Chapter Summaries

Xu Huo recovered documents from the destroyed Stellar Pharmaceutical factory that pointed him toward Dr. Wu in Sub-district A49-033, then boarded a train there. When a quarrel broke out among the passengers, he demonstrated his strength, and a fellow passenger revealed ties to the Holy Sword Society.

• Stellar Pharmaceutical’s factory exploded, scattering documents that Xu Huo recognized as records concerning the Perfect Potion; he kept some pages and suspected Dr. Zhang had left him a clue.
• Xu Huo killed two players who rushed him for the documents, then returned to Dou Shengnan’s former neighborhood and considered the threat posed by Jin Feixue and the Ghastly Sound Knights.
• Xu Huo bought a Ticket to Sub-district A49-033 after the documents suggested Dr. Wu might have appeared there, possibly in territory controlled by the Holy Sword Society.
• On the train, a female player attacked a middle-aged woman after she teased the woman and her companion; Xu Huo stopped the woman’s rings with his Space Sharp Blade and damaged them.
• The companion asked Xu Huo to overlook the fight and said he was a member of the Holy Sword Society, prompting the middle-aged woman to react warily.

Xu Huo rode an A-class train toward District 033 as passengers discussed the dangers near A-class tracks. After the train endured repeated darkness, Aliens attacked in the form of small mutant birds that broke through the windows and struck the defensive barriers.

• A man hinted that his Holy Sword Society connections could help Xu Huo and the middle-aged woman in District 033, but left after Xu Huo mentioned clashing with Gold Apprentices.
• The woman who had accompanied the man also slipped out, leaving six passengers in Xu Huo's carriage.
• A middle-aged woman warned the passengers that darkness near A-class tracks could signal danger, and told them to turn off the lights and avoid damaging the train.
• The sky repeatedly plunged into darkness and brightened again while the train continued along the tracks.
• The train announced that Aliens would attack in thirty seconds, then accelerated as small mutant birds battered and broke through the windows.

A giant mutant bird dragged a carriage off the Dimensional Train, killing or stranding most of its passengers before the train escaped into daylight. Xu Huo suspected that differences in the flow of time around the track explained how the bird caught up, while a wounded player discovered black water seeping from his arm.

• Mutant birds breached a carriage’s defenses, and a colossal bird seized the carriage and dragged it off the track as the train split apart.
• Three players escaped onto the carriage ahead, while the train abandoned the wrecked carriage and those left behind.
• The surviving players argued after the attack, and Xu Huo considered whether different time rates around the track let Aliens match the train’s speed.
• A man in Xu Huo’s carriage noticed a wound on his arm that was oozing black water.

Xu Huo stopped eleven bloodied players from taking over the Third Car by threatening to destroy the train. After the group revealed that a bird attack had infected them with the JE9 virus, a player identified an antidote, but the infected man questioned her testing instrument.

• Players from the rear carriages crowded into Xu Huo's carriage, and he claimed an empty room while the others respected his claim.
• Eleven survivors from a derailed train boarded and fought the occupants of the front carriages before trying to seize the Third Car.
• Xu Huo threatened to destroy the train with his spatial powers, forcing the eleven newcomers to back down.
• One of the newcomers began showing signs of losing control, and their leader explained that a toxin from bird scratches had driven survivors to attack one another.
• A female player tested the leader's blood, identified the JE9 virus, and advised the infected players to buy its antidote.
• The man nearing a loss of control asked the female player what model of instrument could detect the virus.

After a failed Antidote killed most of the eleven poisoned Players, the remaining three threatened the train before the female Player killed them. The train entered a sea of flowers by morning, while Xu Huo and the others remained aboard.

• The poisoned Players bought and injected an Antidote, then moved from the Third Car to the Transfer Carriage as the train continued through the night.
• Several people in the Transfer Carriage suddenly died, and the survivors realized the Antidote had failed; the leader accused the female Player of tampering with it.
• The leader and the other two remaining poisoned Players threatened to destroy the train, but a short old man’s finger snap briefly stopped them and the female Player killed them.
• After the female Player returned to the Third Car, the lovesick couple went to search the bodies, and the man was strangled by an invisible force.
• At daylight, train staff collected the bodies as the train entered a sea of flowers.

Xu Huo arrived in District 033’s administrative capital and observed its advanced public transport, widespread machinery, and openness about Dungeons and body modification. He learned about the district’s harsh public punishments before a young woman invited him to join a group Dungeon exploration.

