Recaps

Lin Yu used Zhu Ming’s account to trick Li Nian into admitting her knowledge of the Gray Domain and borrowed her help investigating a Hunter Society bounty. Li Nian agreed to investigate and gave Zhu Ming the Sleight of Hand (Limit Breaking) Item in return for the Ancient Notebook.

• Lin Yu erased the traces of his use of the Ancient Notebook and messaged Li Nian through Zhu Ming’s account.
• Li Nian confessed that she had hidden the Limit Breaking Jade and admitted she was familiar with the Gray Domain.
• Lin Yu offered to lend Li Nian the Ancient Notebook for Gray Domain visits in exchange for her observations and help investigating the bounty on the Director.
• Li Nian agreed to investigate the Gray Domain trades connected to the three missing Items and the person who placed the bounty.
• Li Nian sent Zhu Ming the Sleight of Hand (Limit Breaking) Item as a gift.

Lin Yu accepted Li Nian’s [Sleight of Hand] after lending her the [Ancient Notebook], leaving her grateful and willing to investigate the next [Instance]. Meanwhile, “Order” quietly supported Tycoon’s plans against Lacan and considered sending a low-ranking Player to scout alongside “Old Yao.”

• Li Nian gave Lin Yu the [Sleight of Hand], and they agreed she would investigate the next [Instance] with help from the [Ancient Notebook].
• Lin Yu realized that lending Li Nian the notebook had made her feel indebted to Zhu Ming, and he was pleased to have gained her favor and a powerful [Item].
• Lin Yu expected the [Sleight of Hand] to make his trip to Mist Island go more smoothly.
• Tycoon continued seeking an [Item] ticket to the 6th Island, while friendly members of “Order” made private inquiries to help him.
• “Order” supported Tycoon’s effort to disrupt Lacan’s plans but avoided sending a top expert, and its leaders considered assigning a low-ranking Player to accompany “Old Yao.”

At a Yanjing clinic, Wundt and Nineteen compared information about the bounty on the Director and realized an unknown organization was behind it. They prepared for a dangerous upcoming instance, where several factions and powerful Players were expected to converge.

• Nineteen visited Wundt and revealed that White Sand planned to pursue the Director and obtain the Earth Scroll.
• Wundt said the Psychology Society had not posted the bounty, and the two ruled out the Marauders and Freedom Alliance as its source.
• Wundt and Nineteen concluded that a hidden organization had placed the bounty, prompting Wundt to withdraw the Psychology Society's A-Class Specialists and warn White Sand away.
• Nineteen told Wundt that the Tycoon from Jiang City would join the coming instance and warned that his goals could cause trouble for Lacan.
• Wundt said the Order, Night Watcher, and Player Mutual Aid Society might also participate, and revealed that Chlorpromazine and two S-Class Specialists would accompany Lacan.

Lin Yu returned to Jiang City with Shen Bingmiao's help and planned to use his Old Yao persona to create a long-distance movement [Item]. He met Tycoon at a restaurant, where Tycoon let Lin Yu handle the bill.

• Lin Yu disguised himself as Old Yao and hitched rides back to Jiang City with Shen Bingmiao's help, arriving in less than four hours.
• Lin Yu considered creating a long-distance movement [Item] by fabricating a convincing ability during his upcoming trip to Mist Island.
• Lin Yu contacted Tycoon and went to meet him at a small Chinese restaurant in Jiang City's eastern district.
• Tycoon ordered food, and when the proprietress asked for payment, he looked to Lin Yu to pay the bill.

Lin Yu learned why Tycoon’s wealth and spending fluctuated: his Capitalist profession tied his abilities and resources to his real-world assets. Tycoon gave Lin Yu a ticket and locator for Mist Island’s 6th Island, where Lin Yu would enter an Instance ahead of Tycoon’s planned confrontation with Lacan.

• Tycoon ate six bowls of rice and explained that renewing video website memberships had left him without food money.
• Tycoon revealed that his Unique Profession was Capitalist and that his powers and spending depended on his real-world assets.
• Tycoon explained that he trusted Lin Yu as an adviser and chose him for the Mist Island mission because he could not expose Jiang'an Hall’s members to the risks.
• Lin Yu asked whether Order and the Night Watcher would send help, and Tycoon said Lacan would not be their main target.
• Tycoon gave Lin Yu a one-way airship ticket to Mist Island’s 6th Island and a locator so he could find Lin Yu after he arrived.

