Recaps

Lin Yu reunited with the 21% of his soul that the Central Mechanism had used to try to trap and control him, then recovered the hidden thought that had kept its persuasion from taking hold. He decided to use the Gray Domain as a resurrection site rather than cooperate with its World Will, and returned to his middle-school classroom just as the end-of-term exam was about to begin.

• Lin Yu learned that the Central Mechanism had captured the Mirror World residents he had parasitized and used the 21% of his soul to stage a deception in the Small World numbered 999.
• The 21% of Lin Yu explained how the Central Mechanism had implanted loyalty to the Gray Domain and tried to persuade Lin Yu to cooperate with it.
• Lin Yu activated Karma Threads, traveled into the past, and merged with the 21% of himself.
• After the fusion, Lin Yu recalled his hidden plan and concluded that he would use the Gray Domain's World Will instead of cooperating with it.
• Lin Yu returned to his middle-school classroom and told his teacher that the trouble he had encountered was taken care of.

Lin Yu cleared the Town Life game and received four bound Item rewards, while retaining valuable memories and soul-related abilities from the Gray Domain. In Weidu, Lu Xiao confronted Lin Zhao about how she had freed her and what she had done to Lin Yu.

• Lin Yu completed his middle school final exams in the Karma Threads Divine Ability and cleared the Town Life game.
• Lin Yu reflected on the knowledge and abilities he had gained in the Gray Domain, including memories that could help him revive Lin Zhao.
• The game awarded Lin Yu the Sage's Emblem, Black Swan's Blood, Limit Breaking Jade Cleaver, and Weidu Elite Bilingual Middle School Student ID.
• Lu Xiao visited Lin Zhao and asked why she had used part of the Central Mechanism's authority to free her.
• Lu Zhao said she had acted mainly to help her little brother, and Lu Xiao pointed out that she had sent Lin Yu into No. 999 and forced him to fight himself.

Lin Zhao explained that she had given Lu Xiao a lesson before helping her leave the Gray Domain with the Authorities of Ominous Sign and Calamity. Lin Yu returned to reality with all his memories intact and told Shen Bingmiao that he had met Lin Zhao in the Gray Domain, though he could not go back yet.

• Lin Zhao told Lu Xiao she had hidden an Authority in the apple and urged her to leave the Gray Domain before Lin Zhao lost control of her suppression.
• Lu Xiao left with the Authorities of Ominous Sign and Calamity, promising to help Lin Zhao's little brother if she met him in another world.
• After Lu Xiao disappeared, Lin Zhao bit the apple and revealed that it contained a passage beyond the world, lamenting that Lu Xiao had come close to obtaining it.
• Lin Yu woke in the hotel with his memories intact and explained to Shen Bingmiao that he had threatened the Gray Domain's World Will into letting him return without a price.
• Lin Yu told Shen Bingmiao that he had met Lin Zhao's 3% Soul Fragment in the Gray Domain, then refused to go back for now.

Lin Yu returned to Jiang City as Zhu Ming and reassured Li Nian and the Freedom Alliance that she and Director had escaped the Gray Domain safely. The group left Lin Yu flustered by turning their relief into talk of her future wedding.

• Shen Bingmiao thanked Lin Yu for his intelligence and agreed to finish her script within twenty-four hours after he insisted.
• Lin Yu changed his appearance to Zhu Ming, teleported to Jiang City, and listened outside Li Nian’s home as the Freedom Alliance discussed rescuing him and Zhu Ming from the Gray Domain.
• Lin Yu entered through a window and told Li Nian and the others that he and Director had both escaped safely.
• Li Nian explained that she had feared Zhu Ming sacrificed herself to send her out first, and Lin Yu reassured her that this was not the case.
• Old Wu, God of Cookery, Fishing Man, and Comedian began planning Lin Yu’s wedding before Lin Yu and Li Nian objected.

Li Nian returned the Ancient Notebook to Lin Yu and revealed that a hidden organization had reached an agreement with the Gray Domain’s Central Mechanism. The organization was called the Copper Furnace, and its leader’s codename was Emperor.

• Lin Yu returned Old Zhou’s, Qianhuan’s, and Fishing Man’s Items, while the God of Cookery and the mountaineer told her to keep their gifts.
• Li Nian offered to return the Ancient Notebook, and Fang Qing arranged for the others to leave before its contents were discussed.
• Fang Qing reassured Li Nian that she could seek help carrying the burden of what she knew about the Gray Domain.
• Li Nian told Lin Yu that the notebook contained records of a Small World where the Central Mechanism made agreements with Players, allowing them to move freely and retain vague memories afterward.
• Li Nian revealed that the organization was called the Copper Furnace and that its leader’s codename was Emperor.

