Chapter Summaries

Ai Li ordered Barren to return to District 10 and synchronize its Nightmare, while Ji Yan learned that the Truthful Ghost would reveal the letter’s secret only after he deceived a Black Chess teammate forever. Ji Yan’s attempt to discuss the condition triggered a painful reaction that stitched the corners of his mouth shut.

• Ai Li drew the Devil card and concluded that V was likely controlled in District 13, while [C] suggested killing him to keep his codename from the Black Chess Faction.
• Ai Li rejected [C]’s plan to use [F], then ordered Barren to enter District 10’s Nightmare and complete its synchronization as a secret weapon.
• Barren and [C] left after Ai Li explained that his [All Chess Edict] Authority let him turn commands into Side Quests and penalize disobedient White Chess Players.
• Ji Yan learned that the Truthful Ghost could answer questions truthfully, but only after he completed a perfect deception against a Black Chess teammate who would remain unaware forever.
• As Ji Yan questioned the Truthful Ghost about the condition, its chin-mouth split open and the corners of Ji Yan’s mouth were stitched shut.

Ji Yan reunited with Kong Yi and Xu Xin while hiding the truth that V was still alive. After bargaining with Truthful Ghost for V’s exclusive-privilege information, Ji Yan vanished into the darkness to hunt him, while Kong Yi and Xu Xin continued toward assimilating [Nightmare].

• Ji Yan’s mouth healed shut as punishment for lying, and Truthful Ghost guided him to Kong Yi and Xu Xin.
• Kong Yi said they had eliminated M, while Xu Xin revealed she had V’s head and doubted that V was truly dead.
• Ji Yan claimed his talent found no information in V’s head, but Truthful Ghost exposed that he had learned V’s exclusive privilege and was deceiving his teammates.
• Ji Yan bargained with Truthful Ghost for the details of V’s privilege, then slipped away into the darkness to eliminate V.
• Xu Xin identified Ji Yan’s three lies, but Kong Yi decided they should leave him to handle his own business and focus on assimilating [Nightmare].
• Deep within [Nightmare], V opened his eyes and spoke Truthful Ghost’s name.

Ji Yan sought Truthful Ghost’s help to learn V’s exclusive talent, but delayed getting the information until he found V. He tracked V to a mirror-filled room, only to discover that the apparent target was a decoy and V’s mysterious eye had frozen him in place.

• Ji Yan confronted Truthful Ghost over its repeated promises and chose to wait until he found V before learning V’s exclusive talent.
• After hearing a thud in a nearby room, Ji Yan found eerie energy and shadows among its mirrors and entered to confront V.
• Truthful Ghost pointed out a mirror, and Ji Yan shattered it, exposing a severely injured Sound Eater Ghost.
• Ji Yan attacked the Sound Eater Ghost, but it proved to be a mirror decoy, while V’s true body stood behind him.
• V opened an eerie eye containing black and pale-white eyeballs, and Ji Yan froze as if locked in place.

V used [Double Swastika Flower] to force Ji Yan and Truthful Ghost to switch roles, leaving Ji Yan gravely injured and V convinced he could claim the ghost. Kong Yi and Xu Xin returned and attacked V, but Truthful Ghost then revealed that V still did not understand how to use his new privilege.

• V triggered [Double Swastika Flower], swapping Ji Yan's Truthful Ghost with the Sound Eater Ghost V had been playing.
• Truthful Ghost explained that it had chosen to leave Ji Yan and told V it could provide information if he met its conditions.
• V moved to kill the weakened Ji Yan, but Kong Yi appeared and knocked him down, while Xu Xin severed his arms with a slash.
• V realized Ji Yan had used an advanced exclusive privilege to bring Kong Yi and Xu Xin back, despite V having recorded their conversation.
• Truthful Ghost told V that he would not die while it depended on him, then offered to teach him the true use of [Double Swastika Flower].

V escaped after Truthful Ghost appeared to unlock a hidden power in his [Double Swastika Flower], but Ji Yan revealed that the ghost was actually a Deceiving Ghoul. Ji Yan had manipulated V into taking it back to the White Chess Faction, where its lies could turn members into Lie Puppets and create a massive hidden danger.

