Chapter Summaries

Xu Huo fought and killed a woman who attacked him after revealing she was an Evolver with a hunger for human flesh. He found a numbered tattoo on her body and discovered a corpse inside his new fridge, leaving him to call the police.

• A delivery woman entered Xu Huo's apartment and revealed her monstrous hunger by lunging at him.
• Xu Huo evaded her attacks and stabbed her, then learned she believed he was an Evolver who had not undergone the initial screening.
• The wounded woman tried to persuade Xu Huo to eat her, but he deduced that she could heal and that her hunger required only a little meat.
• The woman attacked Xu Huo again, and he stabbed her throat; he found the tattooed number E33586 on her shoulder after she died.
• Xu Huo opened the new fridge, found a head inside, and called the police.

After surviving a third Evolver attack, Xu Huo was questioned by Tingcheng First Research Institute’s Nie Xuan and struggled with a growing hunger he suspected was part of his own changes. As Xu Huo wondered how to get onto the institute’s vehicle, a translucent screen appeared and offered him three professions.

• Zhao Biao introduced Xu Huo to Nie Xuan, who questioned him about the attack, his background, and the woman’s claims that she was an Evolver.
• Nie Xuan gave Xu Huo his business card and warned him to report any bodily changes, then left with the cigarette Xu Huo had offered.
• Xu Huo checked into a hotel, where his intense hunger returned and he reviewed the spread of Gluttony Urges and the three Evolvers he had encountered.
• Xu Huo measured his abnormal heart rate and considered whether the woman had grown stronger because she passed an initial screening.
• Xu Huo’s vision went black, and a translucent screen announced that he could choose among the Gambler, Adventurer, and Passerby A professions.

Xu Huo chose the Passerby A class and was transported to Preliminary Examination Train 301 with eleven other Evolvers. As the group tried to understand their situation, the train announced its rules and began a three-day journey toward Five-dimensional Station.

• Xu Huo selected the Passerby A class, became a reserve player, and received his player details and train assignment.
• Xu Huo arrived in a panoramic train carriage with eleven other Evolvers, who reacted with surprise and suspicion.
• The train announced that it would travel from the Three-dimensional Point to Five-dimensional Station and laid out four rules for the reserve players.
• The passengers discussed whether they could leave, what the Dimension Rift game was, and whether the strange events signaled an invasion or Spiritual Revival.
• Xu Huo checked his belongings and the carriage, noting that he still had his possessions and had received two slips of Stellar Company Virtual Currency.
• Executive Man urged the passengers to follow the rules and work together as they waited to learn what the examination required.

On the Preliminary Train, Xu Huo and the other passengers introduced themselves and began forming wary alliances while debating the rules and the danger of Evolvers who ate people. Xu Huo realized his Gluttony Urge was intensifying and suspected that some of his fellow passengers had already tasted human blood.

• Li Fei introduced himself and urged the passengers in the Second-Class Car to share their identities and cooperate, but the heavily made-up woman warned them not to trust one another.
• The heavily made-up woman explained that seat assignments reflected passengers' assets, revealed her strength by denting a metal table with her fist, and warned that someone on the train had eaten people.
• Xu Huo left the car to inspect the Transition Car, found its boarding doors locked, and glimpsed Nie Xuan in the First-Class Car after asking a tattooed man for a light.
• The passengers studied the train rules and began forming small groups, while the middle-aged woman tried to recruit Xu Huo and the heavily made-up woman.
• Xu Huo noticed that his Gluttony Urge had doubled and suspected several passengers had eaten human flesh because they seemed less affected by hunger than he was.

Xu Huo and the other Players faced hunger and violence on the train until the Conductor’s food eased their Gluttony Urge. Xu Huo sold the information on a note to several passengers, while Yan Jiayu refused to share it with the middle-aged woman; the Conductor returned from the Third-Class Carriage as their dispute continued.

• A person from the Third-Class Carriage was dragged back inside and eaten, leaving the Players afraid that the starving Evolvers would attack them.
• The Conductor announced the daily ordering service, and Li Fei, Xu Huo, and the other passengers spent White Cash on food or water.
• The train’s food eased the passengers’ Gluttony Urge, and the Conductor warned the middle-aged woman not to disrupt train order after she accused Xu Huo of hiding the Coaster Paper.
• Xu Huo charged the passengers to read his note, and Professor Han, Li Fei, Chen Yi, Square-Faced Man, Yan Jiayu, and the old man paid to see it.
• Yan Jiayu refused the middle-aged woman’s request to reveal the note, and the Conductor returned from the Third-Class Carriage.

