Recaps

Xu Huo interrogated the Woodcutter, learned why he was trapped at the Mountain Villa and how he had failed to clear the instance, then killed him and claimed his items. Xu Huo returned to the Mountain Villa suspecting the Head Chopper Demon was a Cannibal Player hiding evidence of feeding, but the killer had not yet left a sign.

• Xu Huo threatened the Woodcutter until he confessed that he had survived his third instance but received no Return Ticket, leaving him stranded at the Mountain Villa.
• The Woodcutter explained that he had been killing later Players for their Tickets, but a strange illness had weakened him after he went without an Evolution Potion.
• Xu Huo learned that the Woodcutter had the same mission to protect their heads, yet surviving until the timer ended had not cleared the instance.
• Xu Huo killed the Woodcutter, received a notification identifying him as the Black Player Professional Talent, and collected his Sunny Rainy Belt and Floating Balloon.
• Xu Huo buried the Woodcutter and returned to the Mountain Villa, reasoning that the Head Chopper Demon might be a Cannibal Player concealing evidence of feeding by removing limbs.

After the lodge’s power failed again, Xu Huo and the other players found Du Lanlan and Xia Guo dead and headless beside the pool. Xu Huo revealed he had killed and buried the supposed suicide victim, then suggested another person in the lodge could be responsible.

• The players returned to their rooms after the first blackout was traced to a tripped breaker, and Huang Junjie complained that nobody had attacked.
• When the lights went out again, Huang Junjie and Yuan Yao found that someone had cut the wires, and the players realized Du Lanlan and Xia Guo were missing.
• Xu Huo arrived at the storeroom carrying a flashlight, and the players followed him to find Du Lanlan and Xia Guo’s headless bodies beside the pool.
• Huang Junjie urged the players to stay calm and argued that the Headless Demon had fled because it could not face them all at once.
• Xu Huo said another person in the lodge might have killed the women and revealed that he had killed and buried the person staying by the wooden cabin.
• Xu Huo asked the players what they had been doing before and after the power went out.

After Du Lanlan and Xia Guo were found dead, Xu Huo questioned whether the staged timing of a falling rack could have given their killer an alibi. The players turned on one another without identifying a culprit, and Liu Yuanyuan reminded them that the Head Chopper Demon could still be responsible.

• Xu Huo suggested that someone might have used a game item to stage the rack falling and create an alibi after killing Du Lanlan and Xia Guo.
• The players compared their whereabouts during the power outage, and Wang Wei said the college student had left the storage room beforehand.
• Huang Junjie accused the college student, who denied the murders and pointed out that Wan Zhikang, Zhang Xiong, and Abel had access to an axe.
• Wan Zhikang redirected suspicion toward Xu Huo, but Xu Huo argued that he had not had enough time to return from the wooden cabin and kill anyone.
• Liu Yuanyuan questioned why the players were accusing one another instead of suspecting the Head Chopper Demon.

After Du Lanlan and Xia Guo were found decapitated, Xu Huo reasoned that another player was staging killings in Head Chopper Demon's name to mislead the group. He concluded that Head Chopper Demon was probably a player and warned that learning this could drive someone to kill everyone else to complete the mission.

• Huang Junjie divided the players between tending to Du Lanlan and Xia Guo's bodies and fixing the wiring, while Xu Huo and Yuan Yao stayed behind.
• The college student complained that the others bullied him for hiding a knife, and Xu Huo questioned Huang Junjie about Head Chopper Demon's abilities.
• Xu Huo explained that the power outages and the knocked-over storage rack were meant to establish alibis and redirect suspicion from a player killer.
• Xu Huo suggested that Head Chopper Demon was likely one of the players and said someone who knew this might kill every other player to complete the dungeon mission.

Xu Huo and the other Players searched for the missing heads and debated how to handle the weapons, but found no trace of the bodies or the Head Chopper Demon. When Jia Xuyang disappeared from the Mountain Villa along with the food he had taken, Xu Huo realized there had to be a Secret Room and ordered everyone to search the lobby.

• Huang Junjie argued that the Players should strike first against the Head Chopper Demon, while Xu Huo dismissed the idea that killing the other Players would make clearing the game easy.
• The Players gathered in the lobby until dawn, then went to the supermarket for food as Liu Yuanyuan warned Yuan Yao and Huang Junjie that they might be the next targets.
• The Players split up to search for Du Lanlan and Xia Guo's heads or visit the Wooden Cabin, and Abel joined Xu Huo and Yuan Yao in their search.
• Xu Huo, Yuan Yao, and Abel searched the Mountain Villa and nearby woods without finding the heads or a hidden passage, and Xu Huo ate the Plum Branches they had collected.
• Huang Junjie reported that Jia Xuyang had vanished, and Xu Huo noticed that the food Jia Xuyang had taken was missing too.
• Xu Huo recalled Jia Xuyang's strange behavior and concluded that a Secret Room had to be in the Mountain Villa, so he told the others to search the lobby.

