Chapter Summaries

After a Player died soon after leaving Xu Huo, he questioned the village children about strange callers and learned that a dead young woman named Toto had once called a girl by name. Xu Huo was left wondering whether Toto’s voice was connected to the hidden friend and what had happened to the missing Player.

• Bubble Bean and the Yin Yang Master suspected they had chosen the wrong person to play the hidden friend after the Player they had approached died.
• Xu Huo considered whether the hidden friend could interfere with people’s minds, but he remained puzzled by the dead Player’s disappearance.
• Xu Huo asked a village boy about strange people, and the boy brought his sister to answer questions.
• The girl said Sister Toto had called her by name one morning, but she had stayed home after her grandmother warned her not to go outside.
• Xu Huo recognized Toto from a family photograph and realized she was already dead, leaving him to wonder whether anyone else in the village had heard a strange caller.

Xu Huo declined the Dungeon Players’ offer to help them find a way through the fog, but agreed to travel with them once it cleared. As the group gathered stories about the hidden friend, Xu Huo compared the conflicting accounts and concluded that the real caller might be heard by only one person at a time.

• Bubble Bean and the Yin Yang Master asked Xu Huo to help them leave through the fog, and he initially refused because he did not want to get involved in their Dungeon.
• The painted woman proposed that Xu Huo travel with them and that the B-class Players go first if danger arose, and Bubble Bean agreed.
• The Yin Yang Master and Bubble Bean questioned locals about the hidden friend and heard conflicting stories about calls from the forest and disappearances.
• The Yin Yang Master suggested killing other Dungeon Players to improve their odds, but Bubble Bean warned that the Dungeon could disqualify an impersonator for killing the wrong person.
• The game panel announced that only 37 Players remained, and Xu Huo considered whether another Player had died or the impersonator role had shifted.
• Xu Huo compared the villagers’ accounts and reasoned that the real hidden friend called to one person at a time, while many other stories might involve Players or embellished rumors.

Xu Huo and the painted woman tried to leave the village with the old woman's help, but Bubble Bean and the Yin Yang Master intercepted them in the woods. The two players demanded Xu Huo's help and threatened to kill them when he refused to trust them.

• Xu Huo reasoned that only one player should go missing each day and wondered whether someone had broken a hidden rule before he entered the instance.
• The old woman warned Xu Huo about Bubble Bean and the Yin Yang Master, then made waterproof coats for him and the painted woman.
• At dawn, the old woman gave Xu Huo a pouch of grass and sent him and the painted woman into the woods by a different route.
• Bubble Bean and the Yin Yang Master pursued Xu Huo and the painted woman, then blocked their way and covered them with a sealing item.
• Bubble Bean insisted they needed Xu Huo's help, while the Yin Yang Master threatened him and Bubble Bean launched a bladed flying ring at the pair.

Xu Huo used mental interference to make Yin Yang Master hear and see false things while the group searched the foggy forest. After Bubble Bean heard a voice and attacked Xu Huo, Xu Huo’s defensive rings repelled him, exposing the conflict between the three.

• Yin Yang Master insisted he had heard Deng Guang call to him, while Xu Huo suggested Deng Guang might be targeting his own companions.
• Bubble Bean estimated they had been teleported near a village, but the three searched for nearly half an hour and became lost again.
• Yin Yang Master saw someone in the fog, so Bubble Bean cleared the area and told him to cover his eyes and ears while they continued.
• The Dungeon’s player count fell twice to 35 as the group traveled without further incidents.
• Bubble Bean heard a voice, attacked the empty forest with items and Abilities, then charged at Xu Huo after finding no one.
• Xu Huo’s rings of light blocked Bubble Bean and sent him flying back, while Yin Yang Master moved to block Xu Huo’s other escape route.

Xu Huo used the painted woman to harass Bubble Bean and the Yin Yang Master as they tried to escape the foggy forest. The two blamed Xu and his supposed allies for the strange events, but they still could not find their pursuers.

• Bubble Bean and the Yin Yang Master launched attacks at Xu Huo, who retreated to observe them from a distance.
• The painted woman disguised herself as missing, then transformed into a sheet of paper and followed the two men.
• Bubble Bean and the Yin Yang Master tried to teleport away, but their items failed, so they hurried through the forest instead.
• The painted woman shook dew above them, and the men heard strange sounds but could not locate her.
• The Yin Yang Master rushed through the fog with Bubble Bean, then claimed that a long-haired figure had passed them.
• Bubble Bean suspected that Xu Huo’s younger sister was nearby and said she and Xu were likely Dungeon Players using items to conceal themselves.