Xu Huo sold hidden-rule information to Nie Xuan and other First-Class passengers, then used his earnings to buy food for himself and the old man. As the train remained quiet until afternoon, he assessed the dangers likely to emerge after lights-out, while Li Fei proposed that the Second-Class passengers share information and guard their door in shifts.

• Xu Huo sold Nie Xuan the rules that Lower-Class Cars could not enter Upper-Class Cars unless someone opened the door and that meals could be bought on credit, then collected payment for both tips.
• Xu Huo sold information to another First-Class passenger, returned to the Second-Class Carriage with two thousand seven hundred White Cash, and ordered noodles for himself and the old man.
• Xu Huo considered the train's hidden rules, the risks of switching on the lights, and the possibility that food's effects would wear off before the first night's upheaval.
• Xu Huo observed the passengers as the train remained quiet until three in the afternoon.
• Li Fei proposed that the passengers take turns guarding their carriage door and share information, drawing attention toward Xu Huo and the heavily made-up woman.

Xu Huo and the other passengers agreed to follow the train’s rules and stood watch after lights-out. When the train jolted in the darkness, Xu Huo killed Chen Yi, whom the female student identified as the Cannibal Player, while the melon-seed face woman also died; at dawn, the train announced that two days remained until Five-dimensional Station.

• Professor Han persuaded the passengers to follow the rules and organized rotating night watches, assigning Xu Huo’s group to the front door.
• The lights went out, and near midnight the train jolted violently as it passed through the Dimension Rift.
• Chen Yi attacked Xu Huo, who killed him; at the back door, the melon-seed face woman was found dead with a broken neck and other wounds.
• The female student said Chen Yi had attacked her first, and Professor Han urged the passengers to stay put and wait until morning before discussing suspicions.
• At eight, the train announced that Preliminary Examination Train 301 would reach Five-dimensional Station in two days and repeated its rules.

Xu Huo killed the Square-Faced Man after suspecting he was a Cannibal Player, sparking a dispute among the survivors about whether the accusation was justified. The old man guarding the door revealed that someone had bitten his shoulder, leaving the Cannibal Player’s identity uncertain.

• The group found the melon-seed face woman and Chen Yi dead, and Professor Han concluded that Cannibal Players were still hungry despite the train’s food.
• Xu Huo attacked and killed the Square-Faced Man, claiming that only a Second-Class Seat Player could open the rear door to the Third-Class Carriage.
• Li Fei accused Xu Huo of killing without proof, while Professor Han, the female student, Yan Jiayu, and He Yang debated the evidence and Li Fei’s suspicious behavior.
• The old man guarding the door showed the group a bite wound and a damaged Xing'er on his uniform, revealing that someone had bitten him.

Xu Huo exchanged information about Cannibal Players, bribed the Conductor to deliver a message to the Head Chef, and learned that getting off the train did not guarantee a Ticket for the next stop. When a Sinister Man appeared at the back door, Xu Huo proposed opening it to test the train’s rules, and Yan Jiayu supported him.

• Xu Huo and the heavily made-up woman traded information about Cannibal Players, while he considered which surviving Players might be dangerous.
• Xu Huo tipped the Conductor to pass a message to the Head Chef, and a Player was expelled from the train for attacking the Conductor.
• Nie Xuan told Xu Huo that six Players had died in First-Class Seat and that Players who left the train might not obtain a Ticket for the next stop.
• A Sinister Man appeared at the back door, and Xu Huo proposed opening it to test whether entering another carriage carried a penalty.
• Li Fei objected, but Yan Jiayu voted to open the door and said the group should help whoever was outside.

Xu Huo let Wang Xiaohui into the carriage and forced Li Fei to agree before rescuing him from a Cannibal Player. As the group prepared for the night, Liu Jia warned Xu Huo about the heavily made-up woman, and he began questioning what Professor Han and Liu Jia had seen outside the window.

• Xu Huo admitted Wang Xiaohui to the carriage despite Li Fei's objections, then shoved Li Fei outside until he agreed to let her stay.
• Yan Jiayu pulled Li Fei back inside just as a Cannibal Player lunged for him, and the group shut the door on the attacker.
• Wang Xiaohui told Xu Huo that seven Players remained in Third-Class Seat, and Yan Jiayu gave her food.
• Professor Han arranged the night watch and ordered the Players to keep the lights and phones off while they guarded the doors.
• Liu Jia warned Xu Huo to be careful and glanced at the heavily made-up woman, leading him to suspect she had identified her as a Cannibal Player.
• Xu Huo noticed Professor Han and Liu Jia's nervousness and asked whether they had also seen something outside the window.

