Chapter Summaries

Fu Qian tested the emissary’s ability to distort attacks and learned why the emissary could not escape the nightmare. After the emissary recommended a nearby room, Fu Qian offered to help him get out in return for his earlier help.

• Fu Qian asked the emissary to send him back, then attacked him with a demigod-level Air Bullet to test his powers.
• The emissary distorted the Air Bullet into a gray shuttle-shaped silhouette and warned Fu Qian not to disturb whatever lay beyond the open door.
• Fu Qian deduced that the emissary was trapped in the corridor, and the emissary explained that his power came from being assimilated with the place.
• The emissary said he had helped Fu Qian because he wanted to explore the nightmare and explained that using his power had left him able only to observe for a while.
• The emissary recommended that Fu Qian enter the open room, and Fu Qian offered to help the emissary in return.

Fu Qian entered the Nightmare Corridor with the pitchman and woke in a moonlit version of his school, where the students and counselor carried their heads in their hands. With a new mission to find the youngest child and break the nightmare, he set out to investigate the people connected to the borrowed book.

• Fu Qian persuaded the pitchman to accompany him, and the pitchman became a tattoo on his hand before Fu Qian entered the nightmare.
• Fu Qian woke with a healing gash and altered hands, while his counselor and classmates sat in class holding their own heads.
• Fu Qian convinced the counselor to let him leave, then received a mission to find the youngest child and break the nightmare.
• Fu Qian and the pitchman noted that the fog was gone and that the school’s abnormal scenes might be projections shaped by memories.
• Fu Qian considered searching for people who had received blessings and realized the projected memories might belong to someone who had died there before.

Fu Qian joked about a bizarre library dream, and a Golden Tree suddenly appeared atop the library. He entered the building and headed upstairs, leaving off when he noticed the corridor’s unusually high ceiling.

• Fu Qian described a transparent library topped by a giant waste tank and an eternal torch, unsettling the speaker.
• A Golden Tree rapidly appeared on top of the library, prompting Fu Qian and the speaker to investigate.
• Fu Qian entered the library, where students kept studying and the head he had torn off lay buried under books and notes.
• Fu Qian searched the office where a previous meeting had taken place and learned the speaker could no longer sense the others.
• Fu Qian followed the route Liu Yi had taken toward the upper floors, then stopped to remark on the ceiling’s height.

Fu Qian found a way to climb the distorted library by walking up a staircase on the wall, then followed the golden branches to find Liu Yi transformed into a terrifying creature. Liu Yi told him she was scared of the others.

• Fu Qian spotted a continuous staircase in the wall and used it to reach the fifth floor.
• Fu Qian and the speaker observed bright yellow fissures spreading across the library and continuing upward like roots.
• Fu Qian followed a golden branch through the dome and found Liu Yi hanging from it, her body melted and warped.
• Liu Yi said she was scared of the others, and Fu Qian replied that she was scary too.

Fu Qian calmed Liu Yi by convincing her that her transformation was happening in a dream, then got her help descending from the library and received a Bug Whistle. After testing her abilities and drawing conclusions about the infected, he agreed with the Speaker to investigate the infirmary next.

• Fu Qian provoked Liu Yi into recognizing her monstrous transformation, then persuaded her that she was dreaming so she would stop panicking.
• Liu Yi extended a branch into a passage down from the library and gave Fu Qian a Bug Whistle that could summon something underground.
• Fu Qian descended and explained to the Speaker what he had learned about the infected's retained sanity, memories, and new abilities.
• The Speaker proposed going to the infirmary to follow up on clues from the library cards and avoid the dangerous underground building, and Fu Qian agreed.

Fu Qian went to the infirmary to investigate the dream’s youngest child and found Liang Yuntian working there. He discovered that Han Jin, one of the library book’s readers, had visited the infirmary, then asked Liang Yuntian to examine Qiu Chengyi.

