Chapter Summaries

Qin Tiantian returned home after the neighborhood sewer was repaired, while Lu Ban finished and submitted his film, Whimpering, to the Yannan University Student Film Festival. Judge Jia Wenbin watched it and, despite understanding its filmmaking techniques, became deeply frightened as the story reached Lu Ban entering the abandoned hospital.

• After the sewer was repaired, Qin Tiantian returned home to resume livestreaming with her equipment.
• Lu Ban completed Whimpering, mailed a copy to the Yannan University Student Film Festival, and waited for the judges’ response.
• Jia Wenbin received Lu Ban’s film and watched it in his home theater, recognizing its mockumentary style and layered camera footage.
• As the film’s tapes unfolded, Jia Wenbin felt watched and frightened by its hospital scenes, despite analyzing the techniques behind them.
• Jia Wenbin watched the film’s preliminary investigation conclude and saw Lu Ban enter the abandoned hospital.

Jia Wenbin watched Lu Ban explore an abandoned hospital, where ghostly figures and grotesque doctors turned the footage into a terrifying experience. Overwhelmed, Jia Wenbin paused the movie to get a drink, only to be startled by his wife in the dark.

• Jia Wenbin watched Lu Ban enter the hospital and encounter a little girl, a sinister elevator mirror, and an eerie nurses' station.
• Lu Ban entered a ward, fought a stitched-up doctor, and hid as more monstrous doctors searched the corridor.
• Jia Wenbin became so frightened that he paused the movie and went to the kitchen for a drink.
• Jia Wenbin's wife startled him when she spoke from the dark sofa, asking why he wanted a drink.

Jia Wenbin finished watching Lu Ban’s Crying and judged it an outstanding horror film ahead of the Yannan University Student Film Festival. At the festival’s opening, Bai Qiquan and Pang Zhen watched Crying together, and Bai Qiquan was terrified by its hospital scenes.

• Jia Wenbin finished Crying, reflected on its frightening portrayal of human cruelty, and praised its atmosphere and effects.
• The ten-day Yannan University Student Film Festival opened on November 20, with Lin Mo’s Short Spring Nights among the audience’s most anticipated films.
• Bai Qiquan and Pang Zhen failed to get tickets for Gaokao! Gaokao! Gaokao! and bought tickets for the late screening of Crying.
• Pang Zhen teased Bai Qiquan at the cinema by pretending there was a group of people beside the queue, then laughed when he believed her.
• Bai Qiquan and Pang Zhen watched Crying, and Bai Qiquan became terrified when an old man in the intensive care ward waved toward the camera.

Bai Qiquan watched Lu Ban uncover the hospital’s sacrificial history and confront the cement-like monster born from its evil rituals. The hospital collapsed, and Lu Ban stood over its ruins as the newborn cried.

• Bai Qiquan watched Lu Ban find the buried workers and realize the hospital had been used for sacrifices.
• Zhao Gongping attacked Lu Ban, who smashed the director’s head and found records in Room 502 explaining the hospital’s past.
• Lu Ban reached the fifth-floor corridor and saw a grotesque cement-like monster break free and spread through the hospital.
• Lu Ban entered an elevator with a little girl and heard a mother’s confession, which revealed the tragedy behind the monster’s birth.
• Lu Ban contacted the outside world and detonated explosives as the newborn cried, collapsing the hospital.
• Lu Ban stood in silhouette atop the ruins beneath the newborn sunlight.

After watching "Crying," Bai Qiquan and the other viewers were so shaken that they struggled to leave the cinema, and staff had to escort them through the dark mall. Stories of frightened audiences spread online, causing tickets for the next day's screenings to sell out.

• Bai Qiquan was deeply moved by "Crying" and waited with his girlfriend until they recovered enough to leave the cinema.
• Viewers found themselves unable to cross the dark mall after two young men ran back in fear, claiming something was around the corner.
• Bai Qiquan asked a cinema staff member for help, and the staff member escorted the frightened audience downstairs with a flashlight.
• Viewers uploaded videos and stories about their reactions, while other screenings also reported frightened children, a trapped viewer, and a couple reconciling.
• Online interest in "Crying" grew, and tickets for the next day's screenings sold out, especially for the late-night showing.