Lin Yu entered the Mist Island instance aboard an airship, where eight players were gathered for a mission to destroy a cursed statue. He recognized Jue, Fu Luo, and the Psychology Society’s Chlorpromazine, while remaining determined to claim Freud’s heritage.

• Lin Yu returned to Zhengcheng and weighed the factions and players likely competing for Freud’s heritage in the upcoming instance.
• The one-way ticket transported Lin Yu into the instance The Weeping of the Mourners, whose clearance condition was to destroy the Cursed Statue.
• Lin Yu found himself aboard an airship with seven other passengers, whom he suspected were all players.
• Lin Yu recognized Jue and Fu Luo among the passengers.
• Lin Yu identified Chlorpromazine, a Psychology Society operative who often worked with Fluoxetine.

Lin Yu watched Players from rival factions size one another up aboard the airship as Nineteen tried to organize them and Fu Luo presented himself as Sherlock of Order. The groups gathered around Sherlock, but an unknown Gas Mask-wearing Player warned that fighting aboard the airship could provoke the successor of the Lord of Mist Island, leaving Nineteen to ask Sherlock what to do.

• Lin Yu observed the seven other Players and recognized Fu Luo, Chlorpromazine, and Jue while the tense passengers silently assessed one another.
• Nineteen introduced himself as a Marauder and called on Chlorpromazine of the Psychology Society to join forces against Order and the Night Watcher.
• Fu Luo revealed himself as Sherlock of Order, and Nineteen noted Fu Luo's reputation and apparent strength.
• Katie of the Player Mutual Aid Society, Wang Jiu of the Night Watcher, and Old Yao of Jiang'an Hall joined Sherlock.
• The Gas Mask-wearing Player warned that fighting aboard the airship could provoke the successor of the Lord of Mist Island, and Nineteen asked Sherlock whether they should fight.

Fu Luo persuaded the other factions to maintain a truce aboard the airship, and the group prepared to work together on their mission to the 6th Island. The chapter ended with them sharing their abilities and information while wondering what challenges the airship might hold.

• Fu Luo proposed that the factions avoid fighting and focus on their missions, and Nineteen and Chlorpromazine agreed to a truce.
• The groups separated into temporary factions, and Wang Jiu urged Fu Luo to attack Nineteen and Chlorpromazine, but Fu Luo argued against provoking the Mist Island natives.
• Wang Jiu questioned Katie's motives, and Lin Yu intervened to prevent conflict within their group.
• Fu Luo suggested that the airship might present challenges before they reached the island and asked everyone to share their abilities.
• Wang Jiu, Katie, and Lin Yu described their tiers, professions, and relevant skills or information about the Cursed Statue.

Lin Yu secured a tentative alliance with Jue while the group prepared to stay together aboard the airship. An explosion outside plunged the airship into darkness, and a nearby scream left them facing an immediate danger.

• Fu Luo urged everyone to stick together aboard the airship, and Lin Yu volunteered to approach the two neutral passengers.
• Lin Yu offered Jue cooperation against the Psychology Society, and she agreed to work with his side when the time was right.
• The gas-masked passenger rejected Lin Yu's attempt to speak with him.
• Fu Luo told Wang Jiu to keep watch on Jue in case she was secretly working with the Psychology Society.
• An explosion erupted outside the airship, the lights went out, and someone nearby screamed.

A monster brought thick fog aboard the airship, trapping the Players in near-total darkness. When the fog thinned, Fu Luo discovered that someone had been dragged out, but all eight people were still present, meaning the monster had taken a Player’s identity.

• Fu Luo screamed in the darkness, and Wang Jiu covered for him by claiming he had sensed a threat.
• Fog spread through the airship, prompting Wang Jiu and Nineteen to realize that a dangerous monster had boarded.
• Lin Yu assessed the danger and worried that he could not rely on Fu Luo or Katie if a fight broke out.
• The fog thinned, but it concealed everyone’s faces beneath a veil.
• Fu Luo found a trail of water leading to the open emergency exit and concluded that the monster had dragged someone out and impersonated them.

After the Players realized a Mist Island native might have disguised itself as one of them to steal Freud’s legacy, they tried to find the infiltrator while setting aside their rivalries. Lin Yu recognized that an outside force was stirring up Nineteen and the Gas Mask man’s emotions, confirming that a monster was among them.

