Chapter Summaries

Bai Qiquan watched Lu Ban’s new horror video in a study room with his girlfriend, Pang Zhen, and became increasingly frightened by its immersive effects and disturbing monsters. When Pang Zhen repeated a word from the video to correct him, Bai Qiquan panicked and fled, leaving her confused.

• Pang Zhen surprised Bai Qiquan at the study room, then sat beside him with food and began studying while he watched Lu Ban’s video.
• Bai Qiquan watched the group encounter Larval Sacs and imagined an insect writhing beneath his skin, but found his arm unharmed.
• The video showed Lu Ban’s group discovering an insect queen, which ate a brainwashing pumpkin and made the nearby insects say “Halloween.”
• Bai Qiquan watched the Wasteland Hunters, including Iron Fist, become expressionless and repeat “Halloween,” and he grew terrified.
• Pang Zhen patted Bai Qiquan and said “Halloween,” prompting him to shout, fall to the floor, and flee the study room.
• Pang Zhen wondered why Bai Qiquan had reacted so dramatically, since she had meant to say it was Christmas, not Halloween.

Lu Ban saw The Silence Project surpass one million followers as Crying earned a strong opening but received a low screening share because theaters were occupied by other releases. After learning fans were locking theaters for an unpopular idol movie, he arranged midnight screenings and sought to increase Crying’s share in Jiangcheng Industries’ cinemas.

• Lu Ban checked the enthusiastic and fearful reactions to The Silence Project, whose follower count had passed one million overnight.
• Crying earned over five million in its first eight hours, but theater chains told Lu Ban its screening share would rise only to around six percent.
• Lu Ban learned that two competing films held most screenings, while fans were locking theaters for the poorly reviewed idol movie.
• Lu Ban contacted Li Zijian, who explained theater locking and agreed to discuss increasing Crying’s screenings with Song Yunyan.
• Lu Ban and Li Zijian settled on adding midnight screenings, and the film began showing between midnight and five in the morning.

Li Anyi went to the cinema to support her idol’s failing movie, but after its screening was canceled, she accepted a free ticket to the horror film "Crying." Terrified by the movie, she later posted misleadingly reassuring recommendations to its reviews and her idol’s fan group so others would watch it too.

• Li Anyi bought tickets to her idol Wu Zhan’s movie and joined other fans in trying to boost its box office by attending showings.
• The cinema canceled Li Anyi’s showing because too few people had bought tickets and offered her a refund plus a free ticket to a replacement film.
• Li Anyi accepted a seat in the middle of the theater for "Crying" and wondered why so many people were attending despite reviews calling it unscary.
• Li Anyi was petrified throughout the movie and could barely stand after it ended.
• After recovering, Li Anyi posted that "Crying" was family-friendly and recommended it to her idol’s fan group so she would not be the only one scared.

Crying became a major box-office success, while Lu Ban’s Silence Project attracted millions of followers and sparked debate about his films. On New Year’s Day, Lu Ban went to the cinema where Feng Yu had told him to meet her and found her waiting.

• Crying’s screenings and daily box office grew rapidly until it became the year-end season’s number-one film.
• Viewers praised Crying online, and discussion of Lu Ban and the Silence Project spread as Nameless City passed ten million views in a day.
• The Silence Project reached seven million followers by New Year’s Day, while users debated Lu Ban’s filmmaking, the actors, and what his shared universe might become.
• Lu Ban walked through the New Year’s crowds to the cinema where Feng Yu had arranged to meet him.
• Lu Ban found Feng Yu waiting by the ticket counter, holding movie tickets, and she told him she had been waiting for a long time.

Lu Ban and Feng Yu found themselves trapped in a cinema Otherworld alongside two Chosen of the Gods, Remington and Zi Tang. As the group introduced themselves, the screening began, and they faced the mission to witness a story's ending and survive until dawn.

• Lu Ban noticed the audience had vanished and realized the cinema had become an Otherworld.
• Feng Yu pointed out Remington and Zi Tang, who were also present in the empty screening hall.
• Remington learned that his mission was to witness a story's ending and survive in the cinema until dawn.
• Remington dismissed Zi Tang as a liability after she said she could see dirty things.
• Feng Yu introduced herself and Lu Ban as cinema workers to Remington and Zi Tang.
• The projector started, and the movie began.