• Truthful Ghost made V agree to spread lies in exchange for its help, then staged a frightening display that let V escape while Kong Yi and Xu Xin stayed behind with Ji Yan.
• Xu Xin found that V was still inside the [Nightmare], but Ji Yan persuaded her not to pursue him because V had taken the dangerous ghost away.
• Ji Yan explained that Truthful Ghost had repeatedly given him empty promises and that its supposed information and Game Panel description were fabricated.
• Kong Yi and Ji Yan identified the ghost as a Deceiving Ghoul that could turn anyone who trusted its lies into a Lie Puppet.
• Ji Yan revealed that he, Xu Xin, and Kong Yi had staged their conversation to lure V into taking the Deceiving Ghoul back to the White Chess Faction.
• Xu Xin realized the Deceiving Ghoul could spread through the White Chess Faction and bring it to ruin from within.

Ji Yan explained how his upgraded privilege helped him coordinate with Kong Yi and Xu Xin against the Deceiving Ghoul, then the trio returned to the public Nightmare domain to find the Initial Player. They learned that V had reached a deal with the Initial Player and was playing in its Private Paradise.

• Ji Yan reasoned that the Deceiving Ghoul had manipulated V and would likely target the White Chess Faction rather than the Black Chess Faction.
• Ji Yan revealed that Soul Rebirth let him transmit information to Black Chess Players in eerie disguises, at the cost of the disguised eerie being’s vitality.
• Ji Yan, Kong Yi, and Xu Xin left their eerie disguises and exited the unknown Nightmare domain as Exiles.
• The trio found the Initial Player counting to one hundred at the dining table in the public Nightmare domain.
• The Initial Player said V had claimed to be the sole surviving Exile and exchanged one item for the revival of three Exiles.
• The Initial Player told Ji Yan and the others that V was in its Private Paradise and would be coming out soon.

Ji Yan and the others discovered that V had escaped the Initial Player’s [Nightmare] through the Deceiving Ghoul’s fraud. Outside, the Deceiving Ghoul persuaded V to take it to meet [A] so it could carry out further deceptions and grow stronger.

• Ji Yan, Kong Yi, and Xu Xin realized that V had used the Deceiving Ghoul to trick the Initial Player into creating an exit from the [Nightmare].
• Ji Yan explained that successful fraud could grant the Deceiving Ghoul a Deception Privilege and wondered what role it had played in the original Order dungeon.
• Kong Yi, Xu Xin, and Ji Yan discussed how to assimilate the Initial Player while considering the danger of provoking him under Primal Bloodshed’s influence.
• Outside the [Nightmare], the Deceiving Ghoul admitted that V’s hidden [Double Swastika Flower] ability was fabricated to help him escape.
• The Deceiving Ghoul asked V to deceive a teammate and take it to meet [A], promising information and an upgrade in return.
• V agreed to take the Deceiving Ghoul to [A], deciding that his personal interests outweighed loyalty to his teammates.

Ji Yan negotiated with District 13’s Initial Player and completed assimilation of its [Nightmare], securing its use through an undisclosed deal. After the group replenished their strength, Xu Xin said they should use District 13 as a core base and regroup the scattered Black Chess Players.

• Ai Li drew V’s Moons card, wondered what had happened to V, and sensed that District 10’s [Nightmare] had been taken down.
• Ji Yan entered Private Paradise to speak with District 13’s Initial Player while Xu Xin and Kong Yi waited outside.
• The [Nightmare] transformed into a blank white space, and Ji Yan emerged with the Initial Player, who granted him use of the [Nightmare] in exchange for an agreement.
• Ji Yan refused to reveal the condition he had proposed, while Xu Xin inferred that he had made an empty promise.
• Xu Xin advised the group to rest and recover before acting, and Ji Yan summoned a feast for them.
• After they ate, Xu Xin proposed using District 13’s assimilated [Nightmare] as a core base and regrouping with the other Black Chess Players.

