Chapter Summaries

Xu Huo and the Players searched books in the Villa for clues to Jin Li’s notes and found that two books matched the notes’ pictures. Xu Huo suspected the Dungeon turned a family note game into a hunt for people, but the group still had no clear way to escape.

• The local player explained that Jin Li had unusually good mental health and that note-writing had once been a popular form of therapy.
• The muscular man proposed that some books left by Villa tenants had originally belonged to Jin Li, so the group retrieved and searched them.
• Xu Huo found book passages matching two notes and reasoned that Jin Li’s family may have played a picture-and-book game that became the Dungeon’s picture-and-person game.
• Zhou Yuanzhu found another book passage matching a note, but the Players realized that matching a note to a book did not clear the Dungeon.
• Xu Huo considered how the numbered notes might be tied to Players’ deaths and reminded the group that it was past midnight.

Xu Huo and the muscular man argued over whether matching notes to books could clear the dungeon, while both concealed their suspicions from the other players. Xu Huo killed the muscular man to take his note and urged everyone to search for the matching book, leaving the group tense but with a way to test the method.

• Xu Huo and the muscular man discussed the notes, possible ways to clear the dungeon, and the danger of telling the others their theory.
• The players searched the floors for a fourth note but found nothing, then returned to their rooms.
• Before dawn, the muscular man captured the freckled player and took his note, then demanded a trade from Xu Huo.
• Xu Huo poisoned the muscular man when he tried to escape, and the man died before he could use an Antidote.
• Xu Huo took the note and asked the players to find a book matching its picture, then told them the note and book might reveal how to clear the dungeon.

Xu Huo tested his theory that a player could clear the dungeon by matching a slip and book to their number. Number 10 succeeded and escaped, while the remaining players considered what the result meant for finding the other slips.

• Xu Huo explained that he was not a dungeon player and let Number 10 test the matching slip and book he had taken.
• The players searched the villa’s books together, and the lip-piercing player found the book matching Number 10’s slip.
• The player who had ambushed Xu Huo handed Number 10 his matching slip and book, and Number 10 cleared the dungeon.
• Number 10 left the villa and launched a colorful flare outside to signal his success.
• Xu Huo concluded that the slip was genuine and that the number of slips appearing each day was probably random if Teacher Fan had not forged the second slip.
• Zhou Yuanzhu warned the player with the birthmark to stop provoking others, and he fell silent when Xu Huo looked at him.

Xu Huo and the other players discussed the Villa’s picture-matching game and investigated what the dungeon’s title and circled pictures might mean. Suspecting the Villa’s unusual magnetic field was connected to the dungeon and Dr. Zhang’s choice to live there, Xu Huo went to examine the first floor.

• Xu Huo told the players to take turns checking upstairs and explained that matching pictures to books was the proven way to clear the dungeon.
• Ding Xiang questioned the meaning of the dungeon’s title, while Zhou Yuanzhu and the others discussed the circled pictures and the Villa’s history of tenant deaths.
• Chi Minghong recalled that people had blamed the Villa’s deaths on paranormal activity, a special magnetic field, and players.
• Xu Huo reasoned that the children’s game might not explain the dungeon’s deeper origin and considered whether the magnetic field had caused the Villa to become a dungeon site.
• Xu Huo left the others checking the rooms and went to investigate the first floor.

Xu Huo searched Snow White Villa for numbered notes while investigating the strange magnetic field and the villa’s history. His tests suggested an Origin Stone had once been hidden in the Secret Room, and he spotted someone concealed outside it.

• Xu Huo questioned a local Player about the villa’s history and learned that its size was restricted, its owner Jin Li had barred rebuilding, and a magnetite deposit had recently been discovered beneath it.
• Xu Huo reviewed the family records and noted that Jin Li’s family had been unusually mentally healthy across three generations.
• Xu Huo and the local Player found note number 5, depicting a person with broken arms and legs, and brought it downstairs for the others to examine.
• Xu Huo used a detector and soil samples to trace the villa’s magnetic field to the Secret Room, concluding that an Origin Stone had likely been there before Dr. Zhang took it.
• Xu Huo noticed someone hiding outside the Secret Room, activated Spiritual World, removed the wall between them, and closed the distance.

Xu Huo fought Dong Qifeng’s A-class player, the glasses man, and used spatial movement and layered items to survive the stronger opponent’s attacks. He began to infer the man’s item restrictions and noticed that the glasses man was deliberately avoiding his Spiritual World.