Lu Ban, Remington, Zi Tang, and Feng Yu watched a horror movie that began showing their own cinema seats and revealed that reacting to anything in the film could draw them into it. As eerie figures pulled Zi Tang and Remington into the movie, Lu Ban watched the screen as another face appeared beside him and Feng Yu.

• Feng Yu urged everyone to take their seats, and Remington set up a warning net while he and Zi Tang sat in front of Lu Ban and Feng Yu.
• The movie showed the four of them watching it, then a decayed woman dragged Zi Tang into the shadows when she turned to look beside her.
• Lu Ban warned Remington not to respond to anything in the movie because doing so would make him part of it, and Remington passed the warning on to Zi Tang.
• Remington surmised that they only needed to finish the movie, but when Lu Ban stood up in the film, an eerie figure dragged Remington away and he reappeared beside Zi Tang.
• Lu Ban wondered whether the two Chosen would move forward a row whenever they responded, as a human face emerged between his counterpart and Feng Yu on the screen.

Lu Ban learned that the cinema was an eerie thing with rules that moved people forward whenever they reacted to the movie. As the film’s influence grew stronger, Remington tried to block his senses but was injured and moved forward again, while the movie shifted to the corridor outside the cinema.

• Lu Ban looked toward the grotesque face and was moved one row ahead, while Feng Yu explained that eerie things bound people through their rules.
• Feng Yu ignored the monster beside her and sat next to Lu Ban, then explained that the cinema was a contaminated eerie thing that would vanish at dawn and appear elsewhere.
• Lu Ban’s phone alert caused him to take it out, moving him into Remington and Zi Tang’s row as the movie showed his hand being blown apart.
• Remington sealed his sight and hearing with techniques from the Black Tower, but claw marks appeared on his arm and he was moved another row forward.
• The movie changed its scene to the corridor outside the cinema.

Lu Ban and the others faced a horror movie that punished them when they reacted as the characters on screen did. Feng Yu explained that they could escape its influence by refusing to follow the movie’s scenes, leaving them to choose how to act.

• A bloodied, chain-dragging figure appeared in the movie, and Zi Tang was punished with painful chain marks when she reacted in fear.
• The monster approached Remington, who swung his knife at it and was punished when the movie’s threat proved to be an illusion.
• Lu Ban vanished after warning Remington and returned with knife wounds across his chest, while Remington reappeared with his right hand mangled.
• Feng Yu told Lu Ban that the cinema’s rules made viewers experience the movie when they immersed themselves in it, and that they could avoid its events by ignoring the screen.

Lu Ban used a cheerful song to keep the group from reacting fearfully to the horror film, allowing them to survive until it ended. Remington and Zi Tang returned to their world, and Lu Ban found himself back in the auditorium beside Feng Yu.

• Lu Ban summarized the cinema’s rules and explained that fear-driven reactions caused injuries and moved the seats forward.
• Lu Ban played “Good Luck” on his phone, turning the killer’s appearance into something the group could watch without fear.
• Remington and Zi Tang sang along as the film showed them being attacked, and Feng Yu laughed at the strange scene.
• The film ended, the quest was marked complete, and Remington and Zi Tang thanked Lu Ban and Feng Yu before disappearing.
• Lu Ban returned to the auditorium, where the movie had not yet begun, and realized Feng Yu was asleep beside him.

Lu Ban agreed to meet investors connected to Song Yunyan, then discovered paparazzi watching his apartment and considered how to teach them a lesson. Meanwhile, reporter Sun Cheng struggled to find anything scandalous about Lu Ban’s quiet daily routine.

• Li Zijian told Lu Ban that Song Yunyan’s business associates wanted to discuss investing in his world-building project, and Lu Ban agreed to meet them as a favor to Song Yunyan.
• Li Zijian warned Lu Ban to avoid scandals and asked about Qin Tiantian and Feng Yu, prompting Lu Ban to complain about paparazzi prying into his private life.
• Lu Ban used True Sight to spot reporters filming his apartment from the building across the way and decided he needed to teach them a lesson.
• Sun Cheng watched Lu Ban through his camera and wondered how he could gather material when Lu Ban stayed home reading, studying, and ordering simple meals.

