Chapter Summaries

Xu Huo escaped the Players surrounding him and returned to Museum City to ambush Teacher Pan’s group. He trapped them among the shops and attacked, leaving their fight unresolved as he unleashed Poison Rain from the Sky.

• After his temporary companion died, the Player fled, then stopped as others appeared to surround Xu Huo.
• Teacher Pan’s group discussed the green Potion from the Mirror Hotel and decided to eliminate Xu Huo, while Peng Fengnian objected.
• Xu Huo returned to Museum City, found Teacher Pan’s group, and prepared traps around their shop.
• Xu Huo lured wax figures into sticky patches, then sliced through the shops to drive Teacher Pan’s group into the street.
• Xu Huo pursued the group with the Bright Red Sword and Water Knife Gun, then shouted Poison Rain from the Sky.

Xu Huo killed Teacher Pan and Gao Xiaoyue while fighting off their group, then recovered the potion and headed toward the gate of Museum City. After Peng Fengnian warned Lin Zhenhuai and Old Eagle to hide, Xu Huo examined Teacher Pan’s information about Corpse Hiding Hotel.

• Gao Xiaoyue pushed Teacher Pan out of Counting Grid and attacked Xu Huo, but Sun Bo was wounded and Teacher Pan was killed as Peng Fengnian fought Xu Huo.
• Peng Fengnian’s attack left Xu Huo’s arms injured, but Like Repels Like knocked Peng Fengnian back and Xu Huo escaped Gao Xiaoyue’s body bag.
• Teacher Pan threw a potion at Xu Huo, but Xu Huo emerged from the poisonous gas and killed Gao Xiaoyue before recovering the potion.
• Peng Fengnian called Lin Zhenhuai and told him Teacher Pan was dead, and Lin Zhenhuai ordered Old Eagle to hide rather than seek revenge.
• Xu Huo studied Teacher Pan’s information about Corpse Hiding Hotel, which described government research into its connection to the game.

Xu Huo searched the Doll Clothing Store for another Potion, then left Museum City and drove toward a new destination. When traffic blocked his route, he discovered a woman being held captive on a coach and forced the driver to open the door.

• Xu Huo concluded that Dr. Wu may have hidden Potions in special spaces and that the device found with the Potion had offered a way out of the corpse-hiding space.
• Xu Huo searched the Doll Clothing Store, found a doll matching the nursery rhyme, and discovered its Potion slot was empty.
• Xu Huo saw Xiao Ling and Yu Guangnan fighting, then tossed Old Eagle’s body onto the ground before leaving Museum City.
• Xu Huo rented a car and followed the official safe route until he reached a highway blocked by traffic.
• Xu Huo saw a woman being pulled away from a coach window, restrained the driver, and made him open the door.

Xu Huo took control of a bus where armed men were abusing a group of girls and questioned the survivors about the road and Mao City. He learned that one of the girls had recently become an Evolver and that the group was connected to a Mao City talent agency.

• Xu Huo intimidated the men on the bus, killed the injured man who approached him, and stopped the driver from reaching the door.
• Xu Huo moved the girls to the back of the bus and questioned the remaining men about their origins, the blocked road, and Mao City.
• The bald man said he had delivered meat to Mao City and pointed out that some of the girls had come from a Shang family Welfare Institute.
• A girl Xu Huo had freed explained that she and the others belonged to a Mao City girl group and offered a reward for help getting them to safety.
• Xu Huo gave the girl a handkerchief and asked whether she had recently become an Evolver; she said she had awakened a day or two earlier and had not hurt anyone.

Xu Huo questioned Peng Ya about Shang Shuming’s childhood and learned that Shang had received psychological treatment at the Shang family Welfare Institute before leaving Mao City. After Xu Huo helped Peng Ya and the other girls escape danger, Ye Yingdong cleared his way through a checkpoint, and Xu Huo headed for the welfare institute with Peng Ya as his guide.

• Peng Ya told Xu Huo that Shang Shuming had lived at the welfare institute for over a year after his mother’s suicide and showed him a group photo of Shang with the old dean.
• Xu Huo recognized that the man in the photo was not the psychologist he suspected might have treated Shang Shuming, and decided to visit the old dean.
• At a checkpoint, a Player killed the bus driver and ordered the passengers off; armed personnel shot a passenger who resisted, while the girls explained that Xu Huo had saved them from their attackers.
• Ye Yingdong thanked Xu Huo for protecting his sister and the girls, opened the checkpoint, and gave Xu Huo a city map and his business card.
• Xu Huo borrowed a car and set off for the welfare institute, with Peng Ya joining him as his guide.

