Chapter Summaries

Xu Huo and the other players discussed the possibility of traveling through time, then traded stories about their lives and ways to earn money in the game. Unlucky Face revealed that he had mined valuable white ore destined for the Platinum Eye, before boasting about its mayor’s beautiful daughter and getting laughed at.

• Xu Huo considered how different Curved Time spaces might allow travel to different points in the past or future as the players speculated about what they would do with time travel.
• Yan Jiayu explained that her parents had left her with her master but continued sending money, clothes, and toys, while the others teased her about her upbringing.
• The players discussed ways to earn money in the game, including bodyguard work, training clients, and helping them clear levels.
• Unlucky Face said he had worked as a miner and showed the players a piece of milky-white ore used to make weapons and commonly shipped to the Platinum Eye.
• Unlucky Face praised the Platinum Eye’s little princess, and the other players laughed at his claim that he had a chance with her.

Bai Kou stayed at Xu Huo’s Ancient Castle and demanded to inspect his Spiritual World, but he refused and questioned her search for what Fan Xiao had hidden in District 001. She trapped them in a dark space, where she admitted Fan Xiao had left her no clues and Xu Huo pointed out that he had known how to avoid her.

• Bai Kou ordered Mr. Dong, Xiao Yuan, and the painted woman around while staying at the Ancient Castle.
• Xu Huo returned and reunited with Yan Jiayu, Xiao Yuan, and the painted woman before learning Bai Kou had forced her way into staying.
• Bai Kou asked Xu Huo to open his Spiritual World, but he refused and suggested she challenge the Black Shoulder Badge instead.
• Bai Kou trapped Xu Huo and herself in a pitch-black space, then admitted she had found nothing Fan Xiao left behind in District 001.
• Xu Huo told Bai Kou that Fan Xiao knew her well enough to hide what he had left from her.

Xu Huo escaped Bai Kou’s mental space with the Mind-Only Gate and returned to the Ancient Castle. He then weighed the risks of using the S-version Potion hidden in a doll, but was interrupted by a visitor.

• Bai Kou confronted Xu Huo over He Pu’s secrets and trapped him in her mental space with Black Water.
• Xu Huo used the Mind-Only Gate to escape into a vast gear workshop, where Bai Kou followed; they then left her mental space.
• After dinner, Xu Huo arranged for Xiao Yuan to enroll in a school in District 011 and told her to use her own name and call him uncle.
• Xu Huo had Mr. Dong activate the Ancient Castle’s special space and examined the Potion, worrying that Dr. Wu might have tampered with it.
• Mr. Dong told Xu Huo that he had a visitor.

Ran Ying arrived at Rose Castle with the Enforcement Department to question Xu Huo about Dr. Deng, whom they suspected of stealing classified information. When the agents moved to detain Xu Huo without the required authorization, the Duchess arrived and confronted them.

• Ran Ying brought Black Shoulder Badge and White Shoulder Badge agents to Rose Castle and told Xu Huo they were investigating a dangerous potion-making Player.
• Ran Ying presented authorization allowing the Enforcement Department to question Xu Huo, and Cheng Bing showed footage of Dr. Deng visiting Rose Castle twice.
• Xu Huo denied wrongdoing, while Mr. Dong argued that the authorization did not permit an interrogation or the use of special items on a baron.
• Ran Ying ordered two robots with spatial restriction devices to detain Xu Huo and warned him that leaving by Ticket would make him look guilty.
• The Duchess arrived at Rose Castle and accused the Black Shoulder Badge of acting as though it could disregard the nobility and government.

After the Duchess forced the Black Shoulder Badge to leave the Ancient Castle, Xu Huo confronted Dr. Deng over the missing Potion and the trouble it had caused. Dr. Deng offered to improve ordinary Potions and urged Xu Huo to test his honesty, leaving Xu Huo unsure whether he could trust him.

• The Executive Director ordered Ran Ying and the Black Shoulder Badge members to withdraw, and the Duchess invited Xu Huo and Bai Kou to her family's banquet.
• Xu Huo told the Duchess about his history with Ran Ying and suspected that the dispute was connected to Dr. Deng and the Perfect Potion.
• Xu Huo showed Dr. Deng an empty Doll and said the Syringe had been taken before he arrived, while Dr. Deng insisted someone else had found the Potion first.
• Xu Huo blamed Dr. Deng for his losses and the Black Shoulder Badge's pursuit, so Dr. Deng offered to improve ordinary Potions in exchange for supplies.
• Dr. Deng denied tampering with Potions and urged Xu Huo to use an item to verify his claims.

Xu Huo rejected Dr. Deng’s urgent offer of a Perfect Potion for now, while Dr. Deng argued that Perfect Evolution could extend a Player’s lifespan. After returning to the Ancient Castle, Xu Huo joined Mr. Dong and the others as Mr. Dong buried his aging spider in the Garden Maze.