Xu Huo and the others discovered the underground passages and encountered the Head Chopper Demon, who attacked them after they found Jia Xuyang’s severed body and several heads. The demon escaped through the tunnels, and the group returned to the surface with the bodies.

• Huang Junjie found a hidden button behind the counter that opened a passage underground, and Xu Huo, Huang Junjie, and Yuan Yao went down to explore.
• The rich kid, Liu Yuanyuan, Abel, and later Zhang Xiong and the others followed them into the passage.
• Xu Huo’s group found Jia Xuyang’s headless body, then discovered three severed heads nearby as the Head Chopper Demon attacked Xu Huo from behind.
• Xu Huo broke free, and Abel’s giant Cross forced the demon back, but it turned into bubbles and the demon escaped into another branch.
• Zhang Xiong’s group joined the pursuit, but they failed to find the demon, so they carried Jia Xuyang’s body and the other heads back to the surface.

Xu Huo investigated the Head Chopper Demon’s attacks and found that the supposed demon might be a disguise used by one or more Players. After finding several Players dead, Huang Junjie suspected Wang Wei and Liu Yuanyuan belonged to the opposing faction.

• Xu Huo concluded that someone inside the Black Cloak was playing the Head Chopper Demon and watched the five Players who had stayed hidden.
• Liu Yuanyuan cried out that the Head Chopper Demon had appeared, and a dark figure crashed through the lobby before fleeing toward the Warehouse.
• Xu Huo stopped Abel from chasing the figure and returned to the lobby, where Wan Zhikang and the rich second-generation Player lay dead with their necks nearly severed.
• Xu Huo questioned Liu Yuanyuan and Wang Wei, then led the group to find Zhang Xiong dead in the Warehouse.
• Huang Junjie reasoned that multiple attackers might be operating and accused Wang Wei and Liu Yuanyuan of belonging to the Head Chopper Demon faction.

Xu Huo exposed Liu Yuanyuan as the player who killed Wan Zhikang and Li Zheng, then deduced that the Head Chopper Demon was Wang Wei, the first player to reach Hot Spring Villa. Wang Wei admitted he had taken the abilities and items of four players and challenged the others to fight.

• Xu Huo accused Liu Yuanyuan of killing Wan Zhikang and Li Zheng, and she admitted she had planned to eliminate the other players for the dungeon rewards.
• Xu Huo explained that the Head Chopper Demon was an empty cloak operated with an item, and that the woodcutter was a player who had failed to clear earlier dungeons.
• Liu Yuanyuan realized killing every other player would not clear the mission and threatened to kill the Head Chopper Demon before dealing with Xu Huo.
• Xu Huo identified Wang Wei as the Head Chopper Demon and revealed that Wang Wei had arrived at Hot Spring Villa first and received the demon's item.
• Wang Wei admitted he had taken the abilities and items of Du Lanlan, Xia Guo, Jia Xuyang, and Zhang Xiong, while Huang Junjie raised his Bamboo Knife to fight him.

Xu Huo and the others defeated Wang Wei after Liu Yuanyuan attacked him, and Xu Huo explained why he had identified the Head Chopper Demon as a player. The group realized the Mountain Villa may have been a dungeon for decades, leaving Huang Junjie to suspect the Woodcutter was a player trapped there.

• Liu Yuanyuan attacked Wang Wei, and Xu Huo, Abel, and Yuan Yao helped pull him out from under his Black Cloak.
• Wang Wei trapped Huang Junjie with a metal thread, but Xu Huo set Wang Wei on fire and Liu Yuanyuan disarmed him with the Black Stun Baton.
• Abel struck Wang Wei with the great Cross, sending him into the wall and forcing him to abandon his Black Cloak.
• Xu Huo explained that the victims’ missing heads and limbs, along with old records, suggested the Head Chopper Demon was a player in a long-running dungeon.
• Huang Junjie wondered whether the Woodcutter was a player who had become trapped in the Mountain Villa.

Xu Huo and the other players defeated Wang Wei, clearing the Head Chopper Demon dungeon and earning rewards. After the players received their ratings, Xu Huo found a reflective shard and proposed they decide who would receive the exchange reward before voting.