• Fu Qian agreed to visit the infirmary because he suspected one of the book’s readers was the youngest child’s vessel.
• Fu Qian found Liang Yuntian on duty at the infirmary, where the other occupants appeared to have been devoured.
• Fu Qian tested Liang Yuntian’s remaining awareness and asked to borrow a medical record book.
• Fu Qian saw Han Jin’s name in the record and connected him to the library card.
• Fu Qian told Liang Yuntian that Qiu Chengyi was unwell and asked him to go examine him.

Fu Qian tricked Liang Yuntian into heading to the dormitory by claiming Qiu Chengyi was there, then evaded Liang’s tracking insect and followed after him. After waiting near the dormitory, Fu Qian concluded Liang had found something and prepared to act.

• Fu Qian told Liang Yuntian that Qiu Chengyi was in the dormitory, using a description of the rat-induced changes to convince him to go there.
• Fu Qian left the infirmary with the medical record and explained to the Advisor that he had guessed which person Liang had eaten.
• Fu Qian discovered and crushed a tracking insect hidden in the medical record, then hid as Liang Yuntian rushed past toward the dormitory.
• Fu Qian waited to see whether Liang returned, then used the map to locate the dormitory and sat in its empty gatehouse.
• After nearly half an hour without Liang returning, Fu Qian decided to move, believing Liang had found something.

Fu Qian followed the rat hole into a vast underground space and found Liang Yuntian trapped in a bubble by a figure who claimed to be the true Young Shark. The figure unleashed a horde of giant rats on Liang Yuntian, and the chapter ended with them burying him beneath a bloody swarm.

• Fu Qian entered the underground garage, found the hole, and jumped into the flooded passage below.
• Fu Qian discovered that the passage opened into a vast space that had persisted after the fog receded.
• Fu Qian saw Liang Yuntian trapped inside a tough bubble while a seated figure taunted him and claimed to be the true Young Shark.
• The figure strengthened Liang Yuntian’s barrier with water and summoned swarms of giant, hairless rats.
• The rats tore into Liang Yuntian and buried him beneath their growing swarm.

Fu Qian confronted Qiu Chengyi in the underground chamber while Liang Yuntian fought off a swarm of rats. Fu Qian realized Qiu Chengyi was also suffering from divine erosion, but Qiu Chengyi silenced the rats and declared that Liang Yuntian was still only a bug compared with a god.

• Fu Qian ignored the Persuader’s warning and entered the chamber, hoping to make use of Liang Yuntian’s fight with Qiu Chengyi.
• Fu Qian told Qiu Chengyi that he had masterminded Liang Yuntian’s arrival and given him the information to hunt Qiu Chengyi.
• Fu Qian noticed Qiu Chengyi’s stiff movements and deduced that Qiu Chengyi’s perception had been distorted by divine erosion, making him believe the pests were his real body.
• Qiu Chengyi snapped his fingers and sent the rats back into the water, revealing Liang Yuntian’s gnawed, skeletal body still attacking the barrier.
• Qiu Chengyi called Liang Yuntian’s persistence futile and declared that a god and a bug were fundamentally different.

Fu Qian used Liu Yi’s Bug Whistle to disrupt Qiu Chengyi’s control of the flooded area and free Liang Yuntian. Liang Yuntian attacked Qiu Chengyi, while Fu Qian refused to retreat and watched the fight.

• Qiu Chengyi targeted Fu Qian first and sent swarms of Two-Legged Rats after him.
• Fu Qian leapt into the pool and sounded the Bug Whistle, summoning a giant underground insect that devoured rats and crushed the bubbles before retreating.
• Fu Qian’s real aim was to use the disruption to free Liang Yuntian, who immediately charged at Qiu Chengyi.
• The Persuader urged Fu Qian to leave, but Fu Qian refused and watched Liang Yuntian battle Qiu Chengyi.
• Qiu Chengyi dodged Liang Yuntian’s bone spears and mocked Fu Qian’s tactics while the fight continued.

