Recaps

Yan Jiayu demonstrated her new appearance-changing Ability before Xu Huo learned that Qi Congming had followed her to the Ancient Castle. After Yan Jiayu beat him, she asked Xu Huo to tolerate the persistent admirer, though Xu Huo warned her to check for a tracking item.

• Yan Jiayu showed Xu Huo that she could alter her facial features, but said the changes were temporary and could not affect her bones.
• Mr. Dong told Xu Huo that the Ancient Castle had caught a C-class player sneaking in, and Xu Huo questioned Qi Congming at blade-point.
• Qi Congming admitted that Yan Jiayu had defeated him in a Dungeon and that his Ability, 'Till Death Do Us Part,' let him locate her Sub-district.
• Yan Jiayu returned, beat Qi Congming, and rebuked him for following her after she had freed him from his murderous companions.
• Yan Jiayu asked Xu Huo to be tolerant because Qi Congming had done good deeds, and Xu Huo agreed but warned her to check for a tracking item.

Yan Jiayu returned to the Ancient Castle with Qi Cong, who had secretly tracked her, while Xu Huo prepared to undergo Mental Evolution. That night, Qi Cong tried to leave his room but became trapped on the castle’s endless stairs and saw a shadow pass by.

• Yan Jiayu discovered and destroyed a tracking device Qi Cong had hidden in her shoe, then explained that he had followed her across sub-districts and a Wormhole Point.
• Xu Huo offered Qi Cong an interrogation Potion, but Qi Cong pleaded with Yan Jiayu, who decided to take him along; Xu Huo let him stay as a guest and told Mr. Dong to watch him.
• Dr. Deng delivered Potions for Xu Huo and warned him about the dangers of Mental Evolution, and Xu Huo injected two vials before entering an Enclosed Space.
• After Yan Jiayu and the painted woman returned for dinner, Mr. Dong kept them out of Xu Huo’s Enclosed Space and dimmed the Ancient Castle for the night.
• Qi Cong sneaked out of his room but found the stairs endlessly looping in both directions, collapsed from exhaustion, and saw a shadow flash past.

Yan Jiayu challenged the shadow personality to games inside the Ancient Castle while Xu Huo secretly interfered. Xu Huo lured the shadow into a white space and caught it.

• Yan Jiayu followed the shadow through the Ancient Castle and tried repeatedly to catch it, eventually pinning it down with an invisibility prop.
• Yan Jiayu challenged the shadow to a chess match, lost several games, and declared they would settle things with another round of hide-and-seek.
• Yan Jiayu ran through the castle as the shadow pursued her, dodging its attempts to catch her.
• Xu Huo secretly interfered when the shadow tried to trap Yan Jiayu in the Spiritual World.
• Xu Huo opened a doorway beneath Yan Jiayu, then caught the shadow as it jumped into the white space after her.

Xu Huo recovered the memory of his childhood in Dr. Zhang’s hospital and reconciled with the shadow personality. The Book Tower then transformed into a Mirror World of his mind, where Yan Jiayu fell into the newly formed mental space.

• Xu Huo recalled how Dr. Zhang isolated him, how he tried to poison Dr. Zhang, and how he accidentally killed an innocent patient mistaken for him.
• Xu Huo thanked the shadow personality and promised to honor the innocent patient; the shadow personality embraced him and changed from a hospital gown into black pajamas.
• The Book Tower’s personalities gathered around the table with their Manifestations in front of them, and the tower crumbled into fragments that rebuilt into a larger mental space.
• A mirror-built door in the Book Tower opened back to Rose Castle, and Xu Huo watched as Yan Jiayu fell out of the Mental Portal into the corridor.
• Yan Jiayu discovered that she could pass through the walls and furnishings of the mental space, then grabbed the second-floor landing as she fell toward the first floor.

Xu Huo tested his new Mirror Spiritual World on Yan Jiayu and Qi Cong, then discovered that his Manifestation had gained a mirror element and expanded in range. After considering how mental power, Abilities, and items might connect, he decided to rest and explore his new power later.

