Chapter Summaries

Lin Yu learned why Order grew into a powerful organization and heard that its Haicheng operation might be compromised by internal conflicts in the Player Mutual Aid Society. As Lin Yu and Good Night waited for a ride, Order inspector Nicholas arrived in a flying reindeer sled, looking unmistakably like Santa Claus.

• Good Night explained that Order built its strength by gathering Players and promised to improve its members’ chances of survival in exchange for their duty to uphold fairness and justice.
• Good Night warned Lin Yu not to risk his life recklessly and revealed that Order suspected the Haicheng case involved internal conflicts within the Player Mutual Aid Society, so even local allies might be untrustworthy.
• Lin Yu and Good Night waited by the highway for transportation to their assignment.
• A bearded man in red arrived on a flying sled pulled by eight reindeer, and Good Night introduced him as Nicholas, an inspector for Order’s Central China division.
• Lin Yu pointed out that Nicholas and his arrival looked exactly like Santa Claus, despite Good Night’s insistence otherwise.

Lin Yu and Good Night arrived in Sea City and met Li Hua, who recruited Lin Yu to investigate a dangerous case involving a missing Item. Li Hua offered substantial rewards for useful contributions, and Lin Yu agreed to give the investigation his all as they headed to the scene.

• Nicholas flew Lin Yu and Good Night from Jiang City to Sea City in forty minutes, then departed after praising Lin Yu for making the Diviner suffer a major loss.
• Good Night told Lin Yu that his achievement had become widely known and defended him while they waited for Li Hua.
• Li Hua picked up Lin Yu and Good Night in a minivan, and Good Night pressed him to offer better compensation for bringing Lin Yu into the investigation.
• Li Hua promised Lin Yu merit, points, a free Tier 3 Instance support opportunity, and potentially a high-grade Item if he helped solve the case.
• Lin Yu agreed to investigate and asked to see the case information, which Li Hua provided on a tablet as they traveled to the scene.

Lin Yu reviewed the investigation into Radish’s death and learned that the missing Item was a dangerously addictive carrot capable of infinite multiplication. He prepared to investigate the scene and speak with Sherlock, while the threat posed by the Item remained unclear.

• Lin Yu read Order’s report on Radish’s death, the suspected curse, and the disappearance of the Item he had brought to Haicheng.
• The report described how Lotus found Radish dead after briefly falling asleep, while Cassia Seed had remained awake in the master bedroom.
• Lin Yu asked Li Hua what the missing Item was and why Order feared it could kill more than ten thousand people.
• Li Hua revealed that the Item was called [Super Genetically Modified Carrot], could multiply infinitely with energy, and was extremely addictive to most living creatures.

Lin Yu learned that the missing Super Genetically Modified Radish could regenerate after any attempted destruction and posed a catastrophic threat if it spread. After hearing the eight suspects and their lack of alibis, he arrived at the hotel, where Fu Luo welcomed him and proposed working together on the case.

• Li Hua explained that the radish was highly addictive, could provoke violent withdrawal, and regenerated after every attempt to destroy it.
• Li Hua said the Order had regulated carrot sales in Haicheng and identified eight suspects who could have reached the radish.
• Lin Yu memorized the suspects and said he needed to inspect the scene and meet them before forming an initial judgment.
• Lin Yu arrived at the hotel and met Fu Luo, who said he had preliminary ideas but wanted to hear Lin Yu's thoughts first.

Lin Yu inspected Grandpa Radish’s murder scene but found no clues, so he returned to his hotel room to rest and consult his aides. Old Zheng recognized two suspects, Huang and Hundred Refined Steel, as people who had grudges against Radish.

• Lin Yu and Fu Luo found no useful clues at the crime scene, and Lin Yu decided to question the suspects after getting some sleep.
• Fu Luo admitted he wanted to stay up for the hotel’s buffet breakfast, while Lin Yu returned to his room on the sixteenth floor.
• Lin Yu checked that Hannah and Old Zheng had detected no surveillance, then released Stiller and asked his aides for their thoughts on the case.
• Old Zheng said he had known Radish and identified Huang and Hundred Refined Steel as people who had held grudges against him.

Lin Yu learned that Radish’s past survival of a deadly Instance had left Phoenix and Hundred Refined Steel with reasons to resent him, then met a masked Player in a strange dreamscape. The man claimed he was Radish’s killer’s accomplice and offered clues in exchange for a game, which Lin Yu accepted.

