Chapter Summaries

Forensic medicine student Zheng Li, who had mocked online claims about disasters, watched a trailer for Lu Ban’s new film, Apocalypse. Its depiction of a colossal storm unsettled him and left him curious about how the disaster could end.

• Zheng Li argued online that modern humanity could handle volcanic eruptions and that a disaster would not wipe out a country.
• Zheng Li collected his braised chicken delivery and watched videos about a South Pacific volcanic eruption while eating.
• Zheng Li saw a trailer for Lu Ban’s new production, despite having sworn off the director’s films after they had deeply disturbed him.
• Zheng Li watched the trailer show a vast storm engulfing a city and sweeping up a reporter, the camera crew, and everything nearby.
• Zheng Li wondered how anyone could stop or survive the storm in Apocalypse, then decided he might watch another Lu Ban film.

Film and television professionals discussed the excitement and pressure Lu Ban’s films brought to the industry after he released a trailer for his new disaster film. They discovered he had released four different trailers, each featuring a separate natural disaster, and online commentators began analyzing the film as Doomsday.

• Industry professionals praised Lu Ban’s films for their performances, effects, and worldbuilding, while lamenting how his work raised audience expectations and hurt competing films.
• Members of a film and television group chat debated whether a disaster movie suited Lu Ban’s strengths and compared the different disasters they had seen in the trailer.
• The group searched online and discovered Lu Ban had uploaded four trailers featuring a volcanic eruption, an earthquake, a typhoon, and a tsunami.
• The professionals speculated that the film’s many disasters would make its outcome seem hopeless and draw viewers to the cinema.
• Online accounts and creators dissected the trailers, and a compiled article appeared claiming to decode thirty details from Lu Ban’s new film, Doomsday.

An article analyzed the disasters and unresolved questions in Lu Ban’s upcoming film, and Lu Ban promoted the movie during a talk show. The chapter left his guests stunned after he turned a debate about movies into a direct advertisement for The End.

• A film article examined the volcano and typhoon in Lu Ban’s trailer and questioned how The End would resolve its disasters and connect to otherworldly cultures.
• Lu Ban continued production in June and planned to release The End during next year’s Spring Festival.
• Lu Ban appeared on a popular talk show to promote his film.
• One guest criticized movies as commercial and harmful, while another argued that films could be either beneficial or damaging.
• Lu Ban avoided debating the guests and announced that The End would be released worldwide next Spring Festival.
• The two guests were stunned when Lu Ban bluntly advertised his film instead of joining their argument.

Lu Ban promoted Doomsday on a talk show, announcing a global simultaneous release during the Spring Festival and describing its focus on humanity’s collective response to disaster. He left the show urging viewers to watch the film, while the martial-arts guest’s questions about gender roles went unanswered.

• Lu Ban announced that Doomsday would be released worldwide during the Spring Festival and said he wanted families to watch it together.
• A martial-arts guest accused Lu Ban’s earlier works of sidelining women, but Lu Ban redirected him to Doomsday and offered free tickets.
• Lu Ban said Doomsday would explore how humanity responds to disaster, drawing on his thoughts about modern society and future development.
• The martial-arts guest pressed Lu Ban about whether women would again be secondary characters, and the audience urged him to stop interrupting.
• Lu Ban explained that Doomsday gave every character a role in responding to the disaster rather than focusing only on a protagonist and his circle.

Lu Ban released the second trailer for his new film, showing humanity uniting to confront escalating disasters and leaving viewers curious about its survival plans. He Youwu watched the trailer, felt moved by its focus on ordinary people, and began investigating its hidden details.

• After Lu Ban's talk-show appearance, his name trended as news spread that his new film, "Doomsday," was set for the Spring Festival.
• While on standby at the Jiangcheng University precinct police station, He Youwu watched Lu Ban's second trailer, which depicted catastrophic disasters worsening after the initial wave.
• The trailer showed representatives from different countries uniting, laboratories and workers contributing to plans, and humanity pooling its strength to survive.
• He Youwu saw a girl in a white dress at the trailer's end and concluded that humanity had saved the world to protect her smile.
• He Youwu read an online frame-by-frame analysis of possible strategies, including wormholes, Mechanical Ascension, and modifying humanity, then encountered a commenter calling the analysis nonsense.