Xu Huo and the painted woman entered a village after Bubble Bean and the Yin Yang Master wandered through the woods without finding them. Xu Huo learned that the village girls feared both the hidden friend and the Aliens outside, but their stories suggested they had never heard its call themselves.

• The painted woman found unusual markings in the woods, and Xu Huo asked her to wait while he prepared to deal with Bubble Bean and the Yin Yang Master.
• Bubble Bean and the Yin Yang Master questioned Deng Guang's account of the hidden friend, then discovered Bubble Bean grass and left after its bubbles rose into the air.
• Xu Huo and the painted woman entered a nearby village, where a braided girl recognized their waterproof clothes from Grandma Yi of Shangmu Village.
• The girls told Xu Huo they feared being taken by a hidden friend or killed by Aliens, though some said they would rather face the hidden friend than an Alien.
• The braided girl said no one in her village had been called away in recent years, and the girls dismissed reports of hearing the hidden friend as fake.

Xu Huo and the painted woman settled into an empty house in a village where the locals treated the feared “hidden friend” with unusual familiarity. As Xu Huo tried to learn more about the villagers and their past, a friendly young man offered to help them fetch water.

• Xu Huo wondered why the villagers seemed neither deeply afraid of nor devoted to the “hidden friend.”
• The braided girl directed Xu Huo and the painted woman to Grandpa He, who offered them an empty house and invited them to the village’s communal meal.
• Xu Huo gave Grandpa He food from outside in exchange for lodging, and Grandpa He asked cautiously about Grandma Yi.
• After finding signs that Players had stayed in the house, Xu Huo accompanied the painted woman to seek water, but two households refused to help.
• A young man offered them water and volunteered to guide them to the village’s water jar.

Xu Huo fetched water with the painted woman and a young villager, who told him about village life and his wish to see the world as a Player. After returning, Xu Huo encountered Bubble Bean and Yin Yang Master, then warned Bubble Bean to stay out of his way when they spoke by the stream.

• Xu Huo discussed Grandma Yi, the village, and the outside world with the young man while they gathered water.
• The painted woman tasted sweet juice from a local vine and offered leaves to Xu Huo and the young man.
• Xu Huo and his companions ran into Bubble Bean and Yin Yang Master, who were angry but avoided confronting him.
• The painted woman began cleaning the house while Xu Huo went to the stream for more water.
• Bubble Bean accused Xu Huo of killing Deng Guang and asked whether he was the hidden friend, but Xu Huo denied involvement.
• Xu Huo warned Bubble Bean not to cause trouble or bring his plans to him again.

Xu Huo and the others shared a peaceful village dinner until three Players brought their fight to the banquet. Xu Huo stopped the injured Player from attacking the villagers and invited all three Players to sit and eat, leaving the tense confrontation unresolved.

• Bubble Bean and the Yin Yang Master agreed not to antagonize Xu Huo and joined the villagers for dinner.
• Xu Huo and the painted woman mingled with the villagers as the meal grew lively.
• An injured Player fled into the banquet while two pursuers attacked him, and he targeted a child among the villagers.
• The painted woman shielded the child and trapped the injured Player with paper scraps, but he broke through her barrier.
• Xu Huo restrained the injured Player, forced him to agree not to attack unless the others attacked first, and invited the three Players to join the meal.

Xu Huo restrained the injured player and questioned three newcomers about the hidden friend, while the dungeon players remained unsure how the role worked. After the villagers explained their casual view of the hidden friend, Xu Huo warned that more players gathering could lead to trouble, though it might also draw the hidden friend out.

• Xu Huo used Sit Please to make the two newcomers sit, and Bubble Bean questioned them about who was the hidden friend.
• The eyebrow-pierced player accused the injured player of spying and trying to kill them, while the injured player denied it and suggested the role might rotate.
• Xu Huo said he was not a player in the dungeon, and Bubble Bean and the Yin Yang Master admitted they had found no real players in the woods.
• Bubble Bean and the others asked villagers about the hidden friend, and the villagers said the oddball might want friends from out of town and that players could not hurt ordinary people.
• After the feast, the players split between two empty houses, and Xu Huo asked the injured player how the role and dungeon rules might work.
• Xu Huo concluded that more players could cause trouble, but that their presence might also bring the hidden friend out.

