Recaps

After Gao Shan reported May’s abduction and the Marauders’ stronghold to Li Hua, Li Hua and the Tycoon prepared a direct assault to rescue him. The Tycoon agreed to help and vowed not to let the Freedom Alliance and Marauders escape punishment.

• Gao Shan told Li Hua that May had sent intelligence revealing the Marauders’ stronghold, then confessed how May had been taken by the Freedom Alliance.
• Li Hua ordered Gao Shan to report everything and promised Order would provide the team with the highest-level rescue assistance.
• Li Hua told Gao Shan that he and the Tycoon were near the stronghold and asked him to ready the other team members for reinforcements.
• The Tycoon questioned Li Hua’s plan to attack directly, then agreed to assist after Li Hua said the assault was unlikely to get May killed.
• The Tycoon invoked his power and declared that he would not let the Freedom Alliance and Marauders off for allying on his turf and abducting an Order member.

Lin Yu’s staged signal sparked a citywide mobilization toward a clash in southern Jiang City. As factions and independent Players converged, Lin Yu prepared to sneak out and observe the chaos he had deliberately created.

• Gao Shan recognized Li Hua’s signal, ordered the Order’s squads to reinforce the former Nangang Wharf, and Jiang'an Hall members also headed south.
• Snowy Owl and Robin received a Night Watcher message about the fighting and left to help.
• Xiao Yun warned the Freedom Alliance members that the rising water would soon sweep them away, then led them toward the golden blast after Li Nian identified it as Tycoon’s Capitalist class ability.
• Players from multiple groups converged on southern Jiang City while Lin Yu watched their messages and concluded that his signal had stirred the city into chaos.
• Lin Yu planned to nap until his Big Sis was asleep, then sneak out to see what was happening.

A'yu confronted Tycoon and Li Hua at the dock after they accused her of abducting an Order affiliate and conspiring with the Freedom Alliance. When the Freedom Alliance arrived, a misunderstanding sparked a fight, and A'yu ultimately helped Old Zhou attack Tycoon and Li Hua.

• A'yu sent the Marauders into hiding and confronted Tycoon and Li Hua at the abandoned dock.
• Li Hua accused A'yu of kidnapping an Order affiliate and allying with the Freedom Alliance, but she denied both charges.
• Qianhuan, Li Nian, Old Zhou, and Xiao Yun arrived, and A'yu mistook their presence for proof that the Freedom Alliance had framed her.
• Old Zhou attacked Tycoon, who blocked him with Hayek's Invisible Hand, while Li Hua prepared to support Tycoon.
• A'yu shot Li Hua's cards from his hand, helping Old Zhou and warning the Freedom Alliance that she would deal with them later.

A battle between Tycoon and Li Hua and the Freedom Alliance escalated until Snowy Owl and Robin arrived to support them, leaving both sides in a tense standoff. A girl appeared on a burning cargo ship and mocked the fighters for ignoring her invitation.

• A'yu, Qianhuan, and Xiao Yun joined the fight against Tycoon and Li Hua, while Xiao Yun summoned a giant stitched monster called Frankenstein.
• Tycoon and Li Hua held off the attacks, but Tycoon warned that the battle was becoming costly and asked whether reinforcements would arrive.
• Li Hua called for help from the Night Watchers, and Snowy Owl and Robin arrived and attacked the Freedom Alliance.
• Both sides paused in a tense standoff as they weighed the risks of continuing the fight and awaited a chance to withdraw.
• A girl appeared on a burning cargo ship and taunted the assembled fighters for disregarding her invitation.

Lin Yu used Hannah to impersonate Fluoxetine and stop the dock battle, gathering information on powerful players while preventing the factions from exhausting themselves. The staged appearance made Fluoxetine a subject of widespread discussion, and Lin Yu returned home pleased that she had entered ordinary players’ awareness.

• Lin Yu sent Hannah, disguised as Fluoxetine, to tell the fighters to stop and invite them to meet again tomorrow.
• After the fighters withdrew, Lin Yu reported that he was safe to Captain Gao Shan and observed the factions avoid starting a war.
• Lin Yu returned to his bedroom and read the player community’s rapidly spreading reports about the dock battle.
• Players speculated about the mysterious woman who had ended the fighting, bringing Fluoxetine to wider attention.
• Lin Yu celebrated the successful stunt and hoped the attention would draw more notice to Fluoxetine.