Xu Huo drove Peng Ya through District 009, where player organizations had taken on much of the work of governing and supporting newcomers. After finding the Welfare Institute burned down, they visited the Old Dean, who began telling Xu Huo about Shang Shuming.

• Xu Huo read news about local self-governance and player organizations while traffic stalled downtown.
• Peng Ya asked Xu Huo about the game world, and he advised her to prepare for her first trip on the Preliminary Train and find a player organization.
• Xu Huo bought Peng Ya time to calm her Gluttony Urge with Potion, then drove her to the Welfare Institute.
• Xu Huo and Peng Ya learned that two Cannibal Players had burned down the Welfare Institute, though everyone had been evacuated safely.
• Xu Huo took Peng Ya to meet the Old Dean, who began describing Shang Shuming's unusual intelligence and creativity as a child.

Xu Huo learned about Shang Shuming’s history at the Welfare Institute and discovered that Peng Ya’s memories suggested she had been chosen and then abandoned by “Doctor Shang.” He identified two adopted children who had moved abroad and left to investigate their families’ whereabouts.

• The Old Dean explained that Shang Shuming had shown an early talent for medicine, treated a child’s serious wound, and later donated to the Welfare Institute and spent time with Peng Ya.
• Xu Huo found a red crystal die among Peng Ya’s childhood toys; it opened to reveal a piece of metal engraved with “Shang,” and Peng Ya let him take it.
• After Xu Huo used mental interference, Peng Ya reenacted memories of calling Shang Shuming “Doctor Shang” and pleading to go with him before recalling him fondly as Mr. Shang.
• The Old Dean said five children from Peng Ya’s group had been adopted, and Peng Ya identified them in an old photo, including two whose families had moved abroad.
• Xu Huo took Peng Ya somewhere safe, then searched the immigration bureau’s adoption records to find the countries and approximate locations of the two families.
• Xu Huo concluded that Peng Ya might have been one of Doctor Shang’s former targets, abandoned after being chosen.

Xu Huo investigated the doctors who had recruited children before finding himself trapped in a rain-soaked forest with other players. They reached an old Villa, where the instance began and revealed its name.

• Xu Huo hired private investigators to research two families and considered whether the doctor who had recruited children had worked with others.
• A sudden pounding and strange smell transported Xu Huo into a rainy forest, where he met Lu Zhen and four other starving, freezing players.
• Xu Huo left Lu Zhen's group behind and encountered another player group as they searched the forest for a way out.
• The groups found an old Villa, where a female player welcomed them inside and Xu Huo refused to let her touch his Justice Umbrella.
• The Villa's door locked, the lights went out, and an electronic screen announced the instance, "The Villa with Only One Owner."

Xu Huo and the other players learned the Villa’s rules, which restricted guests to paired rooms and gave a temporary master special privileges. Xu Huo shared a room with Lu Zhen, and as they settled in for the night, she explained how the Dungeon had drawn her in.

• The Villa’s electronic screen displayed rules for guests and temporary masters before disappearing, and the players realized they could not leave or damage the building.
• Xu Huo tested the locked window and door, then chose a second-floor room and agreed to share it with Lu Zhen.
• As the nine o’clock curfew began, Xu Huo told Lu Zhen to take the bed while he slept on the sofa.
• After the lights went out, Xu Huo shared food with Lu Zhen and asked about her player rank and how she had found the Villa.
• Lu Zhen said she was an E-class player who had been pulled into the Dungeon near active fragrant wood, and explained that ordinary people rarely encountered Random Instances.

Xu Huo and the other Players discovered four deaths in the villa after the first night, all apparently caused by poison, and suspicion fell on the previous temporary host. The Players debated how to identify the culprit as the suggestion to test everyone one by one drew their attention.

