Recaps

Lin Yu learned how to use Old Zheng’s special items and equipped the [Gray Spirit Eye], arranging for Old Zheng to help power it. He then released Hannah, Stiller, and Zhu Qiansi so they could move around freely, while warning Zhu Qiansi to stay out of trouble.

• Lin Yu listened as Old Zheng explained the effects and uses of [Meme Cat], [Mind Manifestation Instrument], [Three-Scoop Ice Cream Box], and [Dream Casket].
• Lin Yu said he could pass off the [Dream Casket]’s projections as a [Future Projection] connected to his identities’ 'Fragments of Fate,' impressing Old Zheng.
• Old Zheng explained the [Gray Spirit Eye]’s soul vision and spirit-form abilities, and Lin Yu fitted it over his left eye.
• Lin Yu transformed Old Zheng into a beret and fixed him to his head so Old Zheng could transfer Mental Power to the [Gray Spirit Eye].
• Lin Yu released Hannah, Stiller, and Zhu Qiansi, then told Zhu Qiansi to be careful and avoid causing trouble.

After learning how Order viewed the events on Mist Island, Lin Yu’s growing reputation as Schreiber filled the remaining belief needed to unlock his new Script ability. He chose a new-character Script that would have him infiltrate the Marauders, leaving Heavenly Artisan’s role behind.

• Lin Yu read Li Hua’s report and learned that Order’s accounts of Mist Island centered on Schreiber and his conflict with the Psychology Society.
• The belief surrounding Schreiber completed the requirements for Lin Yu’s Script ability, and a new Script appeared.
• Lin Yu chose the Brand-New Character Script despite his concerns about his crowded schedule.
• The Script required Lin Yu to pose as a ruthless Tier 1 Player, rise within the Marauders, and become a candidate for captain of a local branch.
• Lin Yu decided the Script was an opportunity to create a new Marauders identity and let Heavenly Artisan take a back seat.

Lin Yu learned that Order and the Night Watcher had destroyed the Psychology Society’s strongholds across nine cities, while Shen Bingmiao explained why she had helped reduce the cost of Order’s attack. As Lin Yu left to lead the Drama club’s performance, Old Zheng revealed the Psychology Society’s original goal and hinted that an early member had held opposing ideas.

• Lin Yu saw forum reports that Order and the Night Watcher had wiped out the Psychology Society’s strongholds in nine cities.
• Shen Bingmiao explained how Order’s leaders and regional patrols had attacked the Psychology Society’s scattered members, killing three A-Class players and damaging key items.
• Shen Bingmiao said she had helped reduce the costs of Order’s intervention because the second-generation Freud’s plans to increase the number of players threatened the Final Trial.
• Shen Bingmiao rested and left Lin Yu in charge of leading the Drama club’s performance.
• Lin Yu asked Old Zheng whether he had known about the Final Trial when he founded the Psychology Society, and Old Zheng explained that he had later hoped the game could produce players capable of resisting it.
• Old Zheng said an early member of the Psychology Society had belonged to a different faction within the organization.

Old Zheng explained the Psychology Society’s competing beliefs about the Death game and recounted how Fluoxetine had killed him. As Lin Yu prepared to lead the Drama club’s performance in Zhengcheng, Li Hua asked to meet him in person, hinting that something had happened during the previous night’s operation.

• Old Zheng told Lin Yu that the Psychology Society had two factions with different theories about the Death game, though both wanted to strengthen the Player population.
• Old Zheng recalled Fluoxetine’s cryptic final words and said he did not know why she had killed him.
• Old Zheng said the Psychology Society’s current emphasis on quantity contradicted its earlier focus on producing high-quality Players, and he supported Lin Yu’s plan to overthrow the organization.
• Lin Yu told the Drama club group chat that Shen Bingmiao was resting and that he would lead the performance.
• Li Hua told Lin Yu he would come to Zhengcheng and asked to meet him in person after the performance.

Wundt, Lacan, and Potassium Chloride discussed their defeat and Schreiber, who claimed to be Freud’s successor, while Fluoxetine revealed she had anticipated the encounter. The current President, the fifth-ranked Tier 4 player codenamed Freud, returned and declared Schreiber her next Trial.