• Old Zheng told Lin Yu that Radish had been the sole survivor of a twenty-five-player Instance, where Hundred Refined Steel lost two close friends and Phoenix lost her lover.
• Old Zheng explained that Radish had brought Lotus and Cassia Seed to guard against enemies, while Stiller judged Phoenix less likely to be the killer because she would be watched closely.
• Lin Yu fell asleep and found himself barefoot on a cold, dark plain, then followed a distant light to a hunter’s cabin.
• A masked man told Lin Yu that he could invade dreamscapes but could not kill people in them, and claimed he was the killer’s accomplice.
• Lin Yu agreed to play the masked man’s game in exchange for hints about the truth.

Lin Yu met the Ghost-faced Man, who called himself Consultant, in a dream and learned the rules of their Rock Paper Scissors Card game. After Lin Yu tricked Consultant into revealing that the dream itself controlled the rules, they began the game.

• Consultant explained that each player would use Rock Paper Scissors Cards to win rounds and earn questions, and that the first to win three rounds would claim victory.
• Consultant introduced five types of Support Cards and explained how players could gain them by answering or refusing questions.
• Lin Yu asked whether he could pose an impossible question, such as proving the Riemann hypothesis, and learned that the dream would decide whether a question was answerable.
• Lin Yu concluded that Consultant had created the dream but did not control it, then told him to begin the game.

Lin Yu used the Support Cards to infer the Ghost-faced Man’s hand and gain an advantage in their Rock Paper Scissors match. He won the second round after drawing scissors and tricking the Ghost-faced Man into playing paper.

• Lin Yu and the Ghost-faced Man drew their cards and agreed that Lin Yu would decide first whether to use a Support Card each round.
• Lin Yu used an Eye card and inspected two remaining golden cards, narrowing down the possible cards in the Ghost-faced Man’s hand.
• Lin Yu played rock against the Ghost-faced Man’s rock, and the first round ended in a draw.
• Lin Yu used Left Hand and drew another scissors, then discarded a scissors to mislead the Ghost-faced Man.
• The Ghost-faced Man declined to use a Support Card, and Lin Yu played scissors against his paper to win the round.

Lin Yu used card-counting and psychological misdirection to win the first game while conserving his Support Cards. He then asked the Ghost-faced Man for his ID Number, leaving the opponent’s answer—and the next game—pending.

• Lin Yu and the Ghost-faced Man both declined to use Support Cards, revealed scissors, and drew the third round, giving Lin Yu the first game.
• Lin Yu explained how he inferred that the Ghost-faced Man held paper and had used his expressions to discourage him from switching cards.
• The Ghost-faced Man acknowledged Lin Yu’s strategy and urged him to ask a question valuable enough to help identify the murderer.
• Lin Yu decided that winning the match mattered more than gaining a single Support Card and asked the Ghost-faced Man for his ID Number.

Lin Yu questioned the Ghost-faced Man for his ID Number, then used Support Cards and careful inference to uncover the opponent’s three-rock hand and win the second round. The Ghost-faced Man’s final Support Card gave Lin Yu a chance to win the Game outright.

• Lin Yu asked the Ghost-faced Man for his ID Number, but the Ghost-faced Man refused and told him to draw his cards.
• Lin Yu and the Ghost-faced Man began the second round, and the Ghost-faced Man used an ear Support Card while Lin Yu declared that his next card would not be rock.
• Lin Yu used eyes and mouth Support Cards, saw his own rock and scissors, and narrowed down the possible cards in the Ghost-faced Man’s hand.
• Lin Yu played scissors against the Ghost-faced Man’s rock, then played paper against his rock to win the round and reveal that the Ghost-faced Man held three rocks.
• Lin Yu prepared to play his final scissors, but the Ghost-faced Man used a Right Hand Support Card, giving Lin Yu a strong chance to win.

Lin Yu outmaneuvered the Ghost-faced Man in a Rock Paper Scissors round and secured a chance to ask how many questions the man had intended to ask him. As they began another round, Lin Yu exploited a loophole that could nullify the Ghost-faced Man’s Support Card, leaving the result to chance.

