Recaps

Lin Yu resisted the drowned boy’s attack and told the God of Shadows that its scare had failed because it misunderstood his fear. He explained that he feared the disorienting freedom he felt after killing someone without guilt, as well as the fragility and irreversibility of death.

• The drowned boy’s corpse grabbed Lin Yu by the throat, but Lin Yu dismissed the attack as a predictable scare he had provoked.
• Lin Yu taunted the God of Shadows, saying its authority did not include fear and that it did not understand fear itself.
• The God of Shadows asked why Lin Yu believed it did not understand fear, and Lin Yu challenged its assumptions about his nightmare.
• Lin Yu explained that he feared discovering he felt no guilt after killing someone, which shattered his sense of order and left him lost.
• Lin Yu said he also feared how fragile life was and how death could not be undone, recalling the puppy whose death he could not reverse.

Lin Yu confronted the God of Shadows in a Nightmare and learned the god wanted to break him into becoming a servant, not kill him. The God of Shadows began a new Nightmare, warning that he could make nightmares real, and Lin Yu sank with him into the pond.

• Lin Yu deduced that the God of Shadows had interrupted his near-death experience because the Nightmare could not kill him, and the god admitted he wanted Lin Yu to submit and become his servant.
• Lin Yu learned the God of Shadows had only supplied the weapon used in the ancient Nether Void Realm assassination, without helping plan it.
• The God of Shadows revealed that Fluoxetine had praised Lin Yu to him, prompting Lin Yu to blame her for drawing the god's interest.
• The God of Shadows dismissed Lin Yu's confidence in resisting false nightmares and declared that he could turn nightmares into reality.
• The mud beneath Lin Yu's feet vanished, and he and the God of Shadows began sinking into the pond together.

Lin Yu faced a nightmare about Xia Yue’s father’s funeral that shifted into visions of Xia Yang’s possible deaths, exposing his fear for his family. He accused the God of Shadows of threatening him, but the god revealed that people close to Lin Yu among the Players could still be in danger.

• Lin Yu awoke in a funeral hall and recognized the scene as Xia Yue’s father’s funeral, which he considered a sad memory rather than a nightmare.
• The God of Shadows said the funeral was only the opening of a nightmare, and a bell transformed the scene into Xia Yang’s funeral as Lin Yu reached his current age.
• The God of Shadows showed Lin Yu imagined dangers threatening Xia Yang, including accidents, the Psychology Society, and monsters in an Instance.
• Lin Yu stopped the images and argued that the God of Shadows could not directly harm his family in his world.
• The God of Shadows agreed that he could not affect uninvolved people there, then warned that Lin Yu’s friends and family among the Players were vulnerable.

The God of Shadows showed Lin Yu nightmares of the Freedom Alliance members dying and revealed that a Destiny Fragment empowered his visions. Lin Yu refused to submit and warned that another god would oppose the God of Shadows.

• The God of Shadows transformed the mourning hall into a room filled with mannequins and wax figures of people Zhu Ming knew.
• The God of Shadows showed Lin Yu visions of Xiao Yun and the God of Cookery dying, claiming the nightmares could become real.
• Lin Yu rejected the threat, and the God of Shadows made the mannequins turn toward him with threads converging on a spindle.
• The God of Shadows revealed that the spindle was a Destiny Fragment he had corrupted with shadows and incorporated into his nightmares.
• Lin Yu refused to submit, saying he would find a way to defeat destiny and that the God of Shadows would face another god.

Lin Yu challenged the God of Shadows in his nightmare and summoned Fang Qing by borrowing Director's [Guest Appearance Invitation]. Fang Qing threatened to self-destruct with the 'Game' Authority unless the God of Shadows left the Nether Void Realm and took his Divine Kingdom back to the Divine Realm.

• Lin Yu decided to provoke the God of Shadows as Zhu Ming would and claimed another god could offer him more than the God of Shadows.
• Lin Yu revealed that he could summon Fang Qing by borrowing Director's [Guest Appearance Invitation] and activated the ability through his Fraudster class.
• Fang Qing emerged through a pixelated breach and learned that the God of Shadows had threatened Lin Yu with nightmares of the Freedom Alliance's deaths.
• The God of Shadows sent shadow-tainted puppets to attack Fang Qing, insisting she was too weak to challenge him in his Divine Kingdom.
• Fang Qing threatened to self-destruct with the 'Game' Authority unless the God of Shadows left the Nether Void Realm, and her countdown began at 99.

