Chapter Summaries

Xu Huo investigated Rose Castle and connected He Pu’s illness and the castle’s closure to events five years earlier. He then joined the other Players as they debated how to cooperate on their missions.

• Xu Huo questioned the maid Hu Shan about the Third Floor, then explored the Study Room and discovered that He Pu had stopped appearing publicly five years ago.
• A young maid told Xu Huo that He Pu had kept the castle’s spiders and that Mr. Dong was the only one who knew his way around the Garden Maze.
• Xu Huo concluded that He Pu’s illness, the castle’s closure, and changes among its servants all began five years ago, and suspected the castle’s secret was central to the missions.
• The dark-faced man told the gathered Players that a Cannibal Player was among them and urged them to work together to clear the game.
• The tall, thin man questioned whether Players should submit missions separately and raised the problem of ensuring they all found the same vanished guest.

The players discussed how to find the Vanishing Guest in the Ancient Castle and agreed to cooperate under a contract requiring anyone who found the guest to share the solution. After dividing up their search, they were interrupted by Xu Huo, whom the others had suspected of being dangerous.

• The players debated whether to trust Xu Huo and the Ma couple, while You Qiwen and Fly warned the others to be cautious of them.
• Fly demonstrated his Spirit of Contract with Wei Landeng, showing that signers could see breaches but would not suffer the written penalties.
• The players signed a contract promising to share the mission solution within two hours of finding the Vanishing Guest.
• The players divided the Ancient Castle into search areas and planned to explore the Third Floor and maze if needed.
• Xu Huo came downstairs, and Fly apologized for the previous day's misunderstanding.

Xu Huo refused to join the players’ Contract and investigated the Ancient Castle while questioning the assumptions behind Mr. and Mrs. Ma’s visit. He warned Mrs. Ma that He Pu might not have invited them, then said he would leave as soon as he obtained a Ticket.

• Xu Huo questioned whether the Contract bound everyone equally and suggested that some of the twelve people might not be task players, then refused to sign it.
• Xu Huo toured the garden and learned from a servant that Mr. Dong cared for He Pu’s rare spiders while He Pu was ill.
• Mrs. Ma approached Xu Huo with wine and proposed that she, her husband, and Xu Huo cooperate to divide what they could obtain.
• Xu Huo told Mrs. Ma that the invitations had no names and that Mr. Dong, rather than He Pu, appeared to run the Ancient Castle.
• Mrs. Ma maintained that they should work together, while Xu Huo said he would leave once he got a Ticket.

Xu Huo and the other players attended a formal dinner at He Pu’s castle while investigating the invitations and the danger surrounding the guests. The dinner began under tension, and Xu Huo ended the chapter by knocking a crystal wine glass off the table.

• Mrs. Ma told Mr. Ma that Xu Huo might be a Cannibal Player, while Mr. Ma urged her not to trust anyone and to stay in the D-class instance.
• Xu Huo searched his room, considered where bodies might be hidden, and released the qipao woman’s corpse from his Justice Umbrella before the dinner.
• The players gathered in formal clothes, and Li Chao challenged Mr. Dong after a maid broke a glass.
• The dining room lights went out, but He Pu arrived with Hu Shan and invited the players to view his newly acquired collection the next day.
• After He Pu’s toast, the players ate cautiously, and Xu Huo knocked a crystal wine glass off the table.

At dinner, Xu Huo spotted a trick involving human bones and left before the other Players realized what was wrong. After midnight, a Human-Spider attacked him in his room and smashed the Cabinet containing the human skin.

• Xu Huo left the dinner table, and Mr. and Mrs. Ma followed after he rejected the roast lamb.
• Wei Landeng and Liu Zheng Ping realized the lamb ribs were human bones, and the Players argued over whether Xu Huo was trying to manipulate them.
• Xu Huo concluded that the invitation sender had to be He Pu, Mr. Dong, or Hu Shan, then checked that the human skin remained untouched.
• At midnight, Xu Huo dodged a chain attack and discovered a Human-Spider hiding behind his curtain.
• The Human-Spider struck the Cabinet with its chain and grew angrier when it saw what came out.

Xu Huo fought Spider-Man, whose strange ability reversed damage to objects, then joined the other players after Fang Min was found brutally murdered. With several players’ whereabouts under suspicion, the group faced an unresolved question of who had killed her.