• Lu Zhen and Xu Huo discussed the risks and rules facing temporary hosts as footsteps passed their room during the night.
• The Players found four people dead the next morning, each with signs of poisoning or puncture wounds.
• The charming female Player and the man in the raincoat attacked the red-haired Player, suspecting he had been the temporary host.
• Xu Huo warned that someone might be trying to turn the Players against one another and urged them to guard against dangerous items and daytime attacks.
• A Player proposed testing everyone to find the previous temporary host, and the others turned to look at him.

Xu Huo explored the villa and studied a book that linked the Field family’s etiquette to the Game Government. The chapter left him at the Study Room doorway, drawing the Bright Red Sword for an unknown reason.

• Dong Qiu voiced his fear that he and his companions were likely to become cannon fodder, while Lu Zhen warned him not to provoke the other players.
• Xu Huo explored the first floor of the villa as Lu Zhen searched the laundry room’s cleaning supplies.
• Xu Huo inspected unoccupied rooms on the second floor and read about etiquette among evolved plants and animals.
• Xu Huo found a book describing the hand-cupping salute and learned that a noblewoman from the Field family had introduced the family’s etiquette to her own family and the Game Government.
• Xu Huo reflected on the Field family’s influence and his lack of information about the Stellar Group, then drew the Bright Red Sword at the Study Room doorway.

Xu Huo investigated the deaths and violence in the Villa, killing a player who was assaulting an injured woman and accepting a challenge from a charming female player. He then went to the Third Floor, where a young dagger-wielding player offered to team up with him.

• Xu Huo found another dead player and told Lu Zhen that the killings might be intended to narrow the field and hasten each person's turn as temporary owner.
• After players ignored screams from upstairs, an injured woman was dragged downstairs and assaulted; Xu Huo snapped the attacker’s neck and the other two men backed away.
• Lu Zhen offered the injured woman help, while the charming female player teased Xu Huo and invited him to her room; Xu Huo promised he would come today or tomorrow.
• Xu Huo went to the Third Floor to inspect the Master Bedrooms, and the young player with daggers praised his intervention and asked him to team up.

Xu Huo teamed up with Liang Chong and Lu Zhen to watch for the temporary owner, but their surveillance attempt failed. The next morning, a fight broke out among the players, and Xu Huo stopped it before warning everyone that killing the others could clear the game; the man in the raincoat agreed to a truce.

• Xu Huo agreed to cooperate with Liang Chong and invited Lu Zhen to join them.
• Lu Zhen watched beneath the door that night, but no one came out, while Xu Huo heard someone upstairs make a quiet round of the rooms.
• The players gathered the next morning and argued over who had been active during the night.
• The baby-faced man attacked a lone player, and the man in the raincoat trapped him with a thin line as Liang Chong tried to intervene.
• Xu Huo cut the raincoat man's line, drove the baby-faced man away, and suggested that killing everyone could clear the game.
• The man in the raincoat called a truce, and the other players assured Xu Huo they would not oppose him.

Xu Huo questioned the Players about why Feng Guang had failed as temporary host and learned the Dungeon’s requirements. He suspected its vague rules made clearing the level dangerous and planned to watch what happened when someone became host that night.

• Xu Huo asked who had left their room the previous night, and Liang Chong revealed that Feng Guang had been the temporary host.
• Feng Guang said he had followed the game’s requirements, but he would not explain them until Liang Chong disclosed the rules in private.
• Liang Chong explained that the host had to keep the Villa clean and ensure the safety of the Villa and its guest rooms at night.
• Xu Huo reasoned that the host’s privileges and duties contained traps that could cause failure, and that failed Players might sabotage others.
• Liang Chong proposed signaling the temporary host with a knock that night, and Xu Huo told Feng Guang the Dungeon would probably offer another round.

Xu Huo tried to keep the players from turning on one another while they investigated the Villa’s rules. After another violent night, he was chosen as the temporary host and received a new set of duties and privileges.

• Xu Huo urged the players to cooperate, shared food with them, and warned them not to interfere with his attempt to clear the game.
• Xu Huo questioned Lu Zhen about Dong Qiu and said he hoped Dong Qiu was not that night’s temporary host.
• The man in the raincoat entered guest rooms and fought the charming female player, smashing through a wall before leaving with the bodies.
• Xu Huo learned that the man in the raincoat had entered Red Hair’s room and removed the bodies.
• Xu Huo received a notification naming him the temporary host and assigning him duties to keep the Villa clean, safe, and comfortable for guests.

