Chapter Summaries

Xu Huo and the painted woman fled a pursuing mass of white threads with the middle-aged man, escaping the corridor’s breach only to find an endless sea of clouds outside. After the threads withdrew, the middle-aged man explained that Fish Banquet Tower held dangerous dungeon props and that its hidden spaces might form a vast special space.

• A severed head fell from a miniature opening, and the middle-aged man denied knowing what was inside or why he had pulled Xu Huo through it.
• White threads burst from the opening and dragged at the middle-aged man, but Xu Huo cut them while the painted woman shut the opening.
• The threads pursued the group down the corridor, targeting only the middle-aged man, and Xu Huo used oil to make him slip as he dodged them.
• Xu Huo and the middle-aged man broke through a window and found only clouds outside, so Xu Huo pulled the man back behind a defensive barrier as the threads cracked it.
• The threads abruptly retreated, and the middle-aged man told Xu Huo that Fish Banquet Tower’s dungeon props could remain deadly outside their original dungeons.
• Xu Huo asked about the tower’s portals, and the middle-aged man said its spaces seemed to extend endlessly like a special space made of multiple dungeon grounds.

Xu Huo and the other Players fled through an expanding maze as white threads poured from its windows and trapped them. With the corridors blocked, they debated entering the windows, and Xu Huo suspected a huge item inside was keeping the space sealed.

• Shi Shuai rushed to greet a female Player, who ran past him as white threads chased her and Xu Huo's group.
• Xu Huo, the painted woman, Shi Shuai, and several other Players fled through corridors that kept appearing, while the threads pursued them and tangled at junctions.
• Tang Xian gathered the group and proposed entering a window to find the source of the threads, but Zuo Lei opposed the idea.
• Xu Huo suggested that a large item inside might be preventing them from finding an exit, and the girl called MamaNaiLaolao said her bombs had all become duds when thrown through the windows.

Xu Huo and the others were trapped in a corridor by living white threads after Shi Shuai spilled corrosive Potion on them. They found a loom and a distant door inside the sealed opening, but the group had not yet decided whether to enter or take the item.

• Shi Shuai poured Potion on the white threads, causing them to snap and surge violently toward the group.
• Xu Huo and the others dodged the threads and one another until Zuo Lei trapped everyone behind a large defensive barrier.
• Xu Huo sent miniature recorders through the sealed window opening and saw that the threads inside hung loosely and a door stood in the distance.
• The group spotted an old loom beneath the threads, and Shi Shuai suggested stealing it.

Xu Huo and the others entered a loom-filled room in search of an Easter Egg, but a Giant Eyed Fish Mask Player opened a Cabinet containing two pouches that released hostile item fish. The fish pursued whoever had last touched a pouch, and the chapter ended with the group fleeing through the corridor as the fish hunted them.

• The young girl sent a robot toward the loom's door, but it could not open it, and the white threads sealed the group's window opening.
• Shi Shuai and the young girl shouted for help, and a Player entered the room, damaged the loom, and opened the door to a Cabinet.
• The Player took a pouch labeled as an Easter Egg, releasing a flying item fish that attacked him.
• The Player threw the pouch through the window, and the item fish targeted Shi Shuai, who had touched it.
• The Player took the second pouch and tried to pass it to Xu Huo's group, but Ai Jiangping's attempt to throw it outside failed when the Player pulled it back.
• Xu Huo's group split up and fled as item fish pursued them, while Tang Xian's defensive artifact struck the Player aside.

Xu Huo and his companions escaped the fish’s mouth back into Fish Banquet Tower and climbed toward the higher floors amid the Carnival Day slaughter. On the twenty-fifth floor, they encountered a gang of killers, and Xu Huo used his Spiritual World to isolate their leader.

• Shi Shuai was swallowed by the growing fish, which pulled the girl and the painted woman along with him before Xu Huo fell into its mouth too.
• Xu Huo, the girl, the painted woman, and Shi Shuai emerged from the fish on the Twelfth Floor, where Xu Huo rescued the round-faced Player from attackers.
• The round-faced Player warned Xu Huo that groups were hunting people across the floors, but he followed Xu Huo upstairs along with Shi Shuai and the others.
• The girl and the painted woman made Shi Shuai walk ahead of them to face any danger as the group climbed toward the higher floors.
• On the twenty-fifth floor, a crew-cut killer ordered his gang to keep the women alive and kill the rest, so Xu Huo released his Spiritual World and pulled the man in front of him.

