Chapter Summaries

Fu Qian knocked out Madam Tracy and the two people with her, then threatened to kill Madam Tracy unless the hidden observer revealed himself. The observer appeared and identified himself as a recorder, leaving Fu Qian to question him about his connection to the sanatorium and Madam Tracy.

• Fu Qian knocked out Madam Tracy and the two people who had revealed themselves, then warned the hidden observer that time was running out.
• Fu Qian threatened to snap Madam Tracy's neck at exactly a quarter past six unless the observer came out to talk.
• The recorder appeared behind Fu Qian and said he meant no harm and had been watching from the shadows.
• The recorder explained that his son had lived at the sanatorium and that he had donated it after his son died.
• The recorder told Fu Qian that Selvis knew about him and said Madam Tracy was not the only person he recorded, nor had he watched her constantly.

Fu Qian questioned the hidden recorder Old Man about uninvited visitors, hoping to learn about the old acquaintance mentioned in his mission briefing. Old Man said his son would search the records, then explained that his son had remained with him after his heart stopped and helped him keep the records.

• Fu Qian asked Old Man whether anyone besides official patients had entered the sanatorium uninvited.
• Old Man said he would ask his son to search for information about intruders.
• Fu Qian recalled that Old Man’s son had once lived on the property before it became a sanatorium.
• Old Man explained that he had sensed his son was still there after his heart stopped and eventually found his son’s voice in the records.
• Old Man said his son liked the recording work and had begun helping him with it.

Fu Qian persuaded Old Man to search his records for clues about earlier intruders and discovered that someone had entered on Number 52. Old Man identified her as a woman named Lasik, leaving Fu Qian uneasy as he looked into the dark outside.

• Fu Qian accepted Old Man’s explanation that his dead son helped him search the records and asked to suggest keywords.
• Old Man checked for the terms “outsider” and “number forty-nine,” but found no matching records.
• Fu Qian asked Old Man to search for Number 50 and Number 51, but neither yielded a result.
• Old Man searched for Number 52 and found a record of someone breaking in that day.
• Old Man and his son identified the intruder as a woman named Lasik, and Fu Qian felt the sanatorium’s night grow colder.

Fu Qian questioned the recorder Old Man about Lasik, whose name connected the sanatorium to the events of the Virtue mission and the Nightmare Corridor. When Old Man and Young People argued over her missing record, Fu Qian offered to search for it and asked what reward they would give him.

• Fu Qian recalled Lasik from the Virtue mission and considered whether she connected the sanatorium to the old mansion or the Nightmare Corridor.
• The recorder Old Man said Lasik's record had been lost, offering no details beyond her name and date.
• Old Man accused Young People of failing to find the record, and their argument revealed that Young People had once gone off to die by himself.
• Young People apologized and agreed to search after Old Man brought up his past death.
• Fu Qian offered to look for Lasik's record and asked Old Man what reward he would receive if he found it.

Fu Qian calmed the Old Man by agreeing to search for the missing records and learned that Lasik’s last trace was in Selvis’s office. He considered what the clues meant for Lasik’s disappearance and the sanatorium’s escape route, then discovered that Madam Tracy had awakened after three days unconscious.

• Fu Qian agreed to search for the Old Man’s missing records in exchange for information, and the Old Man gave him the name Mo Song as a way to make contact.
• The Old Man revealed that Lasik’s last trace appeared in Selvis’s office before he silently left.
• Fu Qian concluded that Lasik was not an outsider or a Warehouse predecessor and considered whether she had escaped the sanatorium and who had placed her there.
• Fu Qian spoke to Madam Tracy when she stirred awake, and she asked whether she had been unconscious for three days.

Fu Qian confirmed that time had jumped forward to the 52nd, consuming four days of the thirteen-day window before Judgment Day. After checking on Madam Tracy and learning she could not tell whether the surging heat remained, he left her to ponder his unanswered questions and went outside, having stayed to reduce the threat she posed to the timeline.

• Madam Tracy woke and immediately realized that three days had passed, confirming Fu Qian's suspicion that time had leaped to the 52nd.
• Fu Qian told Madam Tracy that he had stayed while she slept, and she questioned why he had done so.
• Fu Qian asked whether the surging heat was still affecting Madam Tracy, but she said she did not know and demanded answers about his actions.
• Fu Qian refused to explain himself, then left the room to reduce the threat Madam Tracy posed to the timeline.

Fu Qian left Madam Tracy in a confused but stable state and headed to her male companion’s residence to test his theory that the director was guiding events. After entering, he heard an unfamiliar voice say it had been waiting for him.

• Fu Qian deliberately confused Madam Tracy about whether he had visited her on the first anniversary, hoping to reduce the risk of further time leaps.
• Fu Qian left the sanatorium room and noticed that no one had intervened or tried to guide him toward his next destination.
• Fu Qian chose Madam Tracy’s male companion’s residence over the attending physician’s office so he could test whether the director had arranged his path.
• Fu Qian used a prepared key to enter the residence and heard an unfamiliar voice say it had been waiting for him.