Xu Huo investigated the villa and prepared to test the instance’s clearing conditions after becoming the temporary host. He intimidated the charming female player into making her allies clean, then revealed his curiosity about the fragrant wood that brought him into the instance.

• The man in the raincoat told Xu Huo that the charming female player had prevented him from clearing the instance and warned that she possessed a powerful item.
• Xu Huo learned he was the day’s temporary host and promised the other players they could watch his attempt to clear the instance that night.
• Red Hair, Lu Zhen, Zhao Xiaojing, and the others agreed to help clean the villa while Xu Huo prepared to investigate.
• Two male players bullied Zhao Xiaojing and Dong Qiu and made a mess, so Xu Huo confronted them and used his killing intent to force them to clean up.
• Xu Huo told the charming female player he was curious about the fragrant wood that served as the instance’s medium, and she cursed the person who had brought it.

Xu Huo hosted the Players for a rare, ordinary dinner, where they discussed the dangers of life in District 009 and the possibility of settling in a more peaceful district. When Lu Zhen asked whether Xu Huo had met a Super Player, he ended the conversation by announcing lights-out time.

• Red Hair and the others finished cleaning the Villa, and Xu Huo used the Appraisal Fork to confirm that the baby-faced man's ham was safe to eat.
• Xu Huo and the Players shared dinner and talked about the hardships of life as Players in District 009.
• Xu Huo told the group that District 011 offered a more comfortable life and that Players could suspend their status by working for its local government.
• Red Hair asked how to make money, and Xu Huo suggested robbing other Players rather than a District Government or the Game Government.
• Lu Zhen asked whether Xu Huo had met a Super Player, and Xu Huo tapped his watch and declared that it was lights-out time.

Xu Huo uncovered that the female Player had hidden a corpse in a mattress to sabotage another Player’s attempt to clear the level, then killed her and disposed of the bodies. He left the two Players who had bullied Zhao Xiaojing waiting behind a door that he opened only a crack before shutting again.

• Xu Huo inspected the Players’ rooms and questioned the female Player about why she had failed to clear the level.
• Xu Huo accused the female Player of hiding a corpse in the mattress and threatened to kill her unless she revealed it.
• The female Player attacked Xu Huo with her props, but he outmaneuvered and poisoned her, then watched her die.
• Xu Huo removed the hidden corpse and the female Player’s body, carrying both outside the Villa and dumping them beyond the courtyard wall.
• Xu Huo returned to the two Players who had bullied Zhao Xiaojing, opened their door a crack, and shut it again before they could attack.

Xu Huo explained Lu Zhen’s presence-diminishing Ability and its disorienting side effect, then prepared her to survive and clear the Villa game after he left. At eight, he returned to the Immigration Bureau and received confirmation that he had cleared the game, along with rewards.

• Xu Huo told Lu Zhen how to handle the other players and revealed that the two men across the hall would not survive until morning.
• Lu Zhen explained that her background-staff profession gave her an Ability that weakened her presence but caused her to get lost and mislead companions.
• Xu Huo arranged a bounty-platform code so he and Lu Zhen could exchange information about Ability side effects later.
• After dealing with the two men across the hall, Xu Huo explained the Villa’s clearance method and advised Lu Zhen how to share it safely.
• At eight, Xu Huo returned to the Immigration Bureau and received a special Ability and an item-combination upgrade opportunity for clearing the Villa game.

Xu Huo obtained the special Ability "Sit Please" and exchanged two items for the Ant Nest Marker before checking into a hotel in a relatively safe area. As he learned more about the chaos caused by wandering Players in District 009, someone knocked on his door.

• Xu Huo received the special Ability "Sit Please," which established a temporary host-guest relationship in an enclosed room.
• Xu Huo combined "Escape by the Skin of Your Teeth" and the "Targeting Device" to obtain the Ant Nest Marker.
• A detective told Xu Huo that one of the children he had been investigating and the child's parents had died in a tsunami five years earlier, and Xu Huo paid the remaining fee before erasing his online traces.
• Xu Huo checked into a hotel run by a Player organization and encountered Ye Yingdong in the lobby.
• While eating in his room, Xu Huo read posts condemning wandering Players and wondered whether a Super Artifact would appear in District 009.
• Someone knocked on Xu Huo's door.