Chapter Summaries

Back in reality, Lin Yu examined the four Professional Items he had obtained and realized how greatly they expanded his power. The Crow explained how it had previously created two of his Items, leaving Lin Yu stunned and wondering why the Crow was still with him.

• Lin Yu celebrated obtaining all four Professional Items, and Old Zheng judged that he could now contend with an ordinary, shallowly grounded Tier 3 Player.
• Lin Yu read Gossip Can Melt Gold and Tower Scam and realized they could preserve the effects of his Fraud abilities and store Belief for later use.
• Lin Yu examined Narrative Trick and Sweet Words and Flattering Looks, recognizing their potential for instant cognitive distortion and powerful once-per-Instance abilities.
• Lin Yu wondered how the Crow had given him Tooth of Prophecy and Tongue of Deception before he obtained them.
• The Crow explained that Lin Yu's belief in those Items had allowed it to turn the falsehood of their existence into truth, and Lin Yu asked why the Crow was still there.

After the Crow vanished, Lin Yu reflected on the limits gods faced and the Death game's hidden rules. He then found Lin Zhao sneaking into the kitchen for dumplings, and the siblings shared a late-night meal.

• The Crow explained that maintaining contact across worlds took great effort, then disappeared after telling Lin Yu he would last less than a second.
• Lin Yu concluded that gods faced restrictions and could barely interfere with the Death game or other worlds, then set aside his questions to rest.
• Lin Yu noticed a light and noise in the living room, summoned Old Zheng and Hannah, and approached with his Bone Blade ready.
• Lin Yu found Lin Zhao eating leftover dumplings from the refrigerator and scolded her for eating them uncooked.
• Lin Zhao boiled dumplings, and she and Lin Yu ate together while discussing how unusually delicious they tasted.

Lin Yu reviewed the rewards from clearing his Personal Instance and considered how they could help him build a new Tier 2 identity. He confessed to Stiller that Pankto had impersonated him and attacked Paris, then promised to seek Stiller’s freedom before returning to the City That Never Sleeps.

• Lin Yu inspected the six rewards from his Personal Instance and identified several as products of Divine Power Group, the Universal Trade Association, or alchemy.
• Lin Yu considered using his new Items to create a Tier 2 persona and hoped he could still obtain the Advanced Alchemy book from Paris.
• Lin Yu released Stiller and admitted that Pankto had impersonated him and stabbed Paris as part of the plan.
• Stiller said he had suspected Pankto’s identity and told Lin Yu that the confession put him in a difficult position.
• Lin Yu told Stiller he no longer had to work for him and promised to seek his freedom, accepting that Stiller might return to Paris and become his enemy.

Lin Yu let Stiller take a vacation, hoping the freedom would resolve his emotional attachment and make him a stronger ally. He then learned that May May had been promoted to vice-captain of Order's Jiangcheng Team One and received a long-term assignment to investigate possible infiltrators.

• Lin Yu explained to Old Zheng that he had let Stiller go on vacation to test whether Stiller would return out of loyalty, and Old Zheng compared their situation to Cao Cao and Guan Yu.
• Lin Yu ordered Hannah to whip Old Zheng for fifteen minutes after Old Zheng teased him about facing Paris.
• Lin Yu read messages from Gao Shan, Good Night, and Li Hua congratulating him on his promotion and offering support.
• Li Hua told Lin Yu that Order had rewarded him for the Haicheng cases and assigned him to look for unstable members or infiltrators within Order.
• Lin Yu saw Order's transfer announcement confirming that May May had become vice-captain of Jiangcheng Team One.

Lin Yu handled messages across his identities, then decided to observe Li Nian at school instead of waiting for her reply. He infiltrated St. Music Middle School and entered its athletic field, leaving him inside the heavily guarded campus.

• Lin Yu added local organizations’ representatives to May May’s contacts and replied to Tycoon about inviting May May to Jiang'an Hall.
• Lin Yu learned that Li Nian was at school and decided to visit her despite her request to wait for a message.
• Lin Yu went to St. Music Middle School, where he assessed its strict security and guarded entrance.
• Lin Yu used a counterfeit to disguise himself as a student and Shady Corner to pass through the fence onto the athletic field.

Lin Yu entered Shengle Middle School in disguise to surprise Li Nian, then found her class and watched her take a math quiz. Li Nian spotted him after class and, startled and angry, dragged him toward the stairs.

