen Xishu called to the other Wen Xishu by invoking Wen Chaohua, and the voice in his mind asked if it could see its brother.

Wen Xishu considered telling a story about Wen Chaohua, but his trembling Scorpion Dagger and a powerful warning across space and time convinced him to change course. Far away, a sapphire-haired archer sensed the dangerous karmic connection, failed to aim at its source, and vowed to find it.

• Wen Xishu asked the other soul in his body about Wen Chaohua, and the fool recalled how his brother had trusted and defended him despite his lies.
• Snake-Tongued Woman's anticipation score fell as her second story lost the audience's interest, while Brat scored highly by describing how he had poisoned three stray dogs and posted their deaths online.
• Wen Xishu's Scorpion Dagger trembled violently as he considered telling a story about Wen Chaohua, and the fool pleaded to see his brother.
• Wen Xishu warned the fool that Wen Chaohua might be powerful enough to kill him, then decided to switch stories and apologized to the audience for the delay.
• A long-haired archer with a sapphire-blue bow sensed a flickering karmic target, lowered his weapon when it vanished, and vowed to find the person behind the connection.