• Xu Huo used flames, his sword, and Strings to fight Spider-Man, who stabbed his own chest and caused damaged objects to move backward toward their former states.
• Xu Huo disrupted the apparent restoration of objects and noticed that they remained broken beneath their restored appearance.
• A maid screamed after finding Fang Min dead in her room, and Yu Shuai claimed he had seen and shot at red eyes on the balcony.
• Xu Huo spotted ash marks on the outer wall and concluded Spider-Man had gone from his room to Fang Min’s.
• Wei Landeng described finding Fang Min, but the players questioned her account and considered her a suspect.
• Xu Huo pointed out that Liu Zheng Ping, You Qiwen, and Yu Shuai had also been away from their rooms, while Fly challenged Yu Shuai’s claim about the red eyes.

After Fang Min disappeared and a severed leg was found, the players argued over who was responsible while Xu Huo investigated the apparent murder. He concluded Fang Min was dead, Hu Shan was a Player, and the first mission might require finding an entire body or a living guest; by morning, the river had flooded the bridge and trapped everyone in Rose Castle.

• The players accused one another of killing Fang Min, while Xu Huo said a spider had attacked him and Wei Landeng backed up his account.
• Hu Shan arrived, claimed the severed leg was porcelain, and agreed to contact the police after Xu Huo suggested it.
• Xu Huo concluded that Fang Min was dead, Spider-Man had not killed her, and Hu Shan had transformed part of the body into porcelain.
• Xu Huo reasoned that the first mission might require finding an entire body or a living guest, and suspected the target could be one of the Players.
• The next morning, Hu Shan said she had contacted the police, but the river had flooded the bridge and cut off the castle.

Xu Huo suspected Mr. Dong was targeting Red Players and used the Garden Maze to investigate while Fly and Li Chao formed an alliance. Mr. and Mrs. Ma doubted Xu Huo’s warning and sneaked toward the Third Floor, unaware that Mr. Dong had watched them leave.

• Mrs. Ma questioned Xu Huo about the intruder in his room, and he suggested Mr. Dong might be targeting Red Players and that He Pu could be an ally.
• Xu Huo entered the Garden Maze with a servant while Liu Zheng Ping and Wei Landeng stayed outside.
• Fly told Li Chao that some guests had received different invitations and revealed that his Contract could identify Players’ color classifications.
• Fly and Li Chao agreed to work together after Fly proved he was a mission Player.
• Mr. and Mrs. Ma decided Xu Huo was trying to mislead them and sneaked toward the Third Floor to seek a share of Fang Min’s killer’s spoils.
• Mr. Dong watched Mr. and Mrs. Ma disappear down the stairs from the Study Room.

Xu Huo explored the Garden Maze, then fought the Chen Twins when they ambushed him in his room. He discovered that their Damage Transfer ability was linked to the standing mirror and broke it, but Chen Nan claimed the effect remained active even if the item was destroyed.

• Xu Huo concluded that the Vanishing Guests probably were not buried in the Ancient Castle and asked a maid to pawn his diamond ring so she could buy supplies in town.
• The Chen Twins ambushed Xu Huo in his room, and he fought them off with his sword, Strings, and other abilities.
• Xu Huo realized the Twins' Damage Transfer ability had limits after his sword strike wounded his own shoulder instead of Chen Nan.
• Xu Huo restrained the brothers, but they attacked again, so he broke the standing mirror and saw their pained reactions.
• Xu Huo set Chen Tu on fire, and Chen Nan shielded his brother while claiming the Damage Transfer effect still worked after the mirror was destroyed.

Xu Huo forced the Chen brothers to explain Fang Min’s death and their plan to target Cannibal Players, then pressed them for information about their abilities and items. As Mr. and Mrs. Ma arrived outside his room, Xu Huo confronted them while the Dungeon’s danger continued to grow.

• Xu Huo injured Chen Tu, subdued Chen Nan, and made the brothers sit down to talk.
• Chen Tu admitted that he had killed Fang Min after she attacked him, and the brothers said they had used a sound-muffling item and planned to steal Tickets from Cannibal Players.
• The brothers revealed that Chen Nan had stolen an unsigned invitation from a Black Market Buyer, and Xu Huo explained that Mr. and Mrs. Ma were also Cannibal Players with unsigned invitations.
• Xu Huo told the brothers they needed to complete the game’s mission and asked them to explain their items and Abilities, especially the Substitute Mirror.
• Xu Huo stopped the brothers from speaking, opened the door, and confronted the smiling Mr. and Mrs. Ma outside his room.