Xu Huo's group fought a three-way battle in a corridor until the buzz-cut man's side began to lose ground. Xu Huo pinned the buzz-cut man and demanded to know what he knew about the Mermaid Mask.

• A player attacked Xu Huo's group as soon as he emerged from the Space Portal, and the clash escalated into a corridor fight.
• The little girl, painted woman, and Shi Shuai joined the battle, while Shi Shuai's flash artifact left everyone fighting with their eyes closed.
• A third group joined the melee, but the newcomers and some of the buzz-cut man's allies eventually retreated.
• Xu Huo held off the buzz-cut man as both sides reached a stalemate, then caught him when he tried to escape.
• Xu Huo pinned the buzz-cut man against the wall and asked him about the Mermaid Mask.

Xu Huo learned how the Mermaid Game worked and obtained two Mermaid Masks from Qiu Ping. A female player asked him to help rescue her friend, who had been brought to Fish Banquet Tower as a mermaid, and offered to enter the game with him.

• A round-faced player explained that the Mermaid Game took place on certain floors during Carnival Day and required a Mermaid Mask to enter.
• Qiu Ping offered Xu Huo a favor and A-class items as collateral, but Xu Huo refused a contract and let him go after taking two Mermaid Masks and an invitation.
• The round-faced player described the game’s high-stakes gambling, while Xu Huo’s companions warned that its wealthy players and bodyguards made it dangerous.
• A female player offered three high-level items for a Mermaid Mask and explained that her friend had been captured and might be taken into the Mermaid Game.
• Xu Huo said the game required someone to bring a mermaid inside, and the female player offered to wear the mask and accompany him.

After Carnival Day ended, Xu Huo and his companions found a safe room and prepared to enter the Mermaid Game. Xu Huo, Hua Sisi, and the round-faced Player opened a door to a recreation room where eight screens awaited the players and the Fair Dealer began explaining the game.

• Xu Huo and his companions searched nearby rooms until Hua Sisi opened an empty one, where the Painted Woman agreed to stay with the group.
• Shi Shuai, the little girl, Hua Sisi, and the round-faced Player settled into the room with Xu Huo and fended off two players who tried to enter.
• That evening, Xu Huo took Hua Sisi and the round-faced Player to a room on the twenty-third floor, while the Painted Woman stayed behind.
• Xu Huo opened the door and found a recreation room divided by eight screens around a round table, then took a seat as the screens lit up.
• A floating puppet introduced itself as the Fair Dealer, joked that it could not see the players' true appearances, and began explaining the rules.

Xu Huo joined a wager at Fish Banquet Tower, where players gambled with mermaids and valuable items. He successfully called a multiple of the chosen number, keeping his stake as the winnings began to accumulate.

• The puppet explained the wager rules and introduced the spinning wheel and dice game.
• Women and one man emerged from behind the screens as mermaid stakes, and Hua Sisi joined them with a control chip on her forehead.
• The players rolled dice to decide who would wager first, and Xu Huo matched the young man's wager with two B-class items.
• The young man stopped the bead on 4, and Xu Huo waited before calling a correct multiple, keeping his stake.
• Two players called the wrong numbers, losing fifteen items that were divided among the players who matched the wager.

Xu Huo played the Mermaid Game at Fish Banquet Tower and learned that callers and bettors risked their stakes, with the game rewarding accurate dice calls. When a quiet player behind Screen No. 5 won the draw to call the second round and raised the base stake to an A-class instrument, Xu Huo added two A-class items, setting off a high-stakes round.

• Xu Huo learned that he could not change his base stake in the first round and that Hua Sisi had been rated a low-value C-class Mermaid.
• Xu Huo called a number correctly, and five players won bets in his round as the first eight rounds ended.
• The fair croupier introduced a new rule in which it chose callers, and the first player to stop the dice correctly became the caller.
• Xu Huo and the quiet player behind Screen No. 5 stopped the dice at the same time, and a random draw gave the other player the call.
• The player behind Screen No. 5 put up an A-class instrument as the base stake, and Xu Huo added two A-class items as the first bettor.
• The young man matched Xu Huo's two A-class items, while someone behind Screen No. 7 questioned whether the players could keep raising their stakes.