Sun Cheng secretly watched Lu Ban, hoping to uncover where his actors came from, but he saw a supernatural figure apparently attack Lu Ban and then appear in his own apartment. After the police found no evidence and took Sun Cheng in for questioning, Lu Ban prepared to meet investors.

• Sun Cheng continued surveilling Lu Ban and spotted a shadowy figure behind him, which seemed to make Lu Ban disappear.
• Sun Cheng saw the figure outside his door, called the police, and lost consciousness when it appeared behind him.
• He Youwu and Chen Danshen arrived and found Sun Cheng alive, but his camera pictures showed no supernatural figure.
• He Youwu questioned Sun Cheng about his photography equipment and took him to the station to talk.
• Lu Ban looked over his now-empty apartment, noted that finding a place before the New Year would be difficult, and set off to meet investors.

Lu Ban rejected several investors’ demands and prepared to spend New Year's Eve with Feng Yu. His Career Development Task settled as perfect, and he received a new cooperative task requiring him to team up with another Chosen of the Gods; the chapter ended when Feng Yu noticed she did not appear in Lu Ban’s mirror.

• Lu Ban told Li Zijian about the investors’ strange demands and said he had rejected them all.
• Lu Ban learned that Wang Chuan had returned to his hometown and agreed to spend New Year's Eve with Feng Yu, who offered to cook at his home.
• The Silence Project passed ten million followers, and Lu Ban completed his Career Development Task with a perfect result and gained 8,500 Silence Points.
• Lu Ban received a cooperative task and sent invitations to Trist and Xiya, while deciding not to involve Remington or Zi Tang.
• Feng Yu arrived at Lu Ban’s home to prepare dinner and discovered that neither she nor Lu Ban appeared in the bathroom mirror.

Lu Ban and Feng Yu prepared and shared a New Year's Eve feast before walking through the snow and discussing the other realms' pollution spreading into their world. Lu Ban proposed spreading knowledge of evil gods and other realms to help people adapt, and Feng Yu acknowledged it might work.

• Feng Yu cooked a large New Year's Eve meal while explaining the dishes to Lu Ban.
• Lu Ban and Feng Yu ate together while watching the Spring Festival Gala, and Feng Yu gave Lu Ban the largest chicken leg.
• After snow began falling, Lu Ban and Feng Yu walked through the residential complex and noticed the world had grown eerily silent.
• Feng Yu warned Lu Ban that pollution from other realms or sealed entities could bring catastrophic changes to their world.
• Lu Ban suggested spreading knowledge of other realms to prepare people for future pollution, and Feng Yu said adapting in advance might be a way to fight madness.

After spending New Year’s alone except for messages from friends, Lu Ban opened a mission in Ruined City that mutated to the highest difficulty and gained an extra objective tied to Du Danping. He used Madman’s Knowledge to seek information, but the whispers he heard triggered a violent transformation and left him unconscious.

• Lu Ban celebrated New Year’s by replying to personal blessings from Qin Tiantian, Feng Yu, Song Yunyan, Li Zijian, He Youwu, Chen Danshen, and others.
• Lu Ban found that Trist and Xiya had accepted his invitation, then opened a mission titled “Mouth of the Madman” about a missing novelist and manuscript.
• The mission changed to Mutation difficulty and added the objective of finding Du Danping’s Melody Fragment.
• Lu Ban decided to use Madman’s Knowledge to gather information and crushed a human skull that appeared in his hand.
• Whispers flooded Lu Ban’s mind as black blood poured from his face and his body twisted; he collapsed and lost consciousness.

After recovering from his injuries, Lu Ban considered how humanity might adapt to pollution and set off for the Ruined City. He entered the Silent Land and arrived in a teahouse, where he reunited with Trist and met Xiya.