Shen Bingmiao brought Lin Yu to meet a ranked player representing Order, who wanted to question him about his murder. Lin Yu met the visitor, a sharp-featured woman in a white tai chi uniform who introduced herself by the forum ID “Grandmaster.”

• Lin Yu attended class, then followed Shen Bingmiao to the Drama club activity room after she promised him steamed buns.
• Shen Bingmiao told Lin Yu that a ranked player from Order wanted to ask him questions.
• Lin Yu confirmed that the Psychology Society had arranged his murder and said a Drama club member had carried it out.
• Shen Bingmiao introduced Lin Yu to a short-haired woman in a white tai chi uniform who was neither the Tycoon nor Li Hua.
• The woman told Lin Yu to call her A’Mo or by her forum ID, “Grandmaster.”

Lin Yu learned that Grandmaster A'mo had come to investigate Fluoxetine, who had killed him and sent him into the Death game. A'mo invited him to join Order and promised its support in his revenge, but Lin Yu refused, keeping his plans for the identity of May May.

• Shen Bingmiao explained that her childhood connection with Grandmaster A'mo had earned her a high position in Order.
• A'mo showed Lin Yu a photograph of Fluoxetine, and Lin Yu recounted how she killed him and sent him into the Death game.
• A'mo told Lin Yu that he was the fifth confirmed Player Fluoxetine had sent into the Death game and explained that the Psychology Society had identified his potential.
• Lin Yu asked whether A'mo could catch Fluoxetine, and she said she hoped to but could not act recklessly in the real world.
• A'mo invited Lin Yu to join Order and offered its information and support for his revenge, but Lin Yu refused because he did not want to be constrained.

Mosin-Nagant escorted Grandpa Radish to an abandoned overpass, where they prepared for a meeting called by Fluoxetine. Qianhuan, Li Hua, Robin, Tycoon, Snowy Owl, and A'yu arrived, but Fluoxetine was still absent.

• Mosin-Nagant drove Grandpa Radish through heavy rain and questioned why he had chosen a bounty hunter for protection; Radish explained that his payment exceeded the bounty on him.
• Mosin-Nagant and Grandpa Radish reached the abandoned overpass, surveyed the area, and set traps and unknown seeds as precautions.
• Qianhuan arrived by emerging from a hat carried by a dove, while the other three members of the Freedom Alliance stayed hidden.
• Li Hua arrived with Tycoon, and Robin arrived with Snowy Owl; Li Hua dismissed Fluoxetine's invitation rules as a member of Order.
• A'yu grappled her way onto the overpass, saw the gathered players, and asked where Fluoxetine was.

Fluoxetine arrived at the isolated bridge and drove off the uninvited guests, revealing her power to manipulate flower petals and using Tycoon's family to force him to leave. From a nearby broken section of the bridge, Lin Yu watched under Hannah's disguise and remarked that the genuine Fluoxetine surpassed any counterfeit.

• Tycoon questioned whether Fluoxetine had tricked them, but Li Hua and Snowy Owl argued that she had her own purpose.
• A'yu threatened to fight Tycoon, while Grandpa Radish tried to calm the group as they waited for the main guest.
• A rain of multicolored petals announced Fluoxetine's arrival, and she descended onto the bridge on an inverted parasol.
• Fluoxetine turned a bouquet into a Thompson Submachine Gun M1921 and used the petals to shove Snowy Owl off the bridge.
• Fluoxetine showed Tycoon a video call displaying a luxury mansion's entrance, and Li Hua told him to leave; Tycoon departed angrily.
• Lin Yu watched from another broken section of the bridge under Hannah's disguise and praised the genuine Fluoxetine.

Lin Yu watched as Fluoxetine arrived at the overpass and offered the gathered Players tickets to Heavenly Amusement Park, including one reserved for the person who arranged their meeting. Li Hua then revealed that he had confirmed there was no ambush and summoned five Administrators, while A'yu triggered a backup plan that shook the overpass with explosions.

• Lin Yu observed Fluoxetine arrive, pleased that she had accepted his challenge to appear.
• Fluoxetine gave the six remaining Players a puzzle about two tickets to Heavenly Amusement Park and promised a third ticket to whoever had brought their meeting about.
• A'yu warned Fluoxetine and Qianhuan that Order would send people to arrest them if they stayed.
• Li Hua revealed that he had already confirmed there was no ambush and used the [Soul Gold Brooch] to summon five Administrators.
• A'yu clapped her hands and set off explosions beneath the overpass, causing it to shake.