The horror film "Crying" became a festival sensation, prompting theaters to add midnight screenings as audiences sought its late-night scares. Forensic medicine student Zheng Li went to test his nerves, but reports linking the film to a real hospital and the previous screening’s shaken viewers unsettled him before his own showing began.

• Audiences praised and debated the festival films, while stories spread about viewers of "Crying" being too frightened to leave the mall or go home alone.
• After "Crying" sold out its screenings, theaters added midnight showings, and many viewers switched their tickets to watch the horror film late at night.
• Forensic medicine student Zheng Li bragged online that "Crying" would not scare him, then accepted a challenge to watch it at midnight with netizens.
• While searching for spoilers, Zheng Li found reports and photos suggesting that Nanhua Private Renji Hospital, the film’s source, really existed, and he closed the page to calm himself.
• At the cinema, Zheng Li watched the previous screening’s audience emerge in silence, and one girl screamed and fell as if she had seen something terrifying.

After watching Crying, Zheng Li and the netizens who had challenged him were left too frightened to sleep, while the film’s growing success sparked a wave of interest in Nanhua Private Renji Hospital. Lu Ban welcomed the publicity, declined interview requests until after the festival awards, and headed to meet Feng Yu.

• Zheng Li watched Crying with the netizens who had challenged him and left the cinema shaken by the hospital scenes.
• Zheng Li accepted the netizens’ invitation to spend the night at an internet café because he could not sleep.
• Crying surpassed ten million in box office revenue on its second day, and discussion of Nanhua Private Renji Hospital spread across social media and forums.
• Lu Ban welcomed the film’s rising attention and decided to wait until the film festival’s final day before giving interviews.
• Lu Ban confirmed Feng Yu’s address and went out in Yannan to have a meal with him.

Lu Ban met Feng Yu for a meal near Yannan University of Media, where they talked about his successful film and her delayed production. After hearing news of a cruise ship disaster, Lu Ban questioned whether the woman beside him was truly Feng Yu.

• Lu Ban reflected on the growing popularity of Crying and the invitations to extend its screenings.
• Feng Yu joined Lu Ban for lunch, congratulated him on his film, and explained that problems with her director and production company had delayed her own film.
• Lu Ban joked that Feng Yu could become his mother because she took such good care of him.
• A television report said the cruise ship Starlight had caught fire near Pohnpei Island during a storm, and Lu Ban wondered whether it was the disaster that had been summoned.
• After they left the restaurant, Lu Ban stopped Feng Yu and asked who she really was, saying she was not Feng Yu.

Lu Ban learned that the Feng Yu he knew was a traveler who had taken on the real Feng Yu’s identity and warned him against trying to see her secrets. After she left their café, Lu Ban realized she had not paid for the coffee.

• Feng Yu called Lu Ban to say she had arrived safely, and Lu Ban later searched her name online and found a report saying she had died in a flash flood.
• Lu Ban recalled testing Feng Yu after noticing how strangely familiar she acted, and she invited him to a café instead of answering his doubts directly.
• Feng Yu said she was a traveler who experienced life in different places and explained that the real Feng Yu was still there.
• Feng Yu warned Lu Ban that learning more or using True Sight to examine her could contaminate him, and Lu Ban agreed not to look.
• Feng Yu left after saying she hoped Lu Ban would keep treating her as Feng Yu, and Lu Ban realized she had not paid for their coffee.

Lu Ban attended the Yannan University of Media awards ceremony, where people praised and complained about how frightening his film Crying was. He met director Zhang Yuefan, who suggested Lu Ban build a horror-themed amusement park, and Lu Ban enthusiastically agreed.

• Lu Ban decided not to dwell on Feng Yu's identity and waited for the awards ceremony.
• Lu Ban arrived at Yannan University of Media and signed an autograph for a student who described how Crying had scared him and his girlfriend.
• Lu Ban took his seat in Section C and met Zhang Yuefan, director of Gaokao! Gaokao! Gaokao!.
• Zhang Yuefan lamented his film's poor prospects and blamed Crying for overshadowing small directors at the festival.
• Zhang Yuefan suggested that Lu Ban build a haunted amusement park, and Lu Ban agreed that it was a great idea.