• Xu Huo told Dr. Deng he would consider a Perfect Potion but did not need one immediately, and had Mr. Dong lock him back up.
• Xu Huo spotted the Black Shoulder Badge disguised among the clouds and learned that Mr. Dong wanted to hold a funeral for his dying spider.
• Xu Huo agreed to attend the funeral and told Mr. Dong he could compete in other game Sub-districts, though Xu Huo could not accompany him.
• The painted woman and Xiao Yuan relayed Bai Kou’s message that she did not want spiders in the castle, so Mr. Dong kept the spider outside.
• Yan Jiayu chanted beside the spider as Mr. Dong fed it, said farewell, extracted its venom, and buried it beneath a flower’s roots in the Garden Maze.

Xu Huo asked Mr. Dong to guard the Ancient Castle after Black Shoulder Badges began spying on it. The intruders were driven off by terrifying spider and plant attacks, and Ran Ying received a note warning, "Only this once."

• Black Shoulder Badges spotted the funeral staged for a spider, reported it, and left the airspace above the Ancient Castle.
• Xu Huo asked Mr. Dong to watch for Players around the castle, and Mr. Dong agreed.
• At night, the Black Shoulder Badges entered the castle grounds and were attacked by a giant spider that seemed partly real and partly an illusion.
• The squad retreated from the castle, while members sent to the Annex were carried out poisoned and mentally disturbed.
• The female Cheng Bing found a note on an injured Black Shoulder Badge and transmitted its message, "Only this once," to Ran Ying.

After the Enforcement Department retreated, Xu Huo enrolled Xiao Yuan in school and investigated dimensional storm risks at the Game Government Base. He and Wan Tingfang discussed the Holy Sword Society’s attacks on government bases, leaving the group’s potential threat to District 011 unresolved.

• Xu Huo left Dr. Deng’s matter aside and took Xiao Yuan to her new school, telling her to contact him or Mr. Dong if anything happened.
• Xu Huo asked Sanyang about dimensional storms and learned that the Game Government often repaired risky routes rather than abandoning them, while Eternal Star sold route forecasts to customers staying at its properties.
• Xu Huo reviewed storm maintenance records and found that encounters with dimensional storms had a far lower survival rate than encounters with Aliens or Player attacks.
• Xu Huo found a file predicting the Holy Sword Society’s next targets, and Wan Tingfang explained that the organization opposed the Game Government but had little room to operate in stable District 011.
• Xu Huo told Wan Tingfang that the Holy Sword Society’s massacres of ordinary people were no different in principle from the game, and she questioned why the group would attack a base full of documents instead of the Exchange.

Xu Huo and Wan Tingfang discussed the Game Government’s control over its base and the dangers of its experiments before Xu Huo went looking for Defense Artifacts. Unable to find any, he returned to Rose Castle and asked Bai Kou to help him find someone, but she refused unless he left her the castle in his will.

• Xu Huo warned Wan Tingfang that base staff who broke the Game Government’s rules could be punished, and they finished sorting orbital alarms before leaving.
• Xu Huo and Wan Tingfang heard that the Holy Sword Society had stolen experiment samples from a Game Government outpost, and Wan Tingfang described a toxic-gas disaster that turned much of a sub-district’s population into Aliens.
• Xu Huo told Wan Tingfang that experiments and Alien breeding grounds would continue as long as the game existed, then flew to the Exchange to buy a dress and two Defense Artifacts.
• Xu Huo found that several Dukes had bought all the high-level artifacts, so he returned to Rose Castle.
• Xu Huo asked Bai Kou to help him find someone, but she refused unless he wrote a will leaving her the castle, and he declined.

Xu Huo discussed Bai Kou’s plans to attend District 011’s noble investiture banquet as a New Wheel Cult operative, then prepared to attend the event with Yan Jiayu. The chapter ended with Bai Kou leaving early and Xu Huo and Yan Jiayu arriving at the hotel on time.

• Bai Kou told Xu Huo that she would attend the banquet as a New Wheel Cult operative and explained the cult’s history and its suppression in District 011.
• Xu Huo agreed to cover Bai Kou’s evening gown and the garden repairs, while Mr. Dong warned him about the Ancient Castle’s finances.
• Xu Huo and Yan Jiayu finished sweeping the garden, and he persuaded her to stay for the banquet instead of traveling while still recovering.
• Xu Huo arranged an evening gown for Yan Jiayu, who chose to wear a wig and discussed outfits with the painted woman.
• Bai Kou left for the banquet early, and Xu Huo arrived at the hotel with Yan Jiayu at the appointed time.