• Xu Huo trapped Yan Jiayu in the Mirror Spiritual World, where she struggled to use her items but managed to climb back up through the floor.
• Xu Huo used mental control to make Qi Cong wound himself, but Qi Cong regained control before he could stab his throat.
• Yan Jiayu asked Xu Huo to find Qi Cong a safe job, and Xu Huo offered to ask Mr. Dong for help if Qi Cong would stay in District 011.
• Xu Huo returned to the Book Tower and found that his Manifestation had gained a mirror-like surface and a small mirror door.
• Xu Huo reflected on his doubled mental power, expanded two-hundred-meter Manifestation range, and the possible links between space-time powers, Abilities, and items before deciding to sleep.

Xu Huo tested the expanded Mirror Spiritual World after resolving the shadow personality’s lingering troubles, then decided to pay a formal visit to Huahan Werner. The chapter ended with Xu Huo asking Mr. Dong to prepare and send a calling card to Werner’s home.

• Yan Jiayu told Xu Huo that Qi Cong might stay in District 011, and Xu Huo offered to help him suspend his Player status.
• Yan Jiayu and the painted woman went sightseeing, while Xu Huo pulled Qi Cong into the Spiritual World to test his abilities.
• Xu Huo examined the Mirror Spiritual World, whose range had grown to a radius of two hundred meters, and confirmed that he could not yet seal its perimeter with a Confusion Barrier.
• Xu Huo summoned Mr. Dong to the Study Room and told him to prepare a gift and calling card for a visit to Huahan Werner.

Xu Huo visited Hua Han Werner at his family’s old castle in Xiu City and learned that the elderly Player had aged because of an encounter with Time Rays. The chapter ended with Hua Han Werner explaining that he was a hundred years older than District 011.

• The Werner family sent a butler to teach Xu Huo the etiquette for visiting Hua Han Werner.
• Yan Jiayu enjoyed her time at Xu Huo’s home, then left, and Xu Huo told Mr. Dong not to stop Qi Cong if he wanted to leave.
• Xu Huo traveled to Xiu City and arrived at Hua Han Werner’s old castle, where he found the old man tending his garden.
• Hua Han Werner welcomed Xu Huo and sent his butler to prepare local dishes, then spoke with Xu Huo about his age.
• Hua Han Werner said that Time Rays had carried his body onto another world’s timeline, making him a hundred years older than District 011.

Xu Huo discussed the risks and limits of Time Evolution with Huahan Werner while helping him plant saplings. Huahan Werner challenged Xu Huo’s understanding of Time Rays, leaving him to question the foundations of his Spacetime Evolution.

• Huahan Werner warned Xu Huo that Temporal Evolution was poorly understood and that mistakes could cost a person their life.
• Huahan Werner invited Xu Huo to help trim and plant saplings in his garden.
• While they worked, Xu Huo observed the plants shedding growth when resources ran short and remarked that it seemed as if time had gone backward.
• Huahan Werner insisted that time could only move forward and explained that Time Rays were a way to understand and control time, which was one whole.
• Xu Huo realized Huahan Werner’s explanation challenged the ray-based foundation of his Spacetime Evolution, then followed the butler toward the dining room.

Xu Huo learned from Huahan Werner that Temporal Evolution differed from Spatial Evolution and that pursuing both could hinder his progress, but he refused to give up either power. As he left District 011, noble youths tried to obstruct him, and he escaped after trapping one in a Spiritual World.

• The butler dressed Xu Huo in Huahan Werner's old formal clothes and served him dinner with Huahan Werner.
• Huahan Werner explained that Time Power could not be controlled like Space Power and suggested Xu Huo choose between his two Evolutions.
• Xu Huo declined to abandon either power and left Werner's home in an automated flying vehicle.
• A group of noble youths blocked Xu Huo's route with a spatial barrier, but he dispelled it and continued driving.
• One noble youth attacked Xu Huo, became stuck to the car, and was immobilized by Xu Huo's gaze as the others watched.
• Xu Huo drove away after telling the noble youths to visit him at Rose Castle, leaving them stunned.

Xu Huo returned to Rose Castle and reflected on Huahan Werner’s advice about Temporal Evolution. He concluded that Huahan Werner was District 011’s Super Player, that the Werner family was considering him as a potential successor, and that he should learn from Huahan Werner without abandoning his Spatial Evolution.

