Recaps

Xu Huo received the Hand of Time and Space, an A-class artifact made by Old Mr. Xi, and accepted a substantial apology from the Werner family in the form of artifacts and instruments. He selected several useful items for his inventory, leaving himself with a broad range of special and A-class artifacts.

• Old Mr. Xi explained that the Hand of Time and Space created a field of cutting spatial rays resonating with time rays, and said the game's review department had praised it as his greatest work.
• Xu Huo questioned Old Mr. Xi about the two mental Sub-class Stones, and Old Mr. Xi dismissed them as consumables before leaving for a celebration banquet.
• Xu Huo paid Old Mr. Xi for the Hand of Time and Space, which suited his spatialized index finger.
• Xu Huo reviewed the artifacts included in the Werner family's apology and selected several special and A-class artifacts for his inventory.
• Xu Huo considered the artifacts' varied uses and noted that their real strengths would only become clear through use.

Xu Huo sorted through Werner’s instruments and potions, then examined the suspected Super Artifact and found only a damaged psychic Origin Stone. He opened a trapped metal box containing an S-grade toxin and asked Dr. Deng to prepare samples, leaving the toxin’s antidote fungus under study.

• Xu Huo reviewed the instruments and potions Werner had provided, giving the potions to Dr. Deng to store in his Laboratory.
• Xu Huo opened the underground object and found that its shell had melted away, leaving an intact dark red Origin Stone amid shattered energy devices.
• Xu Huo had a robot open the metal box, releasing corrosive poison that damaged the robot and destroyed half of his location item.
• Xu Huo inspected the box’s poison sprayer and walls covered with the word “Die,” concluding it had been designed as a trap for someone.
• Dr. Deng identified the poison as an S-grade toxin and warned Xu Huo that there was no universal Antidote.
• Xu Huo asked Dr. Deng to test the improved antidote fungus solution and prepare toxin samples using supplies from the Herta family’s Laboratory.

Xu Huo discovered that the Dungeon Authorization Letter stolen by the Invisible Hand was genuine and asked Hua Han Werner whether the Suitcase Man could track it. Hua Han reassured him and gave him a special item to protect his life before Xu Huo left for his next dungeon.

• Xu Huo injected the P6S Potion, raising his evolution rate to 80% and strengthening his control over his powers.
• Xu Huo found that the blank Dungeon Authorization Letter stolen from the painted woman's bag now bore the words "Happy Circus City," proving it was genuine.
• Xu Huo asked Hua Han Werner whether the Suitcase Man could track the letter across Wormhole Points, and Hua Han said it could not contain an implanted locator but other tools might track it.
• Hua Han told Xu Huo to keep the letter in the Storage Compartment and said he would arrange trouble for the Suitcase Man while Xu Huo entered his next dungeon.
• Hua Han gave Xu Huo a special item that guaranteed he would stay alive for three minutes, though it could only be used once.

Xu Huo traveled to District 022 with Zhou Juanjuan, Zhan Erliu, and Levi, and they discussed the luck-based scavenger-hunt dungeon awaiting them. They arrived at Youzhu Station and learned that locals treated the dungeon’s changing Route Maps as a popular form of entertainment and betting.

• Xu Huo warned Old Mr. Xi to hide after an item he made may have been left in a Super Player’s dungeon, and the old man urged Xu Huo not to contact him for a year or two.
• Zhou Juanjuan, Zhan Erliu, and Levi introduced themselves to Xu Huo on the train and discussed the dungeon near their destination.
• Zhou Juanjuan explained that Players would follow changing Route Maps to collect tokens at waypoints, and that teams could split up to complete stages.
• Xu Huo and the others arrived at Youzhu Station in District 022 and noticed the advanced city and its visitors.
• Xu Huo bought a local Communicator and looked up the dungeon, while Levi complained that the locals treated Players like monkeys.

Xu Huo and his companions entered the B-class “A Romantic Sightseeing Tour” Dungeon and chose sightseeing routes through Iván Country. They left the tourist station with separate Route Maps, which the Dungeon altered to include different attractions.