At a District 011 banquet, Yan Jiayu rebuffed Kag Herta’s advances and got into an awkward confrontation with his fiancée while Xu Huo avoided Bai Kou. The medal ceremony and dancing were interrupted when a mysterious blond man appeared and caused many guests to laugh uncontrollably.

• Xu Huo and Yan Jiayu greeted the Duchess, who introduced Yan Jiayu to young nobles while Bai Kou arrived and began promoting the New Wheel Cult.
• Kag Herta offered Yan Jiayu wine, and Lady Lily suggested she marry him, but Yan Jiayu said she had no plans to marry.
• Kag Herta’s fiancée confronted Yan Jiayu and pulled off her wig, but Yan Jiayu calmly put it back on and walked away.
• At the medal ceremony, Kag Herta invited Yan Jiayu to dance, and she refused while pointing out that he already had a fiancée.
• A wave of uncontrollable laughter spread through the ballroom, security equipment exploded, and a blond man in a black suit appeared among the fallen guests.

Xu Huo and Yan Jiayu were caught in a trap at a District 011 banquet when Jin Feixue and the Ghastly Sound Knights attacked. The fighting escalated as District 011’s players confronted Jin Feixue, whose artifact reversed a space-distorting attack.

• Xu Huo and Yan Jiayu tried to retreat, but a blue barrier sealed the banquet hall and trapped the guests inside.
• Jin Feixue revealed himself as the Ghastly Sound Knights’ leader and killed the kneeling guests with invisible blades.
• Jin Feixue attacked Kag Herta, and Yan Jiayu shielded a blond woman before Xu Huo deflected the deadly string into the ceiling.
• Jin Feixue unleashed music and more strings, while District 011’s players retaliated and several players were struck down.
• District 011 players immobilized Jin Feixue and distorted the space around him, but he used a pointer to reverse the distortion and send it spreading outward.

Xu Huo and Yan Jiayu watched District 011’s Players deploy an extensive defense against Jin Feixue, but he broke through their traps and used his violin to turn the battlefield into a rotating golden floor that trapped his opponents. The battle remained underway as Asis Werner ordered the Players to force Jin Feixue away from the center.

• Xu Huo, Yan Jiayu, and another Player escaped the hotel as Jin Feixue and the others emerged from the banquet hall and the building began to warp.
• Players from District 011 attacked Jin Feixue with darts, blinding lights, spatial barriers, and a shrinking black coating around half the building.
• District 011 evacuated civilians and activated layered defenses and weapons while Xu Huo and Yan Jiayu watched from a distant shelter.
• Jin Feixue split the compressed building with a beam of light, escaped its wreckage, and returned to the banquet platform with his Short Sword.
• Jin Feixue raised his violin and spread golden light across the area, forcing airborne Players onto rotating sections of ground that trapped two of them in a grinding attack.
• Asis Werner ordered the Players to force Jin Feixue out of the area within ten meters of the center.

Xu Huo and Yan Jiayu investigated the attack on the Game Government Base, suspecting the Ghastly Sound Knights and Holy Sword Society had coordinated their actions. A supernatural darkness separated Xu Huo from the others and trapped him in a barren battleground, where he found a Safe House that would remain secure until the dark fog lifted.

• Jin Feixue's golden curtain thwarted the District 011 Players, and two cannons turned on their own weapons platforms, causing explosions and chaos across Base City.
• Xu Huo recognized the suicides and bombings as Dou Shengnan's handiwork and suspected that the Ghastly Sound Knights' theatrical revenge concealed another objective.
• Xu Huo and Yan Jiayu went to the Game Government Base and found it sealed off by armed robots, with fighting inside but no Base Players outside.
• Wan Tingfang arrived and asked Xu Huo and Yan Jiayu where everyone else was, but darkness surged from the Base and cut Xu Huo off from them.
• Xu Huo crossed a barren, silent space and found a Safe House; he entered when crushing pressure filled the air and discovered signs that others had used the room before him.

Xu Huo was unexpectedly teleported from District 011 to a dangerous alien zone in District 004, where Qing Cai rescued him before they were both forced back into the mysterious safe house. Trapped together, they discussed District 011’s reputation and the evolved gemstones Qing Cai had collected.

• After the safe house door opened, Xu Huo stepped into an abandoned city in District 004 and fled a horde of Mutant Animals.
• Qing Cai pulled Xu Huo onto her aircraft, but a surge of darkness sent them crashing back into the safe house, injuring her.
• Xu Huo and Qing Cai found that the safe house door would not open, and Qing Cai suspected it was a Space Teleport Artifact that sent people to random locations.
• Qing Cai called Players from District 011 locusts and described their recent damage to a small Sub-district while Xu Huo wondered whether ore had caused turmoil in his district.
• Qing Cai examined a large emerald and explained that it was an evolved Stone, which could sometimes become a Sub-class Stone used to make artifacts.