Ji Yan, Kong Yi, and Xu Xin discussed the Black Chess Faction’s scattered members and their disadvantage against the White Chess Faction’s coordinated players. After District 13’s Nightmares were assimilated, Ji Yan ranked third, then learned that Black Chess Players [X] and [K] had given up their rewards and value to him.

• Kong Yi and Xu Xin listed the missing Black Chess Players and explained that White Chess Player [A] could coordinate and mobilize the White Chess Faction through special Authorities.
• Kong Yi recalled how White Chess Players had defeated him and his former team, leaving him betrayed and nearly dead in an Abandoned Dungeon.
• Xu Xin said the Black Chess Faction needed to contact its scattered members, and Kong Yi hinted that Ji Yan was the reason he had been sent to bring him into the Final Battlefield.
• The Game Panel announced that District 13’s Nightmares had finished assimilating and ranked Ji Yan third among the participating Chess Players.
• The Game Panel announced that Black Chess Players [X] and [K] had voluntarily surrendered their rewards and value to Ji Yan.

Ji Yan learned that his allies had raised his importance so [Night Burial Maitreya] would upgrade his exclusive talent and help him locate the other Black Chess Players. With the Blood Paper Person pointing toward District 15, he prepared to seek out Qian Duoduo and possibly Luo Xixi.

• Ji Yan realized Xu Xin and Kong Yi had surrendered District 13's rewards to raise his importance, and [Night Burial Maitreya] upgraded his [Heart Soul] to [Thousand Machine Soul].
• Ji Yan understood that his new talent let him assume an eerie entity's role in a chosen Nightmare, making it useful for finding missing Black Chess Players.
• Xu Xin explained that the Final Battlefield was won when one side's Chess Players all went offline, and that the Black Chess Players needed to secure Nightmares while avoiding enemy territory.
• Xu Xin used the Blood Paper Person to locate a companion at coordinates 8, 16, which Ji Yan recognized as District 15's Nightmare.
• Ji Yan realized Qian Duoduo was likely there and suspected Luo Xixi was with him, leaving him ready to encounter more familiar faces.

Ji Yan used [Thousand Machine Soul] to leave his body and contact the Black Chess Players while Xu Xin and Kong Yi prepared to act against [A]. The chapter ended with Ai Li confronting the supposedly dead V in the Land of Exile.

• Kong Yi and Xu Xin explained that Ji Yan could use [Thousand Machine Soul] to take on a ghoul’s role, and Xu Xin revealed that the Blood Paper Person was a communicator bestowed by [Night Burial Maitreya].
• Xu Xin and Kong Yi told Ji Yan they had located a place that might be [A]’s hideout and planned to strike while Ji Yan contacted the other Black Chess Players.
• Ji Yan assumed an NPC’s role and activated [Thousand Machine Soul], leaving his body behind under Xu Xin and Kong Yi’s watch.
• Xu Xin received a message from Wu Jiangyue, and Kong Yi said he would confront [A] because he had seen [A]’s exclusive privilege and understood Authority.
• Kong Yi revealed that [Daily Hidden Tuo Luo] and [Night Burial Maitreya] wanted their favored players to clash and see which one broke first.
• In the Land of Exile, Ai Li found V alive and asked how V had returned.

V returned from District 13's [Nightmare] with a warning that Black Chess Player [W] had infiltrated the White Chess Faction by impersonating a player. Ai Li confirmed that a Tarot Card had hinted at a spy and began to suspect everyone, leaving the faction on alert.

• V argued that Ai Li had omitted K from his information about District 13's [Nightmare] and explained that Mo Yu had revealed K's exclusive privilege.
• V revealed that K had located the Land of Exile and planned to use the assimilated District 13 [Nightmare] to attack it and capture Ai Li.
• V proposed that [W] could kill a White Chess Player and perfectly impersonate them, inheriting their body, information, and Game Panel privileges.
• Ai Li said a [The Fool] Tarot Card had warned him of deception targeting the White Chess Faction and confirmed that V's report pointed to an infiltrator.
• Ai Li said he trusted no one, thanked V for the information, and told him to recover while he made new arrangements.
• V left after criticizing Ai Li's leadership and the White Chess Faction's losses.