Fu Qian sat in a dark, locked room and was mistaken for the man expected there while a woman confronted him about breaking a promise. As she explained her concern for Xiao Tong, Fu Qian realized she might have come to protect her, though the situation seemed suspiciously neat.

• Fu Qian stayed seated in the dark as the woman accused him of breaking a promise.
• The woman said Xiao Tong had run into him outside, prompting Fu Qian to recognize her as the hairclip girl.
• The woman explained that she had warned the man not to tell Xiao Tong too much because it could worsen her symptoms.
• Fu Qian inferred that the woman had tried to keep Xiao Tong away from the house, but Xiao Tong had met him anyway.
• Fu Qian considered how the woman had entered the locked room and wondered whether the explanation was too convenient.

Fu Qian questioned the Lady in the Black Room about Lasik and learned that she had once seemed unable to trust anyone. The woman left to return to Xiao Tong, while Fu Qian suspected the director and Selvis were working together to steer events.

• Fu Qian concluded that the director might be manipulating the sanatorium and resolved to resist the force guiding events.
• The Lady in the Black Room demanded Fu Qian identify himself, and he called himself Lasik before admitting he was the columnist she had encountered.
• Fu Qian described the real Lasik, and the woman recognized the description and asked why he had been impersonating her.
• Fu Qian said he and Lasik had endured hardships together, and the Lady in the Black Room explained that Lasik had once trusted no one.
• The Lady in the Black Room left to return to Xiao Tong, explaining that she had been staying with her for days and had come only while the doctor examined her.
• Fu Qian suspected that Selvis and the director were cooperating after learning the doctor had gone to Xiao Tong's location.

Fu Qian questioned how the Well of Time had shaped the Lady of the Black House’s experience and suspected the Director had arranged for her to confront him. He tried to ease her toothache and persuade her to accept more treatment, leaving her asking whether he intended to take over her companion’s identity.

• Fu Qian reasoned that the Lady of the Black House’s account could fit the Well of Time’s effects and suspected the Director had arranged for Selvis to examine Tong at that moment.
• Fu Qian asked the departing Lady of the Black House whether her teeth still hurt, stopping her in her tracks.
• The Lady of the Black House refused his help, saying he had broken his promises and that reason had lost meaning.
• Fu Qian urged her to try treatment anyway, insisting it was free.
• The Lady of the Black House turned on the lights and asked Fu Qian whether he planned to take over her companion’s identity.

Fu Qian spoke with the Black House Lady, who explained her connection to Mrs. Tracy’s male companion and described his deep self-loathing. He linked the sanatorium’s time distortions to moments when people’s hidden darkness surfaced, leaving him with a theory about how the Well of Time worked.

• Fu Qian questioned the Black House Lady about her toothache and her connection to Selvis, and she explained that Selvis was interested in unusual conditions.
• The Black House Lady said that only Tong and Mrs. Tracy’s male companion knew her story in full, and Fu Qian guessed that Selvis was not interested enough to help her.
• The Black House Lady agreed that Fu Qian might become the third person to know her story, but Fu Qian asked her to describe the male companion instead.
• The Black House Lady described the man as shallow and debauched on the surface but deeply self-loathing, and said he made himself more hateful rather than change.
• Fu Qian connected the sanatorium’s time jumps to moments when people’s hidden darkness emerged and suspected that this pattern explained the Well of Time.

Fu Qian concluded that Black House Lady’s despair could make her a danger to the sanatorium, so he knocked her unconscious to keep her contained without changing her emotional state. With the Well of Time still untriggered, he turned his attention to a hidden spot behind the desk.

• Fu Qian realized Madam Tracy’s escort had concealed a deep emotional knot and considered how killing people might affect the Well of Time.
• Black House Lady asked Fu Qian how he intended to help her, and he decided she could not be allowed to leave in her desperate state.
• Fu Qian struck Black House Lady unconscious, reasoning that this would temporarily ease her pain while preserving the status quo.
• Fu Qian checked the darkness outside and found that knocking her out had not triggered the Well of Time.
• Fu Qian took the keys from Tracy’s male companion and examined a spot on the wall paneling behind the walnut desk.

Fu Qian confirmed the key fit the hidden safe in Madam Tracy's male companion's residence but left it unopened, deciding to pressure the director by acting unpredictably. He headed to Selvis's office in the main building and encountered a guard at the entrance.

• Fu Qian found the safe behind the desk and discovered its combination dial prevented him from opening it with the key alone.
• Fu Qian shut the hidden compartment and left, choosing to focus on testing the director's control rather than examining the safe.
• Fu Qian decided to increase pressure on the director by acting quickly and unpredictably, varying between ordinary and abstract behavior.
• Fu Qian ran downhill toward the main building and Selvis's office, intending to investigate the attending physician's office.
• A guard challenged Fu Qian near the entrance, and Fu Qian identified himself as an outsider.

Fu Qian let the night guard catch him and followed him away from the attending physician's office, expecting to learn how the Director would respond to his attempted escape. In the darkness, the guard asked whether Fu Qian really wanted to leave the sanatorium.