• Xu Huo used a public transport portal to travel from Black Jade Station to District 033’s administrative capital.
• Xu Huo bought a low-altitude flying vehicle and saw how commonplace robots, mechanical prosthetics, and body-modification treatments were.
• Xu Huo noticed that District 033 openly advertised Dungeons and that player organizations recruited ordinary people for group explorations.
• Xu Huo read about District 033’s public executions and learned that a B-class Player had been sentenced to three hours of extreme punishment for accidentally killing three residents.
• A young woman invited Xu Huo to join her research institute’s Dungeon exploration team in exchange for equipment and payment.

Xu Huo explored District 033, survived an ambush by a mechanical monkey, and joined the Zisheng Research Institute’s team to investigate a newly appeared sealed A-class Dungeon. He arrived at the abandoned Medical Research Institute with his teammates and received instructions before their entry.

• Xu Huo learned that Players in District 033 commonly took paid jobs and received ten invitations from local organizations.
• An unseen Player slowed Xu Huo and attacked him with a mechanical monkey, but Xu Huo shattered it and the attacker escaped through a portal.
• Xu Huo agreed to join the Zisheng Research Institute’s exploration of a new sealed Dungeon and chose two teammates.
• Xu Huo arrived at the abandoned Medical Research Institute and listened as the liaison explained the Dungeon’s risks, equipment, and entry schedule.
• A frail female Player questioned the lack of detailed records about the Players who had cleared the Dungeon previously.

Xu Huo prepared to explore the A-class space instance “Small Compartment” with Yue Yan'er and Wang Xin, despite warnings about its dangers. After entering the Medical Research Institute, the players stayed together, and Xu Huo's group joined Shen Ling'er's team before triggering the instance.

• The liaison warned the players that those who had entered the instance earlier had died, and the players discussed its risks and their exploration plans.
• Xu Huo packed equipment and items while Yue Yan'er and other players advised him about the dangers of pioneering an A-class instance.
• A second player organization arrived, and the liaison urged everyone to follow the instance's rules and avoid reckless actions.
• Xu Huo entered the Medical Research Institute with Yue Yan'er and Wang Xin, and the surroundings changed into a gray-black, empty space.
• Wang Xin's group joined Shen Linger's team, and the six players explored the institute's left side until they crossed scorched ground and triggered the “Small Compartment” instance.

Xu Huo and five other Players inspected the He Xin Medical Research Institute, studied its rules, and searched for clues to the Dungeon’s clearance tasks. After finding bone ash and an old work schedule, they descended into the basement and discovered that its deeper levels felt very different.

• Wang Xin, Shen Ling’er, and the other Players discussed the Dungeon rules and agreed to inspect the institute and search for Small Compartments before nightfall.
• Wang Xin found bone ash in the dust, and the group speculated that Players who broke the rules might have been killed and burned.
• Wang Xin warned Xu Huo that A-class Dungeon Bosses hunted Players, while Xu Huo sensed complicated spatial barriers but no immediate danger.
• The group searched the west side, found old documents and part of the institute’s work schedule, and decided to clean between six and eight in the morning.
• The Players explored the first two basement levels, which contained laboratories, then continued down to the third, fourth, and fifth levels, where the surroundings felt different.

Xu Huo and the other Players investigated the research institute and discovered that people were vanishing near the underground laboratory’s Elevator Shaft amid brief spatial fluctuations. The teams suspected the Dungeon’s “Small Compartment” involved the laboratory and planned to wait until night, while a woman suggested letting the Bailin Association face the danger first.

• As Xu Huo’s group left Underground Level 1, a burst of dust swept Leike away, and Yue Yan'er sent a robot to inspect the area.
• Xu Huo and the others learned that Players from two other teams had also vanished near the Elevator Shaft, including one who disappeared after falling into it.
• Xu Huo sensed a brief spatial fluctuation when Leike disappeared, and Wang Xin proposed marking the disappearance sites to look for a pattern.
• A purple-haired man theorized that the Dungeon Boss had limits on where and when it could appear, and the Players suspected the underground laboratory was the “Small Compartment.”
• A woman wearing a Ruby necklace suggested avoiding the Dungeon Boss and letting the Bailin Association take the risk as its members arrived at the main entrance.

Players from the Bailin Association recruited three Super Evolvers while the others investigated the research institute and waited for the Dungeon’s spaces to intersect. Two pursued players burst from the basement, and the black-haired woman ran to Xu Huo for help.

