Chapter Summaries

Mom revealed her Eye of Insight and weakened the old man, creating an opening for Lu Xin to seize him. Lu Xin invoked the Tyrant's authority and demanded the old man's submission, leaving the confrontation unresolved.

• Lu Xin and Mom returned to the church and found Father brutally attacking the old man amid overlapping scenes shaped by their mental powers.
• Mom explained that she and the old man had once been teacher and student, then unleashed her Eye of Insight to expose and weaken him.
• The old man turned toward the observers in his illusions and began to take out a pen and a sheepskin-bound book.
• Mom identified the opening, and Lu Xin rushed in with Sister, pierced the illusory scene, and grabbed the old man by the neck.
• Lu Xin summoned the Tyrant's authority and ordered the old man to submit or be destroyed.

Lu Xin confronted the old man, who refused to submit and used a cognitive cage to trap the town and its people. After Lu Xin stopped himself from killing him and answered the old man’s question about what he would protect, the old man yielded and offered him the Night King's authority.

• Lu Xin seized the old man and gave him a chance to submit, but the old man refused and opened his eyes, unleashing overwhelming mental pressure.
• The old man’s power folded the town into a cage, and Mom warned Lu Xin that killing him would trap them all and lock away the Night Prisoner's authority.
• Lu Xin resisted his urge to devour the old man and challenged him over the danger to the town’s living residents, slowing the cage’s collapse.
• The old man asked what Lu Xin would preserve if the world faced destruction, and Lu Xin vowed to protect the world rather than accept the hypothetical choice.
• The cage vanished, and the old man conceded defeat and offered Lu Xin the Night King's authority.

Lu Xin and his family secured the black box after the blind old man, the Fire Thief, gave up his opposition and returned Father’s authority. Father opened the box and took out a black mask embodying the deepest night and fear, leaving the chapter as he put it on.

• Lu Xin questioned whether his confrontation with the blind old man had been real, while the old man explained that he had sacrificed his eyes to see a new existence.
• The blind old man stopped resisting, and Father cautiously approached the hidden box as the old man admitted that truth had not erased fear.
• The old man returned Father’s authority, explaining that he had taken it before because Father’s power might have driven the remaining sane people into fear and madness.
• Father tore open the box, releasing an overwhelming chill and terror that affected everyone in the church.
• Father removed a black mask from the box and, laughing, slammed it onto his face.

Father put on his black mask and returned to his full power, sending a wave of fear across the world. After Father’s failed attempt to attack the old man, Mom asked him about their origins and the cycles, and he advised them to beware of the Crowned Clown.

• Father put on his black mask in the church, and his return sent fear and strange disturbances across the world.
• The bishop, the dean of the Eclipse Research Institute, No. 2, the woman in the gray palace, and others sensed the change.
• Father attacked the old man with a chainsaw but withdrew it and admitted he had only meant to scare him.
• Mom asked the old man about their origins and the repeated cycles, saying they wanted to prevent another return from beneath the Abyss.
• The old man declined to give them answers and told Mom to seek them out, warning her to beware of the Crowned Clown.

After the Fire Thief returned the authority of fear, Father reclaimed his power and unleashed a brutal massacre in the abyss. Lu Xin secured Father's promise to help him when needed, then sent him off with a reminder to follow Qinggang's Code of Conduct for Ability Users.

• Mom revealed that the town and their apparent victory had been illusions, and that the Fire Thief had tried to protect her before briefly attempting to trap them.
• Mom explained that Lu Xin's refusal to kill the Fire Thief or the town's inhabitants moved him to return the authority of fear and trust Lu Xin.
• Father's power awakened creatures throughout the abyss, drawing many Lord-class Mental Monsters to gather at his feet.
• Father tore apart the submissive monsters, spreading fear and proclaiming his return across the abyss.
• Father said he would not return to his security guard job, and Lu Xin threatened to smash his mask if he refused to help when needed.
• Lu Xin let Father leave to recover and adapt to his power, while ordering him to obey Qinggang's rules and avoid harming ordinary people.

After Father left to recover his power, Lu Xin returned to the base with Mom and Sister, where Mom withdrew to rest after the strain of their journey. Lu Xin tried to reassure Sister that he would help her with any trouble, but she hinted that the trouble in her backpack might be very serious.