• Fu Luo and Chlorpromazine explained that a native seeking Freud’s legacy could have replaced a Player to pass the inspection mechanism, and Nineteen urged the Players to cooperate and find the infiltrator.
• The Players became suspicious of one another, and Fu Luo suggested the monster’s imitation might have flaws because it had used mist to conceal its appearance.
• Nineteen argued that quiet, mysterious Players who struggled to communicate were more likely to have been replaced, while the Gas Mask man accused him of using the monster scare to eliminate rivals.
• Nineteen and the Gas Mask man grew increasingly hostile as they accused each other of being suspicious.
• Lin Yu sensed that an outside force was inciting the pair, concluded that a monster had infiltrated the airship, and asked them to calm down and examine their emotions.

Fu Luo reasoned that the fog was making the airship’s passengers irritable and that the monster was likely avoiding a direct fight. He proposed identifying the replacement by questioning everyone about their lives and interests, then began with his own detective-fiction preferences.

• Nineteen and the gas-mask man realized that the accompanying fog was affecting their emotions, and the gas-mask man explained that his mask could not filter it.
• Nineteen, Fu Luo, and the gas-mask man concluded that the monster might be weak in direct combat and that they should focus on finding it.
• Fu Luo suggested that the monster would struggle to imitate people’s knowledge and memories, so he proposed that everyone introduce themselves and answer random questions.
• Fu Luo described his background and favorite detective fiction, while Nineteen and the gas-mask man questioned him about his tastes.
• Lin Yu spoke with Wang Jiu about detective fiction, and Wang Jiu said he liked the Detective Conan films featuring Kyogoku Makoto.
• Fu Luo objected that those films had little deduction, and Wang Jiu said the only other detective fiction he had seen was Adventure Little Tigers.

Fu Luo organized a round of personal introductions to help the Players determine who was human. The Gas Mask man’s passionate military talk convinced the group he was genuine, and they moved on to the next person.

• Fu Luo invited the Players to reveal details about themselves after completing his own self-verification.
• The Gas Mask man said he was human, described his background and military-collecting hobby, and praised his country’s infantry equipment.
• The Gas Mask man passionately explained why he preferred fighter jets, while Wang Jiu and Fu Luo asked about his interests and equipment.
• The Gas Mask man refused to answer Fu Luo’s questions about his training and identity, citing his privacy and his hope of obtaining Freud’s inheritance.
• Chlorpromazine asked which aircraft was most beautiful, and the Gas Mask man named the MiG-29K; Nineteen and Chlorpromazine concluded that he was human, and Fu Luo moved on.

Jue answered questions about her board-game hobby, but Fu Luo pointed out inconsistencies in her account of where she lived and who she played with. Katie then described her interest in art and a Monet exhibition, while Lin Yu’s questions about the ticket price exposed that she had attended on a free ticket and did not know its cost.

• Jue said she enjoyed board games and explained how she chose games and found places to play while moving between cities.
• Fu Luo challenged Jue’s claims about her transient lifestyle and regular friends, concluding that she was hiding information but that he could not yet identify her as the one who had been replaced.
• Katie introduced herself as a Haicheng university teacher and spoke about her interests in classical art and a recent Monet exhibition.
• Nineteen asked Katie which painting had impressed her most, and she praised Monet’s Water Lilies series.
• Lin Yu asked how much the exhibition cost, and Katie reluctantly revealed that online tickets were 169 yuan after admitting she had received hers for free.

The group questioned each other’s statements, and Lin Yu judged Katie’s and Jue’s inconsistencies as understandable while noticing Wang Jiu was hiding a personal secret. After Lin Yu introduced himself as Old Yao, Nineteen singled him out as the most suspicious person and accused him of fitting the theory that a monster did not understand the human world.

• Lin Yu decided Katie’s embarrassment about her cheap art exhibition ticket made her seem human, and understood that Jue’s account reflected the other personalities sharing her body.
• Wang Jiu described her reptile shop and hobbies, but Jue suggested she was concealing something important; Lin Yu inferred that her tattoo and behavior hinted at unspoken love for a friend.
• Lin Yu introduced himself as Old Yao, a former thief whose unusual hobby was observing strangers and guessing their professions, destinations, and relationships.
• Lin Yu suggested the Marauders and Psychology Society members speak next, but Nineteen interrupted Chlorpromazine and challenged Lin Yu’s vague account as suspicious.
• Nineteen accused Lin Yu of fitting the theory that the hidden monster did not understand the world, and Lin Yu protested that reading Adventure Little Tigers proved he knew details.