Monsters boarded the train during the sudden darkness and attacked the passengers. Xu Huo, Yan Jiayu, and the survivors sealed the carriage, but He Yang and the old man disappeared, and Liu Jia feared the survivors might turn into Monsters.

• Xu Huo and the others heard fighting as Monsters boarded the train, and Yan Jiayu impaled Li Fei with a broken table leg.
• The lights briefly came on, revealing Monsters swarming outside the windows before they shattered the glass and invaded the carriage.
• Xu Huo and Yan Jiayu fought off a Monster and used a table to block a broken window.
• The old man in military uniform saved Professor Han from a Monster, then jumped out of the train while holding it.
• Professor Han and the survivors sealed the window, and Liu Jia reported that He Yang and Li Fei were missing.
• Xu Huo questioned Liu Jia after she said the old man had begun to resemble a Monster, and she feared the survivors might transform too.

Xu Huo reasoned that the Monsters were Cannibal Players who had failed to feed, while the survivors assessed each other’s abilities and suspected identities. The carriage was left with one Cannibal Player among six people, and Professor Han worried that Liu Jia’s secret could put her in danger.

• Xu Huo told Liu Jia that the Monsters were likely mutated Cannibal Players who had failed to feed, and he explained why he suspected the old man had been one.
• Professor Han and Wang Xiaohui defended the old man, while the passengers discussed He Yang’s disappearance and the Monsters outside.
• The heavily made-up woman realized Liu Jia could see in the dark and probed her; Liu Jia warned Xu Huo about the woman and Wang Xiaohui’s protective barrier.
• Xu Huo estimated that the carriage had begun with six Cannibal Players and six Normal Players, and the survivors concluded that one Cannibal Player remained among them.
• Professor Han remained worried that Liu Jia’s knowledge of the Monsters could provoke the Players and put her at risk.

Yan Jiayu killed the heavily made-up woman after she attacked Liu Jia, and the survivors reached dawn with the train ride turning smooth. Xu Huo examined the ruined Third-Class Car and warned that Professor Han’s bite wound was infected, leaving the group afraid he might become a Monster.

• The heavily made-up woman attacked Liu Jia, but Yan Jiayu struck her repeatedly with a metal table and killed her.
• The train shuddered near eight o’clock, dawn broke, and the survivors found the carriage quiet and the ride smooth.
• Xu Huo examined the mangled Third-Class Car and concluded that failed Cannibal Players had mutated into dangerous Monsters on the second night.
• Xu Huo told Wang Xiaohui that another passenger could not have entered because he would have posed too much risk, and Wang Xiaohui admitted her Ability duration had been reduced for breaking the train rules.
• Yan Jiayu found the old man’s suicide note, while Wang Xiaohui and Liu Jia offered to deliver it and He Yang’s backpack.
• Xu Huo noticed Professor Han’s bite wound had turned purple-black and begun oozing pus, prompting the middle-aged woman to fear he would become a Monster.

Xu Huo uncovered the last Cannibal Player in the carriage after the middle-aged woman offered the passengers meat sausages. She attacked him and then lunged at Liu Jia, leaving the others in danger.

• The middle-aged woman argued that Professor Han should be driven out, but Xu Huo arranged for Yan Jiayu to watch over him in Third-Class Seat.
• Xu Huo cleaned Professor Han’s wound, and Professor Han thanked him for saving Liu Jia.
• The middle-aged woman offered meat sausages to Liu Jia and Wang Xiaohui, but Xu Huo recognized the meat as human and accused her of being the last Cannibal Player.
• Liu Jia admitted she had seen the woman eating something, and Professor Han moved to stop her.
• The middle-aged woman pulled out a Fruit Knife, cut Xu Huo’s side, and charged at Liu Jia.

Xu Huo and Yan Jiayu fought off a Cannibal Player who attacked the carriage, then Xu Huo explained the likely identity of the extra passenger and why Chen Yi had targeted him. The survivors ate, rested, and prepared to guard the carriage through another night.

• Wang Xiaohui shielded Liu Jia from the middle-aged woman, but a tall Cannibal Player killed the woman and entered the carriage.
• Yan Jiayu killed the attacker, but he revived and bit at her; Xu Huo and Yan Jiayu subdued him, and Liu Jia and Professor Han threw him out the window.
• Xu Huo identified Chen Yi as the extra Cannibal Player and suggested that Chen Yi had targeted him for White Cash or a game reward.
• Xu Huo examined the middle-aged woman's family portrait and explained that hunger on boarding could affect a player's urge to attack.
• The group exchanged White Cash for food and water, ate, and took turns sleeping before assigning guards for the night.