• Xu Huo and the others entered the Dungeon after buying a map in Sub-district 022.
• The group studied route information at a tourist station and discussed the risks of popular and obscure attractions.
• Xu Huo decided that everyone should choose an individual Route Map rather than form a team, though they could still travel together.
• Zhou Juanjuan chose a less popular route, Levi chose one that mostly overlapped with hers, and Xu Huo and Zhan Erliu chose the same popular route.
• The Dungeon adjusted their routes after they submitted them, changing two locations on Xu Huo’s route and substantially altering Zhou Juanjuan and Levi’s routes.

Xu Huo's group explored a scenic mountain town after their Route Maps took effect, following local stories and tourist attractions in hopes of finding tokens. They found no token at Fairy Stone and continued treating the search as a tourist trip.

• Zhou Juanjuan and Levi exchanged Route Maps with other Players, and Xu Huo's group traveled to the mountain town where their routes became fixed.
• Xu Huo's group asked locals about tokens and heard the story of Fairy Stone, then headed to the riverbank to find the town's original residents.
• The group met a boy selling local perfume and crafts, and Xu Huo arranged for a portrait, traditional outfits, and group photos.
• Xu Huo's group visited Fairy Stone, waited without finding a token, and took pictures before Xu Huo posted a travel log on his terminal.

Xu Huo secured a glowing ore token at Fairy Stone by trapping rival players in spatial cutlines, then explored the area while the group searched for souvenirs. Levi discovered that a bottle cap also counted as a token, and Zhou Juanjuan explained that some Route Map locations gave clues to specific items.

• Players fought over a glowing ore at Fairy Stone, and Xu Huo seized it after trapping the others with Spatial Cutlines.
• Xu Huo checked in the ore, took photos with the subdued players, and posted them under the title "The World Is Full of Good People."
• Xu Huo questioned whether the ore was a genuine token, while Levi suggested local players might use tokens to bait Outer District Players into fighting.
• Xu Huo toured the area and collected photos and gifts while Zhou Juanjuan, Levi, and Zhan Erliu searched for their own souvenirs.
• Levi discovered that a bottle cap registered as a token, and Zhou Juanjuan explained that some Route Map guides pointed players toward specific items.

Xu Huo traveled to the next attraction, where a local dancer and the District 022 enforcement team tried to rob and frame him. He exposed their honey trap and restrained the group, demanding to know whether they wanted his items or him.

• Xu Huo bought a pair of short-lived mutated butterflies from a seller aboard the sightseeing aircraft and posted another travel log.
• At the city dance, a masked woman tried to steal from Xu Huo, then lured him into a dark garden where her accomplices ambushed him.
• The woman injured herself and accused Xu Huo of assault, summoning the enforcement team to arrest him without investigating.
• Captain Ding ordered the team to attack Xu Huo, who revealed a miniature flight recorder and dismantled their interference equipment.
• Xu Huo bound the enforcement team and demanded to know whether they were after his items or him.

Xu Huo followed the red-dressed woman’s group, recovered his stolen item, and used travel-log posts to expose the district’s law enforcement squad and Players who stole souvenirs. After collecting souvenirs across several cities, he reached the sixth city and received a specific requirement involving a red-headed hummingbird from Rosewood.

• Xu Huo followed the red-dressed woman and her companions home, where he learned about their restricted movements and heard the young man warn them not to target Players.
• Xu Huo secretly retrieved his stolen item and posted a travel-log entry thanking the law enforcement squad, while Zhou Juanjuan and other Outer District Players responded to it.
• At an exhibition hall, Xu Huo offered to buy a gemstone souvenir, but Players stole it along with its display case before the law enforcement squad could seal the hall.
• Xu Huo posted another illustrated travel-log entry, and ordinary viewers joked about the district’s simple, honest folk.
• Xu Huo traveled through several cities, collecting souvenirs and sometimes accepting them from Players in exchange for local specialties.
• In the sixth city, Xu Huo received the requirement to find a red-headed hummingbird from Rosewood.

Xu Huo entered Rosewood posing as a therapist and met the other players posing as guests. He learned about the hallucinogenic Midnight Beauties and encountered Madam Ti Hui, a former player, while the estate owner remained away.

• Xu Huo gained entry to Rosewood by accompanying Harry, a distant relative of the owner, after obtaining a therapist's certificate.
• The butler showed Xu Huo and Harry around the flower estate, where they met Madam Ti Hui guarding the bird greenhouse.
• Xu Huo noticed a shimmer on the hummingbirds and flowers, and Harry explained that Midnight Beauties released a daytime pheromone that caused hallucinations.
• Back at the estate, the scholar befriended Harry, while the photographer questioned Xu Huo's credentials and said he was wary of impostors.