• The Bailin Association declined to explore the buildings in person and invited Spatial Evolution users to join its strategy team, prompting three Super Evolvers to leave the Zisheng Research Institute group.
• A powerful spatial fluctuation erupted from the central building, drawing players toward its basement.
• The black-haired woman and a blond man rushed out of the atrium while the Ruby necklace and other players pursued them for an item.
• The Zisheng Research Institute players intervened, but the pursuers captured the blond man and cornered the black-haired woman.
• The black-haired woman spotted Xu Huo, changed direction, and called, "Brother, save me!"

Xu Huo tested a Space Artifact called Knock If You Need Something, which strengthened the destructive force of Spatial Evolution but could only open passages in unstable spaces. After the Bailin Association killed the blond man, Xu Huo questioned the black-haired woman about the Dungeon and learned that its other space was nearly identical.

• The black-haired woman offered Xu Huo a finger cot Space Artifact in exchange for protection, and the blond man revealed that it had helped them escape through a passage between spaces.
• Shen Ling'er stopped Xing Xiaoyu from taking the finger cot, and the silver-armored woman forced the blond man to give it up before Xu Huo put it on.
• Xu Huo tested the artifact and found that it amplified his Space Power but could not open a passage from a sealed space to the outside.
• The silver-armored woman’s group killed the blond man and returned to the east-side building, while Xing Xiaoyu complained that Xu Huo had received the artifact for free.
• Xu Huo asked the black-haired woman about the Dungeon, and she said she had entered half a day earlier and that the other space looked exactly like this one.

The players debated the Hexin Research Institute’s history and how to stop it operating, but they found no clear plan for clearing the Dungeon. They agreed to keep the idea of staying outside the Small Compartment as a backup and took Xu Huo’s passage-opening item from him for safekeeping.

• Wang Xin explained that players had ransacked the Hexin Research Institute, forcing its owner to sell the remaining assets and leave the land vacant.
• Shen Ling'er suggested that the Research Institute might stop operating if everyone who had entered the Small Compartment were killed, and the buzz-cut, middle-aged man proposed gathering players from other spaces to test the idea.
• Xing Xiaoyu warned that staying outside the Small Compartment could be dangerous, and the purple-haired man recommended keeping the proposal as a backup plan.
• Xing Xiaoyu said Xu Huo might take his item and leave, so Wang Xin asked him to hand it over for safekeeping.
• Xu Huo gave Wang Xin the finger guard, and the black-haired woman asked Yue Yan'er whether she knew how to use her equipment.

As the research institute’s spaces rippled at eight o’clock, players rushed to hide in Small Compartments, and Xu Huo discovered that the Dungeon’s boss could erase people with an unstoppable spatial attack. He led his group into the basement, where a stranger warned them that anyone who entered could never leave.

• Que Niao joined Xu Huo’s group and told him that an old man from their train had entered the Dungeon, too.
• At eight o’clock, Space Power sealed rooms into Small Compartments, trapping anyone inside and forcing players to scramble for shelter.
• Xu Huo’s group fought Bailin Association players over an empty room, but an unfamiliar player pushed them away and shut himself inside.
• Xu Huo sensed a player being reduced to dust by the Dungeon’s spatial power and decided to lead his group to the basement.
• On the fifth basement level, an unfamiliar player appeared and warned Xu Huo’s group that once they entered, they could never leave.

Xu Huo and the others sealed themselves inside a Small Compartment and discussed why Players might be targeted at the Research Institute. While searching the room, they heard unexplained footsteps pass their door twice and head toward the Elevator Shaft.

• Yue Yan'er, Wang Xin, and Xu Huo stopped an unfamiliar Player from entering the room, allowing Sparrow and the others to get inside before the Player left.
• Xu Huo, Wang Xin, Yue Yan'er, and Sparrow debated whether the Small Compartments were safe and whether reducing the number of Players could stop the Research Institute from operating.
• Xu Huo placed the Cube Space by a wall while searching for newly formed items in the compartment.
• The group heard deliberate footsteps approach, pass their door, and return before heading toward the Elevator Shaft.
• Wang Xin speculated that the footsteps belonged to someone inspecting the Research Institute's human test subjects.

Xu Huo used the finger cot to open portals in the Small Compartment wall, finding a one-time item and briefly connecting to another space. After midnight, the compartment doors opened, and Players began exploring and marking doors.