• Wang Wei used his Omnipresent Strings to hang Abel, but Xu Huo wounded him and tied up the thread with his Brass Lighter.
• Xu Huo distracted Wang Wei while Yuan Yao sneaked behind him and stabbed him in the heart.
• The dungeon announced its clearance, shared rewards, and player ratings, with Passerby A receiving B-level and Yuan Yao and Huang Junjie receiving D-level.
• Liu Yuanyuan asked about the exchange reward as Huang Junjie guarded the captured thread, and Xu Huo found a reflective shard near the wall.
• Xu Huo told the players to decide who would receive the exchange reward before they voted.

After clearing the Head Chopper Demon dungeon, Xu Huo divided the rewards among the surviving players and used his Return Ticket to return to the city. He received a B-level performance rating and one exchange reward choice, which remained undecided.

• The five players voted for Xu Huo to choose the exchange reward, and he let Liu Yuanyuan take Wang Wei's stun baton in exchange for giving up a share of the Mountain Villa owner's reward.
• Xu Huo divided Wang Wei's remaining items and White Cash among the group, while Abel claimed the Cursed Seal and stamped Xu Huo's hand with it.
• Liu Yuanyuan, Huang Junjie, Abel, and Yuan Yao each left the dungeon using their Return Tickets, and Xu Huo examined his ticket's code.
• Xu Huo retrieved the buried woman, scratched a message into her coat lining, and returned to the city, where he found a wallet underfoot before checking into another hotel.
• Xu Huo opened the game panel and learned that he had earned a B-level rating and could choose either Ability development access or an item.

After clearing his first instance, Xu Huo reviewed his new abilities, items, and potions, then tested Omnipresent Strings and the Two-Color Rubik's Cube. Nie Xuan visited to recruit him into a government player network, and Xu Huo offered information about a Cannibal Player in exchange for a reward.

• Xu Huo chose the Ability Development privilege and gained A Sad Thing, Informed Perspective's Super Memory extension, and other instance-clear rewards.
• Xu Huo tested Omnipresent Strings and found they could lift him through clothing or other materials, work through barriers within a fifty-meter range, and could not be reused on the same object.
• Xu Huo opened the Two-Color Rubik's Cube several times and received a bottle opener only on his first attempt.
• Nie Xuan visited Xu Huo and offered access to a government network for trading information, items, and potions.
• Xu Huo asked Nie Xuan what he would offer in exchange for the identity of a Cannibal Player.

Xu Huo bargained with Nie Xuan for a P1 Evolution Potion and tricked him into revealing information about Evolution Potions, while Nie Xuan decided to recruit rather than arrest him. After considering the dangers of Evolution Potions and hearing that Professor Han’s health was deteriorating, Xu Huo received a threatening call about his cousin.

• Xu Huo gave Nie Xuan details and a sketch of Liu Yuanyuan in exchange for a P1 Evolution Potion and discussed the Special Affairs Bureau’s recruitment.
• Xu Huo tricked Nie Xuan into revealing that Evolution Potions supposedly prevented Evolvers’ defects, and Nie Xuan left after realizing the deception.
• Nie Xuan told his Secretary that Xu Huo was not a Cannibal Player, ordered surveillance near his rental, and identified Liu Yuanyuan as a dangerous Cannibal Player.
• The Secretary failed to collect a water sample because Xu Huo had washed the glass and planned to move, so Nie Xuan ordered his own blood drawn instead.
• Xu Huo reviewed Liu Jia’s messages, learned that Professor Han’s condition had worsened with pustules and muscle atrophy, and wondered whether toxins or bacteria affected Evolvers.
• An unknown caller threatened Xu Huo that he would never see his cousin again unless he arrived within five minutes.

Xu Huo rescued Yu Qingqing from General Manager Zhu and her agent, using his strength and apparent Evolver abilities to frighten them into submission. He took Yu Qingqing back to his room and told her to go home, but her offer to help him hunt bad people left him abruptly pulling at her collar.

• Yu Qingqing called Xu Huo for help after her agent brought her to Ruixi Hotel to entertain General Manager Zhu, and Xu Huo found her in the stairwell.
• Xu Huo confronted General Manager Zhu, struck him and his men, and used his apparent Evolver abilities to terrify them.
• General Manager Zhu fled but was mysteriously dragged back and choked until Xu Huo released him.
• Xu Huo got the agent to agree to terminate Yu Qingqing's contract and took her to his room.
• Yu Qingqing offered to stay and lure bad people for Xu Huo to eat, and Xu Huo turned her around and yanked at the back of her collar.

Xu Huo checked that Yu Qingqing had no Player number and decided to send her home, then studied the Vanguard Player forum and the dangers of missing a Dungeon. After seeing her onto a plane, he went to the entertainment company she had signed with.