Xu Huo took the Substitute Mirror from the Chen Brothers and learned that Yu Shuai had disappeared from the Ancient Castle. While the other players toured He Pu’s art collection, Xu Huo questioned Hu Shan about a sculpture attributed to He Pu.

• Chen Tu explained the Substitute Mirror’s abilities and restrictions, and Xu Huo took it from the Chen Brothers in exchange for a promise to return it if he was satisfied with his game rewards.
• The Chen Brothers told Xu Huo that Li Chao had visited the Servant Room and that Liu Zheng Ping and You Qiwen seemed to have joined forces.
• Xu Huo learned that Yu Shuai had disappeared after asking a servant to leave his lunch in his room.
• Hu Shan led the players to the Third Floor to view He Pu’s collection, and You Qiwen and Fly briefly left the group in the sculpture room.
• Xu Huo asked Hu Shan about a marble sculpture, and she said it was one of He Pu’s works from five years earlier.

Xu Huo explored He Pu’s collection and studied District 011’s history and He Pu’s potion research in the third-floor Study Room. He left wondering whether He Pu was simply observing the players as they fought one another.

• He Pu overruled Hu Shan and allowed the players to inspect the third-floor rooms, revealing extensive treasures, potions, weapons, rare specimens, and a pool of mutated crocodiles.
• Xu Huo examined the Study Room’s books and learned how District 011 formed from several merged sub-districts and how its alliance regime worked alongside the Game Government.
• Xu Huo found He Pu’s annotated potion books and realized He Pu had conducted experiments, mostly five years earlier.
• He Pu entered the Study Room, spoke with Xu Huo about his old interests, and sent Hu Shan to take him downstairs for afternoon tea.
• Xu Huo wondered whether He Pu was watching the players kill one another, then asked Hu Shan to bring a porcelain vase to his room.

Xu Huo lured Mr. and Mrs. Ma into an ambush at the Annex and killed them both in a close-quarters fight. He left their bodies together after defeating the Cannibal Players.

• Xu Huo prepared for the confrontation, gave the Chen Brothers instructions, and waited until midnight to leave his room.
• Mr. and Mrs. Ma followed Xu Huo into the woods, where he ambushed them with his items, but they counterattacked and forced him into the Annex.
• Xu Huo used darkness, alcohol, flames, and pepper spray to disorient the couple inside the spider room.
• Mrs. Ma wounded Xu Huo's defenses, but he circled behind her and killed her with the Butcher Knife.
• Xu Huo recalled his items to avoid Mr. Ma's wallet, then killed Mr. Ma with the Chainsaw and kicked his body beside Mrs. Ma's.

Xu Huo killed the Ma couple, investigated Mr. Dong and He Pu’s past, and concluded that Hu Shan was connected to the guests’ disappearances. He warned the Chen Brothers that finding the bodies was dangerous and identified the upcoming Music Appreciation meeting as the real focus.

• Xu Huo collected the Ma couple’s items and found that their Evolution rates were far higher than his.
• Xu Huo studied the spider trophies in the Annex and inferred that Mr. Dong and He Pu had once been close, despite their current strained relationship.
• Xu Huo met Mr. Dong in the rain and questioned him about his friendship with He Pu and his interest in spiders.
• The Chen Brothers reported that Hu Shan was missing from her room and that they had found no human-shaped ceramics.
• Xu Huo told the brothers that Hu Shan was likely connected to the disappearances, warned that finding the bodies could be a trap, and pointed to the Music Appreciation meeting as the real focus.

After Li Chao and the Ma couple disappeared, Xu Huo revealed that the Ma couple were non-task Players and helped the others piece together the killings in the Ancient Castle. The Players agreed to work together to search He Pu’s rooms during dinner, leaving Xu Huo to investigate while the others distracted Hu Shan and Mr. Dong.

• The Players learned that Li Chao had left the Ancient Castle and that the Ma couple had also departed at midnight, while Hu Shan warned them to stay off the Third Floor.
• Fly suspected Li Chao had been killed after going to the Third Floor, and You Qiwen concluded that Hu Shan and Mr. Dong had likely killed Players.
• Xu Huo showed the Players invitations and explained that the Ma couple were non-task Players who had approached him, convincing the group that some Players had been invited to stir up trouble.
• The Players considered whether someone in the Ancient Castle was killing indiscriminately and discussed searching He Pu’s bedroom, lounge, and Music Room for The Vanishing Guest.
• Xu Huo offered to search He Pu’s rooms during dinner while You Qiwen and the others kept Hu Shan and Mr. Dong occupied, and Wei Landeng supplied paired toys for signaling.