Xu Huo and the others tried to attract players to Middle Wood Village while gathering information from the villagers and searching the forest. They encountered Chi Cai, a White Player who had been lost in the woods for days, and he asked to stay with them.

• Bubble Bean and the others placed a bright lamp near the village to draw in players, but no one arrived overnight.
• Xu Huo asked the painted woman to watch Yang Tian, and the group stayed in the village as villagers shared inconsistent stories about the forest.
• Xu Huo and the painted woman went to gather firewood with a young villager, and the painted woman spotted a waving figure that vanished when Xu Huo used a gust-generating device.
• On the way back, Xu Huo, the painted woman, and the young villager met Chi Cai, who identified himself as a White Player and said he was not the hidden friend.
• Chi Cai told Xu Huo he had spent nearly five days lost in the forest and reported that the Dungeon's player count had fallen from 42 to 35 before asking to stay with him.

Xu Huo’s group met Chi Cai’s two pursuers and then joined villagers searching for Grandma Yi’s missing granddaughter. Chi Cai suspected the hidden friend had taken the child, and Xu Huo’s group continued searching with the possibility that older villagers had been its main victims.

• Chi Cai demonstrated his speed and escape ability before two players—a green-haired woman and a man missing half his right ear—arrived looking for him.
• Chi Cai fled toward Middle Wood Village, where the players gathered in the Wooden Cabins and watched one another for signs of the hidden friend.
• Villagers from Shangmu Village reported that Grandma Yi’s granddaughter had gone missing, and Xu Huo proposed joining the search.
• Xu Huo’s group searched the forest with a young villager as their guide, while Xu Huo asked whether the girl might have gone to visit Tuo Tuo in Lower Wood Village.
• Chi Cai told Xu Huo he suspected the hidden friend had taken the girl and reasoned that its past victims were probably elderly people.

Xu Huo found the missing girl in a tree hollow and learned that she believed the forest spirit was Sister Toto, a dead woman who had once told her stories. He brought the girl back to Shangmu Village, where Grandma Yi reunited with her, and a neighbor blew a wooden whistle toward the forest.

• Xu Huo found the little girl asleep in an underground tree hollow and gave her food and water.
• The girl told Xu Huo that she believed Sister Toto had called her into the forest and explained that Toto and other villagers had died and returned to the woods.
• Xu Huo persuaded the girl to give him her candies for Sister Toto and walked her back to Shangmu Village.
• Grandma Yi struck the girl, then hugged her in relief, while the girl's little brother began to cry.
• A neighbor blew a wooden whistle toward the forest after hearing that the girl had returned safely.

Xu Huo rescued a girl and heard Grandma Yi explain how her dying mother followed a figure into the woods, leading her to believe the hidden friends were Monsters. After warning Xu Huo to leave and answering his questions about disappearances, Grandma Yi sent him off with a whistle.

• Xu Huo accepted Grandma Yi's invitation for tea after rescuing the little girl.
• Grandma Yi recounted how her dying mother saw her dead father's figure signal to her and then vanished into the woods.
• Grandma Yi said she later cleared the vines where her mother disappeared and found nothing, then concluded the hidden friend was a Monster that ate people.
• Xu Huo suggested the figure might have been a Mutated Plant imitating a person and asked Grandma Yi about disappearances among outsiders.
• Xu Huo gave the children a snack pack for the painted woman, and the little girl handed him a whistle from Grandma Yi.

Xu Huo searched near Tuo Tuo’s grave for the Mutated Plant that had lured the little girl into the forest, but found only seeds of a carnivorous plant. He was confronted by the Players who suspected he was hiding Dungeon clues, and Chi Cai warned them against killing anyone.

• Xu Huo took the painted woman to Tuo Tuo’s parents, then used their Route Map to find Tuo Tuo’s grave and left the little girl’s two candies there.
• Xu Huo examined the plants around the grave and dug into the ground, uncovering mud-covered seeds that proved to belong to a carnivorous plant.
• The painted woman wanted to take a seed, but Xu Huo identified what it was, and she buried them again.
• The Player with the missing ear arrived with his allies and accused Xu Huo of concealing Dungeon clues.
• Chi Cai stepped forward and reminded the Players that the Dungeon required the friend hiding away to have only one friend each day.

