Chapter Summaries

Xu Huo appeared in the devastated city as Hans, Lina, and other players from Country Y fought the Outer District Players. He intimidated the attackers into stopping their blood-based assault, then killed a group that challenged him.

• Hans, Lina, and their allies battled three Outer District Players, whose blood needles quickly incapacitated two of their companions.
• Lina saved Hans from a coordinated attack as the Outer District Players deflected the Country Y players’ energy weapons into nearby buildings.
• Xu Huo appeared on a rooftop, and the three Outer District Players halted their blood-based attack after he pointed at them.
• Xu Huo walked through the city, killing nearby Outer District Players without giving them a chance to fight back.
• A burly Outer District Player challenged Xu Huo, but Xu froze the charging group and killed them.

Xu Huo traveled across District 014, eliminating Level One battle zones and major groups of Outer District Players before returning to Ting City. The city remained sealed inside a Dungeon, and he had no news of the people trapped there or of the Ghastly Sound Knights.

• Xu Huo entered Country Y’s battle zones one by one and quickly ended its Level One battles, prompting the government to consider negotiating with Country X and to send its leaderboard Players after him.
• Xu Huo traveled through District 014, defeated three groups of Outer District Players occupying entire countries, and cleared the remaining Level One battle zones, bringing the Sub-district a relatively peaceful period.
• Xu Huo dealt with threats from Mutant Flora and Fauna in two more locations, then returned to Ting City, which remained isolated inside a Dungeon.
• Xiang Yao told Xu Huo that Ting City’s routine reports had stopped before the city was sealed and that no trapped Players, including Nie Xuan, had sent messages.
• Xiang Yao reported that Jin Feixue had been seen near erupting volcanoes, but investigators found no trace of anything suspicious there.

Xu Huo went to the Safe Zone to rest and used his Ability, "Script," to explore possible outcomes of a coming battle with Jin Feixue. The visions showed her Super Dimensional Instrument could counter his Time Power, while another Super Artifact might flood the city with magma.

• Xu Huo went to the Safe Zone, sent its occupants away, and rested while the Xiang siblings and government teams guarded the area outside.
• Xu Huo used "Script" to write out possible versions of his encounter with Jin Feixue at 5:46 a.m.
• In the visions, Jin Feixue attacked with a cross-shaped instrument that could kill Xu Huo, destroy the Safe Zone, or force him to evade its effects.
• Xu Huo concluded that Jin Feixue knew he was a Temporal Evolver and had prepared a Super Dimensional Instrument to counter his Time Power.
• Xu Huo inferred that the instrument could likely be used only once in a short period, but Jin Feixue's side also possessed a Super Artifact that could flood the city with magma.

Xu Huo prepared Capital City for Jin Feixue’s attack, deploying time-space Super Artifacts and arranging defenses against a possible lava surge. Jin Feixue arrived during a storm and played his violin, causing the Safe Zone to tear apart before the two men clashed in the air.

• Xu Huo contacted the military and the Special Defense Department and arranged defenses for Capital City.
• Xu Huo sent the Super Artifacts Time Tower and Sky Light Domain to two Elite Players and accepted a Random Instance trigger item as a contingency.
• Xu Huo left Underground Level 1 and waited at the entrance to a residential building as a storm swept through the Safe Zone.
• Jin Feixue appeared across the street, protected by a transparent barrier, and played his violin.
• Jin Feixue’s music raised an earthen dragon that struck the barrier, and Xu Huo and Jin Feixue rose into the air to fight.

Xu Huo and Jin Feixue’s battle destroyed the Safe Zone and the non-game-area simulation device, plunging the city into an A-Rank Random Instance. When Xu Huo tried to use Time Power against Whale, the attack turned back on him, and Nie Xuan moved to protect him as Jin Feixue was trapped in a Space Orb.

• Xu Huo and Jin Feixue’s Spatial Cutlines tore through the Safe Zone, forcing military and Special Defense Department Players to flee.
• The clash reached the non-game-area simulation device and destroyed it, after which Jin Feixue released a glass sphere that flooded the city with smoke and triggered an A-Rank Random Instance.
• Xu Huo found that he still could not use Time Power and that the instance prevented him from teleporting out of District 014.
• Xu Huo used Master's Invitation to reveal Jin Feixue, Whale, Nie Xuan, and several Special Defense Department Players within three thousand meters.
• Xu Huo sent Time Power toward Whale, but it bent away and struck Xu Huo instead.
• Nie Xuan appeared in front of Xu Huo while a transparent Space Orb enclosed Jin Feixue.