• Potassium Chloride and Lacan told Wundt that Schreiber had beaten them and claimed to be a successor of the first-generation President.
• Fluoxetine emerged from hiding and explained that she had come to the shelter ahead of time to wait for the injured Psychology Society members.
• Lacan described Schreiber’s appearance, confidence, and provocation against the current President, and Fluoxetine speculated about his connection to the first-generation President.
• The current President appeared through a mass of static and said she had memorized Schreiber and would make him her next Trial.

After a successful Drama club performance, Lin Yu met Li Hua, who had been injured in a battle against the Psychology Society. Li Hua gave Lin Yu an encrypted phone taken as spoils of war, while hinting that he was withholding something about the operation.

• Lin Yu received praise from the Drama club members after his performance and dismissed them until evening.
• Lin Yu invited Li Hua to meet him at a restaurant and waited while eating an overpriced meal.
• Li Hua arrived with an injured leg and sunglasses, explaining that he had fought a Psychology Society expert while clearing a stronghold.
• Li Hua gave Lin Yu an encrypted phone recovered from the Psychology Society, saying his calculations showed Lin Yu was the best person to entrust it to.
• Lin Yu accepted the phone and realized Li Hua was deliberately hinting that he had not told him everything about the operation.

Lin Yu interpreted Li Hua’s coded warning as a sign that someone inside the Order might be involved in the unexpectedly smooth plan, and Li Hua urged him to investigate carefully. Li Hua also described the casualties from Mist Island and identified Schreiber as a dangerous successor of Freud who had acquired the island’s inheritance.

• Lin Yu read Li Hua’s gestures as a bluff and realized Li Hua was warning him to investigate the Order discreetly.
• Li Hua reported that Old Yao, Sherlock, and the other first-group participants were safe, while Ren Gu had minor injuries and Tycoon was weakened after exhausting his reserves.
• Li Hua explained that Bifang had forced Tycoon and others to face a demigod-level threat on Mist Island and had used his long-cooldown Exclusive item.
• Li Hua told Lin Yu that Schreiber, a supposed Tier 2 scholar and successor of Freud, had manipulated an Instance’s difficulty and obtained Mist Island’s inheritance.
• Li Hua warned Lin Yu to avoid confronting Schreiber directly, gather information safely, and eliminate him if a suitable opportunity arose.

Lin Yu and Li Hua discussed the successful operation against the Psychology Society and the organization’s likely next focus on the Marauders. They parted after talking about food and a possible future meal at Lin Yu’s home.

• Li Hua asked Lin Yu to watch for Schreiber in the Instance, and Lin Yu cautioned that Schreiber was powerful, cunning, and difficult to encounter.
• Li Hua said the organization might target the Marauders next, likely by weakening their influence in the Ten Realms, and noted that the Central China branch might call on Lin Yu.
• Lin Yu said he would contact Li Hua if the operation conflicted with his schedule.
• Li Hua ordered seafood fried rice and dessert, praised the fried rice, and finished both while Lin Yu privately doubted his taste.
• Lin Yu invited Li Hua to eat at his home sometime and mentioned his late sister’s diner and his own cooking.
• Li Hua said he was returning to Haicheng and expected to pass through Jiang City in the middle of the next month.

Lin Yu visited Tycoon in Jiang City, learned that the Order’s operation had badly damaged the Psychology Society, and then returned to Zhengcheng. There, Shen Bingmiao woke up and confronted him about arranging a group dinner in her name, while Lin Yu prepared to dine with Gao Shan and Sherlock.

• Lin Yu arranged dinner in Zhengcheng with Gao Shan, who invited Sherlock to join them.
• Lin Yu used the Mind-State Teleportation Gun to return to Jiang City as Old Yao and visited Tycoon with a fruit basket.
• Tycoon told Lin Yu that he had snapped Lacan’s neck during the chaos and that Schreiber had stolen the legacies and provoked the Psychology Society.
• Lin Yu returned to Zhengcheng, changed back into his original appearance, and checked Shen Bingmiao’s pulse while she slept.
• Shen Bingmiao woke up and asked Lin Yu why he had arranged a group dinner in her name, and Lin Yu said he was going to meet Gao Shan and Sherlock.

Lin Yu met Gao Shan and Fu Luo for dinner, where Gao Shan revealed he was preparing to attempt his Tier 3 Rank Advancement Trial. The three parted on good terms, with Fu Luo also resolving to stop avoiding his next trial.