• Lin Yu revealed Rock while the Ghost-faced Man revealed Scissors, winning the round through a bluff that made his opponent believe he held two Papers.
• Lin Yu asked how many questions the Ghost-faced Man had planned to ask, and the man said he needed to know Lin Yu’s profession and why he entered the Death game.
• The Ghost-faced Man said he did not believe Lin Yu was a doctor and took a Support Card, giving Lin Yu one round to consider his answers.
• Lin Yu left his cards face down and argued that the Ghost-faced Man’s Mouth and Ears Support Card could not work because Lin Yu did not know what cards he held.
• Lin Yu accused the Ghost-faced Man of exploiting people and being involved in murder, then challenged him to reveal their cards and see whether chance favored Lin Yu.

After winning a Rock Paper Scissors match against the Ghost-faced Man, Lin Yu used his three questions to learn about the man's cooperation with several organizations, the missing radish item, and why he had targeted Lin Yu. Nian woke from the dream believing he had uncovered the secret of May May, while Lin Yu realized the encounter had helped him mislead the Diviner.

• Lin Yu beat the Ghost-faced Man and asked whether he belonged to or cooperated with the three organizations removed from the forum; the man said he worked with the Psychology Society and the Marauders, as well as some members of the Freedom Alliance.
• Lin Yu asked why the radish's [Super Genetically Modified Radish] had gone missing, and the Ghost-faced Man said someone planned to use its addictive power to cause havoc in the Instance worlds.
• Lin Yu asked why the Ghost-faced Man had targeted him, and the man said he was acting on someone else's request before ending the dream.
• Nian woke in a car with a Black Cat and concluded that May May was a false identity with the means to forge identities and abilities; he planned to identify Lin Yu through recent S-ranks in the Psychology Society.
• Lin Yu woke after six hours and fifteen minutes, learned from Stiller that his emotions had fluctuated during the dream, and told the brain that the Consultant's visit had helped him mislead the Diviner.

Lin Yu prepared to use his investigation of the dream-intrusion case to learn more about the mysterious person who could enter people’s dreams. He left Stiller behind and set out with Old Zheng and Hannah, only to find Fu Luo waiting outside his room with breakfast.

• Lin Yu decided to investigate the person who could enter dreams and planned to enlist Order’s resources through his identity as Order.
• Lin Yu left Stiller in the hotel room and prepared to bring Old Zheng and Hannah to find Li Hua and Good Night.
• Lin Yu found Fu Luo asleep outside his door, and Fu Luo gave him a packed breakfast.
• Fu Luo asked whether Lin Yu suspected Li Hua and Good Night, but Lin Yu explained that he wanted them along to lend authority when questioning suspects.

Lin Yu told Good Night, Li Hua, and Fu Luo about his dream encounter with a man called Consultant, who claimed to have helped kill Radish and said the thief who took the Item was someone else. Fu Luo connected Consultant to the elusive Detective Nian, but the group set that lead aside to focus on investigating Radish’s killer.

• Lin Yu told Good Night and Li Hua that Consultant had visited him in a dream and claimed the missing Item and Radish’s killer were connected to different people.
• Li Hua and Good Night suspected a powerful dream-related Nightmare Spell, while Fu Luo recognized the name Consultant from Player circles.
• Fu Luo described Consultant as an anonymous Tier 3 Detective who planned crimes for delisted Players and had left traces in cases he investigated.
• Lin Yu inferred that Fu Luo suspected Consultant’s identity, and Fu Luo said his investigation pointed to Nian, who could enter dreams.
• Good Night warned that Nian had influential connections, but Li Hua proposed setting the accusation aside and investigating Radish’s killer first.

Lin Yu learned more about Li Hua’s exceptional authority in Order before agreeing to question the suspects in the Nian case. The group chose to begin with Huang, and Li Hua arranged for the suspects to come to a conference room for questioning.

• Lin Yu reviewed Order’s hierarchy and recognized that Li Hua’s combined roles as Haicheng’s City Administrator and East China’s Regional Administrator gave him unusual influence.
• Lin Yu agreed to Li Hua’s decision and discussed with Fu Luo and Good Night whether questioning could help uncover Nian’s identity.
• Lin Yu reasoned that Nian’s choices in their dream suggested a brilliant but flawed person with aspirations, though he kept his reasoning to himself.
• Lin Yu chose Huang for the first questioning, explaining that she had a serious grudge against Radish.
• Li Hua revealed that he had arranged a conference room and planned to have the suspects come to them.

Lin Yu and Fu Luo questioned Huang and Hundred Refined Steel about their whereabouts after Radish’s murder. Huang admitted she had once tried to kill the victim but said she had abandoned her plan, while Hundred Refined Steel’s claimed movie marathon turned out to be eight hours of Meteor Garden.

