Chapter Summaries

Xu Huo exposed Hou Song’s hypocrisy and learned that Nie Xuan had survived the fog zone and undergone a second evolution. As Nie Xuan warned that the rise of players had ended the country’s peace, Xu Huo said he planned to move across from the Special Defense Department.

• Xu Huo mocked Hou Song’s claim that he wanted to strengthen District 014, and suggested handing him over to the Special Defense Department for research.
• Sima Xiao Er hesitated to kill Hou Song, but a hidden shooter shot Hou Song dead before he could act.
• Nie Xuan arrived, had his people remove Hou Song’s body and clean up the factory, then invited Xu Huo to talk by the river.
• Nie Xuan told Xu Huo that only a third of Ting City’s Special Defense Department players who entered the fog zone had returned, and Xu Huo realized Nie Xuan had undergone a second evolution.
• Nie Xuan warned that the growing number of players had brought ambition, cults, and foreign interference, ending the country’s peace.
• Xu Huo told Nie Xuan he planned to move across from the Special Defense Department, then left when a patrol spotted him.

After Xu Huo returned, he and his companions decided to seek safer housing near the Special Defense Department. He questioned Brother Tu about mental Super Evolution and learned more about Dou Shengnan, while wondering why her hypnosis had failed to affect him in Hai City.

• Xu Huo took the bald man's Golden Bell while Yan Jiayu and the others divided the remaining items, then proposed moving near the Special Defense Department.
• Xu Huo summoned Brother Tu from World in the Painting and asked about mental Super Evolution while the painted woman tried to fold him.
• Brother Tu revealed that mental influence could affect reality when amplified by a powerful item, and named Dou Shengnan of the Ghastly Sound Knights as a prominent example.
• Xu Huo recalled resisting Dou Shengnan's hypnosis in Hai City and questioned why blocking his senses had worked before his Super Evolution.
• Brother Tu described how Dou Shengnan's hypnosis had helped destroy a rebel group, leaving Xu Huo still searching for a way to counter her influence.

Xu Huo spent the morning with his friends, who gathered for a meal and took a group photo. They formed the Sunflower Squad and agreed on a simple code to recognize one another in games.

• The painted woman went out for breakfast with Yan Jiayu, then served the group after Yan Jiayu left to get her hair cut.
• Xu Huo, Yuan Yao, Zhou Ning, Hu Wenhu, Liu Jia, Shen Xin, and Yan Jiayu shared breakfast and decided to spend the day together.
• Yan Jiayu borrowed clothes from Lichun and joined the others in taking a group photo.
• Yuan Yao suggested forming an organization, and the group chose the name Sunflower Squad.
• Liu Jia proposed using groups of three flowers or other objects as a code, and the others agreed.

Xu Huo and his companions celebrated founding the Sunflower Squad and discussed their hopes for District 014’s future. Meanwhile, rival player organizations sought official recognition through the Special Defense Department, whose officials weighed the risks of cooperating with them.

• Yuan Yao toasted the founding of the Sunflower Squad as the group celebrated, and Xu Huo and Zhou Ning discussed Player ranks and District 014’s future.
• Yuan Yao and Yan Jiayu rallied the group to take on Outer District Players and the game, drawing attention from restaurant staff and other diners.
• Xu Huo exchanged sharp words with Zheng Liang and politely declined Gu Yu’s invitation to drink, while his companions wondered why they had come to Ting City.
• Gu Yu and Zheng Liang attended discussions about the Player Association’s agreement with the Special Defense Department, while representatives of other player organizations watched for a chance to gain official recognition.
• Nie Xuan gave Team Leader Wu a roster of groups seeking agreements, and a middle-aged official criticized the risks of supporting small organizations.

Nie Xuan and Team Leader Wu argued for supporting civilian players, while Xu Huo prepared to enter an instance and set off for Garden Castle Station. He arrived in a blood-soaked station where two starving people were eating a corpse.

• Director He objected to giving Evolution Potions to players outside the Special Defense Department, but Team Leader Wu defended the plan and Nie Xuan criticized the department for squeezing civilian players out.
• Team Leader Wu planned to persuade the players on the List to join forces, and Nie Xuan said D-class players could obtain Evolution Potions through the game and instance worlds.
• Yan Jiayu arranged to search for a Random Instance with Zhou Ning and Hu Wenhu, while Liu Jia and Shen Xin returned to their city for training.
• Xu Huo tested what he could store for an instance and left his bank card with the painted woman before departing.
• Xu Huo used the Ticket for Garden Castle Station to enter the instance and found two emaciated people gnawing on a corpse.