• Lin Yu arrived at Gao Shan's upscale restaurant reservation and greeted Gao Shan and Fu Luo, who praised his growing fame.
• Lin Yu reassured Fu Luo about his actions on Mist Island and vowed to deal with Nineteen if they met again; Gao Shan said he would challenge Nineteen too.
• Gao Shan revealed that his next Instance was his Tier 3 Rank Advancement Trial and explained that he wanted to grow stronger for Order.
• Lin Yu wished Gao Shan success, while Fu Luo offered help if the trial took place in the wasteland or City That Never Sleeps.
• Fu Luo declared that he would attempt his next Tier 2 Trial, then backed down to saying he would do his best, making Lin Yu and Gao Shan laugh.
• After dinner, Lin Yu walked through Zhengcheng and considered helping Gao Shan with his Exclusive item blueprint once Gao Shan obtained it.

After turning down an optional Order mission, Lin Yu arranged for his invented friend Yayu to apply for the Marauders’ Pure Ruins job. A'yu approved the application and asked Yayu to meet her in Yanjing City for an assessment, but she struggled to recognize and type his codename.

• Lin Yu arrived in Shicheng, heard Good Night describe an optional Order mission in the Pure Ruins, and declined because he planned to visit the ruins himself.
• Lin Yu messaged A'yu as Heavenly Artisan and recommended an exceptionally strong Tier 2 friend who was interested in joining the Marauders.
• A'yu agreed to ask Pluto about the applicant, and Pluto approved an assessment for Monday night in Yanjing City.
• A'yu asked for the friend's codename, and Lin Yu told her it was Yayu.
• A'yu struggled to recognize and type Yayu's obscure name, then learned it referred to a ferocious beast from the Classic of Mountains and Seas.

Lin Yu traveled to Yanjing to join the Marauders under his carefully crafted identity as Yayu. At the Marauders’ underground boxing gym, A'yu and Sea Cucumber prepared to test his strength before considering him for an upcoming Instance.

• Lin Yu used the bus to travel from Hebei Province to Yanjing because he lacked a suitable Anchor Point there, and he focused on immersing himself in Yayu’s role during the journey.
• At a former underground boxing gym now serving as a Marauders base, A'yu watched Sea Cucumber train and told him to test Yayu without badly injuring him.
• Sea Cucumber explained that he hoped sparring with a powerful opponent would help him break through his bottleneck and improve his Exclusive item forging.
• A'yu said Yayu was likely to join the next Instance alongside another rookie with little information recorded by Order, which could catch Order off guard.
• Sea Cucumber and A'yu speculated that Yayu might be exceptionally powerful, and A'yu eagerly considered testing him while suppressing herself to Tier 2.

A'yu met Yayu, the mysterious expert recommended by the Heavenly Artisan, and discovered that Yayu was actually Tier 1 despite claiming Tier 2. Yayu demonstrated enough speed and danger to convince A'yu to test her against Sea Cucumber.

• A'yu learned from Ling Xian that Yayu had left no trace for Order to find, then called Sea Cucumber to assess the rumored close-combat expert.
• Yayu arrived at A'yu's base and introduced herself as a Reporter seeking to join the Marauders.
• Yayu revealed that her strength was Tier 2 but her actual rank was Tier 1, frustrating A'yu, who wanted a Tier 2 powerhouse.
• Yayu claimed she was much stronger than Sherlock and might threaten A'yu, then struck at her with a short sword.
• A'yu blocked Yayu's lightning-fast attack with the [Meteorite Token] and told Sea Cucumber to use all her strength against Yayu.

Lin Yu defeated Sea Cucumber in the Arena to prove his strength to A'yu and qualify for the 'Marauders.' A'yu accepted him, but Lin Yu postponed officially joining until after the mission, hoping to enter the organization's management rather than start as an ordinary member.

• Lin Yu told Sea Cucumber he wanted to join the 'Marauders' and intended to fight aggressively if defeating him offered enough benefits.
• Sea Cucumber attacked with a powerful punch, but Lin Yu endured it and secretly struck him three times in the abdomen with his Rune-etched Short Sword.
• A'yu stopped Sea Cucumber, who recognized his defeat and left the Arena to bandage his wounds.
• A'yu asked whether Lin Yu was a recent Player, and he explained that he had trained to survive before joining the 'Death game' and showed her his many scars.
• A'yu welcomed Yayu to the 'Marauders' after he passed the mission and joining interview.
• Lin Yu said he would officially join after the mission and seek a management position because he enjoyed holding power and authority.