• Lin Yu blended in with students on the field while wearing a school uniform and Zhu Ming's face.
• Lin Yu found Li Nian's name on the rankings and learned she was in the second-year Competition Class, ranked ninety-ninth.
• Lin Yu went to the Competition Class and saw Li Nian wearing glasses and working on a math quiz.
• After the bell, Li Nian noticed Lin Yu outside the classroom and hurried out to confront him.
• Li Nian grabbed Lin Yu's hand and pulled him toward the stairs, demanding to know why he was at school.

Lin Yu visited Li Nian at school to collect his payment, but she reacted warily because she considered the school part of her protected real life. After Lin Yu apologized and started to leave, Li Nian stopped him and agreed to meet since he had already come all that way.

• Li Nian confronted Lin Yu, who was posing as Zhu Ming, for coming to her school without waiting for her message.
• Lin Yu realized Li Nian treated school as part of her private real life, unlike her home, and Old Zheng teased him about his psychological insight.
• Lin Yu silenced Old Zheng and apologized to Li Nian, promising not to visit her school again without permission.
• Lin Yu began to leave and told Li Nian to message him when she had time, but she stopped him and agreed to meet.

Lin Yu received his payment from Li Nian, including cash and Cerberus's Fang, then agreed to help her investigate suspected Players on campus. After learning that the Jiang City Psychology Society branch had only Lin Yu and Edwin, Li Nian reconsidered her suspects but continued searching the activity building.

• Li Nian gave Lin Yu 142,000 yuan and transferred Cerberus's Fang to him as payment from Chen Zhuo.
• Li Nian asked Lin Yu to walk around campus with her because she suspected another Player was investigating her.
• Li Nian explained that she believed the suspected Player might be connected to the Psychology Society and had previously considered people with the Doctor profession.
• Lin Yu revealed that he and Edwin were the only members of the Psychology Society's Jiang City branch, with Lin Yu serving as deputy branch president.
• Li Nian revised her suspicions but continued the search with Lin Yu at Shengle Middle School's comprehensive activity building.

Lin Yu and Li Nian investigated two suspicious school doctors at Shengle Middle School, while Lin Yu asked Shen Bingmiao to check their identities. Shen Bingmiao confirmed Cheng Mingwen was a [Player] and revealed several other [Players] operating near the school, leaving Lin Yu with more potential leads but no confirmation about Dilaudid’s contact.

• Li Nian picked the infirmary lock, and she and Lin Yu inspected the profiles of school doctors Cheng Mingwen and Lin Ruizhe.
• Li Nian searched the doctors’ desks and computers while Lin Yu contacted May May and Good Night for information about doctor [Players] in Jiang City.
• Lin Yu asked Shen Bingmiao whether Cheng Mingwen and Lin Ruizhe were [Players], and Shen Bingmiao confirmed Cheng Mingwen was a [Tier 1] Doctor with Jiang'an Hall.
• Shen Bingmiao told Lin Yu that Dilaudid had avoided her and listed other [Players] near Shengle Middle School, including Order logistics manager Guan Tingrong and Bounty Hunter Zhao Xiuling.
• Shen Bingmiao mentioned an unaffiliated first-year student with the forum ID Eternal Night God Eater, but Lin Yu declined to request his information.

Lin Yu shared intelligence about players near Li Nian’s school, leading them to consider whether Arctic Shrimp might have secret ties across organizations. As they left the infirmary, Lin Yu hid from two students, and Li Nian realized one of them looked exactly like Zhu Ming.

• Lin Yu told Li Nian that Cheng Mingwen was a Tier 1 of Jiang'an Hall and identified He Jing and Arctic Shrimp as other players near the school.
• Li Nian investigated their profiles and found that He Jing was a well-reviewed Bounty Hunter while Arctic Shrimp was an established Tier 2 in Order.
• Lin Yu argued that Arctic Shrimp could still have dealings with the Psychology Society, and Li Nian agreed to investigate further.
• Li Nian invited Lin Yu to lunch, but they encountered two middle-school girls heading to the infirmary, one with a bleeding knee.
• Lin Yu disappeared into the shadows when the girls arrived, and Li Nian noticed that the girl supporting the injured student looked exactly like Zhu Ming.

Lin Yu admitted that Zhu Ming was her biological younger sister and explained why she remained presumed dead, while Li Nian shared her complicated feelings about her own family. They discussed a possible paid escort through an Instance, and Li Nian returned Xia Yang's meal card.

