Recaps

Xu Huo boarded a train carrying Dimension Rift Players and watched a dispute break out over a trickster's fake merchandise. A blond-haired Player stepped in to calm the muscular man and the female Player, leaving the confrontation unresolved.

• Xu Huo boarded the train and learned its rules as Players filled the carriages.
• A skinny monkey sold the muscular man a knife for twenty thousand White Cash, then avoided a brightly dressed man who came looking for him.
• The female Player used a living carpet to drive the brightly dressed man away, and the carriage laughed at him.
• The baby-faced man recognized the skinny monkey's face-changing prop, and the muscular man accused him of selling fakes.
• The female Player threatened the muscular man with strips of carpet, and a blond-haired Player intervened to defuse the standoff.

Xu Huo explored the train with help from an employee, learning about its carriages, restricted staff passage, and emergency detachment buttons. At Yongxing Restaurant, he asked whether the train served human flesh, drawing the attention of two tables of suited guests.

• The skinny monkey returned the burly man's money and tried to sell Xu Huo Drunken Dream, then explained his fake knife and offered information about the train.
• Xu Huo explained how passengers could obtain tickets and the female player described the dungeon deadline printed on them.
• Xu Huo paid an employee to show him around the train and memorized the faces of the players in Carriage Seven, including a man with a black leather case.
• Xu Huo paid to enter the staff passage and learned that emergency detachment buttons could separate the rear carriages from the train.
• Xu Huo asked the restaurant employee whether Yongxing Restaurant served human flesh, and two tables of suited guests looked up.

Xu Huo prepared for the train’s crossing through a dangerous Thunderstorm Zone while the other Players struggled to endure the lightning and thunder. During the storm, the skinny monkey slipped out and returned with a Leather Case, and a fight erupted in the car.

• Xu Huo assembled the Train Crew Headphones he had bought after learning that the train would cross a Thunderstorm Zone.
• The train announced that the storm would last two hours and bring lightning at a frequency of two hundred flashes per second, then entered the storm.
• As lightning and thunder overwhelmed the passengers, Xu Huo used his headphones to keep watch while the skinny monkey knocked out a Player by the rear door and slipped outside.
• The skinny monkey returned carrying a Leather Case identical to one in the car ahead, though Xu Huo saw that the other Player and case were still there.
• The skinny monkey tried to pass the female Player guarding the front door, collided with a burly man, and drew the burly man into a confrontation.
• Another Player stabbed at the burly man from behind, cutting his neck as he narrowly dodged the attack.

Xu Huo survived a violent fight inside the train during a Thunderstorm Zone and recovered the Leather Case, but another Player took it from him. After the storm passed, the Players discovered that an entire carriage had been slaughtered, and Xu Huo suggested an Alien might have entered from outside.

• A fight broke out in Xu Huo's carriage during the storm, and a Blood Hand killed several Players while a pair of blood-red eyes tried to force the door open.
• Xu Huo drove the Blood Hand away with Skin-Retaining Worms, then knocked the skinny monkey into the Restroom and took the Leather Case.
• A Player from the carriage ahead took the Leather Case from Xu Huo and retreated behind the closed door.
• When the storm passed, Xu Huo found four dead Players in his carriage and discovered that all sixteen Players in the next carriage had been killed.
• The Players debated whether a Cannibal Player had slaughtered the carriage, and Xu Huo suggested an Alien might have come in from outside.

Xu Huo investigated the slaughter in the ninth carriage and learned that the red-eyed creatures beside the train were former Players called Blood Aberrations or Train Slayers. The danger of a powerful killer aboard remained unresolved as the train continued through the Thunderstorm Zone.

• The Players debated whether a high-level Player with a Temporary Pass had killed the passengers, while Xu Huo questioned why the killer had entered through a broken window.
• The group realized that the killer might be one of the ten people present, but no one had seen anyone move between carriages during the storm.
• Two Conductors removed the bodies and cleaned the eighth carriage, and Xu Huo asked one about the red-eyed creature he had spotted outside.
• After Xu Huo paid him, the Conductor explained that Blood Aberrations, also called Train Slayers, were former Players who had degenerated into powerful Aliens that killed people without eating them.

Xu Huo warned the Players in Carriage Seven that a Train Slayer had killed everyone in Carriage Eight, and they debated whether the killer was an Alien, a Player, or train staff. Xu Huo concluded that the train staff were unlikely to be responsible, but the Train Slayer's identity remained uncertain.