Fang Qing negotiated with the God of Shadows to send Lin Yu out of the nightmare and agreed to a match using only the Nightmare Authority. Back in the Nether Void Realm, Lin Yu reunited with Chen Le and Li Nian and recounted his encounter with the God of Shadows.

• Fang Qing demanded that the God of Shadows release Lin Yu and reduce the likelihood of the nightmarish futures involving her friends.
• The God of Shadows sent Lin Yu out in exchange for a match with Fang Qing, and Fang Qing stopped her Authority's self-destruction.
• Lin Yu woke beside Tuk's fading corpse and realized it was a phenomenon created by an Authority rather than a physical body.
• Chen Le and Li Nian told Lin Yu they had found inherited Tail Race spells from the Lost Kingdom of the Nether Void Realm.
• Lin Yu told Chen Le and Li Nian that the God of Shadows had dragged him into a nightmare, where Fang Qing had negotiated his release.
• Lin Yu refused to let Chen Le or Li Nian enter the nightmare to reach Fang Qing.

Lin Yu decided to help Tuk shut down the ruined city’s [Azure Sea Sky Dome] in exchange for claiming it, and Chen Le and Li Nian agreed to go with him. As the city’s puppet-like inhabitants froze, Chen Le prepared to use his Fishing Rod for a Fishing Revelation.

• Lin Yu explained that Tuk had asked him to shut down the ruined city and that the [Azure Sea Sky Dome] would be his reward; Chen Le and Li Nian agreed to help.
• Li Nian told Lin Yu and Chen Le that the [Azure Sea Sky Dome] was on the top floor of a tall building and that she had sensed the citywide barrier coming from there.
• Lin Yu, Chen Le, and Li Nian left the Palace and found the city’s puppet-like passersby frozen, with their energy threads flickering visibly.
• Chen Le took out his Fishing Rod and said he would use his Fishing Revelation skill to catch something at random and learn what was happening.

Chen Le demonstrated his [Super Fishing Rod], explaining that it let him fish through a world-crossing authority, while the group discussed their advancement prospects. Lin Yu hinted that he might have already completed his Tier 3 Rank Advancement Trial, leaving Chen Le and Li Nian stunned.

• Chen Le cast his bait into an invisible river connecting the Ten Realms and explained that his Fishing Rod drew on an unclaimed authority.
• Chen Le and Li Nian discussed how Old Wu, Yu Yang, and Zhu Ming might accommodate authorities and advance through the tiers.
• Li Nian insisted that she would pass her upcoming Tier 3 trial and joked about becoming a god, while warning Lin Yu to prepare carefully for his own trial.
• Chen Le noted that Lin Yu’s Tier 3 trial might be approaching or already finished, and Lin Yu’s reply left Chen Le and Li Nian asking if he had really completed it.

Chen Le caught a huge golden fish with his Fishing Rod, but it vanished and left behind a pale-gold orb. Li Nian suspected the orb was the legendary [Desire Orb] from the Prison Mountain Realm.

• Lin Yu kept the details of Zhu Ming's future [Exclusive item] secret, while Chen Le offered to help and Li Nian fretted about falling behind in rank.
• Chen Le hauled a towering golden fish through the Fishing Rod's portal-like surface as Lin Yu and Li Nian watched.
• The fish turned into golden particles and disappeared, leaving a small orb and Chen Le devastated at the loss of his catch.
• Lin Yu showed Chen Le a video of the catch, lifting his spirits, and picked up the orb for the group to examine.
• Li Nian suggested the orb had taken the form of the fish Chen Le most wanted to see and guessed it was the [Desire Orb] from the Prison Mountain Realm.

Lin Yu, Chen Le, and Li Nian connected the [Desire Orb] to the Six Desires Demon Lord and considered whether desire was shaping the strange city around them. They reached the high-rise containing the [Azure Sea Sky Dome], where Lin Yu realized the building was normally filled with water, but Li Nian still had to guide them onward.

• Li Nian explained that the [Desire Orb] was tied to the Six Desires Demon Lord, whose Authority of desire could reveal and manifest people's deepest wishes.
• Lin Yu suspected that the motionless residents were manifestations of desire, while privately recalling that the being seeking his help might be a Player in danger from an even greater power.
• Chen Le, Li Nian, and Lin Yu agreed to proceed cautiously, and Li Nian led them toward the high-rise holding the [Azure Sea Sky Dome].
• The group entered the towering high-rise and found a directory listing only eight floors, despite its enormous interior.
• Lin Yu deduced that the high-rise was normally filled with water for the Tail Race, and asked Li Nian how to proceed upstairs.

