Chapter Summaries

Wen Xishu used the third round’s new rule to turn the Storytelling Club’s audience into the victims in his story, sending his anticipation score soaring. As the next Incident began, he prepared to use the club’s power to uncover its origins and obtain the Invitation Letter.

• Wen Xishu told a story about Jack and Jennifer seeking him out, while Chef implied that he had served a customer the meat of his wife and child, and Fool revealed that he was a serial killer targeting disabled people.
• During the Incident, Wen Xishu reunited with Jack and Jennifer in Moen City, learned that Jack could give Mental Barrage physical form using emotion, and invited them to seek help in Wind City.
• Chef died during his Incident, while Brat, Lecturer Man, Fool, and Wen Xishu survived; Snake-Tongued Woman’s anticipation score collapsed, and the statues killed her before announcing the third round’s multiple-victim rule.
• Wen Xishu realized that the audience, not the other storytellers, was the key to the game, then told a story mocking the commenters who had been demanding violence and trying to uncover his secrets.
• The angry commenters drove Wen Xishu’s anticipation score to 405, and he looked forward to using the next Incident to bring them into his story and investigate the Storytelling Club’s origins.

Wen Xishu discovered that the Storytelling Club’s audience were townspeople whose memories and personalities had been altered, and he urged them to help expose whoever was controlling them. Most remained afraid, but Miao Sha believed him and agreed to resist, leaving Wen Xishu ready to confront the hidden force alone if necessary.

• Wen Xishu entered a small-town crossroads surrounded by hundreds of confused spectators and recognized the dead Snake-Tongued Woman, Miao Sha, among them.
• Wen Xishu questioned Miao Sha and learned that she remembered being a kindergarten teacher but had lost the memories of her time in the Storytelling Club.
• Wen Xishu concluded that the spectators were former townspeople who had lost the game and had their memories and personalities twisted by an outside force.
• Wen Xishu told the crowd they might be victims of a monster and asked them to help expose it, but many feared resisting the master of the old castle.
• Miao Sha stepped forward to support Wen Xishu, and he left the crossroads determined to confront the hidden enemy even without the crowd's help.

Wen Xishu used the fourth round’s shuffled incident rooms to tell a story that implicated the Storytelling Club’s mastermind and summoned powerful enemies into his room, though his anticipation score plunged. As the male lecturer and Brat told their stories, Wen Xishu focused on the strange reaction his brother Wen Chaohua had caused in the Scorpio Knife and awaited the coming battle.

• The knight announced that the killer had scored lowest in the third round, executed him, and revealed that the audience’s perversity scores would double and the incident-room order would be shuffled.
• Wen Xishu found support from Miao Sha and began a story claiming the Storytelling Club’s owner had twisted the town’s residents, making the lecturer and Brat question their own natures.
• Wen Xishu described how he had obstructed Ahn Young-jae’s Reverse Seven Project and wronged the Ghost Bride, Jiang Qing, and the Shoe Woman, adding them as backup against the Castle Lord in his incident room.
• The audience gave Wen Xishu’s disjointed story little support, and his anticipation score fell from 400 to 24, giving the male lecturer and Brat hope that he would be eliminated.
• As the male lecturer and Brat told their stories, Wen Xishu recalled that the Scorpio Knife had reacted strongly to Wen Chaohua and waited for the monsters’ coming confrontation.

During the Storytelling Club’s Incident phase, Wen Xishu entered Brat’s room while the lecturer was sent into a strange realm with several powerful dead beings. They joined forces against the Priest, who ended the Incident after Jiang Qing was destroyed, but the encounter forced him to remember a forbidden secret.

• Wen Xishu entered Brat’s Incident Room, where children who had been bullied by Brat threatened him.
• The lecturer encountered Jiang Qing, Ahn Young-jae, Qiao Xi, and the Ghost Bride in a misty realm, and the Priest appeared after Ahn Young-jae sensed him hiding.
• Ahn Young-jae revealed that the Priest had invaded their minds, prompting the dead beings to attack him together while Qiao Xi summoned Divine Guards.
• The Priest fought back through a dark church, destroying Jiang Qing’s Slender Ghostly Shadow form and creating an opening to use his authority as Castle Lord to end the Incident.
• Ahn Young-jae returned to Qi City as the Ghost Bride and Qiao Xi crumbled away, while the Priest panicked after being made to remember something forbidden.