• Xu Huo told the Players that a Train Slayer had killed everyone in the rear carriage, and they moved to Carriage Seven for safety.
• Skinny monkey begged the Player he had tricked for forgiveness, then revealed the Train Slayer's attack to Carriage Seven.
• Xu Huo described seeing the Train Slayer's red eyes, while a blond Player confirmed that he had spoken to the Conductor about the creature.
• Two Players inspected the bodies and found injuries that could have come from a Cannibal Player, prompting suspicion among the passengers.
• The Players considered whether train staff were responsible, but Xu Huo reasoned that Yongxing Restaurant would likely have investigated its employees and ruled them out.

Xu Huo and the other players in Carriage Seven faced the threat of Aliens and a mysterious Train Slayer during the night. The Leather Case Man opened his suitcase, revealing a monstrous baby that killed the Glamorous Woman before fleeing through a window after being hit by a corrosive object.

• The players in Carriage Seven argued over whether Xu Huo and his companions could stay, then sealed the rear door and prepared for the lights to go out.
• Skinny monkey tried to steal the Leather Case Man’s suitcase using an incense stick, but the train jolted and the Leather Case Man cut his neck.
• Aliens attacked a brightly lit carriage ahead, then fled when a piercing sound rang through the train.
• Xu Huo stopped the Leather Case Man from opening the suitcase, but the man revealed a purple baby that bit through the Glamorous Woman’s throat and shrieked from the ceiling.
• Xu Huo turned on the lights, but the baby lunged at him and plunged the carriage back into darkness.
• A man in a suit threw a Red Jelly Object into Carriage Seven; the corrosive liquid burned players and struck the baby, which smashed through a window and crawled outside.

Xu Huo fought the Train Slayer aboard the train as it slaughtered players and suited men. After the Train Slayer protected the purplish baby from corrosive liquid, Xu Huo rescued the suited men’s leader from its attack.

• The Train Slayer attacked Carriage Six, throwing passengers off the train as the suited men fired at it.
• The Leather Case Man attacked Xu Huo with a tracking black cloth and bladed whip, but the Train Slayer forced Xu Huo into Carriage Six and wounded him.
• Xu Huo set the Transfer Carriage on fire and detached the three carriages behind them, but the Train Slayer returned with the baby and killed the Leather Case Man.
• The suited men fired electric weapons and corrosive liquid at the Train Slayer, which shielded the baby and then slaughtered the suited men.
• The Train Slayer smashed the big man’s weapons and protective Mask, and Xu Huo blocked its next attack with the Ox Shield and carried the big man over the seats.

Xu Huo and Shi Youzhi’s team captured the Train Slayer and its infant after the beast attacked the train. Xu Huo arrived at Garden Castle Station, agreed to help file a report, and found a city filled with advanced technology.

• Xu Huo slowed the Train Slayer with item threads while Shi Youzhi fought it with a flamethrower, and suited Rail Supply Department members trapped it in the Transfer Carriage.
• Shi Youzhi’s team captured the infant in a cage and put it to sleep, while the old man explained that Aliens rarely reproduced naturally.
• Shi Youzhi introduced himself as captain of the First Squad at Garden Castle Station and asked Xu Huo to write a report after arriving; Xu Huo accepted a Communicator and agreed.
• The train reached Garden Castle Station by dusk, where Shi Youzhi’s team removed the Train Slayer and infant.
• Xu Huo left the busy Station and saw Garden Castle’s technologically advanced buildings, airborne vehicles, and floating shopping malls.

Xu Huo explored the technologically advanced city as Deng Xuan offered to guide him through its black market, and he watched the city’s technology capture a wanted Player. After learning more about the Holy Sword Society and the Game Government, Xu Huo asked Deng Xuan to find flammable materials he could take into a Dungeon.

• Deng Xuan followed Xu Huo through the city and offered to help him find Potions and powerful items, warning that newcomers could be exploited.
• The city announced a wanted Player’s escape, and patrol robots and flying devices captured him with an invisible net and a Potion.
• Deng Xuan thanked Xu Huo for intervening during the train incident and said he suspected the man with the Leather Case belonged to the Holy Sword Society.
• Xu Huo questioned Deng Xuan about his dead friend, and Deng Xuan admitted they had only been business partners.
• Xu Huo offered to pay a high price for flammable materials that could be taken into a Dungeon.