He Youwu watched an online argument about humanity surviving natural disasters before replaying Lu Ban’s movie trailer, which alarmed his colleague Chen Danshen. People in Europe who had encountered the mysterious Ecological Park recognized the girl in the trailer and wondered what Lu Ban was planning.

• He Youwu read a debate about whether humanity should adapt to natural disasters or preserve civilization by fighting them, and dismissed the arguments as theoretical.
• Chen Danshen saw the girl in Lu Ban’s trailer and told He Youwu that he had met her during a night patrol at a seemingly vanished Ecological Park.
• He Youwu and Chen Danshen agreed to watch the movie to find out more about the girl.
• Wellington and others in Europe recognized the girl and discussed how the Ecological Park’s appearance and disappearance might relate to Lu Ban’s movie.
• The group worried that the girl might suffer the same torment as girls in Lu Ban’s other movies, and some admitted they were curious to see what happened.

After the second trailer made Lin and the Ecological Parks trend, occult enthusiasts speculated about Lu Ban and his films. He Jiaoyang, an exorcist investigating Lu Ban, arrived at Silent Media and encountered a girl surrounded by an immense cloud of black mist.

• The second trailer sparked online speculation about Lin, the Ecological Parks, and whether Lu Ban had supernatural powers.
• Members of an occult chat group discussed Lu Ban's missing actresses and wondered whether he used ghosts in his films.
• He Jiaoyang, an exorcist with Yin-Yang Eyes, packed occult tools and traveled to Jiangcheng to investigate Lu Ban while completing a client's job.
• He Jiaoyang visited Silent Media and spotted a short-haired girl surrounded by black mist far denser than any he had seen before.
• The girl casually directed He Jiaoyang toward the screening room, and he pretended to be there to repair a projector before entering the company.

He Jiaoyang entered Silent Media to inspect its broken projector and discovered ghosts around the office, including a girl in white. After he fled, Qin Tiantian saw another repairman arrive and wondered whether she had entered a loop.

• He Jiaoyang noticed black-mist footprints and suspected a ghost was inside Silent Media.
• Bai Qiquan led He Jiaoyang to the screening room and explained that the projector had stopped showing images.
• He Jiaoyang saw a ghostly girl in white beside the projector, then made an excuse and fled the building.
• Qin Tiantian saw a repairman register at reception, recognized the conversation as one she had already experienced, and wondered if she had entered the Loop.

He Jiaoyang reported Lu Ban to the police after seeing a ghost, but the officers and his occult group did not believe him. Determined to gather proof, he followed Lu Ban into his apartment building and discovered an even thicker black mist surrounding him as the elevator rose.

• He Jiaoyang covered his hotel room with talismans and other protective items, then went to the police station to report that Lu Ban was raising ghosts and using them to make movies.
• The police officers laughed at He Jiaoyang's story and told him to leave his contact information, while his QQ group also doubted his claims.
• After realizing he needed evidence, He Jiaoyang decided to investigate Lu Ban's home at night and take pictures if he could.
• He Jiaoyang entered Lu Ban's residential complex armed with a Peachwood Sword, talismans, and a cross, then followed someone into Lu Ban's building.
• He Jiaoyang recognized the man carrying barbecue in the elevator as Lu Ban and saw thick black mist surrounding him before Lu Ban asked which floor he was going to.

He Jiaoyang followed Lu Ban home while trying to hide that he had snuck into the building, only to discover Lu Ban owned the apartment. After He Jiaoyang admitted he was an exorcist, his Yin-Yang Eyes revealed the terrifying entities surrounding Lu Ban and the monstrous nature of Lu Ban himself.

• He Jiaoyang rode the elevator with Lu Ban and tried to conceal that he had entered the building secretly.
• He Jiaoyang pretended he had forgotten his key on the nineteenth floor, but Lu Ban opened the door with his own key and revealed he was the landlord.
• Lu Ban invited He Jiaoyang inside and offered him barbecue while asking whether he was a reporter.
• He Jiaoyang admitted he was an exorcist and saw a shadow and black mist around Lu Ban.
• He Jiaoyang's Yin-Yang Eyes revealed Lu Ban as a pitch-black vortex of monstrous forms, leaving He Jiaoyang trembling and in pain.