• The glasses man used items to evade Xu Huo’s attacks and attacked him with mental interference, a nail, and powerful punches.
• Xu Huo blocked the nail with Angel's Teeth and used Realistic Wax Figure to absorb a surprise blow, but the glasses man drove him into the ground.
• Xu Huo used the all-metal chair and Holder's Death to catch the glasses man off guard, though the assassination item only cut the back of his scalp.
• Xu Huo dodged the glasses man’s next attacks by changing locations through space and opening doors to disrupt his vision.
• Xu Huo realized the glasses man was deliberately avoiding his Spiritual World.

Xu Huo and Chi Minghong fought the glasses man as he tore through the Villa, but his powerful items kept them on the defensive. When the glasses man pursued Xu Huo through a mysterious doorway, he found himself inside a gigantic circular Book Tower.

• The glasses man used an item to resist Xu Huo’s mental interference, smashed through the Villa’s walls, and pulled Xu Huo back down when he tried to escape into the air.
• Xu Huo returned the Villa to his Spiritual World, but the glasses man’s attack forced him to shrink its range until Chi Minghong intervened with Sword Qi and Ground Collapse.
• The glasses man pulled Chi Minghong toward him, but Xu Huo raised spiral staircases throughout the Villa to rescue her and obstruct their pursuer.
• The glasses man destroyed the staircases and used frozen pellets and a nearly invisible cutting film to drive Xu Huo out, but Inviolable Territory blocked both attacks.
• The glasses man punched Xu Huo through a doorway into darkness and followed him, only to find himself inside a gigantic circular Book Tower.

Xu Huo trapped the glasses man in his Spiritual World and fought to kill the B-class player despite his powerful items. As Xu Huo tried to escape a barrage of bombs, a shadowy spike killed the glasses man and the shadow caught the bombs.

• The glasses man escaped Xu Huo’s black liquid trap, threatened to destroy the Villa with a bomb, and entered the Book Tower.
• Xu Huo used shifting doors to trap and attack the glasses man, who cut through the doors with Thin Thread and tried to force Xu Huo into the open.
• Xu Huo shot the glasses man through the chest with a pellet fired through a doorway, but the wounded man ensnared Xu Huo and dropped dozens of bombs.
• Xu Huo closed the Spiritual World and tried to escape the blast, but found it had not fully closed.
• A shadowy spike pierced the glasses man’s head, killing him, and a spreading shadow caught his blood and the bombs.

Xu Huo discovered that the shadow personality representing his childhood could act independently, confirming the danger posed by his missing memories. He contained its manifestation for the time being, then examined and catalogued the glasses man's powerful Artifacts.

• The childhood shadow carried the bomb and corpse to Xu Huo, then fled into a room when the Book Tower fully appeared in the Spiritual World.
• Xu Huo inspected the four personality manifestations and found that the childhood shadow's manifestation had grown, suggesting its suppression had weakened.
• Xu Huo pressed the shadow's manifestation back to its original size and postponed dealing with it.
• Xu Huo examined the glasses man's belongings, identifying five A-class Artifacts, including Backstab, Ideal Skin, and Everything Wants to Cut Everything.
• Xu Huo catalogued the glasses man's B-class and support items, including the special life-saving item Kitty Borrows Three Lives.

Xu Huo killed the glasses man and discovered that his rapid self-repair had kept Holder's Death from being fatal, while the shadow had overwhelmed his defenses. Back at the Villa, the Players argued over whether to keep searching for slips together or pursue a higher Dungeon rating, and Ding Xiang looked to Xu Huo for support.

• Xu Huo examined the glasses man's wounds, found signs of rapid self-repair, and concluded that the shadow had killed him despite his defensive items.
• Xu Huo collected the glasses man's valuables and returned to the Villa, where Chi Minghong and the other Players were stunned that he had killed a B-class Player.
• Chi Minghong led the Players upstairs to search for more slips while Xu Huo rested, and the group found additional gruesome images.
• The Players disagreed over whether everyone should get a slip before anyone searched for more, and Xu Huo warned that some might be unable to clear the Dungeon.
• Zhou Yuanzhu went upstairs to search, splitting the Players into opposing camps, and Ding Xiang appealed to Xu Huo as the dispute escalated.

Xu Huo remained in the lobby while the other players searched upstairs, then killed Teacher Fan without moving when Teacher Fan attacked him. The survivors compared their numbered slips and found that four players could exchange them to clear the Dungeon.