Wen Xishu accepted an Invitation Letter that sent him to the Desire Tower’s past, where he investigated the curse afflicting a peaceful town and traced it to Priest’s church. As he approached the church, Jessica identified herself as the town’s villain, Ruinbringer.

• The Castle Lord, who was also the Priest, used the Invitation Letter’s reset ability to send Wen Xishu to the Desire Tower.
• Wen Xishu learned in the Rest Area that the Great Devourment was being dismantled quickly and entered the Desire Tower’s thirtieth floor.
• Wen Xishu questioned a child and learned that townspeople had been turning wicked, that Priest claimed to cure them, and that dogs had recently died near Andrew.
• Wen Xishu sensed that Priest was inside the church and suspected that he was the source of the town’s evil, despite having lost his Tower Power.
• Jessica stopped Wen Xishu and revealed that she was the town’s villain, Ruinbringer.

Wen Xishu learned from Jessica, a purified Ruinbringer, that Priest was secretly the source of the town’s evil and that confession could expose him to powerful summoned victims. After deciding to trust Jessica and hearing her plan, Wen Xishu began considering how to exploit the difference between real victims and their simulated counterparts, then asked when they would act.

• Jessica told Wen Xishu that Priest had purified her, and that she had discovered Priest was creating the town’s evil while retaining memories across loops.
• Jessica explained how Priest’s confession ritual summoned simulated victims and let him purify evil and absorb their power, and she warned that the summoned victim had to be powerful enough to challenge him.
• Wen Xishu weighed Jessica’s account against what he knew about the Strange Tower and decided to trust her.
• Jessica proposed confessing to Priest while Wen Xishu hid inside the Church and waited for the purification domain to appear.
• Wen Xishu realized that a simulated victim might avoid the danger of summoning the real person, and he asked Jessica when they would make their move.

Wen Xishu and Jessica lured the priest into the church and used Jessica’s loop-born power to draw out Wen Renjing, creating an opening for Wen Xishu to summon the being he had been waiting for. The priest’s black liquid receded to reveal Wen Chaohua, whom Wen Renjing recognized as an old friend.

• Wen Xishu convinced Jessica that tormenting someone powerful could summon them, and Jessica agreed to confront the priest despite knowing her loop would end if he fell.
• Jessica provoked the priest in the church, and he trapped her with a glowing cross and black liquid that forced her to confess.
• The priest’s power brought forth a simulated Wen Renjing, whose Desire Sequence briefly suppressed the priest’s evil thoughts before the priest overwhelmed him with the evil he had absorbed.
• Wen Xishu confessed his own deeds while resisting the priest’s mental invasion with his willpower and the Wooden Fish.
• Wen Xishu pointed behind the priest and summoned a figure whose immense pressure overwhelmed the priest’s power.
• The black liquid receded to reveal Wen Chaohua, and the simulated Wen Renjing recognized him as a longtime friend.

Wen Chaohua appeared to rescue Wen Renjing and Wen Xishu, then annihilated Priest and revealed that he was a simulation created by the Badlands Divine Kingdom. Before disappearing, he warned Wen Renjing not to use his Sequence and directed Wen Xishu toward the Wen Family Old Residence to learn the truth.

• Wen Chaohua emerged from the black liquid, drew it away from Wen Renjing, and began healing him while greeting Wen Renjing and Wen Xishu.
• Priest summoned the Punishment Knights to attack Wen Chaohua, who erased them with Divine Rebound and annihilated Priest.
• Wen Chaohua told Wen Renjing that they were both simulations and warned him not to use his unique Sequence, then embraced Wen Xishu.
• Wen Chaohua said Sinland had set its sights on Wen Xishu and told him to visit the Wen Family Old Residence once his Magic Resistance was high enough.