Xu Huo traveled to Rose Castle for the instance “The Vanishing Guest” and gathered local rumors about the castle and a missing girl. He discovered that the city had no information about Random Instances and wondered whether the Game Government’s base was responsible.

• Xu Huo bought a Self-Weaving Loom and a Dazzling Dance Ball from Deng Xuan, then learned about life and laws in Central City.
• Xu Huo searched for housing and nearby instance guides before traveling to the city containing Rose Castle.
• Xu Huo received the mission to find a missing guest and uncover the truth behind the disappearance, with instructions to reach Rose Castle before midnight.
• Xu Huo asked locals about Rose Castle and heard rumors of bones beneath its grounds and a girl who had gone missing nearby.
• Xu Huo found no information about Random Instances in the city and wondered whether the Game Government’s base explained their absence.

Xu Huo investigated Rain Alley and confronted a woman in a qipao who attacked him during the strange rain. Their fight left him facing her apparent ability to shed damaged skin.

• Xu Huo found reports that Rain Alley had unexplained nightly rain and that people vanished or died whenever it fell.
• Xu Huo visited a local resident, learned that a man named Hu had died nearby, and waited at the alley's entrance for the rain.
• A woman in a qipao appeared, and Xu Huo claimed he had come looking for his relative, Huang Yue.
• The rain grew heavier as the woman attacked Xu Huo, and he realized it could suppress props.
• Xu Huo fought back with gasoline and fire, but the woman regenerated beneath her damaged skin and attacked again.

Xu Huo fought and captured a skin-wearing Cannibal Player in Rain Alley, then questioned her about Rose Castle and how she had avoided Random Instances. She revealed that she had come from E15 Wormhole Point after being swept into a dimensional storm, but claimed she did not know how to cross between Wormhole Points.

• Xu Huo burned the qipao woman's white umbrella and chased her through the alleys after she escaped with it.
• The qipao woman transformed and attacked Xu Huo, but he set her clothes and human-skin coverings on fire, cut off her limbs, and forced her to surrender.
• Xu Huo learned that the woman had bought a nameless Rose Castle invitation on the black market and had visited the castle as a guest.
• Xu Huo asked how she had avoided the Random Instance that arrived every three months.
• The woman said she had originally been a Player from E15 Wormhole Point and had arrived after fleeing through a dimensional storm.

Xu Huo killed the Human Skin Umbrella wanted criminal and transformed her umbrella into a Justice Umbrella before arriving late at Rose Castle. The other guests recognized him from the train and suspected he was a Cannibal Player, leaving their cooperation uncertain.

• Xu Huo questioned the qipao woman about Wormhole Points, then killed her when she attacked and received a bounty for hunting the wanted criminal Human Skin Umbrella.
• Xu Huo collected the woman's items and discovered that removing the human skin had transformed her umbrella into a Justice Umbrella that suppressed Cannibal Players and could store corpses.
• Xu Huo arrived at Rose Castle near midnight and learned that Mr. Ma and Mrs. Ma had retired, while three other guests were in the recreation room.
• The baby-faced man told Xu Huo that the guests had been betting on his gender, and Xu Huo's intimidating stare silenced the group.
• After Xu Huo went upstairs, the guests discussed his suspected status as a Cannibal Player and agreed that starting their game mission on bad terms could hurt them.

Xu Huo assessed the guests and the Ancient Castle after learning that non-dungeon players might have entered alongside dungeon participants. At breakfast, the guests learned they could explore most of the castle, but the Third Floor Music Hall was restricted, while spiders in the food and Mrs. Ma’s interest in Xu Huo raised further suspicions.

• Xu Huo saw a pair of blood-red eyes outside his window, then found a long-haired woman’s head resting on the windowsill before shutting the window.
• The next morning, Xu Huo identified the guests at breakfast, including the long-haired woman he had seen with a human head the previous night.
• The butler explained that Mr. He would join the guests for dinner and listed places they could explore, while warning them not to enter the Third Floor Music Hall without an invitation.
• The guests found a dead spider in the soup, and several of them refused to eat.
• Mrs. Ma reached for Xu Huo’s Black Umbrella, but he stopped her with a thrown knife; Mr. Ma grew angry before his wife calmed him down and flirted with Xu Huo.

Xu Huo investigated Rose Castle and connected He Pu’s illness and the castle’s closure to events five years earlier. He then joined the other Players as they debated how to cooperate on their missions.