• Chi Minghong abandoned Liang Zong and Ding Xiang to join the players heading upstairs, leaving Xu Huo and Teacher Fan in the lobby.
• After finding a slip numbered one, Chi Minghong attacked Teacher Fan, and they fought until Liang Zong's artifact moved them across the lobby.
• Teacher Fan rushed Xu Huo, but a nearly invisible artifact thread severed his head, and Xu Huo told the others to resume clearing the Dungeon.
• Zhou Yuanzhu listed the slips the players had collected, revealing that the player from this zone, Chi Minghong, Liang Zong, and Zhou Yuanzhu could exchange slips to clear the Dungeon.

Xu Huo woke after resting and learned that Zhou Yuanzhu had killed the remaining players before he and Chi Minghong solved the instance by identifying the last book read. After leaving the instance, Xu Huo asked Chi Minghong to investigate a laboratory and returned to the Dong family estate, where he learned that Young Master Xuan had gone to the beauty pageant’s final vote.

• Xu Huo slept for eight hours in Emergency Shelter No. 101 and learned from Chi Minghong that Zhou Yuanzhu had killed Number 4, Number 2, and Ding Xiang.
• Xu Huo reasoned that the instance’s “last one” referred to the last book read, and Chi Minghong used his number 7 slip to clear the instance.
• Xu Huo and Chi Minghong left the instance, and Chi Minghong gave him promised items and an extra B-class item.
• Xu Huo asked Chi Minghong to investigate a laboratory and identify people connected to it, especially those involved with children.
• Xu Huo returned to the Dong family estate, where Zeng An told him Young Master Xuan had gone to the Entertainment Building for the beauty pageant’s final vote.

Xu Huo arranged for Xiao Dou to live at a welfare institute in Snow City, then went with the Dong family to the Entertainment Building. There, he joined the others in Tomorrow’s Venue as the pageant vote neared its end.

• Xu Huo learned that Xiao Dou wanted to leave with him, but decided to fund the boy’s care at a welfare institute until he turned eighteen.
• Zeng An recommended a Snow City welfare institute and agreed to arrange Xiao Dou’s placement after speaking with the young master.
• Xu Huo rode with the Dong family to the Entertainment Building, where a staff member explained how Tomorrow’s Venue and its shifting rooms worked.
• Xu Huo entered Room 039 and reunited with Dong Jingxuan, Dong Qifeng, and Dong Yanqiong while the pageant’s final votes were being counted.
• Dong Jingxuan voted for Number Five, while Xu Huo watched Guo Longzhi and another contestant compete for the lead with three minutes remaining.

Xu Huo was driven out of Tomorrow's Venue after Dong Qifeng tried to attack him, then encountered Mr. Chang, one of the train hijackers, at another venue. As Xu Huo confronted him about his fake face, he revealed the Small Tunnel item Dong Jingxuan had activated.

• Xu Huo sensed that more than a hundred players had gathered at Tomorrow's Venue, likely for a wartime mobilization meeting.
• Dong Qifeng sent a hidden blade at Xu Huo and then ordered two B-class players to attack him over the item Xu Huo had helped Dong Jingxuan win.
• Xu Huo broke through the room's Gate Wall, and venue security ordered him and Dong Qifeng's two bodyguards to leave under the Government Hall's wartime rules.
• Xu Huo entered another venue to avoid Dong Qifeng's men and spotted Mr. Chang, a train hijacker marked by Shared Location, selling medicine to women.
• Xu Huo asked Mr. Chang how he made a fake face look real, and Mr. Chang joked about earning money and pleasing women.
• Xu Huo took out the Small Tunnel item that Dong Jingxuan had activated.

Xu Huo used Mr. Chang to drive off the two players pursuing him, then disguised himself and entered the entertainment venue beneath Tomorrow's Venue. There, he joined a billiards game where players had to move the balls without touching them, and began his first round against a mixed-heritage player.

• Xu Huo trapped Mr. Chang with Thin Thread and asked him to have his friend lure away the two players pursuing him while answering questions about spatial passage items.
• After the two pursuers left, Xu Huo released Mr. Chang, changed his face, and entered the entertainment venue beneath Tomorrow's Venue.
• Xu Huo joined a billiards game where players wagered items and followed rules that prevented them from touching the balls or using their cues on them.
• Xu Huo began a round against the mixed-heritage player, who used an air-compressing projectile item to knock balls into the pockets.

Xu Huo won successive billiards matches at Tomorrow's Venue while watching the gathered players and considering whether Zone 002 planned to open a space passage there. He recognized the man in raincoat among new arrivals, but the man ignored his greeting as their guarded companions watched.