Xu Huo met the manor’s guests, including a photographer who proposed joining forces to get something from Madam Ti Hui’s room. After giving the scholar a consultation, Xu Huo realized the man was trying to plant a mental suggestion in him.

• The photographer lost his temper when Xu Huo hinted that someone was diverting attention, then left for his room after the others explained his delayed photo contract.
• The scholar explained that the photographer had been waiting for Mr. Wen’s vintage-style photo shoot, while Harry ordered an elaborate dinner and the guests discussed their work at the manor.
• The photographer visited Xu Huo and proposed that Xu Huo distract Madam Ti Hui so he could retrieve something from her room, claiming the botanist was also a Dungeon player.
• The scholar asked Xu Huo for help with work-related anxiety, and Xu Huo began a conventional psychological consultation without using spiritual power.
• Near the end of the consultation, Xu Huo noticed that the scholar was trying to plant a mental suggestion in him.

Xu Huo watched the photographer steal a red-feathered hummingbird from Madam Ti Hui, then confronted him about why he was injecting it with an Antidote. After they discovered the bird still died despite its poison being neutralized, the photographer proposed they work together to obtain another one.

• Madam Ti Hui ambushed the botanist in the greenhouse and shot him while the photographer entered her room.
• The photographer swapped Madam Ti Hui's red-feathered hummingbird for a fake, escaped her attack, and returned to his room with the real bird.
• Xu Huo confronted the photographer as he injected the hummingbird with an Antidote, and the bird soon died despite the poison being neutralized.
• The photographer explained that Madam Ti Hui repeatedly raised poisoned hummingbirds and said the butler might know why she kept them.
• The photographer suggested that he and Xu Huo cooperate to take the next two hummingbirds Madam Ti Hui raised.

Xu Huo investigated the red-feathered hummingbirds and learned that Madam Ti Hui treated one after it visited a poisonous flower. The chapter ended with the botanist and the gourmet fighting in the manor before the scholar tried to mediate.

• Xu Huo heard rumors that Madam Ti Hui had worked in Punishment City and was feared by the manor's servants.
• Xu Huo entered the greenhouse, where Madam Ti Hui warned him that some flowers were poisonous and told him to leave.
• Dr. Deng told Xu Huo that poison might have caused the hummingbird's red feathers and that the bird could have died after detoxification because it could not accept going bald.
• Xu Huo examined books about plants and birds, then watched Madam Ti Hui isolate and treat a hummingbird that had visited Early Riser.
• The botanist pinned the gourmet to the Carpet and punched him until the butler intervened and the two separated.
• The scholar attempted to mediate between the botanist and the gourmet.

Xu Huo watched Madam Ti Hui raise a red-feathered hummingbird and stopped the photographer from trying to seize one. When Mr. Wen returned and the manor’s spaces became difficult to probe, Xu Huo suspected a dungeon or side quest might be forming there.

• Xu Huo learned that Madam Ti Hui had turned a hummingbird red and used gathered nectar to test how she prepared the birds’ feed.
• The photographer tried to grab one of Xu Huo’s hummingbirds, but Xu Huo restrained him with Space Ray and warned him not to try again.
• Xu Huo asked about the botanist and gourmet, and the photographer said they had scuffled while the other visitors seemed unhurried.
• Mr. Wen returned to the manor, and the butler announced that he would host a party in three days.
• Xu Huo noticed that the manor had changed after Mr. Wen arrived, with its rooms resisting investigation, and considered that a dungeon or side quest might be involved.
• Xu Huo reflected on his B-class dungeon ratings and concluded that he needed to keep clearing high-quality dungeons to level up to A-class.

Xu Huo and the other Players learned that Mr. Wen’s manor had become a Dungeon after guests arrived, triggering the side quest “Hero in Decline.” As the banquet continued, they tried to uncover the Dungeon’s objectives, but the visiting Players’ questions suggested they might be divided into opposing factions.