Xu Huo learned more about stones that could alter properties before a storm swept him and Qing Cai into another space, where someone stole her glowing gemstone. After Bai Kou guided him back to District 011, he learned that the Sub-class Stone He Pu gave him was a top-grade material for spatial-temporal items and advanced weapons, prized especially for its origin.

• Xu Huo discussed the Nuwa Stone and the possible effects of unusual geological formations with Qing Cai, who hoped to loot the Ghastly Sound Knights during the fighting in District 011.
• A hurricane overturned the safe house and carried Xu Huo, Qing Cai, and her green gemstone into the air, but an unseen figure stole the gemstone.
• Bai Kou contacted Xu Huo through his Communicator and guided him through the darkness back to District 011, where Qing Cai had been sent to another sub-district.
• Xu Huo and Bai Kou saw the devastation around Base City and learned that the Ghastly Sound Knights and the Holy Sword Society were attacking cities and research laboratories across the sub-district.
• Bai Kou explained that the Stone He Pu gave Xu Huo was a top-grade Sub-class Stone used to make spatial-temporal items and advanced weapons, and that its origin made it especially valuable.

Bai Kou explained the immense value of the Time Origin and discussed the possibility that District 011 had found an Origin Stone. As Bai Kou headed into the war-torn city, Xu Huo let her go and contacted Wan Tingfang, who told him Director Sanyang had rescued her.

• Bai Kou explained that a Time Origin could be traded to the Game Government for control of an entire Sub-district and that its effects were not fully understood.
• Xu Huo considered why He Pu had left him a Sub-class Stone and asked whether District 011 might have found an Origin Stone.
• Bai Kou said District 011's recent looting had prompted speculation that its Players had found an Origin Stone, though its type and quality remained unknown.
• Xu Huo noticed Bai Kou seemed to enjoy watching the war and saw her walk into the darkened city despite warning her to be careful.
• Xu Huo contacted Wan Tingfang, who said Director Sanyang had rescued her from the base.

Xu Huo and Wan Tingfang watched a mysterious darkness and a force that weathered buildings spread across District 011, then tried to escape the danger. They became caught in a fight between a Holy Sword Society player and Black Shoulder Badge members, who managed to trap the masked player in melted metal.

• Xu Huo met Wan Tingfang near the Dark Space and learned Director Sanyang had gone inside while residents were being evacuated.
• Xu Huo and Wan Tingfang saw buildings crumble into ash-like material and fled toward the edge of the weathered area.
• A masked Holy Sword Society player used a tiny toy door to stop Xu Huo, Wan Tingfang, Ran Ying, and a Black Shoulder Badge member.
• The masked player trapped himself and the others in rolling spheres, then bounced through the area at high speed to evade capture.
• Ran Ying split the sphere's movement range, and the Black Shoulder Badge member used a banana drawing to make the masked player crash into a car.
• The Black Shoulder Badge member melted the car around the masked player and trapped him.

Ran Ying and the Black Shoulder Badge players fought the masked player while Xu Huo and Wan Tingfang tried to avoid the battle. After escaping a fight in a building, Xu Huo left Main City with Wan Tingfang and waited near its edge to watch for news from the base.

• The masked player trapped Ran Ying with red beams and a balloon full of Black Liquid, but she teleported behind him and resisted his attack.
• Black Shoulder Badge players joined the fight, freed Ran Ying, and helped her knock the masked player away.
• The battle spilled into the building where Xu Huo and Wan Tingfang were hiding, and a player's item dragged them and two Holy Sword Society players into the fight.
• Xu Huo used “Sit Please” to lock the fighters to chairs, and Wan Tingfang broke a Holy Sword Society player's attack with a red trampoline.
• Xu Huo and Wan Tingfang escaped the building and left Main City, deciding to wait nearby for news from the base.

Xu Huo realized that District 011's absent reinforcements and the Game Government Base's suspicious behavior pointed to a trap. After the dark zone erupted and Players showed Alien traits, a beam from the base froze the city, and Xu Huo fled toward the old district as frozen Players began to explode.

• Xu Huo questioned Wan Tingfang about the base's recent activity and learned District 011 had a Super Player, strengthening his suspicion that the crisis was a trap.
• Xu Huo decided to leave, and Wan Tingfang disappeared as he hurried toward Rose Castle.
• An explosion tore open the dark zone, scattering black-smoke-covered Players across the city, where many displayed Alien traits and attacked others.
• A beam of light shot from the base and froze the city, but Xu Huo gradually regained control of his body.
• Xu Huo ran toward the old district as frozen Players began exploding around him.