Xu Huo and the other players investigated the girl Tuo Tuo’s grave and debated whether to kill someone to lure out the Hidden Friend. Chi Cai talked them out of the test, and the chapter ended as night fell on the fifth day.

• The green-haired female player scanned Tuo Tuo’s grave and found no bones, though the soil contained bone matter.
• The players discussed whether killing someone would attract the Hidden Friend, but Chi Cai warned that it could lead to more deaths or cause the Dungeon Boss to blame them.
• The eyebrow-piercing player withdrew from the plan, and the green-haired female player teased Chi Cai before leaving.
• Xu Huo and Chi Cai returned to the Wooden Cabin, where Chi Cai said he had been a teacher and the painted woman gave him sour fruit to quiet him.
• The forest gradually sank into darkness on the fifth day.

Xu Huo and the other players struggled against an unnatural drowsiness that overtook the village at night, and Xu Huo stayed awake until dawn. The players resumed investigating the forest the next day, while Chi Cai and Yang Tian hurried after the middle-aged man when they learned he had left alone.

• As the village went dark, Xu Huo noticed the players becoming unnaturally sleepy and tried to keep Chi Cai, Yang Tian, and the painted woman awake with a card game.
• Chi Cai and Yang Tian eventually fell asleep, and Xu Huo went outside, where he and Bubble Bean were the last players to remain awake.
• Xu Huo stayed up assembling his robot until dawn, then told the painted woman to keep watch while he slept.
• The players suspected the nighttime mist or the Dungeon environment had caused their drowsiness, then split up to investigate plants and the forest.
• Chi Cai and Yang Tian followed the middle-aged man after learning he had gone off alone, but found that he was not with the three local youths.

Chi Cai and the other Players investigated the middle-aged man’s disappearance and suspected he had obtained the identity of a friend in hiding. As Yang Tian went missing in the fog and Xu Huo remained in the village, Chi Cai wondered whether Yang Tian had left a coded warning or deliberately split from him.

• Chi Cai questioned Yang Tian and the three young men, then accompanied them through the fog while Yang Tian headed back toward the village alone.
• The middle-aged man became trapped in the woods, used a metal bird to follow its blue smoke to a marked tree, and fled when the man with a pierced eyebrow appeared.
• The man with a pierced eyebrow, Bubble Bean, and the Yin Yang Master concluded that the middle-aged man might be playing the role of a hidden friend, and the Yin Yang Master planted coded warnings on marked trees.
• Chi Cai found one of the coded marks and messaged Yang Tian, who dismissed the warning while lost in the woods and cutting down trees to clear a path.
• Chi Cai returned to the village and found Xu Huo awake; after learning Yang Tian had not returned, he wondered whether Yang Tian had left the coded mark or deliberately separated from him.

As the players returned to the village, they debated a cryptic warning and a sudden drop in the player count while Yang Tian remained missing. That night, Xu Huo and Chi Cai were overcome by drowsiness again, but Xu Huo noticed a figure outside the middle-aged man's venue Wooden Cabin.

• The battered middle-aged man returned to the village and went into his simulated Wooden Cabin, while Chi Cai showed the others a code that might identify a hidden friend.
• A message announced that only 34 players remained, and Chi Cai worried that Yang Tian had not replied to him.
• Xu Huo invited the young man to dinner and asked about a missing child, but the young man insisted that no children had ever disappeared from the village.
• Chi Cai volunteered to keep watch, but the familiar drowsiness overcame him, and he accidentally knocked the painted woman away when she tried to wake him.
• Xu Huo noticed a figure outside the middle-aged man's venue Wooden Cabin.

Xu Huo and the other players followed a middle-aged man into the woods, where he muttered religious words before escaping with a Space Teleport Artifact. Back in Middle Wood Village, the players discussed the hidden friend and found Yang Tian alive but poisoned after a large man rescued him from a carnivorous plant.

• Xu Huo and several players followed the middle-aged man into the woods while Bubble Bean and two others investigated a strange gulping sound.
• The middle-aged man muttered religious words, then bolted into the fog and escaped with repeated uses of a Space Teleport Artifact.
• The players returned to Middle Wood Village and discussed the missing players, the hidden friend, and whether Dungeon Players were replacing local victims.
• A large man appeared carrying the missing Yang Tian, who was poisoned after nearly being eaten by a carnivorous plant.
• Chi Cai injected Yang Tian with an Antidote, and the big man praised him for showing compassion.