• Li Nian guessed that Lin Yu and Zhu Ming had a special relationship, and Lin Yu confirmed that Zhu Ming was her biological younger sister.
• Lin Yu explained that she stayed away from her mother and sister because she feared her death in a future Instance would hurt them more after they believed she had returned.
• Li Nian said she envied Lin Yu's loving family and described how her own parents' care felt conditional and distant.
• Li Nian offered Lin Yu another paid job escorting someone through an Instance, and Lin Yu asked for details about the employer and their advancement goal.
• Li Nian returned Xia Yang's meal card and said she had taken it to learn Lin Yu's sister's name.

Lin Yu reviewed a Hunter Society commission from Fei Dao and agreed to add Li Nian as a friend for a possible remote team-up. Meanwhile, Xia Yang asked the school doctor about counseling after thinking she had seen her deceased older sister.

• Li Nian returned a meal card and told Lin Yu she had investigated a Tier 2 commission posted by Fei Dao.
• Lin Yu learned Fei Dao had lost his regular teammates and many Items in his last Instance, and Li Nian argued Lin Yu was strong enough to guide him despite being publicly Tier 1.
• Lin Yu said he might be away from Jiang City next Tuesday and asked Li Nian to add him as a friend for a Remote Team-up Card.
• The school doctor treated Xia Yang's classmate's wound and advised her to avoid strenuous activity.
• Xia Yang asked Teacher Li when the counseling room opened and whether she should see a counselor because she thought she had seen her deceased older sister.

After helping Li Nian grow closer to Zhu Ming through an improvised performance, Lin Yu discussed his Psychology Society membership with Old Zheng and refused to act on the Society’s behalf. Old Zheng hinted that the Society had not caused the Death game, and Lin Yu ended the conversation by putting him away.

• After they left Shengle Middle School, Old Zheng praised Lin Yu’s performance, and Lin Yu acknowledged that it had helped bring Li Nian closer to Zhu Ming.
• Lin Yu realized his next Instance would require him to take someone along, though he was now a Tier 2 with four Professional Items.
• Old Zheng asked about Lin Yu’s Psychology Society membership after hearing his conversation with Li Nian, and Lin Yu showed him the Society’s tablet and revealed his codename, Clonazepam.
• Lin Yu refused Old Zheng’s implied request to help the Psychology Society, explaining that he hated the organization and was using it only as a stepping stone to join the Freedom Alliance.
• Old Zheng argued that Lin Yu might have joined the Death game regardless of the Psychology Society, then said the Society had not created everything and that Lin Yu would understand in time.
• Lin Yu put Old Zheng into the Item Space and remarked that two of his three summons were temporarily at odds with him, while Hannah offered him soup.

Lin Yu considered his strained relationships with Stiller and Old Zheng, then planned his next tasks and checked in with Fu Luo. Fu Luo confirmed he was alive, but the chapter ended with him in Chengcheng preparing to begin work after learning that someone had truly died in an Instance.

• Lin Yu decided to let Stiller cool down and postpone resolving his conflict with Old Zheng until after dealing with Fluoxetine.
• Lin Yu reviewed his upcoming tasks, including reporting to Tycoon, visiting Good Night, investigating Li Hua’s relic, and preparing for the drama club tour.
• Lin Yu messaged Fu Luo, who said he had survived his Instance and congratulated Lin Yu on his promotion.
• Fu Luo warned Lin Yu that Nian had set his sights on him, while Lin Yu kept Nian’s death secret and wondered why Fu Luo had not heard about it.
• In Chengcheng, Fu Luo looked at a glowing altar, put on a mask, and prepared to begin work after learning that someone had died in the Instance.

Fu Luo confirmed that Nian had died in an Instance and uncovered Nian’s plan to return from the Night Valley Realm through a summoning altar. After Hacker ordered him to destroy the altar, Fu Luo broke the ritual—but A'yu arrived at Nian’s Apartment and found him there.

• Fu Luo investigated Nian and learned that the Marauders had hired Nian to investigate May May, though Nian had developed a personal interest in May.
• Fu Luo discovered that Nian had transformed part of his soul into a Nightmare and prepared a real-world summoning altar as a way to return after death.
• Fu Luo told Hacker what he had learned, and Hacker authorized him to destroy the altar and promised to improve Fu Luo’s standing in the City That Never Sleeps.
• Fu Luo used a Demon Hunter Seal Scroll to bind and destroy the altar’s ritual.
• A'yu, the Marauders’ Yanjing deputy minister, entered Nian’s Apartment while Fu Luo was still there.