• Xu Huo opened a portal in the wall and retrieved the Despair Armor, a one-time item, while Sparrow and the others agreed he should keep it.
• Xu Huo opened another portal, kicked a short old man who tried to squeeze through, and let the portal close.
• After midnight, the Players' perception expanded and the Small Compartment door opened.
• Players began leaving their rooms, and Xu Huo saw one mark doors before two Bailin Association Players noticed the scratches and wondered what they meant.

Xu Huo and his companions pieced together how the research institute’s spaces and compartments behaved at night while reviewing their recordings. They stayed hidden on the first night, but learned that the Dungeon Boss could appear unpredictably and that players were dying even before its footsteps began.

• Wang Xin, Yue Yan'er, Sparrow, and Xu Huo concluded that compartments overlapped across at least three spaces and that players could cross between them through portals after midnight.
• Yue Yan'er reviewed footage showing the Dungeon Boss patrolling the west-side building, while devices failed after capturing footsteps and players moving between spaces.
• Xu Huo advised the group to stay in their compartment rather than risk meeting the Dungeon Boss outside, and Yue Yan'er sent out more Flying Devices.
• Yue Yan'er asked a Zisheng Research Institute player about a dead player's belongings, and he said his biological detector recorded the death at 10:13, before the footsteps began around 10:30.
• Sparrow noted that the times when devices were destroyed could provide clues, but the middle-aged man with the crew cut said spatial fluctuations could also break devices.

Xu Huo and his companions investigated how Space Portals connected the Small Compartments, then emerged at dawn to find seven Players missing and signs that the Dungeon Boss had killed at least ten. The short old man tried to turn the other Players against Xu Huo’s group, and the bird warned that he was a powerful Mental Evolver.

• Yue Yan'er’s device was destroyed by Space Power after two Players entered another space through a Fourth Floor fire door.
• Xu Huo and the others discussed how Space Portals worked and decided to ask the other Players what they had discovered.
• At dawn, Xu Huo observed the Players leaving their Small Compartments and noticed that seven Players were missing.
• The Zisheng Research Institute and the Bailin Association found at least six piles of dust that appeared to be dead Players’ remains.
• The short old man told Shen Ling'er’s group that Xu Huo’s companions had opened a Space Portal but refused to let him through, turning other Players’ hostility toward them.
• The bird warned Xu Huo’s group that the old man was a powerful Mental Evolver who had previously incited conflicts between Player groups.

Players fought over the Artifact in Xu Huo’s possession while he and Yue Yan’er battled the Ruby necklace, Xing Xiaoyu, and the tall white-haired man. Xu Huo lured Xing Xiaoyu into the basement, where she found him waiting in a dark corridor.

• The Ruby necklace demanded that Xu Huo share the Artifact, and the Players split into opposing sides as the Bailin Association watched from a nearby building.
• Xing Xiaoyu, the Ruby necklace, and the tall white-haired man attacked Xu Huo and Yue Yan’er, who fought back with Artifacts and spatial abilities.
• The Ruby necklace trapped Yue Yan’er in a kneeling position and sealed her inside barriers filled with poisonous smoke, but Xu Huo wounded the tall white-haired man and freed her.
• Xing Xiaoyu ambushed Xu Huo with spatial attacks and a cursed doll, but he blocked her assault and retreated into the building.
• Xing Xiaoyu pursued Xu Huo through the Elevator Shaft to the third basement level, where she found him waiting at the end of a dim corridor.

Xu Huo killed Xing Xiaoyu during the fight over the item, and the surviving Players exchanged what little they knew about the Dungeon. Xu Huo concluded that the earliest Players had likely all been killed, leaving the Dungeon’s true dangers and rules unresolved.

• Xu Huo used mental force, Time Power, and Spatial Cutline to kill Xing Xiaoyu after she pursued him.
• The battle near the Dungeon ended in a truce after the Bailin Association intervened, and Xu Huo claimed Xing Xiaoyu had fallen into another space.
• The Players reconsidered Xu Huo’s strength, while the Bailin Association watched him and the Zisheng Research Institute sought information from its members.
• Shen Ling'er and Wang Xin questioned the Bailin Association about the Dungeon’s spaces, its deaths, and how to clear it, but learned few concrete clues.
• Xu Huo reasoned that the Dungeon had been open for about a month and that the earliest Players had probably already died.