• Xu Huo returned to Rose Castle, told Mr. Dong to store Huahan Werner’s cleaned coat separately, and learned that Qi Cong had left his room.
• Xu Huo told Yan Jiayu that Qi Cong was likely waiting to track her when she entered the game’s Sub-district.
• Xu Huo considered Huahan Werner’s explanation of Time Power and questioned whether his own Temporal Evolution was developing in the right direction.
• Xu Huo reasoned that Huahan Werner was District 011’s Super Player, was nearing the end of his life, and had prompted the Werner family to seek a potential successor.
• Xu Huo concluded that District 011 was watching him as a possible candidate but decided not to abandon his established Spatial Evolution.

Xu Huo watched an injured Outer District Player flee the White Shoulder Badges into Rose Castle and heard his account of his sister’s murder and brother’s disappearance. After confirming Blan admitted the player’s claims were true, Xu Huo let him escape with his Ticket, leaving Blan to threaten him as the team withdrew.

• Xu Huo tested Umbrella Guarantees Rain through the night, opening and closing it to avoid poisonous showers.
• An injured player fled Blan and the White Shoulder Badges into Rose Castle and begged Xu Huo for help, claiming his sister had been killed as a cult sacrifice and his brother had disappeared.
• Xu Huo asked Blan whether the player’s story was true, and Blan admitted that it was before trying to retract his answer.
• Xu Huo allowed Mr. Dong to open the castle door and told the player to leave with his Ticket.
• Blan threatened Xu Huo and led the White Shoulder Badges away, while Xu Huo dismissed the matter as none of his concern.

Xu Huo left Sun Su in Dr. Deng’s care while District 011 punished the cultists and White Shoulder Badge members involved in the case. He bought mountains near Base City for training and examined the enlarged Time Box, whose courtyards contained Time Rays of varying density.

• Xu Huo rescued Sun Su’s injured younger brother and learned how the cult had trapped Sun Yong after Sun Su uncovered evidence of its crimes.
• District 011 announced punishments for the cult members and the White Shoulder Badge members led by Blan, and promised compensation to victims’ families.
• Sun Yong returned to take Sun Su away, and the brothers left District 011 without accepting compensation.
• Xu Huo bought three mountains and rented seven nearby peaks to use as a training ground.
• Xu Huo placed the Time Box in a cleared mountain area and found that it had grown and changed, with Time Rays distributed unevenly among its courtyards.

Xu Huo used a special prop to investigate differences in Time Power and tested how its courtyards affected a short-lived bird. He realized that Temporal Evolution required distinguishing Time Power from different spaces, not refining his perception of Time Rays within one space.

• Xu Huo observed courtyards repeatedly appearing and disappearing inside the special prop, with plants cycling through growth and decay.
• Xu Huo rested, watched birds enter the courtyards, and confined a mutated bird with a short lifespan to a courtyard with few Time Rays.
• Xu Huo found the bird still alive after more than sixteen hours in the courtyard, but it died shortly after leaving.
• Xu Huo concluded that the courtyards separated subtly different kinds of time and that Huahan Werner had been right about Time Power encroaching from other spaces.
• Xu Huo recognized that his earlier approach to Temporal Evolution was a wrong path and identified perceiving differences between Time Power from different spaces as the necessary next step.

Xu Huo rested at the courtyard while studying theories about Time Power, then watched the animals and plants around him as he considered how Time Rays might affect artifacts and interact with space. He ended by wondering whether Spatial Evolution and Temporal Evolution could complement each other.

• Xu Huo failed to make progress with the space artifact and read materials about Temporal Evolution and Time Power.
• Xu Huo avoided using Angel's Eyes because its Time Origin was too valuable and he might be watched.
• Xu Huo slept in the courtyard, where small animals and Mutated Plants gathered overnight.
• Xu Huo lured nearby animals into the courtyard with snacks and watched one squirrel-like Mutant hide food and cover its tracks with mushroom spores.
• Xu Huo connected the animals' drifting spores to his thoughts about Time Rays, artifact instability, and the possible relationship between Spatial Evolution and Temporal Evolution.

Xu Huo experimented with manipulating Time Rays and Space Rays but failed to advance his Evolutions, then returned to Rose Castle and prepared to leave with the painted woman. They departed District 011 and boarded a train, where the painted woman ordered food.