• The Scholar, Botanist, and Gourmet each tried to get information from Xu Huo about Mr. Wen and the manor.
• Xu Huo spoke with Mr. Wen, who told him that his most treasured possession was a painting of his wife’s favorite flower.
• The Botanist asked Xu Huo about plants in Mr. Wen’s Study Room and paid him a C-class item after Xu Huo said there were none.
• Players arrived at the manor, and Xu Huo’s group realized it had become a Dungeon when the side quest “Hero in Decline” appeared.
• Xu Huo and the others agreed to gather information from the guests, but the visiting Players gave evasive or misleading answers.
• Xu Huo questioned the manor’s staff and learned that the visiting Players were asking about the guests and what Xu Huo’s group had been doing at the manor.

Xu Huo stopped two dungeon players from fighting in the manor, then sensed a chilling gaze from Madam Ti Hui. By morning, eight players were dead, and the group suspected Mr. Wen was killing them.

• The Botanist, Gourmet, Photographer, Scholar, and Xu Huo discussed whether the dungeon pitted players against one another and whether it allowed only one person to survive.
• After the banquet, dungeon players silently killed one another, and three died within ten minutes.
• Xu Huo stopped two players from attacking each other in the hallway and warned them to return to their rooms.
• Outside the manor, Xu Huo felt a chilling gaze and saw Madam Ti Hui lower her eyes before she walked away.
• The next morning, the group learned that eight players had died, and the Gourmet suggested Mr. Wen was responsible.

Xu Huo learned that the manor dungeon was a timed assassination challenge in which players had to kill the current assassin, while he and his companions questioned whether their own task was to protect Mr. Wen. After speaking with Harry, Xu Huo discovered a blood-soaked room on the Fourth Floor.

• Xu Huo questioned two dungeon players, who explained that any player could become the assassin and that clearing the dungeon required killing the assassin before time ran out.
• The group considered whether their side quest was to protect Mr. Wen and whether the players had concealed information about the dungeon.
• Xu Huo visited Mr. Wen but learned from the butler that he was ill and would not receive guests for several days.
• Harry told Xu Huo that Mr. Wen had A-level access and openly hoped to inherit something from him.
• Xu Huo found a room on the Fourth Floor covered in dried blood and scattered tissue.

Xu Huo and the other players were attacked by a swift, powerful figure in a feathered protective suit that killed several players and escaped. After the butler arrived and the victims’ bodies disappeared, a player accused him of being the killer, and the butler attacked him.

• Players hid around the manor and lay in wait for the assassin as night fell.
• A shadow killed a player on the Third Floor stairs, then split another player into pieces.
• The shadow attacked Xu Huo in the garden, broke through his spatial defenses, and fled after he stopped it with Time Power.
• Xu Huo found the botanist dead and identified a mutated human fingernail; he concluded the attacker was a second-stage Evolver wearing a Protective Suit.
• The butler appeared, and the bodies of the two players killed on the stairs had vanished without a trace.
• A player accused the butler of the killings, and the butler thrust his fingers into the player's throat.

The butler attacked the players during a manor-wide blackout, but Xu Huo led the survivors to Mr. Wen and confirmed the botanist had died. The players took shelter in the Study Room and debated the Dungeon’s setup, concluding that the assassin might be another player tasked with killing Mr. Wen.

• The butler nearly tore out a player's throat and dragged him into a wall before a protective item freed him; then the manor lights went out and the botanist was killed.
• Xu Huo activated a light and led the surviving players up to the fifth floor, where the butler reappeared as Mr. Wen opened his bedroom door.
• Xu Huo told Mr. Wen that the botanist had died, and Mr. Wen said everyone should cherish life before returning to his room.
• The butler told the players to wait two days before arranging the botanist's funeral, and Xu Huo led the group to the Study Room for the night.
• The players discussed the Dungeon and reasoned that Mr. Wen was probably the assassin's target, while killing the assassin might be the other players' route to clearing it.

Xu Huo and the others debated how to complete the side mission as they suspected Mr. Wen was the murderous shadow and a Cannibal Player. The Gourmet proposed either concealing Mr. Wen’s crimes or killing him, while Xu Huo asked about District 022’s laws governing Cannibal Players.

• The butler told the Players that the botanist had no family and that the manor would hold a funeral, and Xu Huo handed over the body.
• An enforcement squad examined the botanist, visited Mr. Wen, and one member recognized Xu Huo, causing his hostility rating to rise.
• The Photographer proposed killing Mr. Wen, but the Players could not agree on a way to defeat the shadow.
• Mr. Wen attended the botanist’s funeral in tears, then avoided Xu Huo and his companions at the Tea Hall.
• The Gourmet suggested covering up Mr. Wen’s abuse and cannibalism or killing him, and Xu Huo asked about District 022’s laws on Cannibal Players.