Xu Huo and the others survived a monster attack on Train 301, completing the Preliminary Train Dungeon and becoming official Players. Xu Huo arrived alone in a white space, where his Player status, rewards, and next-game countdown were revealed.

• Professor Han stayed in the carriage with Wang Xiaohui as Xu Huo waited for darkness.
• A huge monster climbed onto the train, broke into the Third-Class Car, and nearly attacked Liu Jia before Xu Huo silenced her.
• A flash of light drew the monster toward the front cars, where it attacked before the train escaped into silence.
• The system announced that the Players had completed the Preliminary Train Dungeon and would receive a free Ticket because the train had encountered a D-class Incident.
• Xu Huo became an official Black Player and received the Ability Insider's Perspective, Super Running Shoes, an Arsonist's Tool, cash, potions, and other rewards.

Xu Huo tested his new items, Ability, and Potions before taking a train Ticket to a glass Station. There, he pretended to have no Ticket and warned the stranded Players about what might happen to them.

• Xu Huo inspected his Super Running Shoes and Arsonist's Tool, then used Insider's Perspective and found that it enhanced his vision.
• Xu Huo drank three Evolution Potions, raising his evolution progress to 10% and improving his strength and speed.
• Xu Huo tested the other Potions, selected Train 134, and teleported to a glass Station.
• Xu Huo refused the Station Staff's demand to check his Ticket and claimed he had none.
• Xu Huo pointed out that the other Players lacked Tickets too and warned that they might be removed from the Station or sent to a high-risk Dungeon.

Xu Huo tested the Brass Lighter against the fake Station Staff and other Players before entering the E-class instance “Head Chopper Demon” at Hot Spring Mountain. He headed toward Hot Spring Villa with Yuan Yao, while wondering why he had failed to notice the Players who arrived before him.

• Xu Huo ignited the clothes of the two fake Station Staff and three other Players with Arsonist's Tool, then assessed the Lighter's limits.
• Xu Huo boarded the train and entered the E-class “Head Chopper Demon” instance, whose mission was to protect his head and check in at Hot Spring Villa before midnight.
• Xu Huo appeared on a fog-covered path near Hot Spring Mountain Station and found that the mist blocked sight beyond the instance's playable area.
• Yuan Yao emerged from the bushes, introduced himself as a Player, and joined Xu Huo on the walk to the villa.
• Yuan Yao said eight Players had already passed by, and Xu Huo wondered why he had not noticed any of them before they reached Hot Spring Villa.

Xu Huo and Yuan Yao arrived at a villa with ten other players, where they waited for midnight before entering the grounds. The group discovered a man hanging from a tree, and Xu Huo suspected he had taken his own life, but the corpse’s strange sores left the danger unresolved.

• Xu Huo and Yuan Yao arrived as the other players argued, and the muscular man and half-bald man clashed with the group.
• At midnight, the villa’s door opened, and the players entered through an overgrown garden toward the registration area.
• The long-haired female player spotted a body hanging from a tree, and the players followed a path to investigate.
• Xu Huo examined the scene and suggested the man had hanged himself, pointing out the firewood pile beneath the corpse.
• Xu Huo lifted the corpse by the shoulder and revealed large green sores covering its back as Yuan Yao asked what he had found.

Xu Huo and the other Players settled into the Mountain Villa for the five-day survival Dungeon, while Xu considered how outsiders and non-game items might enter it. At night, Yuan Yao approached Xu’s bed to check his Player number, just as Xu heard a series of metallic clangs.

• Xu Huo’s group found no useful clues around the Wooden Cabin corpse, returned to the Mountain Villa, and agreed to bury the body in the morning.
• The Players argued over room assignments, then mostly chose separate rooms; Yuan Yao shared a room with Xu Huo.
• Yuan Yao told Xu who was staying in each room and relayed what Du Lanlan had said about Huang Junjie and Wan Zhikang.
• Xu reviewed the Players’ belongings and reasoned that the Dungeon’s location might not be sealed off, and that its participant count might be uncertain.
• Yuan Yao approached Xu’s bed to check his number, revealed himself as a White Player, and explained that he had sought Xu’s protection.
• Xu heard repeated metallic clangs from somewhere outside.