After reclaiming the [Ancient Notebook], Lin Yu learned that Li Nian’s records contained clues about the Hidden Organization and its transactions. He shared the intelligence with Li Hua and planned to investigate the organization and the Gray Domain’s lost Authorities, hoping to question Lord Nightless Sky Yong Lian on his next visit to the Barren Realm.

• Lin Yu learned that Li Nian had recorded the Hidden Organization’s name, its leader’s code name, numerous [Item] transactions, and the number of people who had entered the Small World.
• Lin Yu thanked Li Nian, returned to his hotel, and sent Li Hua a confidential report about the Hidden Organization and his trip to the Gray Domain with Zhu Ming.
• Li Hua said she suspected the Hidden Organization was connected to a possible mole and would investigate the bounty placed on Lin Yu.
• Lin Yu examined the transaction records and reasoned that the organization had reliable access to weapons from Prison Mountain and Night Valley.
• Lin Yu connected the Gray Domain’s lost Authorities of information and Fear to the Barren Realm, and planned to ask Lord Nightless Sky Yong Lian for clues.

Lin Yu reviewed the rewards he had gained from the Gray Domain and considered the risks of the knowledge he had uncovered. He ended with the Limit Breaking Jade Cleaver, which matched the cleaver Lin Zhao had used, and wondered if his sister had left it for him.

• Lin Yu noted that the next Instance would include a Tier 3 Rank Advancement Trial, though he had more urgent matters to handle first.
• Lin Yu reflected that deciphering the Ancient Notebook and learning new secrets might make the Death game more difficult for him.
• Lin Yu counted the Old-fashioned Lunchbox, Stone from Another Mountain, and Xiao Yun’s still-active blessing among his gains from the Gray Domain.
• Lin Yu examined the Sage’s Emblem and recognized that it could convert mastered forms of energy between worlds.
• Lin Yu considered the effects of Black Swan’s Blood and the Weidu Elite Bilingual Middle School Student ID, including its chance to reduce skill and Item costs and cooldowns.
• Lin Yu discovered that the Limit Breaking Jade Cleaver matched Lin Zhao’s cleaver and wondered why his sister had left it without a note.

Lin Yu read Shen Bingmiao’s completed, metaphorical play and planned to rehearse it after the tour. As the troupe prepared for its Jincheng stop, Shen Bingmiao revealed that a formidable stage actor would come to guide them.

• Lin Yu learned from Good Night that bounty hunters and Marauders were moving against him, but he remained unworried while traveling with the Drama club.
• The troupe finished a successful performance and boarded the bus for Jincheng, their second-to-last stop.
• Lin Yu read Shen Bingmiao’s script about a youth who inherited his uncle’s fortune, hid a body, confessed to the audience, and was arrested for his uncle’s murder.
• Lin Yu suggested rehearsing the play after the tour, and Shen Bingmiao agreed.
• Shen Bingmiao told Lin Yu that a formidable stage actor would guide the troupe in Jincheng, and Lin Yu thanked her.

In Jincheng, Lin Yu and the Drama club received acting instruction from veteran performer Old Mr. Zhang, who praised Lin Yu’s extraordinary skill but warned that he might struggle to express his own emotions. Lin Yu realized the meeting was likely preparation for his Tier 3 Rank Advancement Trial, which was connected to self-understanding and his Exclusive item.

• Lin Yu studied the script Shen Bingmiao had given him before arriving in Jincheng and prepared questions for a meeting with veteran theater actor Old Mr. Zhang.
• Shen Bingmiao brought Lin Yu and the Drama club to Old Mr. Zhang’s small theater, where he watched their rehearsal.
• Old Mr. Zhang gave the club members individual acting guidance and demonstrated his techniques.
• Old Mr. Zhang praised Lin Yu’s talent and polished acting, comparing him to the legendary He Shi Bi.
• Old Mr. Zhang warned Lin Yu that his acting was so realistic he should pay attention to whether he could still express his own emotions normally.
• Lin Yu realized Shen Bingmiao’s arranged meeting might be preparation for his Tier 3 Rank Advancement Trial and its connection to self-understanding.

Lin Yu visited Shen Bingmiao to learn why she had arranged the tour before his Tier 3 advancement. She explained that his Exclusive item would shape his path toward Tier 4 and Tier 5, and left him with her conviction that he would eventually become a god.