Lin Yu negotiated for a chance to become a Branch Captain Candidate by completing a mission to collect [Mermaid's Tear] during the Tide-Chasing Festival. A'yu revealed that his teammate would be April, a ruthless new Tier 2 member with a connection to Heavenly Artisan.

• A'yu offered to recommend Lin Yu as a Branch Captain Candidate if he completed the mission well, and Lin Yu confidently accepted.
• A'yu explained that the mission involved collecting [Mermaid's Tear] during the Tide-Chasing Festival, when the Sea Eye Venerable would sell some of the rare material.
• Lin Yu learned that the Order might interfere, and privately realized that the Director had already been asked to target the Marauders but had declined because of his conflicting schedule.
• A'yu warned Lin Yu that the Director was growing stronger, though Lin Yu would not face him in his next [Instance].
• Lin Yu asked about his teammate, and A'yu identified her as April, a capable support who had personally killed her boyfriend and was connected to Heavenly Artisan.

Lin Yu learned that April had advanced to Tier 2 and joined the Marauders, then added her as a Social friend and teamed up with her remotely. After returning to Hebei Province, he reviewed how he had shaped Yayu’s character to fit his Script and appeal to A'yu.

• Lin Yu recognized April’s codename and learned from A'yu that April was a ruthless Marauder newcomer and an excellent support.
• A'yu gave Lin Yu a Team-up Card, and he added April as a Social friend without meeting her.
• Lin Yu returned to Hebei Province using the Anchor Point and restored his original appearance with the Mask.
• Lin Yu reflected that he had established Yayu’s character by combining selfishness and ruthlessness with arrogance, ambition, and a willingness to stop at nothing.

Lin Yu confronted Shen Bingmiao about his sister’s inheritance and learned she had bought him a storefront as he had once requested. He then read a letter in his own handwriting that revealed his past self had planned for this meeting and warned him about Shen Bingmiao’s flawed judgments.

• Lin Yu learned that his next Game would begin in moving open water and discussed the Pure Ruins Instance with Shen Bingmiao.
• Lin Yu pressed Shen Bingmiao about the inheritance from Lin Zhao and recorded her admitting the amount had been three million three hundred and eighty thousand.
• Shen Bingmiao gave Lin Yu the deed to a storefront registered in his name and explained that he had asked her to buy and renovate it to resemble Lin Zhao’s shop.
• Lin Yu opened an envelope and found a letter authenticated by a private handwriting code he had devised.
• Lin Yu read his past self’s warning that Shen Bingmiao was trustworthy but prone to mistaken conclusions, including believing Lin Zhao’s Death game class was chef.

Lin Yu read her past self’s letter and learned that it outlined a plan to revive Lin Zhao by exploiting the Death game, the gods, belief, and a reconstructed shop. She accepted Shen Bingmiao’s trustworthiness but left the chapter realizing that her past self had pretended to admire Shen Bingmiao while privately insulting her.

• Lin Yu concluded that Lin Zhao’s restaurant may have been a disguise and that the Death game explained her sister’s shift from apparent genius to ordinary life.
• Lin Yu read her past self’s letter, which described using Shen Bingmiao, the gods, an Exclusive item, a Heart Domain, and the rebuilt shop to change the world line and bring Lin Zhao back.
• Lin Yu wondered whether her past self had been a genius or had received outside assistance, then put the letter away.
• Shen Bingmiao explained that she had avoided reading the letter to prevent information from changing the plan, and Lin Yu told her that choice had been correct.
• Lin Yu recalled that her past self had called Shen Bingmiao an idiot in the letter while pretending to admire her, and realized she had behaved terribly.

After receiving a letter from his past self, Lin Yu clarified his next steps and prepared to enter the Game as Yayu. He joined the Pure Ruins and found himself aboard a sinking ship with April, whose changed appearance reflected the ordeal she had endured.

• Lin Yu stored the letter from his past self and resolved to play Yayu in the next Instance, using the Script to gain abilities and freedom among the Marauders.
• Lin Yu found a quiet stretch of river near Shicheng and waited in the water until the Game transported him.
• Lin Yu woke inside the flooded hold of a sinking wooden ship, surrounded by floating barrels and corpses.
• April recognized Lin Yu as Yayu and questioned why he had worn such inconvenient clothes.
• Lin Yu recognized April and was shocked by her tattoos and piercings, reflecting on the trauma of her having killed Li Nian.