Xu Huo and Nie Xuan fought Jin Feixue and Whale amid the threat of a Super Dimensional Instrument, but a sudden explosion engulfed Xu Huo and the cross-shaped instrument. As Nie Xuan was thrown away, Bai Tiaoyi reappeared beside Jin Feixue while magma poured through a tear in the sky and a spatial passage began to form.

• Xu Huo escaped the Space Orb’s attack and teamed up with Nie Xuan to confront Jin Feixue as Whale was swallowed by dark matter.
• Jin Feixue’s cross-shaped Super Dimensional Instrument trapped the Magician Person and erased it, while Xu Huo used Time Power to hold Jin Feixue in place.
• Jin Feixue unleashed Space Power through the Violin’s broken strings, but Xu Huo froze him again with Time Power.
• An embroidered-ball instrument exploded in front of Xu Huo, and he charged toward the cross-shaped instrument as Nie Xuan tried to shield them with his Space Orb.
• The blast engulfed Xu Huo and the cross-shaped instrument and hurled Nie Xuan away; Bai Tiaoyi reappeared beside Jin Feixue as magma spilled through the torn sky and a spatial passage began to form.

Xu Huo stopped Jin Feixue and Bai Tiaoyi from escaping, then faced Jin Feixue in a final gamble over whether he had another Super Dimensional Instrument. Their battle left Jin Feixue poised to strike, but Xu Huo halted his dagger and made him vanish.

• Xu Huo destroyed two instruments powering the spatial passage, preventing Jin Feixue and Bai Tiaoyi from escaping.
• Xu Huo and Jin Feixue discussed their failed plans and the deaths of the Ghastly Sound Knights, while Jin Feixue sent Bai Tiaoyi away to safety.
• Xu Huo and Jin Feixue resumed their battle, each gambling on the other's powers and resources.
• Jin Feixue slipped behind Xu Huo and attacked his neck with a dagger, but a scrap of paper grazed Jin Feixue's eye and Xu Huo stopped the blade with one finger.
• Xu Huo's dagger and Jin Feixue vanished into thin air.

Xu Huo emerged from the fog alive after defeating Jin Feixue and three Ghastly Sound Knights, and District 014 celebrated the victory. Players across the district debated the battle and speculated about Xu Huo’s hidden identity, while the story left him known publicly only as “X.”

• Nie Xuan and the gathered Players waited anxiously for news from the fog after Xu Huo and Jin Feixue’s clash.
• A paper tornado swept out of the fog, followed by Xu Huo, who walked out unharmed as the Players cheered.
• A game notification confirmed that Jin Feixue and three Ghastly Sound Knights had died, prompting celebration among District 014 Players.
• Outer District Players connected the battle to the bounty on Xu Huo and speculated that he was a new Player from an E-class wormhole point with Temporal Evolution.
• Players argued online about Xu Huo’s Super Artifact and debated whether he had endangered or saved District 014.
• Players wondered who Xu Huo really was, but his identity remained unknown behind the nickname “X.”

Xu Huo confirmed Jin Feixue’s death as the players of District 014 celebrated the Ghastly Sound Knights’ defeat, and the Holy Sword Society delivered Bai Tiaoyi’s corpse. After reuniting with the painted woman and Big Mao, Xu Huo went with the others to the underground Safe Zone, where Country X’s senior officials awaited him.

• Xu Huo confirmed that Jin Feixue was dead, while Nie Xuan questioned whether Bai Tiaoyi had escaped.
• Yan Jiayu sent Xu Huo a Photo of a corpse marked as a Ghastly Sound Knights bullet.
• A representative of the Holy Sword Society apologized and delivered Bai Tiaoyi’s corpse as compensation.
• The painted woman and Big Mao emerged from the fog and reunited with Xu Huo.
• Xu Huo and the others entered the underground Safe Zone, where the old man greeted him.

Xu Huo learned that the “National Resources” Random Instance had sealed Capital City in fog and was killing people by suffocation, then advised officials to continue evacuating residents while they searched for answers. After privately tending to his injuries, he discussed the evacuation limits with Nie Xuan, who revealed that the military and Special Defense Department had gathered their strongest Players in the city.