Xu Huo boarded a train carrying Dimension Rift Players and watched a dispute break out over a trickster's fake merchandise. A blond-haired Player stepped in to calm the muscular man and the female Player, leaving the confrontation unresolved.

• Xu Huo boarded the train and learned its rules as Players filled the carriages.
• A skinny monkey sold the muscular man a knife for twenty thousand White Cash, then avoided a brightly dressed man who came looking for him.
• The female Player used a living carpet to drive the brightly dressed man away, and the carriage laughed at him.
• The baby-faced man recognized the skinny monkey's face-changing prop, and the muscular man accused him of selling fakes.
• The female Player threatened the muscular man with strips of carpet, and a blond-haired Player intervened to defuse the standoff.

Xu Huo explored the train with help from an employee, learning about its carriages, restricted staff passage, and emergency detachment buttons. At Yongxing Restaurant, he asked whether the train served human flesh, drawing the attention of two tables of suited guests.

• The skinny monkey returned the burly man's money and tried to sell Xu Huo Drunken Dream, then explained his fake knife and offered information about the train.
• Xu Huo explained how passengers could obtain tickets and the female player described the dungeon deadline printed on them.
• Xu Huo paid an employee to show him around the train and memorized the faces of the players in Carriage Seven, including a man with a black leather case.
• Xu Huo paid to enter the staff passage and learned that emergency detachment buttons could separate the rear carriages from the train.
• Xu Huo asked the restaurant employee whether Yongxing Restaurant served human flesh, and two tables of suited guests looked up.

Xu Huo prepared for the train’s crossing through a dangerous Thunderstorm Zone while the other Players struggled to endure the lightning and thunder. During the storm, the skinny monkey slipped out and returned with a Leather Case, and a fight erupted in the car.

• Xu Huo assembled the Train Crew Headphones he had bought after learning that the train would cross a Thunderstorm Zone.
• The train announced that the storm would last two hours and bring lightning at a frequency of two hundred flashes per second, then entered the storm.
• As lightning and thunder overwhelmed the passengers, Xu Huo used his headphones to keep watch while the skinny monkey knocked out a Player by the rear door and slipped outside.
• The skinny monkey returned carrying a Leather Case identical to one in the car ahead, though Xu Huo saw that the other Player and case were still there.
• The skinny monkey tried to pass the female Player guarding the front door, collided with a burly man, and drew the burly man into a confrontation.
• Another Player stabbed at the burly man from behind, cutting his neck as he narrowly dodged the attack.

Xu Huo survived a violent fight inside the train during a Thunderstorm Zone and recovered the Leather Case, but another Player took it from him. After the storm passed, the Players discovered that an entire carriage had been slaughtered, and Xu Huo suggested an Alien might have entered from outside.

• A fight broke out in Xu Huo's carriage during the storm, and a Blood Hand killed several Players while a pair of blood-red eyes tried to force the door open.
• Xu Huo drove the Blood Hand away with Skin-Retaining Worms, then knocked the skinny monkey into the Restroom and took the Leather Case.
• A Player from the carriage ahead took the Leather Case from Xu Huo and retreated behind the closed door.
• When the storm passed, Xu Huo found four dead Players in his carriage and discovered that all sixteen Players in the next carriage had been killed.
• The Players debated whether a Cannibal Player had slaughtered the carriage, and Xu Huo suggested an Alien might have come in from outside.

Xu Huo investigated the slaughter in the ninth carriage and learned that the red-eyed creatures beside the train were former Players called Blood Aberrations or Train Slayers. The danger of a powerful killer aboard remained unresolved as the train continued through the Thunderstorm Zone.

• The Players debated whether a high-level Player with a Temporary Pass had killed the passengers, while Xu Huo questioned why the killer had entered through a broken window.
• The group realized that the killer might be one of the ten people present, but no one had seen anyone move between carriages during the storm.
• Two Conductors removed the bodies and cleaned the eighth carriage, and Xu Huo asked one about the red-eyed creature he had spotted outside.
• After Xu Huo paid him, the Conductor explained that Blood Aberrations, also called Train Slayers, were former Players who had degenerated into powerful Aliens that killed people without eating them.