Ai Li recognized that V had returned with a Deceiving Ghoul manipulating him, and he ordered the Black Chess Faction to prepare an early strike against K while watching for J. V, meanwhile, resolved to outwit Ai Li as the ghoul’s influence over him deepened.

• Ai Li concluded that V’s real self was dead and that the Deceiving Ghoul had mixed truths with lies about the mole and exposed coordinates.
• Ai Li told Cen Liu to investigate the ghoul and ordered Baron to prepare for an early strike against K, warning him to eliminate J if they met.
• V learned that the Deceiving Ghoul could steal known information from targets he deceived, but the ghoul admitted it had failed to extract anything from Ai Li.
• V vowed to strip Ai Li of his leadership, while the Deceiving Ghoul encouraged him and continued drawing him toward the Abyss.

Xu Xin and Kong Yi discovered that District 10’s Nightmare had collided with District 13’s, forcing the two domains to merge. Meanwhile, Ji Yan woke as a puppet audience member in District 15’s Nightmare and watched a ballerina perform until a sudden sound from the stage startled him.

• Xu Xin received Wu Jiangyue’s warning to evacuate District 13, but the Nightmare began splitting open before she and Kong Yi could leave.
• Kong Yi identified the invading domain as District 10’s Nightmare and guessed that [A] had triggered the collision.
• District 10’s and District 13’s Nightmares overlapped and fused into one larger domain.
• Ji Yan activated [Thousand Machine Soul] and was randomly assigned to play an Eerie NPC in District 15’s Nightmare.
• Ji Yan found himself as a nailed puppet seated among rows of puppet spectators in an opera house, watching a ballerina repeat her performance.
• When Ji Yan tried to use [Omniscient Understanding] to disrupt the scene, a crack sounded from the stage and he saw something unexpected.

Ji Yan discovered that the bloodied dancer in District 15’s Nightmare was Luo Xixi, but a scarlet tail and the puppet audience killed her before he could reach her. The Nightmare’s one-use rule for Eerie Weapons left Ji Yan overwhelmed and killed as well, and he woke for his second Rebirth Script with a mission to escape the Opera House.

• Ji Yan used the Yin Yuan Red Thread to identify the dancer as Luo Xixi, who pointed him out to the puppet audience.
• A scarlet tail smashed Luo Xixi into the seats, where the puppet audience tore her apart.
• Ji Yan fought off the puppet audience with the Demon Hunting Eerie Gun, then learned that Nightmare rules made all Eerie Weapons and eerie items single-use.
• The puppet audience swarmed Ji Yan, and a scarlet tail smashed him to pieces.
• Ji Yan revived for his second Rebirth Script and received the mission to escape the Opera House.

Ji Yan learned that each death in District 15’s [Nightmare] let an eerie consciousness invade his mind, then discovered his new identity was a makeup artist in the Opera House. He headed backstage seeking information about Qian Duoduo and Luo Xixi, and an eerie performer asked him whether he had seen a child.

• Ji Yan suppressed the eerie consciousness invading his mind and realized repeated deaths could turn him into a walking corpse like Luo Xixi.
• Ji Yan summoned Timid Ghoul with the [Dog Blood Jade] and learned that he had been assigned the identity of a makeup artist.
• Ji Yan left his room and saw two black-headed, white-faced boys whose hidden information hinted that they had caused a disaster at the Opera House.
• Ji Yan reached the Dressing Room, where Timid Ghoul warned him not to speak to the eerie performer unless it spoke first.
• The eerie performer asked Ji Yan whether he had seen that child.

Ji Yan died to Burning Death Eerie and began a third rebirth as a performer, while his growing assimilation threatened to overwhelm him. He found Qian Duoduo trapped in the Nightmare and learned that Luo Xixi had been killed nine times and lost to eerie control, though her codename [L] still had to be recovered.