• Lu Xin let Father leave so he could regain his strength, while Mom explained the ultimate beings’ opposing traits.
• Sister guarded her increasingly bulging backpack as Lu Xin, Mom, and Sister returned through the Abyss with the Infiltrators.
• Lu Xin comforted the Infiltrators and returned to the base, where a guard remarked that people had celebrated his departure.
• Mom said she needed to rest, then faded back into the tent after telling Lu Xin she would set out with him later.
• Lu Xin picked up Sister and promised to help her, and Sister asked whether he would still help if her trouble was very big.

Lu Xin returned from the abyss and prepared to join the Research Institute’s investigation, while insisting that his promised two hundred million compensation remained due. Chen Jing then revealed that Qinggang’s renewed investigation into his past had uncovered an image of his adult self registering at the old building with his younger self.

• Dr. An told Lu Xin that the investigation team was ready to leave in two hours, and he confirmed he would go as planned.
• Lu Xin reminded Dr. An about the two hundred million compensation, chose the money over her teasing offer, and Chen Jing reacted angrily to the amount.
• Chen Jing told Lu Xin that Qinggang had resumed investigating his background and had finally found clues despite missing and erased records.
• Chen Jing explained that investigators recovered a forgotten memory from a former registration-office employee and showed Lu Xin a sketch from it.
• Lu Xin recognized the image of his adult self registering at the old building with his younger self, who had once used the codename Tyrant.

Lu Xin learned that a man who looked exactly like his adult self had registered the old building where he grew up, signing the form “Lu Tianming” and writing that he needed a home. He kept the investigation documents and prepared to seek answers from the first-generation researchers.

• Chen Jing showed Lu Xin a reconstructed memory of two people registering the old building on Moon Platform, including an adult who looked exactly like Lu Xin leading a child.
• Chen Jing explained that the building had not existed before the registration and that the people involved seemed to have overlooked the strange event.
• Chen Jing showed Lu Xin the preserved registration paper, which bore the signature “Lu Tianming” and the words “I need a home.”
• Lu Xin asked whether Chen Jing knew Lu Tianming, and she said that she and Professor Bai had found no record of the name.
• Chen Jing reassured Lu Xin that he remained one of Qinggang’s Level 7 Special Talents, then left as dawn approached.
• Lu Xin packed the documents and decided the first-generation researchers might help him find answers.

Lu Xin and Dr. An led an eight-person investigation team toward the mysterious valley near the Sleeping Mountains, while Sister hinted that she had a messenger in Qinggang. After Lu Xin departed, the Night King appeared before Gecko and asked him to become his emissary.

• Dr. An told Lu Xin that earlier Research Institute observers sent to the valley had vanished or returned no useful information, and described a puppet that inexplicably reappeared while its controller disappeared.
• Lu Xin reviewed the investigation roster, learned the team included Dr. An, three researchers, Sisi, and the porter Azhen, and had Sister added as his assistant.
• Sister considered whether to bring her messenger along, then joined Lu Xin as the team prepared to leave Qinggang.
• Gecko celebrated Lu Xin's departure, relieved that he had avoided becoming Sister's messenger, but sensed an icy presence in his home.
• The Night King appeared before Gecko, praised his quick wit, and asked whether he was willing to become an emissary.

Lu Xin traveled with Dr. An and the Research Institute team toward the ruins of the old Crimson Moon Research Institute while Dr. An established rules to limit the dangers of his abilities and compassion. The group crossed the abyss by carriage and continued toward their destination, with Lu Xin and Dr. An settling their dispute over her legs.

• Dr. An and Lu Xin rode in the lead carriage as two Mental Monsters pulled the team through the dark-red abyss.
• Dr. An explained that the mission would cross the forbidden line and continue on foot through the wilderness to the old Research Institute site.
• Dr. An warned Lu Xin that contamination could make him mistake a companion for an enemy and asked him to follow three rules during the investigation.
• Dr. An told Lu Xin to use his abilities only when necessary, consult her before meddling in others' affairs, and prioritize bringing back investigation results even over a teammate's life.
• Lu Xin asked Dr. An to move her legs because she was squeezing him, and she pulled them back after he warned he might break them.