Lu Ban concealed the supernatural from He Jiaoyang, erased his memory of their encounter, and sent him away with a cinema discount card. As Jiangcheng University reopened for the new term, Lu Ban released his third movie trailer.

• Lu Ban used Last Words to make He Jiaoyang unable to see the supernatural things around him, then learned about He Jiaoyang’s inherited ability and his investigation of Silent Media.
• Lu Ban told He Jiaoyang to watch his movies and later wrote “Forget what happened tonight” on his head, erasing his memory of the evening.
• He Jiaoyang regained his senses outside Lu Ban’s residential complex, returned to his hotel, and discovered a cinema discount card in his pocket.
• Lu Ban considered how the spread of otherworldly contamination could create more supernatural ability users and chose not to seek out hidden organizations.
• Jiangcheng University reopened on September 1, and Lu Ban released his third trailer as the October holiday approached.

Film censor Mo Guangyuan watched the third trailer for Lu Ban’s “Apocalypse,” which revealed humanity’s possible salvation plans and the film world’s unusual technology and supernatural abilities. As Mo Guangyuan speculated about the ending and avoided seeking spoilers, Lu Ban’s sample film arrived at the censorship department.

• Mo Guangyuan came across the official third trailer for “Apocalypse” while scrolling through short videos during his day off.
• Mo Guangyuan watched the trailer repeatedly and saw three possible plans for humanity, including wormhole research, superpowered people, and advanced robots.
• Mo Guangyuan read viewers’ theories and wondered how Lu Ban would resolve the disasters without giving away the film’s ending.
• Mo Guangyuan decided that avoiding spoilers would preserve the viewing experience, just as Lu Ban’s sample film arrived at the censorship department.

Mo Guangyuan returned from the holiday hoping to review Lu Ban’s highly anticipated new film, but the leaders assigned themselves to watch it. Old Zhao began reviewing Doomsday and was stunned when its apparent protagonist died in a devastating volcanic eruption.

• Mo Guangyuan returned to the office and learned that Lu Ban’s new film, Doomsday, had arrived for review.
• Mo Guangyuan volunteered to review the film, but the leaders announced that they would handle the screening themselves.
• Old Zhao started Doomsday and watched a rescue attempt at a lake inside a volcano.
• The volcano erupted with overwhelming force, killing the rescued woman and the man who appeared to be the protagonist.
• Old Zhao was shaken by the realistic eruption and wondered whether the apparent protagonist had really died.

Department Head Old Qian watched Lu Ban’s film and was shaken by its spectacular depictions of a volcanic eruption and a gigantic tsunami. After the screening, he emerged haggard and told Mo Guangyuan that the movie was “so damn dark.”

• Department Head Old Qian watched the film’s opening scene, in which a volcanic eruption swallowed two people and their helicopter before lava covered the surrounding region.
• The film shifted to a fishing boat at sea, where Old Qian watched a tsunami more than five hundred meters high engulf the boat and threaten people on shore.
• Old Qian reflected that humanity could neither resist such a disaster nor do much beyond predicting it, and he continued watching to understand Lu Ban’s purpose.
• At noon, Mo Guangyuan noticed that Old Qian and his colleagues had not emerged from the office to eat or discuss the movie.
• After lunch, Mo Guangyuan found Old Qian sitting haggard in his office, and Old Qian grabbed his shoulders and declared that the film was dark.

After watching Doomsday, Old Qian and Old Zhao reevaluated their lives and chose to treat others and their families more kindly. The film’s bleak vision of the end of civilization left them cherishing the ordinary world they still had.

• Old Qian concluded that Doomsday could deeply affect the public because it portrayed humanity’s efforts against apocalypse as futile.
• Old Qian’s fear eased when he saw a mother and child, and he decided to cherish the people and beauty around him.
• Old Qian responded kindly to a driver who nearly scraped his car, preventing their encounter from turning into an argument.
• Old Zhao treated his child gently and offered to take his wife shopping and out for morning tea.
• Old Zhao decided that he would become a happy person from then on.