• The dancer blamed Ji Yan for allowing two ghoul children to live, then Burning Death Eerie appeared and charred Ji Yan and the room.
• Timid Ghoul survived Burning Death Eerie’s attack, consumed the remains, and woke after the Dream Core Order restored the scene.
• Ji Yan received two Assimilation marks and began his third Rebirth Script with the task of escaping the Opera House.
• As eerie consciousness invaded Ji Yan, the Puppet Eerie warned that two or three more deaths could assimilate most of his will.
• Ji Yan recognized the Puppet Eerie as Qian Duoduo, who explained that he and Luo Xixi had become trapped in the Nightmare in District 15.
• Qian Duoduo told Ji Yan that Luo Xixi had been killed nine times and was under eerie control, and said they had to find her before the White Chess Player took her codename [L].

Ji Yan learned from Qian Duoduo that the Nightmare’s deadly Taboo Rules made survival and assimilation seem nearly impossible, even for Luo Xixi, whose Death Foresight had helped uncover a clearing route. Ji Yan revealed that he had sent Luo Xixi to the Abandoned Dungeon, then focused on how her remaining information might help identify the Initial Player and assimilate the Nightmare.

• Qian Duoduo explained that finding the Nightmare’s Initial Player could allow them to assimilate it, and that Luo Xixi’s Death Foresight had given her crucial information.
• Qian Duoduo described the deadly rules surrounding the ghost children, the Tier 10 Burning Death Eerie, and Black Swan, leaving Ji Yan with few safe options.
• Qian Duoduo said Luo Xixi’s foresight had helped reveal a safer clearing route, but the Nightmare’s difficulty had made entering it a regret.
• Qian Duoduo assumed Luo Xixi had been Ji Yan’s lover or teammate and challenged him for grieving her, saying survival came first.
• Ji Yan revealed that he and Luo Xixi had faced a stage where only one could survive and that he had sent her to the Abandoned Dungeon.
• Ji Yan wondered how much information Luo Xixi had retained, and Qian Duoduo said it might help them find the Initial Player and assimilate the Nightmare.

Ji Yan learned that Qian Duoduo planned to use his exclusive talent to obtain information from Miss Luo and find the Initial Player. When Black Swans came looking for Ji Yan, he escaped through a secret passage carrying Qian Duoduo’s severed head, while a Ballet Costume Eerie Shadow discovered the passage but chose not to follow.

• Qian Duoduo explained that his exclusive talent could obtain information from Miss Luo’s head, and that he had been waiting for Ji Yan to help him locate her respawn point and the Initial Player.
• Qian Duoduo warned Ji Yan that Black Swan eerie dancers were approaching and that performing on the Main Hall Stage could get him killed.
• Qian Duoduo revealed a hidden compartment and secret passage as an escape route, but Ji Yan found that Qian Duoduo’s legs had been crushed and could not carry his body.
• Ji Yan cut off Qian Duoduo’s head and took it with him through the secret passage.
• A Ballet Costume Eerie Shadow entered the room, blasted open the concealed compartment, sensed Ji Yan’s trail, and left without pursuing him.

Ji Yan and Qian Duoduo searched District 15’s Nightmare for Luo Xixi, following the Yin Fate Red String into an abandoned concert hall. A powerful patrolling Eerie Boss nearly attacked them, then abruptly withdrew after seeing something, leaving Ji Yan wondering what it had seen.

• Ji Yan crawled through a passage with Qian Duoduo, who explained that he and Luo Xixi had been in the Final Battlefield for about five days and were using a Nightmare in District 15 as their base.
• Ji Yan revealed that K and X had sent him to deliver a paper person to Qian Duoduo, but he postponed explaining further until they dealt with the trouble ahead.
• Ji Yan emerged into an abandoned concert hall filled with dormant Dream Core Ghouls and used the Yin Fate Red String to search for Luo Xixi.
• A huge eyeball appeared at the window, and the patrolling Eerie Boss’s hostile aura threatened to destroy the hall.
• The Eerie Boss suddenly withdrew, saying that the rat had returned to its post, and Ji Yan concluded that it had seen something that made it lift its hostility.