• Lin Yu questioned Huang about her alibi and her past grudge against the victim.
• Huang admitted she had once held a knife to the victim’s neck but had stopped herself and no longer intended to kill him.
• Lin Yu let Huang go and asked her to bring in Hundred Refined Steel.
• Hundred Refined Steel claimed he had stayed in his room watching movies, and Fu Luo challenged his story.
• Lin Yu and Fu Luo checked Hundred Refined Steel’s viewing history and found that he had watched eight hours of Meteor Garden.

Lin Yu and Fu Luo questioned several suspects in Radish’s murder, weighing their statements and possible motives. Good Night explained that Kres could use curse techniques to carry out a delayed killing without leaving traces, strengthening suspicion of him as the questioning continued.

• Lin Yu and Fu Luo ruled out Hundred Refined Steel as a revenge killer after hearing his account and learning he had reconciled with Radish.
• King Ming gave little information about Radish, while Seagull expressed grief and accused several other Players of having possible motives.
• Fu Luo said he expected the remaining interviews to reveal an important clue, and Lin Yu agreed that each recent interview had raised suspicions.
• Lin Yu asked Good Night why he suspected Kres, and Good Night denied that his suspicion came from a personal grudge over their rankings.
• Good Night said Kres could use curse techniques for delayed killings without Items because he had learned spells in an Instance and could create skills himself.

Lin Yu and Fu Luo learned why Li Hua suspected Paper Kite: he had secretly killed nine Players, and evidence suggested he might be a serial killer who enjoyed executing his victims. The investigation into Grandpa Radish’s murder widened, leaving all eight suspects with reasons to be questioned.

• Lin Yu inferred that Li Hua had already found evidence against Paper Kite, and Li Hua explained that Paper Kite had been demoted after killing nine Players who had secretly harmed others.
• Good Night questioned why Paper Kite had only been demoted, and Li Hua said the victims had all been guilty but Paper Kite’s covert killings had violated Order’s principles.
• Li Hua revealed that six victims had been shot at close range after being incapacitated, with four shot through the left eye socket.
• Fu Luo compared Paper Kite’s behavior to the case of the missing Executioner, and Lin Yu recognized that Fu Luo knew where she was but did not correct Li Hua.
• Lin Yu concluded that Paper Kite’s abilities and history made him a suspect alongside the people who had grudges against Grandpa Radish, and noted that all eight suspects seemed suspicious.

Lin Yu questioned Kres about Grandpa Radish’s death and forced him to demonstrate his Pure Ruins ability. Kres claimed the technique could only kill by drowning, while Lin Yu left to ask Old Zheng what he knew about Pure Ruins and its effects on consciousness.

• Good Night confronted Kres as a suspect, but Lin Yu stopped their argument and began questioning him.
• Lin Yu said Kres’s ability could have killed Radish without leaving traces of an Item and demanded that Kres explain his power or identify another suspect with similar abilities.
• Kres used [Lost Heart] of Pure Ruins, making Lin Yu feel dizzy and as though he were drowning; Li Hua’s failed dice roll interrupted the technique, and Good Night pinned Kres to the table.
• Kres explained that his ability borrowed the power of Pure Ruins, an ocean, so it would have killed Radish by drowning rather than leaving an undetectable cause of death.
• Lin Yu told Good Night to release Kres, left to rinse his mouth, and asked Old Zheng about Pure Ruins and whether Kres could manipulate consciousness.

Lin Yu questioned Kres about the victim’s death and used his knowledge of Pure Ruins spells to expose a lie. He revealed that Kres had used a Curse Technique on the radish, but held off on naming him the murderer while they waited for Paper Kite.

• Old Zheng explained the Ten Realms and noted that Pure Ruins spells affected the soul, prompting Lin Yu to reconsider Kres’s account.
• Lin Yu reasoned that Li Hua and Order might be testing him, and decided he needed not only to solve the case but also to shape what they believed about him.
• Lin Yu returned to the interrogation room and challenged Kres over his explanation of [Lost Heart] and the traces of Curse Technique on the victim’s soul.
• Kres denied using a Curse Technique, and Lin Yu abruptly ordered him released and asked for Paper Kite.
• Lin Yu showed Good Night and Fu Luo his Lie Detector, explaining that Kres had lied and used a Curse Technique on the radish, though that did not prove he was the murderer.