Lin Yu, posing as Yayu, clashed with April over who would lead their team in the Tide of Return game. He easily dodged her tranquilizer shot and restrained her, leaving April at his mercy.

• Lin Yu and April regrouped in their cabin after learning that five players were in the game.
• April criticized Lin Yu as an unqualified Tier 1 player, while Lin Yu mocked her recent promotion and called her a mere ticket chosen for the Tide-Chasing Festival.
• April challenged Lin Yu and drew her Syringe and Tranquilizer Pistol to force him to obey her.
• April fired at Lin Yu, but he dodged the dart and rushed her before she could shoot again.
• Lin Yu pinned April's pistol hand with his Rune-etched Short Sword, seized her syringe hand, and called her useless.

Lin Yu and April investigated the sinking merchant ship and agreed to search for a lifeboat, though Lin Yu suspected the attack was part of a dangerous plot. They found the route to the deck blocked by a locked metal Trapdoor and needed to find a crew member’s key.

• Lin Yu persuaded April that his strength and resistance to mental attacks made him capable of handling the dangers in the Pure Ruins.
• April deduced that sea demons had attacked the merchant ship and suggested finding a lifeboat to reach the Tide-Chasing Festival or await rescue.
• Lin Yu warned April that the ship’s sinking might be connected to a conspiracy involving sea demons and mermaids.
• Lin Yu noticed that six holes in the hull aligned as if three powerful strikes had pierced the ship, suggesting a formidable attacker had killed the crew.
• April found the passage to the deck blocked by a locked metal Trapdoor and said they needed a key from one of the crew members.

Lin Yu showed April his extraordinary ability to stay active underwater and smashed open a metal hatch without a key. After they reached the deck of the Pure Ruins, April found the lifeboat, but a tentacle suddenly attacked her from the sea.

• April searched the corpses for keys, but Lin Yu said he could stay underwater for over an hour and they did not need a key.
• Lin Yu smashed the metal trapdoor open with his head, and April followed him up to the deck.
• Lin Yu surveyed the moonlit sea while April put on oversized goggles and went to retrieve the lifeboat.
• April found the lifeboat and pulled its securing rope, but a tentacle burst from the water and lashed toward her.

Lin Yu watched a giant Ink-Black Twin-Headed Octopus attack April and summoned Hannah to identify it. Hannah explained how to paralyze it, leaving Lin Yu ready to act on her advice.

• A huge tentacle burst from the water and struck at April, while Lin Yu recognized it as a dangerous Sea Race creature.
• April used a megaphone-shaped Item to block the tentacle briefly, but it broke through and seized her.
• Lin Yu decided to save April and called Hannah, who appeared from his hair.
• Hannah identified the creature as an Ink-Black Twin-Headed Octopus and explained that its vulnerable nerves lay behind the four eyes, especially the two near where its heads joined.

Lin Yu rescued April by attacking the Ink-Black Twin-Headed Octopus’s eyes and disabling the monster. April woke on a boat with Yayu, who denied saving her and said she had merely butchered the octopus.

• Hannah told Lin Yu that the octopus’s inner eyes were its weak point and that it likely intended to take the ship to a nearby nest.
• Lin Yu dived into the water and stabbed the eyes of the Ink-Black Twin-Headed Octopus, crippling its nerves and making it release April.
• Lin Yu swam to the unconscious April and brought her to a small boat, where her wounds were bandaged.
• April woke on the boat, recognized Yayu as her teammate, and asked if Yayu had saved her.
• Yayu told April that she had not saved her and had only butchered the monster that nearly killed her.

After killing the Ink-Black Twin-Headed Octopus, Lin Yu explained its weaknesses to April and shared some of its meat with her. They rested in their boat while waiting for dawn, when the Mermaids would come looking for them before the Tide-Chasing Festival.

• Lin Yu told April he had killed the Ink-Black Twin-Headed Octopus because it was in his way, then explained that its inner eyes were its weak point and that it was raised as food in the Middle Sea.
• April admitted she owed Lin Yu a favor, and he teased her for being beaten by a creature he called food.
• Lin Yu hauled one tentacle onto the boat, cut sashimi for himself and April, and told her he planned to sell the rest at the Tide-Chasing Festival.
• Lin Yu estimated dawn was two or three hours away and told April she had slept for over an hour while he bandaged her wounds.
• April and Lin Yu agreed to rest before facing the Fishmen, the Tide-Chasing Festival, their mission involving the Mermaid's Tear, and the possibility of encountering the Order.