• Xu Huo tested a dozen Space Teleport Artifacts but couldn't make his Spatial Evolution or Temporal Evolution advance.
• Xu Huo spent three days trying to fuse Time Power between courtyards, then decided his Evolution level might be too low.
• Xu Huo returned to Rose Castle and told the painted woman they would leave for his next Dungeon after lunch the following day.
• The painted woman packed her belongings and insisted on accompanying Xu Huo, while Mr. Dong prepared supplies and outfits for him.
• Xu Huo and the painted woman left District 011 and boarded a train; she ordered food after he returned from the Transfer Carriage.

Xu Huo helped the painted woman recover her stolen belongings on the train and kept her from wandering into more trouble. As night fell, he had her stay in their private room, though she continued to flirt with him.

• The painted woman spent all her White Cash on food, then used a gemstone to buy dessert with Xu Huo’s help.
• After exploring the train, the painted woman returned to Xu Huo and said a Player had stolen her belongings and hit her.
• Xu Huo confronted the thief, forced him to confess, and used Space Sharp Blades to make him return the painted woman’s things.
• The painted woman took two of the thief’s items as compensation, and Xu Huo stopped her from killing him or taking more.
• The painted woman lost her remaining gemstones playing cards, and Xu Huo later told her to stay in their private room for the night.

Xu Huo and the painted woman discovered two Players had been killed by blood loss and poison aboard the train. The other Players suspected one another, but they left the bodies for the Conductor to handle without learning who the killer was.

• The painted woman changed into a purple dress and unpacked her clothes, snacks, toys, and other belongings from Xu Huo’s suitcase.
• Xu Huo and the painted woman found Players gathered around the bodies of a man and woman who had died in the Transfer Carriage restroom.
• The Players determined that the man had died from blood loss and the woman from poison, with both bearing puncture marks and no obvious signs of struggle.
• Players from Carriages Three and Four suspected one another, while Xu Huo suggested the killer might have an Ability like a Vampire’s and noted that nobody from Carriage Four had left.
• A Player removed the dead woman’s Mask, revealing her real face, but the Players stopped investigating and left the bodies for the Conductor.
• The painted woman asked Xu Huo whether Vampire Players slept hanging upside down, and he joked about them developing acrobatic abilities.

The painted woman irritated players across the train while searching for Vampires, and Xu Huo warned her they might leave soon. After everyone else left Carriage Four, Xu Huo faced a nearly undetectable Player who entered the carriage searching for someone.

• The painted woman visited other carriages, provoked players, and asked whether they were Vampires, then told Xu Huo she had guessed the blond Player might be one.
• Xu Huo told the painted woman to stay in her room because they might get off the train, and he turned her into paper after the lights went out.
• Several Players left Carriage Four, leaving Xu Huo alone there, so he rested on the sofa.
• A nearly invisible Player entered from the carriage ahead and searched the carriage in silence.
• Xu Huo detected the intruder and asked whom he was looking for, but the Player threw out small items that swarmed through the carriage like bats.

Xu Huo arrived at C11-011’s Myriad Faith Station and watched a fierce battle between Ye City factions. The fighting continued as he learned that the District’s chaos came from powerful rival Player groups, and that it strongly opposed Cannibal Players.

• Xu Huo reached Myriad Faith Station and found the surrounding countryside scarred by recent battles.
• A Mutant Animal hawk triggered a charge of wild boars against Players operating modified harvesters, while both sides ordered Xu Huo away.
• Xu Huo avoided the boars, asked a bearded Player whether a war was underway, and learned it was a Ye City family matter.
• The boars and harvesters clashed before the Players on both sides began fighting with items, devices, and Potions.
• Xu Huo watched the battle and recalled that C11-011 was chaotic because powerful Player factions refused to yield to one another, and that the District particularly hated Cannibal Players.

Xu Huo and the painted woman entered Xicheng, where the Shadow Eater sect enforced deadly rules about shadows and outsiders. After buying a costly Dungeon manual, Xu Huo found nearly ten known Instance Entrances in the city, but their destinations remained unknown.