Xu Huo warned the Players in Carriage Seven that a Train Slayer had killed everyone in Carriage Eight, and they debated whether the killer was an Alien, a Player, or train staff. Xu Huo concluded that the train staff were unlikely to be responsible, but the Train Slayer's identity remained uncertain.

• Xu Huo told the Players that a Train Slayer had killed everyone in the rear carriage, and they moved to Carriage Seven for safety.
• Skinny monkey begged the Player he had tricked for forgiveness, then revealed the Train Slayer's attack to Carriage Seven.
• Xu Huo described seeing the Train Slayer's red eyes, while a blond Player confirmed that he had spoken to the Conductor about the creature.
• Two Players inspected the bodies and found injuries that could have come from a Cannibal Player, prompting suspicion among the passengers.
• The Players considered whether train staff were responsible, but Xu Huo reasoned that Yongxing Restaurant would likely have investigated its employees and ruled them out.

Xu Huo and the other players in Carriage Seven faced the threat of Aliens and a mysterious Train Slayer during the night. The Leather Case Man opened his suitcase, revealing a monstrous baby that killed the Glamorous Woman before fleeing through a window after being hit by a corrosive object.

• The players in Carriage Seven argued over whether Xu Huo and his companions could stay, then sealed the rear door and prepared for the lights to go out.
• Skinny monkey tried to steal the Leather Case Man’s suitcase using an incense stick, but the train jolted and the Leather Case Man cut his neck.
• Aliens attacked a brightly lit carriage ahead, then fled when a piercing sound rang through the train.
• Xu Huo stopped the Leather Case Man from opening the suitcase, but the man revealed a purple baby that bit through the Glamorous Woman’s throat and shrieked from the ceiling.
• Xu Huo turned on the lights, but the baby lunged at him and plunged the carriage back into darkness.
• A man in a suit threw a Red Jelly Object into Carriage Seven; the corrosive liquid burned players and struck the baby, which smashed through a window and crawled outside.

Xu Huo fought the Train Slayer aboard the train as it slaughtered players and suited men. After the Train Slayer protected the purplish baby from corrosive liquid, Xu Huo rescued the suited men’s leader from its attack.

• The Train Slayer attacked Carriage Six, throwing passengers off the train as the suited men fired at it.
• The Leather Case Man attacked Xu Huo with a tracking black cloth and bladed whip, but the Train Slayer forced Xu Huo into Carriage Six and wounded him.
• Xu Huo set the Transfer Carriage on fire and detached the three carriages behind them, but the Train Slayer returned with the baby and killed the Leather Case Man.
• The suited men fired electric weapons and corrosive liquid at the Train Slayer, which shielded the baby and then slaughtered the suited men.
• The Train Slayer smashed the big man’s weapons and protective Mask, and Xu Huo blocked its next attack with the Ox Shield and carried the big man over the seats.

Xu Huo and Shi Youzhi’s team captured the Train Slayer and its infant after the beast attacked the train. Xu Huo arrived at Garden Castle Station, agreed to help file a report, and found a city filled with advanced technology.

• Xu Huo slowed the Train Slayer with item threads while Shi Youzhi fought it with a flamethrower, and suited Rail Supply Department members trapped it in the Transfer Carriage.
• Shi Youzhi’s team captured the infant in a cage and put it to sleep, while the old man explained that Aliens rarely reproduced naturally.
• Shi Youzhi introduced himself as captain of the First Squad at Garden Castle Station and asked Xu Huo to write a report after arriving; Xu Huo accepted a Communicator and agreed.
• The train reached Garden Castle Station by dusk, where Shi Youzhi’s team removed the Train Slayer and infant.
• Xu Huo left the busy Station and saw Garden Castle’s technologically advanced buildings, airborne vehicles, and floating shopping malls.

Xu Huo explored the technologically advanced city as Deng Xuan offered to guide him through its black market, and he watched the city’s technology capture a wanted Player. After learning more about the Holy Sword Society and the Game Government, Xu Huo asked Deng Xuan to find flammable materials he could take into a Dungeon.

• Deng Xuan followed Xu Huo through the city and offered to help him find Potions and powerful items, warning that newcomers could be exploited.
• The city announced a wanted Player’s escape, and patrol robots and flying devices captured him with an invisible net and a Potion.
• Deng Xuan thanked Xu Huo for intervening during the train incident and said he suspected the man with the Leather Case belonged to the Holy Sword Society.
• Xu Huo questioned Deng Xuan about his dead friend, and Deng Xuan admitted they had only been business partners.
• Xu Huo offered to pay a high price for flammable materials that could be taken into a Dungeon.