At the Yannan University Student Film Festival awards ceremony, Lu Ban watched Zhang Yuefan’s film win Best Visual Effects before unexpectedly winning Best Actor for Crying. The ceremony moved on to the Best Picture nominations, where Lu Ban saw his own film listed.

• Lu Ban attended the film festival awards ceremony and listened as the early awards were announced.
• Zhang Yuefan’s Gaokao! Gaokao! Gaokao! won Best Visual Effects, and he accepted the award after Lu Ban urged him to go onstage.
• Zhang Yuefan said the award may have been given to balance the prizes, and Lu Ban wondered whether the judges had arranged the results that way.
• The female lead from Ashes of the Past won Best Actress.
• Lu Ban won Best Actor for Crying, questioned whether the organizers had given him the wrong award, and briefly thanked the judges.
• The host began announcing the Best Picture nominees, and Lu Ban saw his film among them.

Lu Ban won the Best Film award for Crying at the Yannan University Student Film Festival, and his blunt acceptance speech fueled an online debate ahead of the film’s nationwide release. Back home, he completed his career development task and received a new task prompt about uncovering human nature through danger.

• Director Tao Ming announced that Lu Ban’s Crying had won Best Film, and Lu Ban accepted the trophy with a brief speech.
• Zhang Yuefan teased Lu Ban for offending the judges, and Lu Ban said he had only been telling the truth.
• The ceremony broadcast spread online, dividing viewers between supporters who had seen Crying and skeptics who had not.
• Lu Ban returned home and watched news about the storm-stranded passengers from the All-Star.
• The system confirmed Lu Ban had completed the career development task, awarded him 7,900 Silence Points, and presented a new task prompt.

Lu Ban chose the Nameless City mission in the Wasteland, hoping to find materials for Last Words and perhaps a Saint's Remains. While preparing for the trip, he noticed that the shared shop’s inventory had changed, but the Saint's Remains was still available beyond his means.

• Lu Ban decided to prioritize completing Last Words and seek Wasteland missions while preparing for threats and searching for Du Danping’s remaining Melody Fragments.
• Lu Ban considered Ruined City Horror and Twilight Whisper, but kept them as alternatives before choosing the Nameless City mission in the Wasteland.
• Lu Ban planned to explore the ruins with a team and considered buying weapons to handle multiple enemies.
• Lu Ban discovered that the shop’s stock had changed, including the disappearance of Glazed Fire and He Ming's Handbook.
• Lu Ban found the Saint's Remains still listed for 160,000 Silence Points and wondered whether Chosen of the Gods could sell their own items through the shared shop.

Lu Ban prepared for his next Silent Land task by stocking up on supplies and buying a Halloween pumpkin that could affect the minds of monsters. He selected Erosion difficulty for the Nameless City task and entered the wasteland, accompanied by one companion.

• Lu Ban realized he had few Silence Points available to spend and bought compressed rations and the Halloween pumpkin.
• Lu Ban spent several days preparing for the task, packed survival equipment, and told others he would be traveling for a month.
• Lu Ban chose the Nameless City task, whose requirements were to enter the city and obtain its treasure.
• Lu Ban selected Erosion difficulty and entered the Silent Land as the television’s desert spread into his world.

Lu Ban arrived in the Wasteland with Shia Quellris, a novice Aspirant Agent from the Gray Tower, and learned about her world and magic. After they witnessed three people kill a giant insect, they were called over to help, and Lu Ban was surprised to see Shia wearing full armor despite being a mage.

• Lu Ban and Shia Quellris arrived in the Wasteland, where their mission was to enter the Nameless City and obtain its treasure.
• Lu Ban learned that Shia was an Aspirant Agent from the Gray Tower in the Silent Land and asked her about magic.
• An explosion drew a giant insect from its lair, and three people fought it using an enlarged arm, fire, and a mysterious power that seemed to hypnotize it.
• The three people killed the insect and called Lu Ban and Shia over to help.
• Shia stood up in black steel armor, surprising Lu Ban, who questioned whether she was really a mage.