Fu Luo and the others exposed Lin Yu as a monster disguised as Old Yao, and the creature attacked the group aboard the airship. As the Players joined forces against it, Fu Luo agreed to use a powerful attack while the others restrained the monster.

• Nineteen and Fu Luo questioned Lin Yu about works he had watched and challenged his claim that he was Old Yao.
• Fu Luo noticed that Lin Yu could not remember details Old Yao would know, and Nineteen revealed that the Marauder called Walnut had actually been named Almond.
• Fu Luo ordered Wang Jiu to restrain Lin Yu, but Lin Yu's body melted into a mist-shrouded monster that knocked Wang Jiu's serpent aside.
• The military otaku fired an energy projectile at the monster, which rushed him and left him screaming in terror inside the mist.
• Wang Jiu asked Fu Luo to attack while she restrained the monster, and Nineteen urged him to use the trump card he had used against Arlan Mercury.
• Fu Luo warned that his attack could destroy the airship, then agreed to proceed as Chlorpromazine began casting Earthflow Imprisonment.

The Players restrained the faceless monster, only for it to bargain for safe passage to the 6th Island by offering to return Old Yao and make deals with the others. The monster then revealed itself to be Lin Yu, who concealed the real Mist Island infiltrator behind a screen of Water Mist so he could speak with it alone.

• The Players used earthen walls, venomous snakes, chains, potions, and healing to restrict the monster while Fu Luo hesitated to use a bomb that could destroy the airship.
• Jue's chains caught the monster, and it suddenly burned with white Fear Flame before settling into a weakened, faceless form.
• The faceless monster offered to return Old Yao in exchange for safe passage to the island, and Fu Luo accepted the deal to protect his companions.
• The monster offered Nineteen a pendant and promised to keep Jue and the Military Otaku's secrets, while the Military Otaku asked to speak with it alone.
• Lin Yu revealed himself as the faceless monster and used the Water Prayer Necklace to hide himself and the real infiltrator from the other Players.

Lin Yu revealed himself as a monster to the creature parasitizing the military nerd and proposed that they cooperate. He claimed to come from the 37th Island in search of a pendant among the 6th Island’s inheritance, while the other monster identified itself as being from the 26th Island.

• Lin Yu explained that he had deliberately exposed suspicious flaws so the Players would mistake him for a monster and that he had used [Narrative Trick] to mislead Fu Luo and Nineteen.
• Lin Yu confronted the monster controlling the military nerd and proposed that he act openly while it remained hidden.
• Lin Yu said he came from the 37th Island for a pendant in the 6th Island’s inheritance and described his ability to consume Memories and imitate someone.
• The monster said it came from the 26th Island and could attach to a person while gradually eroding their soul and consciousness.

Lin Yu negotiated with the Mist Island monster that had replaced a Player, agreeing to help it parasitize others while directing it to target Nineteen. After the monster returned to the group, Lin Yu secretly consulted Old Zheng about what the creature really was.

• Lin Yu learned from the monster that it sought Old Zheng’s legacy and that its parasitism required prolonged physical contact to erode a target’s soul.
• Lin Yu proposed that the monster pretend to be frightened and obedient, then told it to target Nineteen and return to him if it could not suppress the Player’s consciousness.
• The monster agreed, and Lin Yu withdrew the vapor concealing their conversation before Fu Luo asked what they had discussed.
• Lin Yu sat apart from the Players and secretly took Old Zheng out of the Item Space.
• Lin Yu told Old Zheng that a monster from the 26th Island had replaced a Player and asked him to identify it.

Lin Yu learned more about the Soul-Siphoning Tree Vine and considered impersonating a Mirage Soul family to deceive it. He confronted Old Zheng about his hidden strength, and Old Zheng admitted that he had helped bring down the Lord of Mist Island through manipulation rather than combat power.

• Old Zheng explained that the Soul-Siphoning Tree Vine had likely mistaken Lin Yu for a monster from the 9th or 3rd Island and described the vine's ability to consume souls and control bodies.
• Lin Yu asked about the Illusionary Riddle and Mirage Soul, and Old Zheng described Mirage Soul's powerful sensory illusions, fragile true form, and family groups.
• Old Zheng warned that Lin Yu would need to impersonate an entire Mirage Soul family, and Lin Yu agreed to play multiple roles while they retrieved Old Zheng's inheritance from the 6th Island.
• Lin Yu challenged Old Zheng about rumors that he had orchestrated the downfall of the Lord of Mist Island and accused him of hiding his strength.
• Old Zheng admitted that he had helped bring down the Lord of Mist Island by playing both sides, sowing discord, and using others to kill, while claiming his direct combat ability was weak.