A'yu's attempt to escape the collapsing elevated highway was stopped by the referee's boundary, and Fluoxetine attacked the Order Administrators while Dilaudid joined the melee. A seemingly endless flashbang blinded and deafened everyone, including Lin Yu, who was watching from another section of the highway.

• A'yu detonated explosives beneath the elevated highway, then fired at the Order Administrators and tried to escape, but the referee blocked her from crossing the boundary.
• Fluoxetine attacked the Order team, and Li Hua rushed her; gunfire wounded Li Hua and Qianhuan before Fluoxetine struck the referee with her axe.
• A strange bull creature sent Fluoxetine flying, but the wounded referee kept the match boundary active.
• Fluoxetine opened a petal archway, and Dilaudid stepped through to help after seeing the battle.
• Dilaudid threw futuristic grenades that produced an unending flash and buzz, blinding and deafening the fighters and Lin Yu as he watched from afar.

After escaping the battle, Lin Yu recorded what he had learned about the experts and reviewed the Order’s files on Fluoxetine. He discovered that the woman killed by Fluoxetine was Xia Yue, a young woman he had met before entering his first Instance.

• Lin Yu left the overpass before the experts’ battle escalated and went home to organize his observations in the Ancient Notebook.
• Lin Yu recorded the abilities, personalities, and known identities of the experts, including Fluoxetine, and decided not to approach her until he could kill her with confidence.
• Lin Yu reviewed the Order’s confidential investigation into Fluoxetine, which documented her murders of Players and several people with exceptional potential.
• Lin Yu found Xia Yue’s file among Fluoxetine’s victims and recognized her as the young woman he had met three weeks earlier.

Fluoxetine returned safely after secretly orchestrating a major operation in Jiang City, while Dilaudid and Chlorpromazine scolded her and heard her speculate about a mysterious talent. Lin Yu visited Xia Yue’s workplace to learn about her life and began asking how she had died.

• Dilaudid and Chlorpromazine treated their injuries at a clinic and rebuked Fluoxetine for conducting the operation without informing their organization.
• Fluoxetine said she wanted to meet the clever, mysterious person whose talent she had discovered, while Dilaudid and Chlorpromazine worried about the report and her behavior.
• Lin Yu rode to Lovey-Dovey Pet Hospital and told a young employee he had been Xia Yue’s online friend.
• The employee described Xia Yue as hardworking and kind, and explained that Xia Yue had secretly paid to treat a sick puppy named Yuanbao.
• Lin Yu asked the employee what had happened to Xia Yue.

Lin Yu investigated Xia Yue’s death and learned that people who died after becoming Players were remembered as having died from ordinary accidents. He visited Xia Yue’s mother and, after seeing the family shrine, asked to see Xia Yue’s remains or ashes.

• Lin Yu questioned Xia Yue’s coworker, who said Xia Yue had suffered a fatal neck wound at the pet hospital and that the police blamed it on an accidental fall after the surveillance cameras failed.
• Lin Yu reflected that ordinary people overlooked Players’ deaths and accepted implausible explanations for them.
• Lin Yu brought fruit and milk to Xia Yue’s home and introduced himself to her mother as a friend.
• Lin Yu saw Xia Yue’s and her father’s memorials, then asked Xia Yue’s mother to show him Xia Yue’s remains or ashes.

Lin Yu learned that Xia Yue's remains were being held pending further investigation and left her family after meeting her younger sister, Xia Yang. He then asked Hannah to use [Stealth Disguise] to help him infiltrate the Jiangcheng Public Security Bureau North Bridge Branch.

• Lin Yu learned from Xia's mother that Xia Yue had not been cremated because the investigation into her death was ongoing.
• Xia Yang came home, met Lin Yu, and quickly retreated to her room.
• Lin Yu left Xia Yue's home and reflected that Fluoxetine was responsible for her death, resolving to avenge her and borrow her identity.
• Lin Yu stopped near the Jiangcheng Public Security Bureau North Bridge Branch and asked Hannah how long she could keep them invisible.
• Hannah said she could maintain [Stealth Disguise] for about an hour, and Lin Yu told her to activate it for the planned infiltration.

With Hannah’s help, Lin Yu entered the police station’s Cold Storage and burned Xia Yue’s corpse after keeping one of her fingers. He planned to borrow Xia Yue’s identity, expecting the missing body and her later reappearance to make Order and the Night Watcher question whether she had ever died.