• Lu Ban woke healed and realized his housemates could now affect reality, prompting him to wonder whether pollution was deepening.
• Lu Ban reflected on how other worlds coexisted with pollution and decided to investigate ways humanity could resist it.
• Lu Ban packed his tools, told Feng Yu he was leaving, and entered the Silent Land through the strange book.
• Lu Ban arrived in a teahouse in the Ruined City and found Trist waiting there.
• Xiya appeared beside Lu Ban, and he introduced her to Trist before a shadow fell over him.

Lu Ban, Trist, and Xiya were attacked by an armed man at a teahouse, and the incident began their task to find a missing novelist, witness a story's conclusion, and locate Du Danping's Melody Fragment. Xiya subdued and questioned the attacker, who raved about a book and a coming terror, then found a book hidden in his clothes.

• A man with a submachine gun crashed through the teahouse window, but he was knocked unconscious before he could aim at Lu Ban, Trist, and Xiya.
• The system announced the Ruined City task and its three requirements as police arrived at the teahouse.
• Trist introduced Lu Ban and Xiya to Sheriff Huo, who recognized the unconscious attacker as a local mercenary.
• Xiya woke the mercenary and demanded to know why he had attacked them, but he rambled about everyone dying and a coming terror.
• The mercenary pleaded that everything in a book was true, and Xiya knocked him unconscious and found the book on him.

Lu Ban and Xiya learned that writer Gudu had gone missing, and Trist explained the detective agency’s commission to find him. After a man attacked them over Gudu’s novel, Trist proposed investigating the book for clues.

• Xiya showed Lu Ban the novel Shadows of Terror after the police carried away the man who had attacked them.
• Trist said Gudu, a popular horror writer, had disappeared two weeks earlier and that his publishing house had hired the agency to find him.
• Trist led Lu Ban and Xiya to his detective agency and described Gudu’s fame and scandalous relationships with wealthy readers.
• Lu Ban asked whether Shadows of Terror had anything unusual about it, and Trist opened the novel so they could examine its contents.

Trist, Xiya, and Lu Ban discussed Gudu’s terrifying novel and the possibility that supernatural forces were connected to his disappearance. After reviewing the publisher’s information, they prepared to investigate Gudu’s residence or seek his unfinished manuscript, but Lu Ban asked to eat first.

• Trist read the plot of Gudu’s novel and felt frightened when he heard a noise from a shadow, which turned out to be the orange cat jumping down.
• Xiya and Trist discussed whether the man who disappeared had gone mad after reading the novel or had been influenced by the Silent Land.
• Trist explained that investigating Gudu’s case might fulfill his Career Development Task and showed Xiya and Lu Ban the publisher’s documents and the key to Gudu’s residence.
• Trist described Gudu’s background, his home in the wealthy district, and the publisher’s interest in the rest of his unfinished manuscript.
• Trist asked whether they should visit the publisher or Gudu’s house first, but Lu Ban said he was hungry and wanted to eat.

Lu Ban, Xiya, and Trist visited the publishing house to investigate the disappearance of the novelist Gudu. Editor Qian showed them Gudu’s unfinished manuscript, Mouth of the Madman, which also began with a novelist’s disappearance.

• Lu Ban and Xiya ate noodles with Trist, who explained the differences between neighborhoods and social classes in the Fourth Ring.
• Trist brought Lu Ban and Xiya to the publishing house to meet Editor Qian.
• Editor Qian explained that Gudu had disappeared and said the publishing house needed the rest of his manuscript.
• Trist persuaded Editor Qian to let them examine the manuscript, and Lu Ban saw that Mouth of the Madman began with a novelist’s disappearance.

After finding a draft of Mouth of the Madman that matched their recent experiences, Trist, Lu Ban, and Xiya investigated novelist Gudu’s disappearance and traveled to his villa. They found no clues downstairs, then heard something moving on the floor above.

• Trist and the others read Gudu’s draft, which closely mirrored their encounters and included Lu Ban embracing the orange cat.
• Editor Qian told them Gudu had often disappeared for days and claimed to visit North Cold Town, leading Trist to suggest investigating Cold Ruins.
• Trist, Lu Ban, and Xiya left the publishing house and went to Gudu’s villa in the Third Ring.
• The three searched the villa and found moldy food, disordered furnishings, and photographs showing Gudu alone.
• Xiya heard something moving upstairs, followed by a creak from the floorboards above them.