Xu Huo and the other Players gambled increasingly valuable items in the Mermaid Game, with Xu Huo becoming one of the biggest winners. As the game continued, Number 6 proposed betting an Instance Authorization Letter, and Xu Huo answered by offering a Perfect Potion.

• Xu Huo and the other Players raised their stakes to A-class items, and Xu Huo, Number 6, and Number 8 won the first game of the second round.
• Xu Huo and Number 5 emerged as the biggest winners by consistently guessing the multiplier correctly, while Numbers 4 and 7 lost heavily and left the game.
• As the one-hour Mermaid Game wore on, Players became distracted and only six remained.
• Number 6 proposed betting an authorization letter for a D-level Random Instance, and Xu Huo responded by tossing out a Perfect Potion.

Xu Huo offered a Potion said to be perfect as a wager at Fish Banquet Tower, drawing interest from the other players and the Fair Dealer. No. 1 called with a valuable mineral vein, while the Potion’s true nature remained uncertain.

• Xu Huo explained that the Potion had been given to him as a Perfect Evolution Potion, though he could not verify its contents.
• No. 1 questioned why Xu Huo would risk a Potion that could be worth a fortune, while Xu invited the players to wager against it.
• The Fair Dealer offered to buy the Potion for Fish Banquet, and No. 5 warned Xu that selling it could expose him to trouble if it proved fake.
• Xu kept the Potion on the table, and No. 1 called with a mineral vein producing about 1.5 billion White Cash in annual net profit for seven years.
• Xu cautioned the round-faced Player that the Potion’s high potential price did not mean anyone could be sure it was genuine or realize its full value.

Xu Huo joined a wager over the suspected Perfect Potion, but repeated interference kept the dice game from producing a winner. He collected his Potion and left the venue with Hua Sisi and the round-faced Player, disguising them as they hurried away.

• No. 1, No. 6, and No. 8 placed stakes, and the four participants agreed to take turns calling the dice numbers while the Fair Croupier oversaw the game.
• Someone interfered with No. 6’s dice, so the Fair Croupier voided the round and restarted it despite No. 8’s objections.
• After several rounds ended without a winner, Xu Huo realized Nos. 2 and 5 were also sabotaging the dice to prevent anyone from winning the Potion.
• Xu Huo deliberately interfered with the others’ dice in the final round, then collected his Potion and settled the game.
• Xu Huo disguised himself and hurried through the venue with Hua Sisi and the round-faced Player as the Mermaid Game’s deadline approached.

Xu Huo and his companions were trapped by Players seeking his Perfect Potion, and No. 1 and No. 6 pressured him to sell it. A man wearing a shark Mask arrived on Miss Zhai’s orders, forcing the two rivals to leave and escorting Xu Huo to meet her.

• Xu Huo, Hua Sisi, and the round-faced Player found the routes off their floor sealed and confronted the group blocking them.
• No. 6 offered Xu Huo twice his gambling-table price for the Perfect Potion but wanted a sample to verify it.
• No. 1 arrived and offered the same price without inspecting the Potion, while he and No. 6 argued over their rivalry.
• The round-faced Player suggested throwing the Potion to make the others fight over it, but Xu Huo faced pressure to choose a buyer.
• A man wearing a shark Mask announced that Miss Zhai wanted to see Xu Huo, prompting No. 1 and No. 6 to withdraw.
• The shark Mask removed the barriers, gave Xu Huo No. 6’s contact information, and led Xu Huo away.

Xu Huo confronted Fish Banquet Tower’s owner, rejected her offer to work for her, and used Time Power against her and her Players. Fish Banquet Tower displaced the room to escape, but the exchange opened a deadly pit, forcing Xu Huo to flee as shadows dragged people inside.

• The woman welcomed Xu Huo, punished him for speaking out of turn, and offered him a job at Fish Banquet Tower.
• Xu Huo rejected the offer and tried to seize the woman with his Time Ring, but it initially failed to affect anyone in the room.
• Xu Huo unleashed a torrent of Time Power that froze the attacking Players and rapidly aged the woman.
• Fish Banquet Tower shifted the room to escape the Time Power, causing the space to collapse into a bottomless pit.
• Xu Huo activated the Water Rubik's Cube barrier and fled down the tower as black shadows dragged Players into the pit.