Wen Xishu reconciled with the simulated Wen Chaohua, learned a secret about a hidden god, and was forced back into the Three Towers’ simulation. After Wen Chaohua and Wen Renjing set out to change the Desire Tower, the simulation simplified the Strange Tower’s thirtieth-floor challenge, leaving Wen Xishu to face the Priest’s lingering obsession.

• Wen Chaohua apologized to Wen Xishu for the Wen Family’s destruction and revealed that the real Chaohua might be found after Wen Xishu dealt with the person who could shoot down causality.
• Wen Chaohua transferred the Priest’s memories to Wen Xishu, revealing a hidden god whose death could strengthen the Twelve Zodiac Signs.
• The Strange Tower restarted the thirtieth-floor mission and began modifying the memories of players without Invitation Letters.
• Wen Renjing accepted that he could not return to the Bunker and asked Jessica to explore the Desire Tower with him and help change the world.
• The simulation showed that the Priest’s death had reduced Ancient Castle Storytelling to Church Storytelling, with the Priest’s Obsession remaining as the final judge.
• Wen Xishu learned that defeating the Priest’s Obsession would now conclude the challenge and noted that he had a story that would make it hate him.

Wen Xishu ended the Strange Tower storytelling session by confronting the Priest’s Obsession, sparing him, and gaining three Sequences. After the third Orange Vortex collapsed, Albert and Evelyn discussed the Great Devourment’s near end and Wen Xishu’s next challenge: uncovering the Academy’s secrets.

• Wen Xishu reminded the Priest of their past encounter, and the Priest’s Obsession recognized him and feared him.
• Wen Xishu ended the storytelling session, and the Priest’s Punishment Knights killed the bearded man and the middle-aged woman.
• Wen Xishu intimidated the Priest with the Phoenix Glove and Scorpio’s Cheating Knife, then demanded the Priest’s Sequences.
• The Priest gave Wen Xishu three powers, and Wen Xishu spared him before leaving the Strange Tower.
• The third Orange Vortex collapsed, and Albert and Evelyn agreed that the Great Devourment was nearing its end.
• Albert said Wen Xishu would likely destroy another Orange Vortex before turning to uncover the Academy’s secrets.

After destroying the third Orange Vortex, Wen Xishu gained six sequences and returned to the Bunker, where his efforts brought every resident an extra year of life and greater disease resistance. He told Albert that he had encountered his elder brother, Wen Chaohua.

• Wen Xishu inspected his new sequences, including Personality party, Stick to the Rules, and Perfect Parry, then chose which four sequences to equip.
• The Guide explained that Wen Xishu’s unusual progress through the Strange Tower had earned him a faction-wide reward, while the three Guide heads discussed his interest in their laughter after he left.
• Bunker residents celebrated the destruction of the third vortex, then received a message granting them one extra year of life and a twenty-five percent increase in disease resistance.
• Wen Xishu returned to the Safe House, where Albert and Evelyn welcomed him and learned that he was ready to face the next vortex.
• Wen Xishu asked Albert to clear the room, then revealed that he had seen his elder brother, Wen Chaohua.

Wen Xishu learned that Wen Chaohua had survived and planned to investigate the sealed Wen Family Old Residence after the Great Devourment. He entered a merged Orange Vortex and arrived in Hujiang, where a woman welcomed him to Human-Hole Village and invited him to a Pain Auction.

• Albert told Wen Xishu that Wen Chaohua had once been offered a way to sneak out of the Bunker, and Wen Xishu asked about the sealed Wen Family Old Residence.
• Albert agreed that Wen Xishu could visit the old residence after the Great Devourment ended and warned him that two Orange Vortices had merged.
• Wen Xishu chose the merged vortex, which involved pain, happiness, and Human Holes, and entered it alone despite its danger.
• Wen Xishu arrived in a tilted, floating house in Hujiang, where his Magic Resistance struggled to make sense of the garbled information around him.
• Wen Xishu chose Unimpeded Passage from the Madman's Dice and gained Scorpio's Pause ability, then met a woman who welcomed him to Human-Hole Village and asked if he was ready for the Pain Auction.