• Xu Huo questioned the maid Hu Shan about the Third Floor, then explored the Study Room and discovered that He Pu had stopped appearing publicly five years ago.
• A young maid told Xu Huo that He Pu had kept the castle’s spiders and that Mr. Dong was the only one who knew his way around the Garden Maze.
• Xu Huo concluded that He Pu’s illness, the castle’s closure, and changes among its servants all began five years ago, and suspected the castle’s secret was central to the missions.
• The dark-faced man told the gathered Players that a Cannibal Player was among them and urged them to work together to clear the game.
• The tall, thin man questioned whether Players should submit missions separately and raised the problem of ensuring they all found the same vanished guest.

The players discussed how to find the Vanishing Guest in the Ancient Castle and agreed to cooperate under a contract requiring anyone who found the guest to share the solution. After dividing up their search, they were interrupted by Xu Huo, whom the others had suspected of being dangerous.

• The players debated whether to trust Xu Huo and the Ma couple, while You Qiwen and Fly warned the others to be cautious of them.
• Fly demonstrated his Spirit of Contract with Wei Landeng, showing that signers could see breaches but would not suffer the written penalties.
• The players signed a contract promising to share the mission solution within two hours of finding the Vanishing Guest.
• The players divided the Ancient Castle into search areas and planned to explore the Third Floor and maze if needed.
• Xu Huo came downstairs, and Fly apologized for the previous day's misunderstanding.

Xu Huo refused to join the players’ Contract and investigated the Ancient Castle while questioning the assumptions behind Mr. and Mrs. Ma’s visit. He warned Mrs. Ma that He Pu might not have invited them, then said he would leave as soon as he obtained a Ticket.

• Xu Huo questioned whether the Contract bound everyone equally and suggested that some of the twelve people might not be task players, then refused to sign it.
• Xu Huo toured the garden and learned from a servant that Mr. Dong cared for He Pu’s rare spiders while He Pu was ill.
• Mrs. Ma approached Xu Huo with wine and proposed that she, her husband, and Xu Huo cooperate to divide what they could obtain.
• Xu Huo told Mrs. Ma that the invitations had no names and that Mr. Dong, rather than He Pu, appeared to run the Ancient Castle.
• Mrs. Ma maintained that they should work together, while Xu Huo said he would leave once he got a Ticket.

Xu Huo and the other players attended a formal dinner at He Pu’s castle while investigating the invitations and the danger surrounding the guests. The dinner began under tension, and Xu Huo ended the chapter by knocking a crystal wine glass off the table.

• Mrs. Ma told Mr. Ma that Xu Huo might be a Cannibal Player, while Mr. Ma urged her not to trust anyone and to stay in the D-class instance.
• Xu Huo searched his room, considered where bodies might be hidden, and released the qipao woman’s corpse from his Justice Umbrella before the dinner.
• The players gathered in formal clothes, and Li Chao challenged Mr. Dong after a maid broke a glass.
• The dining room lights went out, but He Pu arrived with Hu Shan and invited the players to view his newly acquired collection the next day.
• After He Pu’s toast, the players ate cautiously, and Xu Huo knocked a crystal wine glass off the table.

At dinner, Xu Huo spotted a trick involving human bones and left before the other Players realized what was wrong. After midnight, a Human-Spider attacked him in his room and smashed the Cabinet containing the human skin.

• Xu Huo left the dinner table, and Mr. and Mrs. Ma followed after he rejected the roast lamb.
• Wei Landeng and Liu Zheng Ping realized the lamb ribs were human bones, and the Players argued over whether Xu Huo was trying to manipulate them.
• Xu Huo concluded that the invitation sender had to be He Pu, Mr. Dong, or Hu Shan, then checked that the human skin remained untouched.
• At midnight, Xu Huo dodged a chain attack and discovered a Human-Spider hiding behind his curtain.
• The Human-Spider struck the Cabinet with its chain and grew angrier when it saw what came out.

Xu Huo fought Spider-Man, whose strange ability reversed damage to objects, then joined the other players after Fang Min was found brutally murdered. With several players’ whereabouts under suspicion, the group faced an unresolved question of who had killed her.