Xu Huo rescued a female player from two men pursuing her through Fish Banquet Tower and learned that Da Rong Group and others trafficked players there. He left with her as she explained how captives were controlled and abused.

• Xu Huo encountered the female player from Chunyi City on the stairs and recognized the Mermaid Mask tangled in her hair.
• Xu Huo killed one of her pursuers, subdued the other, and learned from his business card that he worked for Da Rong Group in District 001.
• The remaining pursuer fled using a card, and the female player removed an electric chip implanted in her arm.
• Xu Huo asked how she had been captured and learned that Fish Banquet trafficked players, many of whom could escape only with a Ticket or help from staff.
• The female player told Xu Huo that many captives were women who were drugged or otherwise harmed before being sent to guests.

Xu Huo returned to the room with a female Player he had helped escape, while Hua Sisi learned her missing friend had been taken to an upper floor of Fish Banquet Tower. The group heard that part of the tower had been attacked, but the culprit and the fate of Miss Zhai remained unknown.

• The painted woman recognized the female Player, complained that her payment card was useless, and followed Xu Huo inside to talk.
• Hua Sisi described her missing friend, and the female Player said she had seen the friend taken to a room above the sixtieth floor.
• The round-faced Player explained that powerful people occupied fixed rooms in the tower, and Shi Shuai suggested Hua Sisi's friend might have escaped during the disturbance.
• Xu Huo said part of Fish Banquet Tower had apparently been attacked and noted Miss Zhai had never arrived, possibly because something had happened to her.
• The female Player prepared to leave and gave Xu Huo two ways to contact her, while the little girl handed Xu Huo and the painted woman several bombs.
• The painted woman asked Shi Shuai why he was still in the room.

Xu Huo learned that Players were tracking an escaped Dungeon item through a mini-game and watched its reported sightings stop. The enormous item fish then appeared in the room, attacked him, and vanished through a Space Portal.

• Shi Shuai discussed the Perfect Potion with Xu Huo, who put it away and suggested finding more Potions to verify it.
• The painted woman showed Xu Huo a mini-game that mapped Fish Banquet Tower and tracked the escaped Dungeon item, which she wanted to catch.
• Xu Huo checked for updates about the item fish, but its sightings stopped at the thirty-ninth floor while Players reported fighting Shark Masks.
• A huge item fish attacked Xu Huo with tentacle-like shadows, then disappeared into a Space Portal.
• The round-faced Player rushed out and asked whether the fish was hunting Players.

Xu Huo and the Players were attacked by tentacles that emerged from a fish, and Hua Sisi was briefly swallowed before escaping. Xu Huo fled upstairs with the painted woman, but the tentacled creature kept pursuing him; he spotted Shi Shuai near a lounge.

• The tentacles caught Hua Sisi and the round-faced Player, but Xu Huo disrupted them long enough for the two Players to escape.
• The item fish swallowed Hua Sisi, then vomited her out as the tentacles turned on it; Hua Sisi shut the door while Xu Huo and the painted woman fled upstairs.
• Xu Huo and the painted woman reasoned that the tentacles were using Space Power and that the painted woman feared them.
• The enlarged item fish repeatedly appeared in the stairwell, bit the tentacles, and vanished into rippling space while pursuing Xu Huo.
• Xu Huo realized the tentacled item seemed to hold a grudge against him and spotted Shi Shuai reaching for a fallen feather beside a lounge.

Xu Huo, Shi Shuai, and the painted woman were trapped in a private Player gathering that turned out to be a banquet for Cannibal Players. When the item fish crashed into the hall and began swallowing guests, the hunters became prey, and the formally dressed Player tried to hold the chaos in check while awaiting help.

• Xu Huo and Shi Shuai escaped the item fish by entering the banquet hall through the feather, where the painted woman joined them.
• Shi Shuai explained that the hall was a secretive Player gathering, and Xu Huo and his companions found that its exit would not open.
• The formally dressed Player announced that Players had entered at a seven-to-three ratio, then attacked and killed a guest to signal the banquet’s start.
• Cannibal Players revealed their true nature and attacked the other guests, turning the banquet hall into a hunting ground.
• The enormous item fish forced its way into the hall and swallowed Players, making the Cannibal Players its prey.
• The guests tried to drive the item fish back, while the formally dressed Player set up nets and waited for the Fish Banquet Tower to arrive.