• Lin Yu confronted Shen Bingmiao about planning the tour before he reached Tier 3, and she said he needed to reconsider how he understood his emotions.
• Lin Yu reasoned that the Death game’s tiers increasingly defined each player as an individual, with the Tier 3 Exclusive item depicting that player precisely.
• Shen Bingmiao explained that an Exclusive item could guide a player’s Heart Domain, which in turn determined the Authority they could combine with to reach Tier 5.
• Shen Bingmiao revealed that Tier 5 players gained Authority and were, in a sense, gods, while the Gray Domain and existing gods also sought control of Authority.
• Shen Bingmiao urged Lin Yu to discover his true self and choose his own path, then declared that she believed he would reach the highest tiers.

After reaffirming that he would never give up performing, Lin Yu prepared for his upcoming Rank Advancement while touring with the Drama club. He acquired Alchemy: Butterfly Wing and reached Yanjing City, where he gained more time to prepare and a new buff.

• Lin Yu finished his performance in Jincheng, resolved to keep performing regardless of what the next Rank Advancement brought, and returned to Jiang City using the Anchor Point.
• Disguised as Old Yao, Lin Yu collected alchemy materials from Tycoon and used them to create Alchemy: Butterfly Wing, which let him stay airborne and maneuver sharply.
• Lin Yu traveled to Yanjing City with the Drama club, where Shen Bingmiao scheduled their final performance for Wednesday because that was when a venue was available.
• Lin Yu visited A'yu as Yayu and shared two meals with him, increasing his [script] completion and gaining wilderness survival knowledge, animal photography skills, and the Vigorous Energy buff.

Lin Yu prepared to enter his Rank Advancement Trial, whose entry requirement forced him to start a fire around himself. He entered the Black Marsh World instance under his Director identity, intending to test its strength and draw out bounty hunters.

• Lin Yu and Shen Bingmiao discussed his upcoming trial and the difficulty of safely starting a fire in Yanjing.
• Shen Bingmiao offered to disable the smoke alarm in a larger hotel suite, and Lin Yu accepted her help.
• Lin Yu prepared a fireproof bathtub in the suite and lit the flammable materials around himself before midnight.
• Lin Yu chose not to activate [Mask], planning to enter as the Director and potentially confront bounty hunters in the instance.
• Lin Yu entered the game Wildfire Burns a Thousand Miles of Bones, where six players had to survive until three battles ended.

Lin Yu entered a burning settlement in northern Sanqiu Country and began investigating the factions involved in the war. With Rank Advancement missions requiring him to join three factions and stage a grand performance, he set out to learn more, puzzled by the complete absence of corpses.

• Lin Yu entered the Black Marsh World and found himself surrounded by a vast fire consuming a large settlement.
• Lin Yu inferred that the buildings had been deliberately doused with lamp oil and that he was near a battlefield.
• Lin Yu reviewed his Rank Advancement missions and decided to identify the factions before planning a grand performance.
• Lin Yu examined the distinctive raised wooden buildings and concluded that the settlement was likely in northern Sanqiu Country.
• Lin Yu searched the burning village and wondered where its inhabitants and corpses had gone.

Lin Yu searched a burned village in the Black Marsh and found signs of fighting but no bodies, then followed massive tracks toward another village. There, he discovered the people setting fires were masked humans, including someone who looked like Sanqiu.

• Lin Yu searched the first village and found blood and signs of fighting, but no corpses.
• Lin Yu followed two enormous, straight tracks through a wilderness devoid of people and beasts.
• Lin Yu saw fresh tracks leading toward another village and hurried there using a speed talisman and other enhancements.
• Lin Yu reached the burning village and spotted masked figures spreading fuel among the buildings.
• Lin Yu recognized one of the figures as Sanqiu and was stunned to find humans in the Black Marsh.

Lin Yu discovered that an elite Xia Jin force had captured the village’s demons and was burning the settlement, then found the missing villagers hiding in an underground passage. There, he encountered the player Qianhuan, who recognized him as Director.

• Lin Yu watched black-beast-robed soldiers burn the village and learned that they served Xia Jin’s Spring Cang Shaman.
• Spring Cang revealed that the force had taken 103 demons into a tower, although the village had 115 households.
• Lin Yu detected mental signatures beneath the village and used Talisman Earth Escape Armor to descend into an underground passage.
• Lin Yu found around fifty demons, mostly women and children, hiding with a human player among them.
• Lin Yu recognized the player as Qianhuan, and Qianhuan exclaimed, “Director?”