Lu Xin and Dr. An’s investigation team reached an observation station occupied by the High Mountain Nomadic Tribe and secured tents for the night. They visited a circus in the camp, where a magician appeared to sever and restore his assistant’s head.

• Lu Xin woke as the carriage reached the wilderness, and Dr. An led the team toward the observation station after warning that its staff had disappeared.
• Lu Xin learned that Dr. Wang had cursed his unfaithful wife with a parasitic item, Dr. Zhang had slept with her, and Master Li was the wife transferred into another body.
• Dr. An identified the settlement at the observation station as the High Mountain Nomadic Tribe, whose leader let the team stay in two tents.
• Dr. An persuaded the team to visit a lively circus area, where Sister eagerly watched a clown perform on a unicycle.
• A magician appeared to guillotine his assistant, then used glue and a staged trick to restore the assistant’s head as the crowd applauded.

Lu Xin and his companions watched the circus perform, and Lu Xin gave the troupe ten yuan after the audience left without paying. As they prepared to leave the next morning, the host gave Lu Xin a ticket to a future performance, leaving its timing uncertain.

• Lu Xin, Sister, and the others watched the circus’s bizarre acts and enjoyed the show.
• After the audience dispersed without paying, Lu Xin gave one of the dwarfs a ten-yuan bill.
• Dr. An asked whether Lu Xin had noticed the circus’s strange nature, and he said he had; she reminded him to stay alert around other Ability Users.
• The group spent a peaceful night near the forbidden boundary and prepared to continue toward the former Crimson Moon Research Institute the next morning.
• The circus host approached Lu Xin on an elephant and gave him a ticket to a grand performance with no time written on it.

Lu Xin and Dr. An’s investigation team traveled deeper into the forbidden forest toward the old Research Institute site, where their equipment failed amid dense mental radiation. They discovered that strange fruits resembling human faces had been hanging above them throughout their journey, and faint laughter surrounded them.

• Lu Xin kept the circus’s untimed ticket for its “Last Performance” as the performers departed.
• Dr. An led the team into the forbidden forest and warned that previous investigation teams had vanished there.
• The team lost its signal and found that chaotic interference ruined recordings and intense mental radiation disabled their detectors.
• Master Li mistook a huge rotten, human-faced fruit on the ground for a corpse.
• Lu Xin identified the fruit’s source, and the team saw countless matching fruits hanging overhead as laughter drifted through the forest.

Lu Xin’s team pushed deeper into the forest as illusions and synchronized shadows threatened to overwhelm them. After the researchers identified the monsters’ pollution method, Dr. An had Sisi remove one of her suppression locks to confront them, revealing the danger of her restrained power.

• Dr. An explained that the forest’s eerie sights and sounds were illusions caused by dense mental radiation, and the team continued without stopping to investigate them.
• The group walked deeper into the forest under Dr. Wang’s directions, while black shadows gradually joined their synchronized march.
• Dr. Zhang explained that the shadows were Mental Monsters attempting to synchronize with and pollute the team, and that Lu Xin’s abnormal mental fluctuations had disrupted them.
• Dr. An decided the team should confront the strongest monster, and Sisi stepped forward while the others gathered beside Azhen for protection.
• Dr. An revealed that Sisi was a dangerous high-level restricted-zone creature held in check by special suppression locks, and Sisi removed one from her right arm.

Sisi unleashed her power against the living, polluted forest, drawing in its many shadows and strange creatures. Dr. An revealed that Sisi was meant to provoke the strongest taboo pollution so Lu Xin could confront it, and the forest began to convulse under their attack.

• Lu Xin learned that Sisi’s weakest display could destroy a city, and Dr. An explained that she was a semi-failed attempt to create a fast, stable fourth-stage power.
• Sisi removed the ring from her right arm, turned it into red strands, and used them to pierce and drain the black shadows surrounding the group.
• More shadows emerged from the forest as its strange creatures stirred, and Sisi removed her remaining restraints to unleash strands from across her body.
• Dr. An explained that the forest was a massive domain formed by a chaotic, polluted life-form that controlled the gathered Pollution Sources and Mental Monsters.
• Dr. An told Lu Xin that Sisi was there to draw out the strongest taboo pollution and that he would have to deal with it.