• Lin Yu had Hannah disguise him with Illusion Ink while she crawled through an air vent and unlocked the Cold Storage door.
• Lin Yu found Xia Yue’s body, removed one finger, and burned the rest of the corpse.
• Lin Yu and Hannah left the police station, and Lin Yu explained that he intended to borrow Xia Yue’s identity.
• Lin Yu reasoned that Order and the Night Watcher might suspect Xia Yue’s corpse had been stolen or that she had never died when they learned she had appeared again.
• Lin Yu said his plan had two remaining loopholes and that one had already been filled.

Lin Yu used Xia Yue’s disappearance to expose a loophole in the Psychology Society’s assessment: it might have been wrong about whether she was already a Player. After meeting Li Nian, Lin Yu revealed his true face and left her clues to understand why he wanted to join the Psychology Society.

• Lin Yu reasoned that Xia Yue’s death had not been erased, but that the Psychology Society’s conclusion that she was not a Player could have been mistaken.
• Lin Yu disguised himself as Zhu Ming and met Li Nian, who confirmed that his evidence had proven Red Fuji of the Marauders was dead.
• Li Nian offered Lin Yu a Team-up Card and a choice between entering an Instance with her or joining another organization.
• Lin Yu chose to join the Psychology Society, saying his conflict with them had stemmed from a misunderstanding about how they recruited promising non-Players.
• Lin Yu peeled away a film created with [Replica], changed his appearance with [Mask], and asked Li Nian to infer why he had changed his mind.
• Lin Yu left Li Nian the clue that Zhu Ming came from the Huainanzi: Astronomical Treatise, while his reflection matched Xia Yue’s posthumous portrait.

Lin Yu visited Tycoon disguised as Old Yao, checked on Tycoon’s family, and discussed the aftermath of the Jiang City conflict. After revealing that he had advanced to Tier 1 with [Magic Pouch], Lin Yu learned that advancement’s deeper purpose was to strengthen a person’s connection to the worlds of the Death game.

• Lin Yu disguised himself as Old Yao and went to Tycoon’s usual monster-spawning spot to check on him.
• Tycoon explained that the Psychology Society had tricked him with a surveillance camera and that his family was safe, though he had argued with his father and brother.
• Lin Yu and Tycoon discussed the costly conflict in Jiang City and the injuries, captures, and escapees left in its wake.
• Lin Yu told Tycoon that he had advanced to Tier 1 by choosing [Magic Pouch], and Tycoon praised him while promising a suitable [Item] reward.
• Tycoon began teaching Lin Yu that advancement also deepened a person’s connection to the worlds of the Death game.

Tycoon explained that rank advancement gave Players new permissions and advised Lin Yu to build relationships with friendly NPCs and secure a reusable identity. Lin Yu returned home to study for his exams, where Hannah questioned why he never let her help cook.

• Tycoon told Lin Yu that connected instance worlds could remember Players and grant them new permissions after rank advancement, though Lin Yu would need the right opportunity to obtain his next permission.
• Tycoon advised Lin Yu to befriend friendly NPCs and build a reusable identity, then asked him to tell May that Order was interested in him.
• Tycoon promised to help Lin Yu get an official position in Jiang'an Hall once the uproar had died down, and Lin Yu left to prepare for his next instance.
• Lin Yu went home, cooked noodles, and studied for his final exams while Lin Zhao worked at her restaurant.
• Hannah asked Lin Yu why he never let her help cook, and Lin Yu explained that his sister usually handled the cooking.

Lin Yu visited Chen Zhuo at school to address the identity loophole linking “Zhu Ming” and “Xia Yue.” After learning Chen Zhuo was seeking an expert to help him through an Instance, Lin Yu saw a chance to resolve the problem without killing or deceiving him.

• Lin Yu entered Jiangcheng No. 6 High School by telling the guard Chen Zhuo’s family wanted him to go to dinner after school.
• Lin Yu waited outside Chen Zhuo’s classroom and asked a student to bring Chen Zhuo to him.
• Chen Zhuo led Lin Yu to a secluded storage area, where Lin Yu learned Chen Zhuo had gained influence over former bullies but did not want revenge.
• Chen Zhuo asked whether Lin Yu had seen his online post seeking an expert to carry him through an Instance.
• Lin Yu realized Chen Zhuo’s request might give him a chance to fix the identity loophole without sacrificing Chen Zhuo.