Fu Luo tried to fool A'yu by claiming he was the resurrected Nian, but she saw through his disguise and captured him. After the Marauders identified him as Sherlock, Heavenly Artisan contacted A'yu, revealing a personal grudge and asking to deal with him if she planned to kill him.

• A'yu confronted Fu Luo at gunpoint, and he claimed to be Nian, explaining his return with a Nightmare summoning altar.
• A'yu examined the altar, lowered her gun, then punched Fu Luo and accused him of impersonating Nian.
• A'yu tied Fu Luo up, posted his photo on the Marauders' APP, and learned that he was Sherlock, a Tier 1 detective from Zhengcheng.
• A'yu questioned Sherlock about why he had come, while he denied being an Order member and offered an unconvincing explanation.
• Heavenly Artisan messaged A'yu, said he had a personal grudge against Sherlock, and asked her to let him handle Sherlock if she intended to kill him.

A'yu brought Fu Luo to Jiang City and delivered him to Heavenly Artisan, who planned to use him to lure out May May. Although A'yu offered to help, Heavenly Artisan chose to pursue his revenge alone.

• A'yu arrived at Jiang City Railway Station with Fu Luo and met Heavenly Artisan, whom she teased about his height and nickname.
• Heavenly Artisan revealed that he had advanced to Tier 2 and held a grudge against Fu Luo for giving May May his address.
• A'yu realized Fu Luo had gone to Nian's home while seeking May May and praised his courage, but still left him in Heavenly Artisan's hands.
• Heavenly Artisan said he would use Fu Luo to draw out May May rather than kill him outright.
• A'yu warned that May May might not come alone and offered to stay and help, but Heavenly Artisan declined, insisting on handling his revenge himself.

Heavenly Artisan held Fu Luo captive and used his phone to lure May May to an abandoned factory, threatening to kill Fu Luo if May May did not come alone. May May arrived alone despite Fu Luo's warning and confronted the now Tier 2 Heavenly Artisan on the roof.

• Heavenly Artisan bound Fu Luo and said he intended to use him to lure May May rather than kill him.
• Heavenly Artisan unlocked Fu Luo's phone, photographed him, and sent May May a threat and the factory's location.
• Fu Luo used Siri to send May May a message revealing that Heavenly Artisan had reached Tier 2.
• Heavenly Artisan realized May May had arrived alone and climbed through a hole in the factory roof to meet him.
• May May and Heavenly Artisan exchanged taunts and prepared to fight, then a tremendous crash shook the roof.

Fu Luo waited helplessly as Lin Yu fought Heavenly Artisan, then watched Lin Yu defeat him and come back badly wounded. Meanwhile, Paper Kite and Kres traveled toward Fuqiao Garden with the Briefcase containing Li Hua’s delivery, and Kres revealed he had taken a bodyguard job.

• Fu Luo worried that May May might lose his fierce battle with the Tier 2 Heavenly Artisan while he remained tied up in the factory.
• Lin Yu drove Heavenly Artisan into the river and returned to free Fu Luo, though he was drenched in blood and had let his opponent escape again.
• Fu Luo helped the wounded Lin Yu up, and Lin Yu asked him to show his gratitude by buying him a good meal.
• Paper Kite and Kres waited in traffic at a Jiang City toll booth, where Kres accidentally turned on the used car’s air conditioner and got sprayed with blood and flesh.
• Kres said he was headed to Fuqiao Garden in North Bridge District for a bodyguard contract while carrying the Briefcase containing Li Hua’s delivery.

Lin Yu used an honest confession to get Fu Luo to reveal that Shen Bingmiao had recruited him to deal with Nian, whose return to the real world Fu Luo had blocked. As Lin Yu and Fu Luo reached Lin Yu’s building, Paper Kite and Kres appeared and called out to May May.

• Lin Yu invited Fu Luo to stay at his home after they shared a meal.
• Lin Yu admitted that he was a performance major and had misrepresented his identity and Profession when they first met.
• Fu Luo confessed that he had investigated Lin Yu and said a powerful Player connected to electronic devices had asked him to help with matters related to Lin Yu.
• Fu Luo revealed that Shen Bingmiao had told him Nian was dead in the Instance and that he had destroyed Nian’s altar to block his return to the real world.
• Paper Kite and Kres stepped out of a sedan near Lin Yu’s building and called for May May to wait.