• Xu Huo tested Yu Qingqing’s reaction to his blood and warned her against her selfish remarks.
• Xu Huo read the Vanguard Player forum, including the official rankings and the risks of missing a Dungeon.
• Yu Qingqing found a fragment from the Head Chopper Demon’s axe, and Xu Huo booked her a Ticket home.
• The next morning, Xu Huo removed three razor blades hidden in Yu Qingqing’s dress and took her to the Airport.
• Xu Huo watched Yu Qingqing board her plane, then returned to the city and visited her entertainment company.

Xu Huo learned that Random Instances were making people disappear across the country, then went to meet the Special Affairs Personnel and Yu Qingqing’s company managers. As officials tried to arrest him, a Random Instance swallowed people throughout the 28th Floor, including Xu Huo’s pursuers.

• Xu Huo heard that several families in Guang Cheng had been killed and learned that similar incidents were occurring elsewhere.
• Xu Huo read that the authorities had classified the unexplained disappearances as Random Instances and were asking Players to help find those taken.
• Xu Huo arrived at Yu Qingqing’s company, where Special Affairs Personnel prepared to arrest him for disrupting public order.
• The arrest team rushed into the Reception Room, but people vanished as they confronted Xu Huo, who then leaped through a window and disappeared.
• A Random Instance began taking people across the 28th Floor, and the red-haired Special Affairs Personnel member ordered everyone to evacuate.
• The staff, police, and Special Affairs Personnel vanished one after another, including the red-haired man as he tried to call the research institute.

Nie Xuan learned that Xu Huo had helped expose a Cannibal Player, while Xu Huo was trapped in a Dungeon where people were turned into pigs for slaughter. The chapter left Xu Huo among the captives as the Red-Nosed Foreign Man dragged three apparently sick pigs away to kill them first.

• Team Leader Wu told Nie Xuan that forty-six people had disappeared from Golden Light Building and that Sima Xiao Er was the only Player inside the Dungeon.
• Nie Xuan learned that Xu Huo had helped catch Liu Mei, earned a B-level rating, and found stranded Players at Hot Spring Villa.
• Xu Huo was wrapped in pigskin and dropped into a cramped space with dozens of other captives.
• The Red-Nosed Foreign Man cut open the captives' eyes and mouths, revealing that they could only squeal and crawl like pigs.
• Two captives tried to escape, but the Red-Nosed Foreign Man killed them and hung them on meat hooks.
• General Manager Zhu and two others pretended to be sick, but the Red-Nosed Foreign Man dragged them away to slaughter them first.

Xu Huo escaped the pigsty after removing his pigskin and learned the factory’s tasks, including stealing a treasure, saving children, or completing a job for Karl. He investigated the factory and opened a blood-soaked room, seeking a way to fulfill a task and rescue the others.

• Red Nose Karl herded Xu Huo and the other transformed people into a pigsty after killing General Manager Zhu and two men.
• Xu Huo used a fragment of the Head Chopper Demon’s axe to remove his pigskin and received the instance tasks and factory background.
• Xu Huo promised the trapped people he would find a way to return, while pigs covered the discarded pigskin to hide his escape.
• Xu Huo questioned a pregnant pig and learned that pigskin fused with flesh after five hours, but the pig did not know how to escape.
• Xu Huo crossed the filthy slaughterhouse, noted a welded pipe opening, and entered a blood-reeking room.

Xu Huo investigated the Factory and learned that the other Players were searching for the skin stripper’s collection while two of them explored the Pigsty. After finding Sima Xiao Er trapped in pig form, Xu Huo cut his stitches and asked whether the game had notified him.

• Xu Huo found a numbered piece of meat in the Workshop and overheard the Players divide up to search the Factory while Karl was away.
• Qin An and a female Player left to search for the Collection Room, while Zou Weichang and Xian Dazhi went to the Pigsty.
• Zou Weichang dismissed Xian Dazhi’s concern for the pig-children and kicked Sima Xiao Er away when he tried to get their attention.
• Xu Huo returned to the Pigsty, recognized Sima Xiao Er as Red Hair, cut the stitches beneath his belly, and asked if the game had sent him a notification.

Xu Huo investigated the Factory while hiding his presence from the skin stripper, then returned to the orchard to lie low. Meanwhile, the other players discussed the sealed Secret Room and learned from Peng Fengnian that another player was there.

• Xu Huo warned Sima Xiao Er and the pigs to stay quiet and cooperate, then left the Pigsty to explore the Factory.
• Xu Huo searched the office, read the account books, and heard news about Carroll Field's arrival and the district's leadership changes on the Radio.
• Xu Huo saw the skin stripper return with Yang Can badly beaten, then hid in the orchard.
• Tang Pei told the players that the Secret Room behind the bedroom was sealed by a vault-like door they could not open.
• Tang Pei contacted Peng Fengnian and told the others that he had reported another player at the Factory.