Lu Ban and Xiya camped with the Wasteland Hunters, who explained that Crystal Core Disease had destroyed their world and granted its victims supernatural abilities at the cost of their lives. After sharing insect meat and taking the first watch, Xiya prayed for the spells she would use that day.

• Giant Arm explained the Wasteland Hunters' nickname custom and described Crystal Core Disease to Lu Ban and Xiya.
• Lu Ban chose the nickname Clown, while Xiya chose Mage.
• Giant Arm served them insect meat; Xiya enjoyed it, while Lu Ban concluded that one of them had a serious problem with their sense of taste.
• Lu Ban and Xiya volunteered to keep watch while the three Wasteland Hunters slept.
• Xiya opened an old book and prayed for the spells she would use that day.

Lu Ban learned how Xiya’s world’s magic depended on daily prayers to the gods, then watched as she searched her book for a way to let him learn spells. The search ended with Xiya offering to help him try, though the chapter did not show whether he could use magic.

• Xiya explained that mages prayed to the gods after midnight for spells they could use for a day, and that she had received only about seventy percent of her strength in the Other Shore.
• Xiya used a Detection Spell and sensed something sleeping beneath the desert, but she refused to reveal which spells she had prayed for.
• Lu Ban asked whether someone from another world could obtain spells, and Xiya spent about half an hour searching her book for an answer.
• Lu Ban explored the silver-sand dunes and admired the star-filled sky before returning to find Xiya still absorbed in reading.
• When Xiya did not respond, Lu Ban struck the back of her armor with his crowbar; she came to and explained that the Reading Spell let her body read while her consciousness rested.
• Xiya said she had found instructions on learning spells and offered to let Lu Ban try.

Xiya explained how spellcasters connected to the Gray Tower's magical web, and Lu Ban tried the ritual but received no response. Xiya realized he might be a Chosen of the Gods and warned that such people in Gray Tower history had all died horribly.

• Xiya explained the spellcaster agreement and the three handshakes needed to pray for spells through the magical web.
• Lu Ban signed a temporary spellcaster agreement and recited the passage to begin the ritual.
• Lu Ban entered a star-filled void, but no god responded before the stars disappeared and he returned to the desert.
• Xiya searched for an explanation, then told Lu Ban that he might be a Chosen of the Gods.
• Xiya said that Gray Tower Chosen of the Gods in recorded history had all died horribly.

Lu Ban shared compressed rations and energy bars with Giant Arm, Flame Heart, and Old Dream before joining them on their journey across the Wasteland. Giant Arm revealed that they were heading to a ruin at the edge of the Wasteland, which they hoped to reach within a day.

• Lu Ban reflected on Xiya's Reading Spell and on how the Night Country's magical network let people use knowledge without being driven mad by it.
• Lu Ban gave compressed rations to Giant Arm, Flame Heart, and Old Dream, who enjoyed the food and compared it favorably with insects.
• Lu Ban gave each of the three an energy bar; Giant Arm saved his, while Flame Heart ate his immediately.
• The group packed up, mounted their lizard-like camels, and set out toward a ruin at the Wasteland's edge.
• Giant Arm explained that he had found a map among dead Wasteland Hunters and hoped to reach the ruin within a day.

Lu Ban and his companions followed a pillar of light to an abandoned city where the remains of the saint Achilles were said to lie. After learning about saints and their connection to Crystal Core Disease, they entered the ruins and spotted other Wasteland Hunters nearby.

• Lu Ban heard Giant Arm identify the pillar of light as the radiance of the Saint's Remains, and Flame Heart explained that dead saints could still wield power.
• Giant Arm revealed that the saint named on their map was Achilles, and Lu Ban recognized the name from the Trojan War legend.
• Flame Heart explained that becoming a saint could ease Crystal Core Disease and let people live for decades or centuries.
• At dusk, Lu Ban and his companions reached a vast abandoned city and used Giant Arm's blueprint to guide their search.
• The group entered the ruins after dark and saw firelight that indicated other Wasteland Hunters were already there.