Lin Yu climbed the tower with Li Nian and found a human-sized floor containing Room 505, whose number matched the note he had mistaken for a distress signal. He met a girl there who seemed to recognize him, so he pretended to know her, and she greeted him as “my dear Xia Bao.”

• Chen Le climbed the tower stairs on foot while Lin Yu and Li Nian used movement Items to get ahead and waited for him partway up.
• Lin Yu asked Li Nian about the tower’s dry floors, and Li Nian suggested its water system had failed or been shut down before the city sank.
• Lin Yu reached the fifth floor and found a human-sized corridor lined with numbered rooms, then left Li Nian by the entrance to wait for Chen Le.
• Lin Yu recognized the ornate number on Room 505 as the room number written on the note and realized it had invited him to meet someone there.
• A young girl opened Room 505, and Lin Yu pretended to recognize her after noticing she recognized him; she greeted him as “my dear Xia Bao.”

Lin Yu posed as Xia Yue while speaking with a woman who had known her before entering the Death game. The woman revealed her old feelings for Xia Yue and recounted how she entered the game, before Lin Yu asked how she had later died and become trapped in Pure Ruins.

• Lin Yu followed the woman into her apartment and pretended to be Xia Yue, despite not knowing their shared past.
• The woman said she had last seen Xia Yue after graduation and had entered the Death game during her second year of university.
• The woman revealed that she had confessed to Xia Yue on graduation day, then blocked her and chose a university far away because she feared being hated.
• The woman explained that she had recreated her former Yanjing apartment in Pure Ruins after becoming trapped there.
• The woman said she entered the Death game after falling headfirst while trying to climb into her apartment through a window without her access card.
• Lin Yu asked the woman how she had died a second time and become trapped in Pure Ruins.

Lin Yu learned that the girl had been deceived by her lover, Eye Corner, whose request to carry demon remains to the Nether Void Realm preceded a catastrophic apocalypse that killed her. He agreed to investigate Eye Corner and suspected she might be connected to Sister Zhao.

• The girl admitted she was dating someone else and explained that she had once loved Lin Yu, but Lin Yu congratulated her and asked how her relationship had led to her death.
• The girl recounted how Eye Corner asked her to deliver demon remains to a Divine Attendant, after which the Nether Void Realm fell into turmoil and its god went mad.
• The girl said Eye Corner promised to address the crisis, but a devastating soul-shock and tsunami destroyed the realm; the girl's Anchor Point failed, and Eye Corner's life-saving measure preserved her consciousness.
• Lin Yu questioned whether Eye Corner had deliberately trapped the girl, then asked her to help him find what caused the apocalypse so he could destroy the Nether Void Realm.
• The girl described Eye Corner as an Actor who often used a Western kitchen knife, and Lin Yu wondered whether Sister Zhao was involved.

Lin Yu realized that the girl who had reunited with him was likely a projection formed by the Authority of Desire, and that her appearance had been part of a scheme. After she suddenly froze, a higher-order being appeared, and Lin Yu demanded to know who it was and why it had come.

• Lin Yu connected the Nether Void Realm’s apocalypse and the girl’s survival to Lin Zhao, then suspected that the girl’s soul had been assimilated by the Authority of Desire.
• Lin Yu explained that the girl had used Desire to recreate her old home and might have become a projection, but she insisted she was alive and promised never to hurt him.
• The girl said she remembered what had happened, then froze as her mental and soul fluctuations vanished.
• A higher-order being appeared beside the bedroom railing and said it had expected Lin Yu, whom it called Zhu Ming, to recognize the deception so quickly.
• Lin Yu refused to explain why the scheme had failed, demanded the being identify itself, and said he hoped it had come to kill him rather than ask for a favor.

Lin Yu learned that the God of Desire and Revelry had been trapped in the Nether Void Realm after a player stole its revelry authority and weakened its control over desire. The God of Desire asked Lin Yu to preserve the Azure Sea Sky Dome, which protected it from being erased by the realm’s World Will.

• Lin Yu recognized that the cushion-headed being was a former god connected to the desire authority, and it introduced itself as the God of Desire and Revelry.
• The God of Desire explained that another god had stolen its revelry authority and that the God of Ocean and Storm had already been dead when it arrived in the Nether Void Realm.
• The God of Desire revealed that a woman had coerced it into destroying the God of Ocean and Storm’s remains and releasing two authorities, then arranged for the God of Banquets to steal its revelry authority.
• The God of Desire said the Azure Sea Sky Dome kept it trapped but also protected it from being erased, and that shutting it down would cause its self to disappear.
• Lin Yu said he did not want to oppose the woman, so the God of Desire asked him to damage the Azure Sea Sky Dome and make sure it could not be shut down easily.