Xu Huo subdued Peng Fengnian and persuaded him to cooperate, revealing they shared the Dungeon task and discussing the skin stripper’s weakness. He borrowed Peng Fengnian’s Paper Phone and called one of his companions, leaving his identity unclear to her.

• Xu Huo ambushed Peng Fengnian, dodged his attacks, and pinned him down with the slippery Potion.
• Xu Huo claimed he was a Random Player and proposed working together; Peng Fengnian confirmed they shared the task and were both D-class players.
• Peng Fengnian explained that the skin stripper could not use his Skinning Knife during the day, a weakness the other players also knew.
• Xu Huo returned Peng Fengnian’s black Stone and borrowed his Paper Phone after learning it could call its paired phone from anywhere.
• Xu Huo called the paired Paper Phone, and a female Player answered by asking whether he was Peng Fengnian; Xu Huo replied that she had the wrong number.

Xu Huo enlisted Peng Fengnian and Tang Pei’s group to cooperate in clearing the Skin Stripper Dungeon, then disguised himself in Peng Fengnian’s suit and entered the factory. He confronted the Skin Stripper by claiming the Tax Bureau had come to audit the place.

• Xu Huo persuaded Peng Fengnian to lend him a Paper Phone and suit in exchange for a chance to clear the Dungeon that night.
• Tang Pei brought Peng Fengnian the other Paper Phone, and he explained Xu Huo’s proposal and their agreement to work together.
• Tang Pei returned to the factory and told the others about the plan, but Zou Weichang refused to risk helping Xu Huo.
• Xian Dazhi spotted someone entering through the front, and Xu Huo, dressed in Peng Fengnian’s suit, told the Skin Stripper that the Tax Bureau was there to audit the factory.

Xu Huo disguised himself as a powerful official to intimidate the skin stripper and gain leverage at the factory. He learned that the E27 wormhole point had recently changed officials, but his cover remained under scrutiny.

• Xu Huo demanded the factory’s books and ridiculed its filthy workshop, forcing the skin stripper to invite him back to the office.
• Xu Huo rejected the skin stripper’s cash and used talk of powerful connections and valuable gifts to keep him uncertain.
• Xu Huo used a coded call from Peng Fengnian to stage an angry complaint about his sister’s partner and his low-ranking position.
• The skin stripper asked whether Xu Huo had been transferred after the chief official at the E27 wormhole point was replaced.
• Xu Huo recognized E27 from his Return Ticket and rebuked the skin stripper for asking questions.

Xu Huo posed as Wang and befriended the Skin Stripper to get access to his Secret Room while the other players searched for a way to open it. Inside, he discovered human skins, strange collectibles, and a lifelike woman summoned from a portrait, leaving him to assess the Skin Stripper’s disturbing collection.

• Xu Huo changed the subject from questions about his identity and persuaded the Skin Stripper to serve fresh fish while Tang Pei prepared it.
• Xu Huo drank with the Skin Stripper and claimed that women could be raised and shaped from childhood, winning his confidence.
• Qin An, Tang Pei, Xian Dazhi, and Zou Weichang failed to find the Secret Room and discussed waiting out the fifteen-day game, while Tang Pei revealed she had no Ticket.
• Xu Huo accompanied the Skin Stripper into the Fur Room, where he saw pelts that the Skin Stripper identified as animal fur and human skin.
• The Skin Stripper shoved aside a wall to reveal his Secret Room and showed Xu Huo his collectibles, including a woman who emerged from a portrait when summoned.

Xu Huo investigated the skin stripper’s pelts and planned with the other players to use them to clear the First Task and try to save the children in the Pigsty. The Factory suddenly drew closer as darkness closed in around it, cutting off Peng Fengnian’s warning.

• Xu Huo found several pelts that might hide human skins, memorized their locations, and told the players that pushing a wall backward opened the Secret Room.
• Xu Huo reasoned that the prized possessions for the First Task were likely pelts tied to Skin Stripper Karl, not items in the Secret Room, and planned for the players to take them the next day.
• Xu Huo asked the players to help save the six children in the Pigsty, and Tang Pei, Yang Can, Qin An, and Xian Dazhi agreed to act.
• Peng Fengnian warned Xu Huo that the Factory had suddenly gotten closer before their connection cut off.
• Xu Huo left the room and saw that darkness had swallowed the surrounding tree silhouettes and was closing in on the Factory.