Wen Xishu arrived in Human-Hole Village and learned from Void 04 about its cursed holes, the Black Vortex, and the Pain Auction, where suffering served as currency. Void 04 brought him to the auction, where the bizarre patrons’ interest in his unmarked body made him suspect that the mission would be exceptionally dangerous.

• Wen Xishu questioned Void 04 about Human-Hole Village and learned that human-shaped holes appeared after people died and were linked by black veins to a Black Vortex that cursed the region.
• Void 04 explained that people could trade suffering for Pain Currency at the Museum and use pain to activate superpowers.
• Void 04 stabbed herself to generate energy, opened a portal, and warned Wen Xishu not to hurt himself because he was still an Unmarked Person.
• Wen Xishu entered the Pain Auction with Void 04 and noticed that his unmarked, uninjured body drew the attention of the attendees.
• A stud-covered man praised Wen Xishu’s body and talked about making Pain Currency from him, leaving Wen Xishu to question the difficulty of the mission.

Wen Xishu watched bidders inflict pain to compete for auction items and learned that suffering became currency inside the Pain Auction. When Rena claimed she had enough Pain Points for a life-saving necklace, Wen Xishu revealed his unmarked body and entered the bidding.

• The auctioneer opened the bidding for Wine of Agony, and Tanaka Xiangtai gouged out his eyes for Pain Points but lost his perception ability.
• The Half-Headed Old Man outbid Tanaka by piercing his heart and won the wine, then used a sip of it to recall his family’s suffering.
• The auctioneer introduced a Pain Crystal Gem Necklace that negated fatal injuries, and the Half-Headed Old Man’s Pain Points stalled at forty-two as he tried to raise them.
• A father slit his own throat hoping his daughter Rena would suffer, but she felt relief at his death and inherited enough Pain Points to bid for the necklace.
• Wen Xishu revealed his unmarked body and announced that he would take the necklace.

Wen Xishu won several pain auction items and entered Human-Hole Village, where he investigated the Human Holes and stepped into the one formed by Yoshida Daibu’s grandson. Inside, he met a boy who called himself the Human Hole Guide and warned that no one had ever left alive.

• Wen Xishu used pain to earn points, won a pain necklace, and agreed to explore Yoshida Daibu’s grandson’s Human Hole.
• Wen Xishu won the Agony Umbilical Cord but passed on items that caused memory loss or physical damage.
• Void 04 teleported Wen Xishu to Human-Hole Village after cutting open her abdomen, and she said the curator believed he could dismantle the Human Holes.
• Wen Xishu found the grandson’s Human Hole on the village outskirts and entered despite hearing warnings to stay away.
• Inside, Wen Xishu found a rainbow-lit tunnel and met a boy in a white kimono who identified himself as the Human Hole Guide and said no one had ever escaped alive.

Wen Xishu entered the Human Hole after receiving cryptic warnings from its guide about happiness and danger. Inside, Yoshida Xiaohui experienced an increasingly joyful life while a woman called Doubt tried to reach him, and the chapter ended as he affirmed that he was happy and something was killed.

• The Human Hole Guide warned Wen Xishu that happiness and doubt could be dangerous, then vanished, and Wen Xishu charged into the tunnel.
• Yoshida Xiaohui woke from a dream to find he had scored well on a test and that Haruko wanted to walk home with him.
• Xiaohui told Haruko he wanted to become a manga artist, and his newly prosperous grandfather encouraged him to pursue his dream.
• In another dream, a masked woman named Doubt searched for the person interfering with Xiaohui and warned that her team would grow.
• Haruko asked Xiaohui if he was happy, and he answered that he was very happy as a blade pierced flesh and something was killed.

Xiao Hui lived through a series of increasingly successful lives inside the Human Hole while Doubt and Fear hunted the intruder they believed was trying to make him unhappy. At the third node, Yoshida Xiaohui uncovered their mistake, remembered that he was Wen Xishu, and caused Doubt to begin disappearing.