Lin Yu negotiated with the God of Desire, rejecting his promises of friendship and support while demanding tangible compensation for helping him survive. He accepted a Desire Mark and knowledge of divine arts in exchange for keeping the God of Desire alive, and also learned how to maintain [Azure Sea Sky Dome].

• Lin Yu refused to keep [Azure Sea Sky Dome] open for the God of Desire and exposed the weakness of his promises by revealing that his supposed allies in the Prison Mountain Realm were dead, suppressed, or gone.
• Lin Yu said he hated the God of Desire for using an old friend to scheme against him, then demanded compensation worth more than [Azure Sea Sky Dome].
• The God of Desire offered Lin Yu the ability to borrow the power of desire and to become his Chosen of God, but Lin Yu accepted only the divine arts and the Desire Mark.
• The God of Desire placed a golden Desire Mark on Lin Yu and transferred knowledge of divine arts and [Azure Sea Sky Dome]'s basic structure and functions into his mind.

Lin Yu received the God of Desire’s knowledge about the [Azure Sea Sky Dome] and led Li Nian and Chen Le to its core, intending to shut it down. As they prepared to enter the water sphere, a breach opened above them and four familiar Tier 4 experts arrived as Night Watcher reinforcements.

• The God of Desire gave Lin Yu the power and research he needed, and Lin Yu promised to find a way to free him.
• Lin Yu reunited with Li Nian and Chen Le, then led them to the eighth floor and the enormous water sphere at the heart of the [Azure Sea Sky Dome].
• Lin Yu explained how to shut down the device and told Li Nian to wait outside while he and Chen Le entered its dense, energy-filled water.
• A breach opened in space, and a long-haired middle-aged man announced that Night Watcher reinforcements had arrived.
• Chongming, Robin, Mountain Sparrow, and Tengshe dropped through the breach, startling Chen Le.

Lin Yu faced Tengshe and the Night Watchers after luring them into Ruins City, intending to hold them off while Chen Le summoned reinforcements. He claimed he could stop the four enemies for half an hour and threatened to use hostages, leaving his plan unclear.

• Lin Yu realized Tengshe, Chongming, Robin, and Mountain Sparrow had entered Ruins City after his suggestion prompted the Night Watchers to reinforce the area.
• Chen Le explained that his home-ground advantage and control of five Nine Treasures made the Night Watchers wary, and said he would negotiate to let Lin Yu and Li Nian leave.
• Lin Yu asked Chen Le to summon Comedian and Inventor, then promised to hold off the Night Watchers for half an hour using his new powers related to Desire.
• Lin Yu tried to convince the Night Watchers that they had come to the wrong place, but Chongming saw through the deception and corrected the others.
• Lin Yu admitted he was confident enough to face them and warned that he would use hostages to threaten them.

Lin Yu revealed that he had gained access to the authority of Desire and used the Undersea Ruins’ puppets against the Night Watchers. He left Tengshe engulfed in golden light and experiencing his desires, while Chen Le continued preparing to fish for the Nine Treasures.

• Lin Yu threatened to kill Order's Director, but Mountain Sparrow guessed that Lin Yu would not harm someone he loved and concluded the threat was a bluff.
• Lin Yu admitted that his conversation had bought time for himself, while Chongming noticed Chen Le preparing to fish.
• Lin Yu used the authority of Desire to command the Undersea Ruins’ puppets to swarm the Night Watchers.
• Tengshe crushed the leading puppets with giant hands of smoke, triggering a chain reaction that engulfed him in golden light.
• Lin Yu revealed a doll-like phantom and said he had made Tengshe face his own desires.

Lin Yu used the God of Desire to immobilize Tengshe and attack the Night Watchers, then relied on a serpentkin summon to put Mountain Sparrow to sleep. Chongming and Robin remained to face him.

• Lin Yu summoned the God of Desire, whose power trapped Tengshe in Desire and let Lin Yu turn his attention to the three Night Watchers.
• Chongming protected Mountain Sparrow and Robin from the God of Desire’s attacks, while Mountain Sparrow summoned characters from his manga manuscripts.
• Lin Yu attacked the group with the Fear Torch, combining fear with Desire’s corrupting influence.
• Chongming disrupted Lin Yu’s charge, and Robin and Mountain Sparrow struck him with a summoned spike and their manga characters.
• Lin Yu’s apparent body burst into ink, revealing that he had used a trick to get behind Mountain Sparrow.
• Lin Yu summoned a serpentkin that put Mountain Sparrow to sleep, then caught him as he fell.