Qiu Chengyi battled Liang Yuntian and Fu Qian, who exposed the centipede-like pest inside Qiu Chengyi as the source of his false belief that he was the Divine Son. The pest proved too tough for Fu Qian to crush, and Liang Yuntian devoured it as Qiu Chengyi held it out.

• Qiu Chengyi broke Liang Yuntian's limbs and spines, but Liang Yuntian's head lunged and tore Qiu Chengyi's neck.
• Fu Qian feinted with the bone whistle, then thrust his hand into Qiu Chengyi's neck while Qiu Chengyi was distracted.
• Qiu Chengyi caught Fu Qian in his claws, but Fu Qian pulled a black-and-yellow centipede-like pest from Qiu Chengyi's body and revealed that it was not the Divine Son.
• Fu Qian failed to crush the pest, and Qiu Chengyi demanded that he return it.
• Fu Qian offered the pest to Qiu Chengyi's left hand, and Liang Yuntian's head devoured it.

Fu Qian completed the mission by letting Liang Yuntian devour the centipede, collapsing the nightmare and returning to the Warehouse. After going home, Fu Qian was pulled back to the Warehouse, where a shadow separated from his body and he greeted the Negotiator again.

• Liang Yuntian bit the centipede in half, transformed into a centipede with a human head, and attacked Qiu Chengyi, completing the containment mission.
• The Negotiator told Fu Qian the nightmare was breaking apart, then disappeared as the scene crumbled around Fu Qian.
• Fu Qian returned to the Warehouse, received his mission evaluation and rewards, reviewed the event recap, and chose to go home.
• Fu Qian made breakfast at home, but his mark activated and sent him back to the Warehouse as his chopsticks turned to ash.
• A living shadow emerged from Fu Qian and separated from his body, and Fu Qian greeted the Negotiator.

Fu Qian exposed the Salesman’s plan to parasitize his consciousness and completed the containment mission. As the Salesman disintegrated, Fu Qian explained how he had drawn him out and began describing the method he had used.

• Fu Qian revealed that the Salesman had used sensory dislocation and the pest form to trick him into accepting the Salesman’s will.
• Fu Qian explained that the Salesman’s second plan relied on parasitizing him during the nightmare, while making his motives seem harmless.
• Fu Qian realized that the Salesman was the true target of the Bug of Erosion containment mission and that the mission’s instructions had been distorted to help him escape.
• The mission notification confirmed that containment of No. 1-077 was successful, and the Salesman began disintegrating.
• The Salesman asked how Fu Qian had detected his hidden presence, and Fu Qian said he had tried a method he had heard about before.

Fu Qian outwitted the Lobbyist’s parasite and watched the Lobbyist vanish into the Warehouse. He collected two mission rewards, then returned home and found the voices in his mind had come back.

• Fu Qian explained how he had concealed his plan from the Lobbyist and lured him back into the Warehouse.
• The Lobbyist crumbled away, warned Fu Qian that he would return one day, and disappeared into the Warehouse.
• Fu Qian realized the mission had not ended because the usual completion prompt was missing, and two rewards appeared.
• Fu Qian received the Sweet Dream Head Cage, which could block observation or reveal truth, and the Bug Whistle, which summoned Nightmare Worms.
• Fu Qian left both items in the Warehouse and returned home, where the voices in his mind surged back.

Fu Qian tested how his demigod abilities could answer the mental calls that bothered him, using them to intimidate Xu Meng. He then noticed that Tan Ying and her bracelet seemed unusually changed, and sent her a thought to update first and revise later.

• Fu Qian used the Sweet Dream Head Cage to block the calls, but removed it because he could not wear it forever.
• Fu Qian answered Xu Meng’s call and gained a gaze that let him observe Xu Meng’s emotions and condition.
• Fu Qian mentally shouted at Xu Meng, frightening him and breaking their connection.
• Fu Qian answered Tan Ying’s call and noticed her heightened vitality and the spiritual glow of her bracelet.
• Fu Qian wondered whether his power had affected Tan Ying and sent her the thought, “Update first, revise later.”