• Xu Huo traveled to Xicheng with the painted woman after the Dungeon information failed to activate near Ye City.
• At Xicheng’s outskirts, a Player stepped on a vendor’s shadow, prompting the shadow’s owner to flee and other vendors to kill him before returning to the city.
• Xu Huo bought an umbrella and entered Xicheng with the painted woman, where they saw the Shadow Eater sect’s influence across the streets.
• A nearby Player warned Xu Huo and the painted woman that even Outer District Players were targeted, then vanished as three Players tried to catch him.
• Xu Huo bought a Dungeon manual and discovered that Xicheng had nearly ten known Instance Entrances whose destinations were uncertain.

Xu Huo left the dungeon entrance in Xicheng after a fight with Shadow Eater cult Players and traveled with the painted woman to Ye City. There, a dungeon notification appeared when he entered the trigger range of "Doll," and he was due to be transported within a minute.

• Xu Huo watched a dungeon entrance in Xicheng, then saw a battle between white-robed Players and Shadow Eater cult members devastate the city center.
• A Shadow Eater cult Player attacked Xu Huo and the painted woman, then gathered companions to confront them; Xu Huo killed the attackers using his Spiritual World and abilities.
• Xu Huo and the painted woman left Xicheng as residents and Players fled the ongoing chaos, and they headed to Ye City.
• In Ye City, Xu Huo bought dungeon handbooks and used their information to seek a nearby dungeon entrance.
• Xu Huo entered the trigger range of the dungeon "Doll," and a notification announced that the dungeon would open once twenty-four people had entered its range.

Xu Huo entered the B-class Doll instance with the painted woman and joined nineteen other players in Doll Castle. As the castle owner approached for dinner, four late players fought over the three remaining seats, and one was knocked into the display case.

• Xu Huo and the painted woman entered the Doll instance and found a dining room prepared for twenty-four guests.
• The instance introduction announced that players had to obtain a doll that satisfied the doll maker, who could punish disobedience and make only three dolls a day.
• Servants 1 through 4 arrived and told the players that dinner would begin at 6 p.m.; Xu Huo asked Servant 3 to show him the restroom.
• The players took their seats while leaving places near the head of the table empty, and the painted woman sat beside Xu Huo.
• Four players emerged from hiding just before the owner arrived, but only three seats remained; as they fought for them, one player was knocked into the display case.

The players attended dinner with the Castle's master, then explored the Castle in search of a way to clear the Dungeon. They entered the vast Exhibition Room, where a player wondered if the puppets had been modeled after previous visitors.

• The Castle's master arrived at the dining room, and the players began dinner after Player 1 rang the Bell.
• The painted woman asked to inspect and trade for puppets, but Player 1 said the displayed puppets were not for sale and could only be viewed through the glass.
• After dinner, Player 2 invited the players to explore the Castle and showed them the studio and the rooms open to guests.
• Xu Huo discouraged the group from lingering over the paintings, and a player uncovered a diagram detailing a puppet's construction.
• The players entered the enormous Exhibition Room and saw thousands of varied puppets; a female player wondered whether they resembled people who had entered the Dungeon.

The players explored the Castle and found few clues, then several ventured out at night and encountered a dangerous cat. By dawn, one player was dead, and the painted woman revealed that the cat had come out of a painting she had damaged.

• Zuo Yu recognized a doll as an A-class player who had been dead for some time.
• Xu Huo and the other players explored the Castle, found no further clues, and returned to their rooms.
• Several players left their rooms at night; the middle-aged man returned with claw wounds, while the player who had missed dinner never came back.
• At dawn, the players found the missing player's body on the dining table with claw marks and a fatal wound to his neck.
• The painted woman led the players to the art room and showed them a damaged painting of a cat, explaining that she had injured it.
• The woman with the high ponytail confirmed she had seen a huge black cat, which she thought was an item.

The players found a headless doll resembling the dead player and feared the dolls might be linked to their lives. Xu Huo searched the Castle and found a doll missing its right arm that belonged to the high-ponytail woman.

• The middle-aged man confirmed that the painted woman had injured a black cat, and the long-clothed man warned the players not to provoke her.
• Xu Huo asked the servants how to obtain a doll, but they did not answer.
• The painted woman found a headless doll beneath the dining table, and the players noticed its clothes and scratches resembled the dead player's.
• The painted woman admitted she had carried the dead player's body to the table so others could see him, unsettling the players.
• Xu Huo searched the accessible rooms and found a doll missing its right arm that belonged to the high-ponytail woman.