Lin Yu encountered Qianhuan while Qianhuan was escorting Sanqiu demon children to safety, and the two cleared up their mistaken assumptions about each other. They concluded that Xia Jin’s army may have entered Sanqiu through a portal, leaving Lin Yu with a clearer picture of the looming invasion.

• Qianhuan prepared to oppose Lin Yu, believing he had come to capture the demon children, but Lin Yu said he had no intention of harming them.
• Qianhuan explained that he was escorting descendants of the Sanqiu raccoon clan to their sacred ground after human troops began burning villages and abducting demons.
• Lin Yu described finding a burning, empty village and following the trail to a hidden area beneath the ground.
• Qianhuan speculated that the [Instance] might take place just before war reached Sanqiu and that a portal could be bringing Xia Jin troops into the country.
• Qianhuan said Xia Jin had long sought to conquer the other countries, especially since the Zhi Zi Department rose to power.

Lin Yu and Qianhuan discussed the possibility that Xiajin had sent troops into Sanqiu through shamanic arts, and Qianhuan invited Lin Yu to join the Demon Race in the coming war. Lin Yu revealed he had only been teasing Qianhuan, and they left joking about Qianhuan’s supposed romantic feelings.

• Qianhuan explained that he planned to escort the Catfolk to their holy land and then fight alongside the Demon Race, inviting Lin Yu to join him.
• Lin Yu accepted Qianhuan’s offer, and Qianhuan described how they could use Old Zhou’s connections to receive favorable treatment.
• Lin Yu pretended to summon Spring Cang Shaman and claimed he was working for Xiajin, startling Qianhuan before admitting it was a prank.
• Qianhuan joked that he was gay, then insisted he was straight after Lin Yu took the claim seriously.
• Lin Yu continued teasing Qianhuan about his true feelings, while Qianhuan repeatedly denied that he had meant anything beyond a joke.

Lin Yu and Qianhuan traveled with the Qiu Tribe toward its sacred land while identifying the Xia Jin faction behind the invasion. Near the tunnel exit, Lin Yu realized the distant peak was a moving pagoda headed toward the same destination, and the group hurried onward.

• Qianhuan identified Spring Cang as a High Shaman of the Li Zi Department and linked the invasion to Lu Gu's expansionist faction.
• Lin Yu recalled that Lu Gu was Seagull's master and questioned whether Black Marsh shamanic arts could produce spatial abilities.
• The group left the tunnel and learned from a Qiu Tribe woman that the sacred land was about half a day's journey away.
• Lin Yu used the [Activity Map] and noticed wheel tracks, realizing the distant peak was a moving pagoda carrying the demons.
• Lin Yu warned Qianhuan that the pagoda was likely heading for the Qiu Tribe's sacred land, and they hurried onward.

Lin Yu and Qianhuan discovered that a large Xia Jin army was marching toward the Tanuki Race's sacred grounds and decided to split their efforts: the Tanuki civilians would travel ahead while they delayed the army. Lin Yu summoned Stiller to lead the civilians, and Stiller protested that he had only been sent through Labor Dispatch.

• Lin Yu and Qianhuan observed several thousand Xia Jin soldiers escorting a Giant Tower toward the Tanuki Race's sacred grounds.
• Qianhuan explained that the sacred grounds could not quickly summon reinforcements, and his [Human Cannon] could not transport them there reliably.
• Lin Yu proposed sending the Tanuki women and children ahead while he and Qianhuan slowed the army using Qianhuan's abilities.
• Qianhuan worried that the Tanuki civilians could encounter dangerous beasts or Xia Jin scouts on the way.
• Lin Yu summoned Stiller to lead the Tanuki people, and Stiller objected to being described as someone they had eliminated, saying he had been sent through Labor Dispatch.

Lin Yu and Qianhuan devised a way to delay Xia Jin’s army while Lin Yu gathered information about the human forces. Their rain-and-fog plan began to take effect, and Spring Cang realized a shaman was deliberately obscuring the army’s vision.

• Lin Yu decided he needed to make contact with Xia Jin’s army to learn about its commanders and methods for his plans to join the three factions.
• Stiller led the lynx-tribe women and children toward their holy land while Lin Yu and Qianhuan watched the army.
• Qianhuan proposed using Lin Yu’s Water Prayer Necklace to summon rain, then using his ability to trap the soldiers in a labyrinth.
• Lin Yu suggested a better plan, and dark clouds gathered over the wilderness as Spring Cang returned to the main force.
• Heavy rain and rising fog hid the army from Spring Cang, who realized someone was both praying for rain and controlling water.