Mo Guangyuan and Old Li discovered that Lu Ban’s Spring No War had changed their outlook, while Lu Ban prepared to show Qin Tiantian his new movie during Jiangcheng’s freezing winter. The chapter ended as Doomsday began playing.

• Mo Guangyuan told Old Li that Lu Ban’s movies could change how people saw the world and lent him a streaming account.
• Old Li watched Spring No War after finishing two episodes of a popular television series.
• The next day, Old Li arrived at work solemnly, and he and Mo Guangyuan silently recognized each other as comrades.
• Lu Ban explained that volcanic ash had made the winter colder, while Qin Tiantian stayed under a blanket with Laika.
• Lu Ban offered to play a movie, and Qin Tiantian ate ice cream as the title Doomsday appeared on the screen.

After Qin Tiantian watched Lu Ban’s disaster movie, she seemingly erased the memory and continued eating hotpot as the unprecedented blizzard worsened. On New Year’s Eve, Lu Ban learned that the severe weather might delay the premiere of “Doomsday.”

• Qin Tiantian reacted to Lu Ban’s movie by forgetting that she had watched it, and Lu Ban realized she could block contamination by forgetting what she heard.
• Qin Tiantian ordered hotpot, and she and Lu Ban discussed Feng Yu, who was away in Massachusetts.
• An abnormal global winter brought record-breaking cold and heavy snow to Jiangcheng and other regions.
• Lu Ban and Qin Tiantian spent New Year’s Eve eating together as the blizzard battered the city.
• Lu Ban received a message saying that “Doomsday” might be delayed because cinemas could not operate in the storm.

As severe blizzards forced cinemas to postpone screenings, Lu Ban decided that Doomsday would premiere on television and video websites instead. The announcement sparked an uproar, with the film set to air on the first day of the New Year.

• Li Zijian told Lu Ban that worsening blizzards had closed cinemas and made Doomsday's scheduled premiere unlikely.
• Lu Ban called Li Zijian back and insisted that they would not postpone the release.
• Lu Ban asked Li Zijian to arrange a simultaneous broadcast of Doomsday on television and major video websites the next day.
• Lu Ban explained that he wanted people trapped by the storm to see the film, even if he lost money.
• At three in the morning, announcements said Doomsday would leave theaters and premiere online and on television, provoking an uproar.

Medical student Zheng Li discovered that Lu Ban had canceled the theatrical release of Apocalypse and would instead make the film freely available on television and video websites. He shared the news with his friends, and the next morning one friend complained that he had already gone to the cinema.

• At four in the morning, Zheng Li saw news that Lu Ban had canceled Apocalypse's theatrical release and planned to stream it for free.
• Zheng Li read that snowstorms had disrupted theaters and searched online for details about the unusual decision.
• Zheng Li found that Apocalypse would air at prime time on several major television stations and video websites without a fee or registration.
• Zheng Li forwarded the news to his movie-bet group, but nobody responded until morning.
• A friend told the group that he and his friends had already arrived at the cinema before learning Apocalypse was not showing there.

As a blizzard buried Jiangcheng, Lu Ban learned that the premiere of his new movie had been canceled and agreed to Qin Tiantian's plan to eat hot pot. Far away, rural teacher Yang YiWu gathered his students in a freezing school during a power outage and started the movie “Doomsday” to distract them.

• Lu Ban watched news of the worsening snowstorm and reassured his company and acquaintances about the movie's release.
• Qin Tiantian discovered reports of the snow disaster and asked Lu Ban about the premiere, then suggested they eat hot pot when he said there was no premiere.
• Yang YiWu stayed at school over New Year to care for five students whose parents could not return during the blizzard.
• After the snow cut off roads and knocked out power and heating, Yang YiWu gathered the students around a charcoal brazier and kept in touch while waiting for repairs.
• Yang YiWu saw the students discussing Lu Ban's movie and played “Doomsday” for them.