Xu Huo traveled to Rose Castle for the instance “The Vanishing Guest” and gathered local rumors about the castle and a missing girl. He discovered that the city had no information about Random Instances and wondered whether the Game Government’s base was responsible.

• Xu Huo bought a Self-Weaving Loom and a Dazzling Dance Ball from Deng Xuan, then learned about life and laws in Central City.
• Xu Huo searched for housing and nearby instance guides before traveling to the city containing Rose Castle.
• Xu Huo received the mission to find a missing guest and uncover the truth behind the disappearance, with instructions to reach Rose Castle before midnight.
• Xu Huo asked locals about Rose Castle and heard rumors of bones beneath its grounds and a girl who had gone missing nearby.
• Xu Huo found no information about Random Instances in the city and wondered whether the Game Government’s base explained their absence.

Xu Huo investigated Rain Alley and confronted a woman in a qipao who attacked him during the strange rain. Their fight left him facing her apparent ability to shed damaged skin.

• Xu Huo found reports that Rain Alley had unexplained nightly rain and that people vanished or died whenever it fell.
• Xu Huo visited a local resident, learned that a man named Hu had died nearby, and waited at the alley's entrance for the rain.
• A woman in a qipao appeared, and Xu Huo claimed he had come looking for his relative, Huang Yue.
• The rain grew heavier as the woman attacked Xu Huo, and he realized it could suppress props.
• Xu Huo fought back with gasoline and fire, but the woman regenerated beneath her damaged skin and attacked again.

Xu Huo fought and captured a skin-wearing Cannibal Player in Rain Alley, then questioned her about Rose Castle and how she had avoided Random Instances. She revealed that she had come from E15 Wormhole Point after being swept into a dimensional storm, but claimed she did not know how to cross between Wormhole Points.

• Xu Huo burned the qipao woman's white umbrella and chased her through the alleys after she escaped with it.
• The qipao woman transformed and attacked Xu Huo, but he set her clothes and human-skin coverings on fire, cut off her limbs, and forced her to surrender.
• Xu Huo learned that the woman had bought a nameless Rose Castle invitation on the black market and had visited the castle as a guest.
• Xu Huo asked how she had avoided the Random Instance that arrived every three months.
• The woman said she had originally been a Player from E15 Wormhole Point and had arrived after fleeing through a dimensional storm.

Xu Huo killed the Human Skin Umbrella wanted criminal and transformed her umbrella into a Justice Umbrella before arriving late at Rose Castle. The other guests recognized him from the train and suspected he was a Cannibal Player, leaving their cooperation uncertain.

• Xu Huo questioned the qipao woman about Wormhole Points, then killed her when she attacked and received a bounty for hunting the wanted criminal Human Skin Umbrella.
• Xu Huo collected the woman's items and discovered that removing the human skin had transformed her umbrella into a Justice Umbrella that suppressed Cannibal Players and could store corpses.
• Xu Huo arrived at Rose Castle near midnight and learned that Mr. Ma and Mrs. Ma had retired, while three other guests were in the recreation room.
• The baby-faced man told Xu Huo that the guests had been betting on his gender, and Xu Huo's intimidating stare silenced the group.
• After Xu Huo went upstairs, the guests discussed his suspected status as a Cannibal Player and agreed that starting their game mission on bad terms could hurt them.

Xu Huo assessed the guests and the Ancient Castle after learning that non-dungeon players might have entered alongside dungeon participants. At breakfast, the guests learned they could explore most of the castle, but the Third Floor Music Hall was restricted, while spiders in the food and Mrs. Ma’s interest in Xu Huo raised further suspicions.

• Xu Huo saw a pair of blood-red eyes outside his window, then found a long-haired woman’s head resting on the windowsill before shutting the window.
• The next morning, Xu Huo identified the guests at breakfast, including the long-haired woman he had seen with a human head the previous night.
• The butler explained that Mr. He would join the guests for dinner and listed places they could explore, while warning them not to enter the Third Floor Music Hall without an invitation.
• The guests found a dead spider in the soup, and several of them refused to eat.
• Mrs. Ma reached for Xu Huo’s Black Umbrella, but he stopped her with a thrown knife; Mr. Ma grew angry before his wife calmed him down and flirted with Xu Huo.