Lin Yu arranged for Chen Zhuo to meet an old acquaintance who could help him search for someone, while keeping his own identity and motives concealed. Chen Zhuo discovered that the expert was Xia Yue, the girl he believed had died in the first Instance.

• Lin Yu offered to introduce Chen Zhuo to an experienced Player and arranged to meet him after school.
• After eating a cheap hamburger meal, Lin Yu gained the Stingy Rich Man buff and stored it in the Blissful Immortal Pot as Immortal Wine.
• Lin Yu instructed Hannah to rehearse lines for a staged encounter.
• Chen Zhuo hurried out of school to meet Lin Yu and wondered whether his expert acquaintance might be someone from his Group Chat.
• Lin Yu introduced Xia Yue, and Chen Zhuo recognized her as the girl he thought had failed to clear the first Instance.
• Lin Yu explained that Xia Yue had survived behind Chen Zhuo, and Xia Yue confirmed that she had been there all along.

Lin Yu disguised himself as Xia Yue and negotiated with Chen Zhuo, who believed Lin Yu’s fabricated explanation and mistook the illusion for the real Administrator. Chen Zhuo explained why he preferred hiring experienced Players to teaming up, then urged Xia Yue to search his forum ID for a post that would explain his confidence.

• Lin Yu used Hannah’s illusion to make his apparent departure convincing while he stayed disguised as Xia Yue.
• Chen Zhuo assumed his high potential had caused an experienced Player to join his Novice instance, but Lin Yu said the soldier and Lone Wolf had been the strongest candidates.
• Lin Yu introduced himself as Zhu Ming, and Chen Zhuo explained his forum ID, “Ai-chan Is My Life,” and asked to be called Xiao Zhuo.
• Chen Zhuo said he had hired experienced Players for his third and fourth Instances after nearly dying when he tried to become a solitary powerhouse.
• Lin Yu warned that repeatedly hiring help would eventually exhaust Chen Zhuo’s points, and Chen Zhuo told him to search his forum ID and read his post.

Lin Yu learned how Chen Zhuo had amassed points by repeatedly selling valuable Instance finds and agreed to join his next escort job. He invited Li Nian to fill the final spot, and she eagerly accepted despite Lin Yu’s warnings about her reliability and price.

• Lin Yu found Chen Zhuo’s Forum post offering 300 points each to two people who would help him clear an Instance.
• Chen Zhuo explained that he had earned points by selling valuable Items and using the proceeds to hire veteran escorts for his earlier Instances.
• Lin Yu explained why Chen Zhuo’s unusually high bounty had attracted few applicants, and Chen Zhuo thanked him for accepting the job.
• Chen Zhuo asked Lin Yu to recommend another reliable expert, and Lin Yu offered to call someone of a higher tier who would need payment in cash or Items.
• Lin Yu called Li Nian and offered her the remaining spot; after teasing him, Li Nian said she was on her way.

Lin Yu introduced Chen Zhuo to Li Nian to negotiate help for Chen Zhuo’s next Instance. Chen Zhuo joined their team after learning Li Nian was the Phantom Thief, and Li Nian thanked Lin Yu for helping her secure a buyer for Forum Items.

• Lin Yu explained Chen Zhuo’s commission to Li Nian and let them negotiate the price.
• Li Nian offered Chen Zhuo two options, and he chose to pay 1,000 points for her best effort to get him through his next Instance.
• Li Nian revealed that she was A Nian, the Phantom Thief and a member of the Freedom Alliance, shocking Chen Zhuo.
• Chen Zhuo used his Three-person Team-up Card to team up with Li Nian and Lin Yu for the next Instance.
• Li Nian thanked Lin Yu for introducing her to Chen Zhuo and helping her find a purchasing agent for Forum Items.

Li Nian explained how she deduced that Lin Yu had fooled the Psychology Society and Fluoxetine by faking his death. Lin Yu confirmed most of her conclusions and left her eager for his Freedom Alliance assessment and the next instance.

• Li Nian revealed that she had stolen the Psychology Society’s evaluation roster and found Xia Yue’s classified rating and Jiang City records.
• Li Nian deduced that Lin Yu had fooled Fluoxetine and the Psychology Society, faked his death twice, and sought the Freedom Alliance after realizing he could not stay out of danger.
• Lin Yu confirmed that Li Nian’s account was mostly correct, while privately celebrating that she had accepted the story he had constructed for Xia Yue.
• Li Nian said the Freedom Alliance would welcome Lin Yu and looked forward to the next night’s instance and his joining the group.