• Xiao Hui found an unremovable 1 on his palm, and the masked man who called him Wen Xishu was chased by a crowd before Doubt and Fear explained that they had killed a secondary personality.
• Xiao Hui's memories jumped ahead to age seventeen, where he became a successful student and manga artist, dated Yumi, and found a 2 on his palm after she asked whether he was happy.
• Doubt killed another masked personality at the hostel, then stabbed herself and Fear to suppress Xiao Hui's fear and doubt.
• At Node 03, Yoshida Xiaohui tested how easily his desires came true and told Lisa that she would ask whether he was happy.
• Doubt realized Yoshida Xiaohui had understood the Human Hole's rules and was watching her as she faded away.
• Yoshida Xiaohui explained that Doubt had mistaken his real intellectual disability for a source of unhappiness, then revealed that his name was Wen Xishu.

Wen Xishu escaped Yoshida Xiaohui’s Human Hole by recovering his identity and gathering misfortune from truths he could not know. After returning to Human-Hole Village, he learned he had survived a Human Hole and earned the right to meet the Pain Auction’s Curator.

• Wen Xishu explained to Yoshida Xiaohui how the Human Hole trapped him in a false happy life and used embodied negative emotions to stop him from escaping.
• Wen Xishu revealed how his personalities guided Yoshida Xiaohui toward wisdom, allowing him to see through the world and awaken as Wen Xishu.
• Wen Xishu deliberately pondered unknowable questions, gathered misfortune, and shattered the false world to escape the Human Hole.
• The boy gave Wen Xishu a bottle of collected misfortune and said he needed to gather more from Human Holes, while warning him not to rely on luck repeatedly.
• Wen Xishu returned to Hujiang and met Void 04, who opened a portal to take him to the Auction House so he could meet the Curator.

After dismantling a Human Hole, Wen Xishu returned to the Pain Auction and met its hidden director, who revealed that District 20’s people were cursed to suffer and suspected their pain was tied to Human-Hole Village. Wen Xishu learned that the director’s freedom depended on destroying every Human Hole, then asked how he could preserve his sense of self while exploring them.

• Wen Xishu returned from the Human Hole to the Pain Auction, astonishing the waiting crowd when Void 04 announced that he had dismantled one in under two hours.
• Wen Xishu followed the emergency passage into darkness and spoke with the concealed director, whom he suspected was a Ruinbringer.
• The director explained that District 19 had once been a place where everyone was happy, while District 20 had been cursed so its people endured pain and gained power from it.
• The director revealed that he suffered everyone’s auction pain and had a mission to destroy every Human Hole to regain his freedom.
• The director speculated that Human-Hole Village’s misfortune had been absorbed by people outside it and advised Wen Xishu to explore deep within District 19.
• Wen Xishu asked how he could retain his sense of self inside Human Holes.

Wen Xishu entered Human-Hole Village’s deepest Human Hole and experienced the life of Morita Yu, a supposed immortal who brought happiness by removing misfortune. After the Curator transferred his pain to Morita Yu, Wen Xishu escaped and identified the little boy as the true source of the village’s miracles.

• Wen Xishu agreed to let the Curator mark him with a pain link, then returned to the Auction House and told Yoshida Daibu that Yoshida Xiaohui was dead but happy in the Human Hole.
• Wen Xishu entered the largest Human Hole in Human-Hole Village and became Morita Yu, a man worshipped for granting people luck and happiness.
• Morita Yu’s miracles made villagers happy while their misfortune accumulated as black liquid, and Wen Xishu’s secondary personality realized that Morita was using someone else’s power.
• The Curator transferred his pain to Morita Yu, causing intense suffering that generated enough misfortune to shatter the Human Hole and awaken Wen Xishu.
• Wen Xishu anchored his identity, severed the pain link, and concluded that Morita Yu was not the true source of the miracles.
• Wen Xishu told the little boy that he was the immortal who consumed other people’s misfortune.