Lin Yu learned how Old Zheng had used careful planning to kill the demigod Lord of Mist Island, then arrived with the other players at the 6th Island. Old Zheng warned him that the island’s seemingly peaceful ruler was relatively normal but could still be affected by Mist Island’s abnormality.

• Old Zheng explained that his strength lay in preparation and scheming rather than direct combat, and recounted how he and his allies betrayed and killed the Lord of Mist Island.
• Lin Yu understood that Old Zheng’s account gave him valuable information, but focused on managing the players aboard the airship.
• After Lin Yu removed the Soul-Siphoning Tree Vine parasitizing the military otaku, the airship passed through the fog and entered the perimeter of the 6th Island.
• Shijiu and Old Zheng announced the airship’s arrival, and the players descended onto a misty island with a paved road, flowering trees, and birdsong.
• Old Zheng told Lin Yu that the 6th Island’s ruler was an ancient who had survived Mist Island’s catastrophe, but warned that her mental state might have been affected.

Lin Yu left the other players and used Old Zheng's knowledge to head toward Cassidy, hoping to get ahead of them and prepare for the search for Freud's heritage. He discovered that Old Zheng had once dated the Island Master of the 6th Island.

• Lin Yu told the players that Fu Luo's friend was safe on the 6th Island and near the heritage storage site, then vanished in a staged illusion.
• Lin Yu used the Water Mist to conceal his escape and traveled through the island's shadows with Old Zheng.
• Old Zheng described Cassidy, Flusterd, and a sealed ruin as the 6th Island's central locations, and warned Lin Yu that the Island Master's unpredictable moods could make approaching her risky.
• Lin Yu decided to head to Cassidy first to observe the settlements and make arrangements before the other players arrived.
• Lin Yu pieced together that Old Zheng had been romantically involved with the Island Master of the 6th Island, and Old Zheng admitted Lin Yu had uncovered the truth.

Lin Yu learned that Old Zheng had become the object of affection of the Island Master of the 6th Island, Cassidy, after helping her with psychological trauma. Despite Old Zheng’s objections, Lin Yu decided to meet Cassidy and learn her side of the story, leaving to seek her out.

• Lin Yu discovered that Sutu’s necklace had belonged to a Player who had been Sutu’s lover, and Old Zheng explained that relationships between Players and Ten Realms natives were not unheard of.
• Old Zheng said he had grown close to the Island Master of the 6th Island while helping her with psychological trauma, and Lin Yu suspected he might have let her feelings develop for a scheme.
• Old Zheng insisted he had not manipulated her and protested when Lin Yu decided to meet her and resolve their misunderstanding.
• Old Zheng used his Mental Power to distort Lin Yu’s perception and stop him, but Lin Yu recalled him to the Item Space and ended the interference.
• Lin Yu set off toward Cassidy, planning to ask her about Old Zheng while presenting himself only as someone familiar with him.

Lin Yu searched Cassidy for the person in charge and confronted a scaled resident who denied that anyone led 6th Island. After the resident tried to escape, Lin Yu caught and threatened him again, demanding to know where the person in charge lived.

• Lin Yu entered Cassidy and asked a scaled resident to direct him to 6th Island’s island master.
• The resident claimed that 6th Island had no one in charge, but Lin Yu’s Three-Minute Lie Detector showed he was lying.
• Lin Yu grabbed the resident, threatened him with the Infallible Revolver, and demanded to know where his boss lived.
• The resident tried to escape by blending into the wall and dazzling Lin Yu, but Lin Yu pinned his hand with a dagger.
• Lin Yu pressed the dagger deeper and gave the resident one last chance to reveal where the person in charge lived.

Lin Yu forced a Scaled Person to reveal the 6th Island Master’s residence and went to meet her in the church atop the slope. The glowing Island Master recognized how he had obtained directions and praised his effective, if crude, methods.

• Lin Yu threatened a Scaled Person until it told him the Island Master lived in a white church in Cassidy Town.
• Lin Yu let the Scaled Person go after warning it that he would punish its entire kind if it had lied.
• Lin Yu crossed the clean, dilapidated town and climbed the flower-lined path to the church.
• A radiant young woman in a linen robe appeared and addressed Lin Yu as a traveler from afar.
• The Island Master said she had noticed Lin Yu questioning the lie-prone residents and called his methods crude but impressive.