Lin Yu used Mountain Sparrow and the God of Desire to lure Chongming into a series of traps, while Robin tried to restrain him. Chongming learned how Desire worked and wounded Lin Yu, but carrying Mountain Sparrow on her back let his cold freeze her in place.

• Lin Yu knocked Mountain Sparrow unconscious with the Death Sleep Technique and used him to block Chongming’s Chain Blades.
• The God of Desire trapped Chongming in an illusion, but Robin helped free her; Chongming deduced the ability’s conditions and warned Robin.
• Lin Yu threatened to reveal Chongming’s desires, but she refused to surrender and attacked him, cutting his thighs.
• Robin’s vines bound Lin Yu, and Chongming took Mountain Sparrow and carried him over her shoulder.
• Mountain Sparrow’s cold seeped into Chongming and froze her, while Lin Yu revealed that her loyalty had let him bypass her Body Protection Qi.

Lin Yu, disguised as Zhu Ming, used borrowed divine power to incapacitate Tengshe, Chongming, and Mountain Sparrow, then faced Robin. Robin revealed her ultimate Copy Art trump card: a soulless reproduction of Grandmaster Gu Mo, whose formidable fists left Lin Yu searching for a way to exploit the copy’s vulnerability.

• Lin Yu used the God of Desire’s power against Tengshe, froze Chongming with Frost, and put Mountain Sparrow to sleep.
• Lin Yu challenged Robin to fight, and Robin admitted she feared killing him because she might lose a friend the Director cared about.
• Robin warned that she would use her strongest methods, and Lin Yu attacked her alongside the God of Desire.
• Robin used Copy Art to summon a reproduction of Grandmaster Gu Mo, whose powerful fists made Lin Yu realize the painter herself was the copy’s weakness.

Lin Yu stopped Robin from using her copied Grandmaster attack by convincing her that killing him would endanger Director and their companions. He then trapped her in a desire vision of a comfortable life with friends, leaving her caught in the illusion.

• Lin Yu charged at Robin and used [Tooth of Prophecy] to make her believe that his life was bound to Director's and that killing him would harm their companions.
• Robin lowered the copied Grandmaster figure and said she would capture Lin Yu without killing him, hoping he could atone in the Eternal Prison.
• Lin Yu called Robin by her Real Name and used [Narrative Trick] to trap her in a vision of her ideal future.
• Robin's vision showed her living with friends, sharing her artwork online, and going out to eat hotpot with Lin Yu and the others.

Lin Yu and Li Nian entered the [Azure Sea Sky Dome] to alter the city’s environment, but Tengshe broke free and pursued them through its crushing waters. Lin Yu slowed him with water control while Li Nian tried to steal one of his [Items] and accidentally took a trash can.

• Li Nian praised Lin Yu for defeating the Night Watchers, but Lin Yu warned that Tengshe would soon escape and asked her to prepare for what came next.
• Lin Yu and Li Nian swam toward the [Azure Sea Sky Dome]’s core so Lin Yu could adjust the city’s environment to their advantage.
• Tengshe broke free, entered the water sphere, and rapidly closed in on them despite its intense pressure.
• Lin Yu used the [Water Prayer Necklace] to send a powerful current crashing into Tengshe and slow his pursuit.
• Li Nian used her gloves to steal an object from Tengshe but pulled out a trash can, and Lin Yu realized Tengshe was holding his breath rather than using an underwater-breathing [Item].

Lin Yu trapped Tengshe in a repeating illusion created by combining the Authorities of Destiny and Calamity, forcing him to relive the worst calamity of his life. Tengshe tried to escape and then attacked Lin Yu, who ended the chapter by using Tengshe’s knife to cut his own throat.

• Lin Yu sent Li Nian toward the Azure Sea Sky Dome and used Destiny and Calamity to ensnare Tengshe in a Karma Illusion.
• Tengshe awoke as a weakened homeless man beneath a bridge and learned that Lin Yu had placed him in a calamity tied to his past.
• Tengshe jumped into the river to escape, but the illusion collapsed and reset, bringing him back beneath the bridge.
• Tengshe accused Lin Yu of trapping him in a Groundhog Day loop and decided to kill him with a rusty knife.
• Lin Yu seized Tengshe’s wrist and used the knife to slit his own throat.