• The night guard recognized Fu Qian, warned him not to resist, and ordered him to come along.
• Fu Qian cooperated and joked with the guard, who explained that using his whistle at night was against the rules.
• The guard asked how Fu Qian had escaped his restraints, confirming that the sanatorium staff knew he had been freed.
• Fu Qian realized the female staff member had reported that the person in the chair had been switched and wondered what the Director planned to do with him.
• The guard switched off his light and asked Fu Qian whether he really wanted to leave the sanatorium.

Fu Qian learned from the night guard that the thornwood thickets protected the sanatorium from beasts and that the supply railcar was the only way to leave. The guard revealed that he wanted Fu Qian to expose Selvis’s abuses, and they headed toward the train as daylight broke.

• Fu Qian followed the night guard and learned that beasts roamed beyond the protective thornwood thickets.
• The night guard said the supply railcar was the only way to leave and questioned Fu Qian about arriving on it.
• Fu Qian told the guard he had amnesia, and the guard blamed Selvis for his condition and the sanatorium’s harm to its patients.
• The night guard revealed that he wanted Fu Qian to spread the truth about the sanatorium and bring it to judgment.
• The guard said the train ran only once a day at noon, and Fu Qian noticed that daylight had fully broken.

Fu Qian accompanied the Unyielding Man toward the railway, hoping to escape the sanatorium on a train. The Unyielding Man realized the train only came on odd-numbered dates, leaving their escape plan delayed.

• Daylight abruptly replaced night as Fu Qian and the Unyielding Man made their way toward the railway.
• The Unyielding Man explained that the train arrived at 11:45 and that they planned to board without being noticed.
• Fu Qian reasoned that the train operated normally outside the sanatorium, suggesting that escape could help him contain the Well of Time.
• The Unyielding Man questioned Fu Qian's desire to escape, and Fu Qian insisted he was ready to proceed.
• The Unyielding Man remembered that the train only came every two days, on odd-numbered dates.

Fu Qian learned that the train only ran every other day and that he had missed it, leaving him and the Indomitable Man to hide until the next one. He realized that the Unsteadfast Man’s actions had caused them to skip Day 53, and questioned whether the man had ever truly meant to help him escape.

• The Indomitable Man apologized and told Fu Qian the train would not come until the following day.
• Fu Qian suggested gathering more than twenty people to wait together, but the Indomitable Man rejected the idea.
• Fu Qian considered how the director’s influence and the Unsteadfast Man’s actions had kept him away from others and prevented his escape.
• Fu Qian asked what day it was, and the Unsteadfast Man answered that it was Day 54.
• Fu Qian concluded that the Unsteadfast Man’s darkness had skipped Day 53, when the train would have arrived.

Fu Qian weighed the sanatorium’s hidden dangers and followed the Unyielding Man, who warned him about Selvis’s office. The Unyielding Man revealed they were headed there to meet someone, declaring that Fu Qian’s game was over.

• Fu Qian reflected on the sanatorium’s dangerous residents, the Director, and the possible significance of Lasik and Judgment Day.
• The Unyielding Man led Fu Qian along a red-brick path after suggesting he could stay in the sanatorium.
• Fu Qian identified Selvis’s office as both the most dangerous and safest place, despite the Unyielding Man warning that people sometimes visited it.
• The Unyielding Man confirmed they were going to Selvis’s office to meet someone and told Fu Qian that the game was over.

Fu Qian learned that the irresolute man had been playing a prank on him and was taking him to the attending physician’s office. As they walked, they discussed Tracy’s male companion and Selvis, leaving Fu Qian to wonder why Selvis was involved again.

• The irresolute man revealed that he had been leading Fu Qian in circles and intended to take him to the office.
• Fu Qian adjusted his clothes for the meeting, while the irresolute man seemed disappointed that he was not shocked or angry.
• The irresolute man told Fu Qian that Tracy’s male companion had complained about his clothes and demanded replacements from Selvis.
• Fu Qian and the irresolute man discussed the outfit, and Fu Qian concluded that Tracy’s male companion’s complaints suggested his condition remained stable.
• The irresolute man explained that Selvis had kept Tracy’s male companion under observation, prompting Fu Qian to question Selvis’s renewed involvement.

Fu Qian considered whether Selvis was orchestrating the sanatorium's events as he returned with Unyielding Man, who framed Fu Qian's confinement as a process that awakened his hidden madness. Unyielding Man revealed that he was also a neurologist and Selvis's assistant.

• Fu Qian speculated that he might meet Selvis in the attending physician's office and wondered whether the encounter would explain the sanatorium's reality.
• Unyielding Man said he could not know whether Mrs. Tracy's male companion had been injured by Fu Qian, since the man's condition might have already been fragile.
• Unyielding Man claimed Selvis had recognized Fu Qian's potential and used solitary confinement to bring out the madness within him.
• Fu Qian asked whether Unyielding Man had another role besides guarding the sanatorium.
• Unyielding Man admitted that he was a neurologist as well as the night-shift guard, and that he was Selvis's assistant.