Xu Huo spoke with Harry and then visited Mr. Wen, who had asked to see him. Mr. Wen allowed Xu Huo to keep the hummingbirds and asked whether he liked birds, leaving their conversation poised to begin.

• The players discussed Cannibal Players and decided to wait another night before choosing how to deal with the shadow.
• Harry invited Xu Huo to his room, shared stories about Mr. Wen, and warned him not to ask about Player Dungeons.
• Harry asked Xu Huo to hint to Mr. Wen about his conflict with a scarred enforcement officer and his hopes of inheriting the manor.
• Xu Huo went to Mr. Wen's Study Room, where the old man allowed him to keep the hummingbirds and asked if he liked birds.

Xu Huo and Mr. Wen discussed survival, morality, and the changing fate of Players, while Mr. Wen revealed his fear of dying and losing his dignity. Xu Huo left the manor convinced that Mr. Wen was unstable and capable of killing to stay alive.

• Mr. Wen compared humans with birds and animals, arguing that survival governed creatures while human thought and power complicated their actions.
• Xu Huo and Mr. Wen debated whether right and wrong could be judged fairly and whether the strong should make the rules.
• Mr. Wen recalled how Cannibal Players in District 022 had once been celebrated as defenders before being wiped out when they were no longer needed.
• Xu Huo said people, not the world, repeated history, and told Mr. Wen he was curious about humanity's future but did not want to die.
• Mr. Wen admitted he was also trying to survive and feared losing his human dignity as he died.
• Xu Huo left after concluding that Mr. Wen was mentally unstable and would do anything to cling to life.

Xu Huo fought Mr. Wen after Mr. Wen attacked him at the estate, and used the Time Tower to kill him. Mr. Wen received a public funeral, and Xu Huo left the city for the next attraction.

• Xu Huo told the Scholar, the Gourmet, and the Photographer that Mr. Wen would not compromise and sent them away before the midnight attack.
• Mr. Wen attacked Xu Huo, and the two fought through the estate gardens and greenhouse.
• Xu Huo used the Time Tower to age Mr. Wen until he withered and died, ending the Dungeon.
• The Photographer bought one of Xu Huo’s red-feathered hummingbirds, and Xu Huo left the city after learning Mr. Wen would be honored with a funeral and burial in the martyrs' cemetery.
• Xu Huo set out for the next attraction and was stopped for questioning three times along the way.

Xu Huo thwarted a staged identity inspection, then fought two players who ambushed him aboard an aircraft. After killing them and evading pursuers, he reached the city’s edge, where an Enforcement Department member approached him for an inspection.

• Xu Huo used his lawyer's certificate and recording device to challenge three Enforcement Department members, then exposed them as impostors by disabling their disguises.
• Xu Huo met Chai Sheng, who said he was searching for a hidden-variant Ice Cream doll at Ice Cream Castle, but two players ambushed them aboard the aircraft.
• The attackers used a game-board effect to pin passengers in place and sent the aircraft into a plunge, but Xu Huo moved the attackers away from the aircraft through a Mental Portal.
• Xu Huo used Destiny's Downhill Path and other items to force the attackers into the lake, pinned them underwater with the String of Destiny, and killed them.
• Xu Huo changed his appearance as he escaped the pursuing players and reached the city's edge, where an Enforcement Department member approached to inspect his credentials.

Xu Huo obtained the Bride’s Tears souvenir by giving a newlywed couple B-level citizen privileges, then joined a group being recruited to distract guards at Punishment City. The group grew to fifteen Players, and its employer’s contact, Hong Shi, joined them.

• Xu Huo evaded the search, uploaded footage of the officers to his travel log, and looked for the Bride’s Tears souvenir.
• Xu Huo bought two B-level citizen identity privileges and gave them to newlyweds, whose tears of joy fulfilled the souvenir requirement.
• Xu Huo took money from a Player who suggested making a bride cry by force, then heard the Player’s proposal to enter Punishment City as a diversion.
• Xu Huo questioned the plan and agreed to bring more Players; the recruiter returned with fifteen people, including the employer’s contact, Hong Shi.