• Xu Huo used the Note Launcher to sink five balls consistently and defeated the mixed-race player.
• Xu Huo beat the player with the mole by his brow, then prepared to leave as the crowd gathered to bet.
• The suit man offered a B-class item as a stake, and Xu Huo agreed to play another round after spotting three newcomers.
• Xu Huo recognized the young man as the man in raincoat he had met at the Great World at Sea and recalled his warning about an apparent Holy Sword Society member.
• The man in raincoat met Xu Huo's eyes, then ignored his nod and put in an earbud while the mixed-race player told Xu Huo to respect his opponent.

Xu Huo played billiards with Wei Chengzhang and his companions while waiting in Tomorrow's Venue, then joined Dong Jingxuan as the group was attacked. A blackout and the collapse of the floor above killed many people, and the fighting continued under the rubble as disguised players turned on their allies.

• Xu Huo beat Wei Chengzhang at billiards, introduced himself as Xu Zhi, and learned the identities of the other players.
• Dong Jingxuan came downstairs to join Xu Huo, and Brother Lei verified Xu Huo’s identity with the item Little Tunnel.
• As the group prepared to wager on billiards, players gathered nearby and the hall’s lights went out.
• During the blackout, Young Master Hong was decapitated, and Xu Huo told Dong Jingxuan to head for a corner instead of the exit.
• The floor above Tomorrow’s Venue collapsed, crushing many people, and players from upstairs began fighting among the survivors.
• A voice ordered everyone to keep quiet, and players in Snow City uniforms suddenly attacked their own allies.

Xu Huo freed Dong Jingxuan from a restraint during a coordinated attack on Snow City Players and learned that the city was under lockdown. As Dong Jingxuan prepared to teleport to the Dong family estate, he spotted the injured Dong Yanqiong and moved toward her just as a crossbow bolt flew at them.

• Attackers struck the gathering, trapping Dong Jingxuan and others with a Thin Rope while Players fought across the venue.
• Brother Lei and his companions protected Dong Jingxuan as Xu Huo observed the battle and noticed the attackers trying to destroy a giant ring.
• Chi Minghong told Xu Huo that Snow City was locked down and its Players had been ordered to fight Outer District Players and wanted criminals.
• Xu Huo used the Life Core to destroy the metal floor and free Dong Jingxuan from the restraint.
• Xu Huo asked Dong Jingxuan about teleporting to safety, and Dong Jingxuan said the Dong family estate was protected by a Super Artifact.
• Dong Jingxuan spotted the injured Dong Yanqiong and started toward her as a crossbow bolt flew in from the side.

Xu Huo and the others escaped the Entertainment Building using Dong Jingxuan’s Space Teleport Artifact, but an enemy’s interference sent them to a plaza prepared with traps. Surrounded and unable to teleport again, the group faced an ambush.

• Xu Huo, Wei Yu, and Wei Chengzhang helped Dong Jingxuan and Dong Yanqiong fend off attackers while Brother Lei warned that the spatial restriction might soon trap them.
• The middle-aged woman accused Zone 002’s powerful families of mass killings and of targeting people with inherited genetic traits.
• Dong Jingxuan used his Space Teleport Artifact to transport himself, Xu Huo, Dong Yanqiong, a bodyguard, Wei Yu, and Wei Chengzhang away from the Entertainment Building.
• Xu Huo realized they had arrived at the wrong place and warned that someone had interfered with the artifact and surrounded them.
• Enemies attacked the plaza with shifting floor tiles and wind blades, killing Dong Jingxuan’s bodyguard.
• Dong Jingxuan discovered he could no longer use the artifact, while Xu Huo spotted the surrounding players and hidden traps.

Xu Huo fought the players hunting him and the Wei siblings in a hidden underground plaza, then detonated a powerful item to break through the structure. After discovering the plaza was a completed experimental zone, he urged Wei Yu and the others to leave before Snow City's players arrived.

• Xu Huo used his items to lift the Dong siblings, freeze the animated stone traps, and battle the attackers while Wei Yu defended Wei Chengzhang from poisonous gas.
• Xu Huo charged a B-class player, dragged him down from the platform, and narrowly avoided his powerful punch with help from another Super Evolver.
• Xu Huo prepared to detonate Little Mushroom Cloud, and Wei Yu brought Wei Chengzhang to him after the attackers began retreating.
• Xu Huo gave Wei Yu two B-class items, then Little Mushroom Cloud exploded and blasted open the underground plaza.
• Xu Huo saw the damaged machinery below and learned from Wei Yu that the site had been under government control for a new experimental zone.
• Xu Huo warned that Snow City's players would soon arrive and told the others to leave first.