Xu Huo searched He Pu’s bedroom but escaped when He Pu suddenly returned, strengthening his suspicion that He Pu was the Dungeon Boss. The players agreed to target Mr. Dong for information and followed him toward the Annex, where he vanished into the dark woods.

• Xu Huo searched He Pu’s bedroom and sensed an energy fluctuation in a wall, but fled through the window when He Pu approached.
• Xu Huo reasoned that Mr. Dong might oppose He Pu and could help the players find The Vanishing Guest.
• Wei Landeng, You Qiwen, Liu Zheng Ping, Fly, and Chen Nan gathered in Xu Huo’s room and discussed how to confront the castle’s powerful residents.
• Xu Huo agreed with Fly’s plan to target Mr. Dong, who might know where their belongings and the missing bodies were.
• The players followed Mr. Dong toward the Annex at night, but a gust of wind swept through the woods and he suddenly vanished.

Xu Huo realized Mr. Dong was likely an intelligent item and that He Pu had invited outside Players for help. He found a Player hidden in a wall, revealing the missing guest, and received a prompt to submit the truth behind the disappearance.

• You Qiwen illuminated the woods, exposing Mr. Dong as a giant Spider-Man, and the Players attacked him.
• Mr. Dong broke free and fled into the Maze Garden, so You Qiwen and the others pursued him.
• Xu Huo asked the Chen Brothers to cover for him and returned to the main building to investigate his suspicions about He Pu and Mr. Dong.
• Xu Huo searched You Qiwen's room and stabbed a hidden man inside the wall with a Flying Sword.
• Xu Huo pulled the wounded man from the wall and received a prompt asking whether he would submit the truth behind the guest's disappearance.

Xu Huo questioned Yu Shuai about the Vanishing Guest and proposed a plan to complete Task One, then provoked Hu Shan by threatening to burn the Ancient Castle. Hu Shan attacked him and pinned him down with her Square Hammer.

• Xu Huo forced Yu Shuai to reveal that the Vanishing Guest’s preserved bodies were in a wardrobe in He Pu’s bedroom and learned that Yu Shuai had not completed Task Two.
• Xu Huo proposed that Yu Shuai steal a body and bring it to the Music Room during the next night’s Appreciation Session to complete Task One, and Yu Shuai agreed.
• After Yu Shuai hid inside the wall, Hu Shan entered You Qiwen’s room and confronted Xu Huo.
• Xu Huo threatened to set the Castle and the Garden Maze on fire, then ignited the bed and furnishings.
• Hu Shan attacked Xu Huo with her Square Hammer, kicked him into a corner, and pinned him down while reaching for his face.

Xu Huo fought Hu Shan in Rose Castle until Mr. Dong intervened, and the struggle ended when a force from the Third Floor released Hu Shan. At dawn, Xu Huo told the other Players he knew where the missing guests were, offering them a new lead as time ran short.

• Xu Huo battled Hu Shan, who used her abilities to heal herself and turn her clothes and the castle walls into weapons.
• Mr. Dong trapped Hu Shan in a black wall substance, but a wave of energy from the Third Floor freed her and Yu Shuai before she was swallowed.
• Mr. Dong inspected the wrecked room and told Xu Huo that he had burned down two rooms, while Xu Huo learned the castle had not been a Dungeon five years earlier.
• The other Players returned to the second floor and kept their distance from Mr. Dong, then waited through the night for dawn.
• Xu Huo told the Chen Brothers that Mr. Dong was neutral toward Players and that Hu Shan posed the greater danger.
• Xu Huo summoned the other Players and said he knew where the missing guests were, prompting Liu Zheng Ping to ask if he was bluffing.

Xu Huo told the players where the bodies were hidden and joined them in trying to uncover why the castle guests had disappeared, but their theory about He Pu was rejected. The players gathered for He Pu’s Music Appreciation Session, where the truth remained unresolved.

• Xu Huo revealed that the bodies were in He Pu’s bedroom wardrobe and said he had completed the first task, while seeking the truth behind the guests’ disappearance.
• Wei Landeng, Fly, You Qiwen, and the others compared clues about the servants, He Pu, and Mr. Dong, then submitted their theory that He Pu had begun eating people and received a wrong answer.
• Fly and You Qiwen reasoned that the players might learn the truth from He Pu before completing the first task, and Xu Huo denied that He Pu had discovered their actions.
• The servants brought the players formalwear and escorted them to the Music Room, where He Pu welcomed them to the Music Appreciation Session.