• Xu Huo used flames, his sword, and Strings to fight Spider-Man, who stabbed his own chest and caused damaged objects to move backward toward their former states.
• Xu Huo disrupted the apparent restoration of objects and noticed that they remained broken beneath their restored appearance.
• A maid screamed after finding Fang Min dead in her room, and Yu Shuai claimed he had seen and shot at red eyes on the balcony.
• Xu Huo spotted ash marks on the outer wall and concluded Spider-Man had gone from his room to Fang Min’s.
• Wei Landeng described finding Fang Min, but the players questioned her account and considered her a suspect.
• Xu Huo pointed out that Liu Zheng Ping, You Qiwen, and Yu Shuai had also been away from their rooms, while Fly challenged Yu Shuai’s claim about the red eyes.

After Fang Min disappeared and a severed leg was found, the players argued over who was responsible while Xu Huo investigated the apparent murder. He concluded Fang Min was dead, Hu Shan was a Player, and the first mission might require finding an entire body or a living guest; by morning, the river had flooded the bridge and trapped everyone in Rose Castle.

• The players accused one another of killing Fang Min, while Xu Huo said a spider had attacked him and Wei Landeng backed up his account.
• Hu Shan arrived, claimed the severed leg was porcelain, and agreed to contact the police after Xu Huo suggested it.
• Xu Huo concluded that Fang Min was dead, Spider-Man had not killed her, and Hu Shan had transformed part of the body into porcelain.
• Xu Huo reasoned that the first mission might require finding an entire body or a living guest, and suspected the target could be one of the Players.
• The next morning, Hu Shan said she had contacted the police, but the river had flooded the bridge and cut off the castle.

Xu Huo suspected Mr. Dong was targeting Red Players and used the Garden Maze to investigate while Fly and Li Chao formed an alliance. Mr. and Mrs. Ma doubted Xu Huo’s warning and sneaked toward the Third Floor, unaware that Mr. Dong had watched them leave.

• Mrs. Ma questioned Xu Huo about the intruder in his room, and he suggested Mr. Dong might be targeting Red Players and that He Pu could be an ally.
• Xu Huo entered the Garden Maze with a servant while Liu Zheng Ping and Wei Landeng stayed outside.
• Fly told Li Chao that some guests had received different invitations and revealed that his Contract could identify Players’ color classifications.
• Fly and Li Chao agreed to work together after Fly proved he was a mission Player.
• Mr. and Mrs. Ma decided Xu Huo was trying to mislead them and sneaked toward the Third Floor to seek a share of Fang Min’s killer’s spoils.
• Mr. Dong watched Mr. and Mrs. Ma disappear down the stairs from the Study Room.

Xu Huo explored the Garden Maze, then fought the Chen Twins when they ambushed him in his room. He discovered that their Damage Transfer ability was linked to the standing mirror and broke it, but Chen Nan claimed the effect remained active even if the item was destroyed.

• Xu Huo concluded that the Vanishing Guests probably were not buried in the Ancient Castle and asked a maid to pawn his diamond ring so she could buy supplies in town.
• The Chen Twins ambushed Xu Huo in his room, and he fought them off with his sword, Strings, and other abilities.
• Xu Huo realized the Twins' Damage Transfer ability had limits after his sword strike wounded his own shoulder instead of Chen Nan.
• Xu Huo restrained the brothers, but they attacked again, so he broke the standing mirror and saw their pained reactions.
• Xu Huo set Chen Tu on fire, and Chen Nan shielded his brother while claiming the Damage Transfer effect still worked after the mirror was destroyed.

Xu Huo forced the Chen brothers to explain Fang Min’s death and their plan to target Cannibal Players, then pressed them for information about their abilities and items. As Mr. and Mrs. Ma arrived outside his room, Xu Huo confronted them while the Dungeon’s danger continued to grow.

• Xu Huo injured Chen Tu, subdued Chen Nan, and made the brothers sit down to talk.
• Chen Tu admitted that he had killed Fang Min after she attacked him, and the brothers said they had used a sound-muffling item and planned to steal Tickets from Cannibal Players.
• The brothers revealed that Chen Nan had stolen an unsigned invitation from a Black Market Buyer, and Xu Huo explained that Mr. and Mrs. Ma were also Cannibal Players with unsigned invitations.
• Xu Huo told the brothers they needed to complete the game’s mission and asked them to explain their items and Abilities, especially the Substitute Mirror.
• Xu Huo stopped the brothers from speaking, opened the door, and confronted the smiling Mr. and Mrs. Ma outside his room.