Fu Qian met Tan Ying at a mall to inspect her bracelet and warned her that it would bring her harm. After winning a bet by causing a solar eclipse, he bought the bracelet from her, leaving Tan Ying astonished that he had paid for it.

• Fu Qian waited at a mall and met Tan Ying, who had followed a suggestion to come there.
• Fu Qian examined Tan Ying's bracelet, sensed its unusual power, and warned her it clashed with her fate.
• Fu Qian bet that a solar eclipse would occur within five minutes, wagering that Tan Ying would sell him the bracelet if he won.
• Fu Qian used the Blasphemous Embrace to create an eclipse, then returned to find Tan Ying stunned.
• Tan Ying named a price of 180,000, and Fu Qian paid it, surprising her with the purchase.

Fu Qian entered the Warehouse's containment scene for Black Sheep, a bracelet he had taken from Tan Ying, and arrived in the quiet town of Bailuoke. After Sheriff Harry confirmed Fu Qian was not a transcendent, the assignment changed to investigating the death of demigod Herom.

• Fu Qian reflected on the bracelet's possible effects on Tan Ying and waited for the Loss of Color Curse to end.
• Fu Qian activated the bracelet's mark, entered the Warehouse, and learned that its code name was Black Sheep, 3-0111.
• Fu Qian selected his skills and equipment, then entered the containment scene and arrived by bus in Bailuoke.
• Sheriff Harry checked Fu Qian's ID and explained that Bailuoke was a transcendent-free residential zone.
• Fu Qian entered the town, and his task updated to confirming the cause of demigod Herom's death.

Fu Qian arrived in a town hostile to supernatural beings and investigated the death of demigod Herom. At a cemetery, he encountered Veil, who said she had come to find her younger sister.

• Fu Qian learned that demigod Herom had died in the town and noticed the locals treated hostility toward supernatural beings as normal.
• Fu Qian visited the bookstore, where Manager Bernard told him people often died in town and pointed him toward the cemetery and hospital.
• Fu Qian found a burial underway and sensed a supernatural being among the mourners, whom he recognized as Veil.
• Veil caught up with Fu Qian after the burial, and he asked why she was in town.
• Veil told Fu Qian she had come to find her younger sister.

Fu Qian accepted Veil’s offer to stay at her apartment in Bailuoke and learned why she had secretly returned to watch over her younger sister, Lita. He asked Veil about the demigod Herom, and she described him as powerful but rumored to be cold and cruel.

• Veil invited Fu Qian to stay at her temporary apartment, and he accepted.
• Veil explained that Bailuoke was her childhood hometown and that she had returned to keep an eye on Lita, who had disappeared after Veil removed the abnormality from her injured hand.
• Veil told Fu Qian that supernatural visitors had to conceal their identities to enter Bailuoke, a rule approved by the Night Watchers.
• Fu Qian asked Veil about Herom, and she said he was a powerful, long-standing demigod with a cruel reputation.

Fu Qian learned that Herom was a powerful, elusive demigod who had been active for decades, then insisted on visiting Veil’s injured sister, Lita, despite Veil’s worries. The next morning, Veil agreed to accompany him to the hospital, where Fu Qian hoped to investigate Herom’s death as an ordinary case.

• Veil told Fu Qian that Herom was a long-active demigod who avoided organizations and was being watched by the Night Watchers.
• Fu Qian asked where Lita was staying and insisted on visiting her, while Veil warned that Lita might report them to the Night Watchers.
• Veil spent the night anxious about Fu Qian’s plan, then agreed to go with him to the hospital the next morning.
• Fu Qian explained to himself that he wanted to investigate Herom’s death through ordinary means and thought Lita might lead him to something unusual.