• Minister Ji briefed Xu Huo that the instance covered Capital City, had caused 127 suffocation deaths, and required Players to determine a reasonable population size using local resources.
• Xu Huo advised the officials to prioritize saving people in immediate danger and continue evacuating residents according to their plan.
• Minister Ji arranged a room for Xu Huo, and the painted woman and Big Mao followed him inside.
• Xu Huo coughed up blood from internal injuries caused by the Cross Super Dimensional Instrument and drank healing Potions.
• Nie Xuan brought Xu Huo Potions and food, then explained that they could not quickly evacuate everyone or send all the Players away using container items.
• Xu Huo inferred that the military and Special Defense Department had gathered their strongest Players in Capital City, and Nie Xuan confirmed it.

Xu Huo learned that the government planned to defend Capital City and establish a district government without relying on him to destroy the A-class Random Instance. The painted woman told him how she had escaped the circus city and sold Big Mao to pay for passage aboard a ship.

• Xu Huo told Nie Xuan that the Wisteria instance had collapsed partly by luck and warned that Capital City's A-class instance might not be as easy to destroy.
• Nie Xuan informed Minister Ji and the officials that Xu Huo had no reliable solution, and they resolved to defend Capital City and move ahead with establishing a district government.
• Xu Huo learned through the painted woman that the government considered Capital City's survival essential to the district's future.
• The painted woman admitted that she had picked up Suitcase Man's Instance Authorization Letter because it was valuable, but said she had not told anyone about it.
• The painted woman recounted hiding from Suitcase Man, escaping the circus city with Big Mao, and boarding a ship in District 039.
• When the ship's staff discovered that the painted woman and Big Mao had no tickets, she sold Big Mao to someone who agreed to pay for them.

The painted woman and Big Mao recounted how they returned to District 014 and found Xu Huo during his fight with Jin Feixue. As Xu Huo recovered, reports from Capital City revealed that many victims had been trapped in isolated pockets of vacuum, and the Special Defense Department faced a growing mystery.

• The painted woman and Big Mao followed a group of Players through a teleportation passage to District 014, then tracked Xu Huo to Capital City.
• The painted woman watched Xu Huo fight Jin Feixue and stopped Jin Feixue from escaping after Xu Huo was blasted away.
• The painted woman gave Xu Huo a flower and told him that more than ten Players had arrived, with additional groups expected.
• The Special Defense Department found that the fog's mild toxin could not explain the deaths of young, healthy people, many of whom were social elites on its preferred list.
• The Special Defense Department discovered that most young victims had suffocated after the air around them was instantly removed, leaving them isolated in a vacuum-like space.

The Special Defense Department concluded that deaths in Capital City were linked to keeping the population balanced between young and middle-aged people and dependents, but player numbers complicated their calculations. As the dungeon remained unsolved, Xu Huo left the Safe Zone and urged the Xiang siblings to view ordinary people from a player's perspective.

• Team Leader Ming explained that the dungeon's population ratio was effectively 1:1 and that sending away people from one age group could cause deaths among another.
• Nie Xuan suggested that players distorted the population calculations, so Team Leader Ming ordered a count of players while warning that players might eventually suffocate too.
• Minister Ji proposed evacuating government personnel, but the old man argued that their departure could collapse society and urged them to accept the risks of serving as pioneers.
• After resting for two hours, Xu Huo left his room as the Xiang siblings briefed him on the dungeon's danger to players.
• Xu Huo told the Xiang siblings to look at ordinary people through the eyes of players, then left the Safe Zone.

Xu Huo witnessed people dying from a sudden loss of air as panic spread through the city, while Players clashed over attempts to evacuate civilians. Two Players stealing from a Mall intervened when Brother Wang attacked Xiaomei, then asked her if she was hungry.

• Xu Huo watched an old man suffocate and die, as nearby Players and civilians struggled with their fear and grief.
• Players who could evacuate people became sought after, and the Special Defense Department and military clashed with Players trying to send civilians away.
• The government issued a notice forbidding Players from evacuating people on their own, provoking anger among those afraid of being left behind.
• Two Players broke into a Mall jewelry store and followed Brother Wang from the lounge to a Warehouse where Xiaomei was hiding.
• Brother Wang attacked Xiaomei, but the two Players stopped him and killed him before asking Xiaomei if she was hungry.

Xiaomei’s attempt to escape with two Players ended in a deadly robbery, while fear and rumors drove Capital City’s residents into unrest. Xu Huo returned to the Safe Zone and told Minister Ji that the game world was dominated by Players.