Sisi unleashed her blood threads against the forest’s creatures until the Painting Girl replaced the battlefield with a beautiful fairy-tale world and began painting Sisi into it. Just as Sisi seemed ready to abandon her past, Lu Xin arrived and threatened the fairies.

• Lu Xin watched Sisi overwhelm the forest’s Mental Monsters as she unlocked her suppressors and spread her blood threads.
• Dr. An warned Lu Xin that Sisi could unlock at most one more suppressor before losing control and attacking them.
• Sisi unlocked her seventh suppressor and began killing the forest as its trees withered around her.
• The Painting Girl shattered the forest’s illusion and revealed a fairy-tale world, where Sisi accepted her offer to paint her portrait.
• Lu Xin walked onto the lawn and asked whether captured fairies screamed like slaughtered pigs.

Lu Xin broke Sisi out of a fantasy world that was turning her into a painting, but the escape left her badly weakened. He reached through the collapsing world and seized the fleeing painter, while a strange girl caught Sisi and offered to help her.

• Lu Xin entered Sisi’s Fairy Tale World and recognized that the beautiful realm was a false fantasy created by taboo power.
• The creatures in the fantasy attacked Lu Xin, but his mental force dissolved them and shattered the world.
• Lu Xin realized the wedding-dress girl had painted half of Sisi into her picture, leaving Sisi translucent and injured in the forest.
• Lu Xin reached through the remaining fragments and seized something in the space beyond the fantasy world.
• Sisi fell as the fantasy collapsed, and a strange girl in a white dress caught her and offered to have her big brother beat up the attacker.

Lu Xin seized the forest’s mental domain and unleashed his power of Fantasy against the entities within it, but one escaped by tearing the domain apart. The forest’s chaos ended, and the survivors heard the distant entity lament that Lu Xin had taken the bride.

• Lu Xin grabbed a plastic doll holding a bizarre playing card instead of the bride, provoking the forest’s entities to demand her return.
• Lu Xin used his mental force field to repel the black vines, then seized the forest’s mental radiation and dragged its hidden entity toward him.
• Lu Xin borrowed the captured domain to spread Fantasy across the forest, transforming the entities’ deepest mental traits.
• An entity tore the mental domain apart and escaped, causing the forest’s illusions and whispers to vanish.
• Dr. An and the others recovered from their terror as the distant entity sobbed that Lu Xin had taken the bride.

Lu Xin and the investigation team reached the ruins of the Crimson Moon Research Institute after he defeated a forest creature and recovered a strange doll and an Abyss key. As they arrived at the dark buildings, Lu Xin felt an unfamiliar sense of recognition and heard a voice tell him he had finally come back.

• Lu Xin captured a plastic bride that had served as a puppet for a hidden creature, though the creature escaped after their clash.
• Dr. An judged that the creature surpassed the Fourth Step, while Sisi and Sister quietly befriended each other.
• Dr. An and the others identified the blank King of Diamonds as a forced-parasitism Abyss key associated with the Spades Office.
• The team left the forest and traveled down to the ruins of the Crimson Moon Research Institute as night fell.
• Lu Xin felt an inexplicable familiarity with the ruins, then heard a voice say, "You've finally come back."

Lu Xin and Dr. An discussed the history of the Crimson Moon Research Institute and its sudden relocation, while Lu Xin suspected Dr. An had another motive for coming. Dr. An revealed that she wanted to reach the classified archives beneath the west building of Area A, where the world's original secrets were recorded.

• Dr. An explained that the Eclipse Research Institute descended from the Crimson Moon Research Institute, whose first-generation researchers had shaped early research into Mental Mutation and resistance to the Mindless.
• Dr. An recounted that the Research Institute had relocated suddenly after the Crimson Moon incident, and said the surviving first-generation researchers disappeared during the move.
• Dr. An named the genius researcher who jumped from a high-rise and Lu Xin's Old Director as the two people who might have understood the reason for the relocation.
• Lu Xin asked Dr. An to reveal the real purpose of their investigation, and she insisted she had come to investigate the Genesis Hard Drive.
• Dr. An admitted she also wanted to find the classified archives beneath the west building of Area A, which held the original secrets of their world.