Chun Cang’s army became lost in the dense water mist as Lin Yu and Qianhuan infiltrated its ranks. Qianhuan began setting up a Mirror Labyrinth to trap the Xia Jin army, while Chun Cang remained unaware of the danger.

• Chun Cang’s squad rejoined the rear of the formation, and he worried that the water mist signaled an ambush or a leak in their plans.
• Lin Yu and Qianhuan advanced toward the slowed Xia Jin army inside a Hidden Cardboard Box as Lin Yu explained how his Mental Power strengthened the water mist.
• Lin Yu stopped Qianhuan about five meters from the army and told him to begin setting his trap.
• Qianhuan summoned Teacher Rabbit and started Trick 3, Mirror Labyrinth, placing angled mirrors that vanished into the mist.

Lin Yu and Qianhuan prepared a mobile mirror maze in the Water Mist to delay the Xia Jin army and lure its shamans into revealing how they transported troops into Sanqiu. As they entered the formation, Qianhuan explained the challenges of Tier 3 trials, leaving Lin Yu with a warning about his own future advancement.

• Qianhuan and Teacher Rabbit set up several hundred mirrors, and Qianhuan explained how they connected spaces to form a maze.
• Qianhuan used his spotlight to control and reposition the mirrors, turning the maze into a mobile formation capable of trapping the Xia Jin army.
• Qianhuan said he also hoped the Xia Jin shamans would use space-related witchcraft to escape, revealing how their army had reached Sanqiu's hinterlands.
• Lin Yu teased Qianhuan about his abilities, and Qianhuan explained that Tier 3 trials targeted a player's weaknesses while greatly increasing challenges in their areas of strength.
• Qianhuan warned that the fog and his spotlight might attract scouts, then entered a nearby mirror with Lin Yu.

The Young Lord, High Shaman Chu Ju, and a blue-clad young woman debated how to respond to mysterious lights appearing through the fog. She identified them as a harmless illusion and advised the army to ignore them, leaving the troops’ next move undecided.

• A scout reported that bright lights had appeared in three directions on the right wing, and the Young Lord ordered squads to investigate.
• High Shaman Chu Ju warned that the lights might be a provocation and proposed sending Chun Cang with three hundred men to encircle the area.
• The Young Lord challenged Chu Ju’s plan, and Chu Ju asked the blue-clad young woman for her insight.
• The young woman advised them to ignore the lights and assured Chu Ju that the enemy meant to trap the army rather than attack from the flank.
• The young woman explained that the lights came from one source reflected by a mirror and were merely a magician’s visual trick.

The blue-clad girl explained how Qianhuan’s mirrors trapped the Xia Jin army and proposed an aggressive plan to Chu Ju. As Qianhuan’s illusion split and confused the army, Lin Yu noticed several squads deliberately searching for him and Qianhuan.

• The blue-clad girl revealed that the maze consisted of linked mirrors, and the Young Lord’s sword passed through one into the mirrored world.
• The blue-clad girl said the army could mark its route through the maze, while Chu Ju warned that the enemy might be calling for reinforcements.
• The blue-clad girl offered Chu Ju an aggressive plan but said it would come at a price.
• Qianhuan moved the mirrors with Lin Yu’s help, scattering the Xia Jin soldiers into confused groups and disrupting their formation.
• Lin Yu sensed that several squads were deliberately searching for him and Qianhuan.

Lin Yu and Qianhuan realized that a shaman among the Lu Gu forces was directing squads to map the mirror labyrinth and locate its center. They planned to strike the fifteen soldiers before the encirclement closed, and Lin Yu accepted the possibility of killing them because they had invaded and attacked civilians.

• Lin Yu warned Qianhuan that several squads were circling inward despite the mirror labyrinth’s interference, suggesting they were tracking the space’s center.
• Lin Yu deduced that the enemy could exploit the center’s relative stability, while Qianhuan recognized that their mirror-control limits made moving it difficult.
• Lin Yu and Qianhuan concluded that a leader among the troops was adapting their movements and decided to attack before the squads completed their encirclement.
• Lin Yu proposed restraining the fifteen soldiers while Qianhuan struck their vital points, noting they were less formidable than Captain Good Night.
• Qianhuan questioned whether Lin Yu could accept killing fifteen people, and Lin Yu argued that the soldiers had chosen to invade and participate in burning civilian villages.