• Xiaomei led two D-class Players to the Mall owner’s home, where their break-in triggered an alarm and the owner shot one of them before they fled, leaving his elderly father dead.
• The owner reported the crime, and the Special Defense Department received photos of the two Players and Xiaomei as rumors spread that the government was abandoning the city and sacrificing residents.
• Xu Huo watched residents gather and fight in the streets as Special Defense Department Players broke up the unrest and threatened to knock out anyone who resisted.
• A team leader greeted Xu Huo on a rooftop, and Xu Huo left with the painted woman for the Safe Zone.
• Minister Ji asked Xu Huo whether he had figured out how to clear the instance, and Xu Huo replied that the game world was dominated by Players.

Xu Huo considered how District 014’s upcoming fusion would shift power from ordinary people to Players while the country’s leaders negotiated a new balance. The negotiations remained unresolved when Xu Huo arrived and asked whether they had reached an agreement.

• Minister Ji accepted Xu Huo’s explanation, and Xu Huo returned to the room prepared for him.
• Government officials, Players, and representatives of influential factions negotiated how power would be divided as District 014 faced fusion.
• Minister Ji lost his position as head of the Special Defense Department but remained as a substitute minister with support from Nie Xuan and Team Leader Ming.
• Zong Lanzhi argued that Players were more valuable than ordinary people and that policies should favor Players, prompting objections from senior officials and Nie Xuan.
• The officials asked Xu Huo to join them, and the Players stood as he entered and asked whether they had reached an agreement.

Xu Huo and representatives of District 014’s Player organizations negotiated how Players would share power with the existing government. The Players won control over key departments and resource distribution, while the original government retained a temporary role in technical work.

• Xu Huo argued that Players should lead the Sub-district Government without separating themselves from ordinary people, and Xiao Yue called for rights and support for Players’ families.
• The elderly negotiator agreed that Players would become independent of existing government departments and subject to oversight rather than direct orders.
• The parties negotiated separate Player departments, an independent supervisory body, limits on family-based government appointments, and roles for Gray Players and Players with suspended status.
• The negotiators agreed that Players would control resources, train and screen new Players, and secure legal protections and compensation for Players and their families.
• The original government tried to retain control of weapons research, but Zong Lanzhi insisted that Players take priority, and the Players prevailed, leaving government technical staff in a temporary supporting role.

Xu Huo revised the proposed government structure to protect ordinary people and balance Players’ power in District 014. After defending his proposals, he left the meeting without further objections.

• The negotiations gave Players control of key government positions, National Resources, foreign strategy, and the renamed Enforcement Headquarters.
• Xu Huo told the Secretary to divide Surveillance Department personnel and voting seats evenly among Players and government officials, and to balance Player training base leadership between Players and non-Players.
• Xu Huo proposed that the Chief Executive and his secretaries be non-Players, prompting questions about former government Players and the Enforcement Headquarters’ Third Department.
• Xu Huo said he was representing ordinary people and argued that Players and non-Players both belonged in District 014’s government system.
• The former government officials accepted Xu Huo’s proposals, while Zong Lanzhi held back despite his ambitions.

Xu Huo helped reshape Capital City's government and evacuation response as suffocation deaths surged again. He and Nie Xuan discussed the dangers of handing power to self-interested Players, while Xu Huo accepted rare items and requested more IOUs from the Special Defense Department.

• Zong Lanzhi, Xiao Yue, and the former government officials agreed to Xu Huo's proposed transfer of positions to Players.
• Suffocation deaths fell briefly after the government structure changed, then surged again, prompting Zong Lanzhi to order more people evacuated from Capital City.
• Xu Huo watched the evacuation and told Nie Xuan he suspected the Sub-district merger was not over.
• Nie Xuan suggested Xu Huo kill opportunistic Players, but Xu Huo argued that ambitious Players would eventually be worn down by Dungeons and the burden of governing.
• Nie Xuan offered Xu Huo a list of rare items as payment and commendation, and Xu Huo accepted while asking for additional IOUs.

As suffocation deaths and attacks spread through Capital City, the government disclosed the Dungeon situation and tried to control the unrest by dividing the city into sealed zones. The plan backfired when residents in one zone began suffocating en masse, prompting Nie Xuan to order the blockades disabled.

• Nie Xuan discussed the Special Defense Department’s selected items with Xu Huo and said more goods might become available after the outbreak of fused Dungeon instances.
• As suffocation deaths rose, Players attacked government Players to seize container items, and the government disclosed the Dungeon situation to calm them.
• Despair spread among ordinary residents, who protested at Special Defense Department offices while suicides, killings, and other incidents increased.
• The government divided the city into sealed zones with Players’ instruments, but people in one zone containing six residential compounds suddenly began suffocating in large numbers.
• Nie Xuan ordered the instrument blockades disabled after residents in the sealed zone continued to suffocate.