Chapter Summaries

Fang Jing proposed exposing the Mining Group’s crimes as District 019 faced a crisis, and the District Government moved against the group while protecting Xu Huo. Surrounded by government forces and Players in Ember City, Xu Huo contacted his remaining companions as arrests and attacks mounted.

• Fang Jing’s proposal to sacrifice the Mining Group won support after the Chief Executive rejected her call for a public confession.
• The Mining Group’s representative denounced Fang Jing and stormed out, while the Chief Executive ordered the District Government to prepare for negotiations and resistance.
• The District Government launched an operation against the Mining Group, whose members fled or fought back, and attempts on Xu Huo’s life increased.
• The District Government deployed Players and armed robots to surround Xu Huo’s building as Players from across the region gathered in Ember City.
• Xu Huo used his Jixin Terminal to contact his remaining companions after many who distributed mannequin Ambers had been arrested.

Xu Huo waited under government guard as District 019’s mining groups and District Government faced mounting scrutiny over the century-old disaster. Mattelidoreti came to meet him privately, and the chapter ended as he asked Xu Huo to come down and talk.

• A female Player warned Xu Huo that District 019 was not descending into chaos and urged him to escape, but Xu Huo said he had only one goal.
• As records and accusations surfaced, public attention shifted from Xu Huo to the District Government and mining groups, while Tian Tian Zai Gou Li and several Storm Factors exposed officials’ and companies’ misconduct.
• Xu Huo refused supplies from the government Players and told them not to let District 019 Players approach him.
• After a day of deliberation, Mattelidoreti arrived at the Small Building and arranged a private meeting with Xu Huo.
• Mattelidoreti took a seat at the table while his Players hid around the building, then asked Xu Huo to come down and talk.

Xu Huo confronted former Chief Executive Mattelidoreti about District 019’s human-bone gemstone project and pressed the government to take responsibility for the mining disaster. After leaving their meeting, he announced he would reveal the truth and the Enbel Maiden publicly, as a massive explosion struck the lockdown zone.

• Xu Huo met Mattelidoreti and asked whether he had opposed the human-bone gemstone project a hundred years earlier; Mattelidoreti admitted he had not.
• Mattelidoreti explained that the government had sacrificed a few people to support millions of children, while acknowledging it could never atone for the dead.
• Xu Huo argued that Xia Xi Duolai Ti had been targeted because she was weak like the nameless mining victims, then demanded greater sincerity from the government.
• Mattelidoreti accused Xu Huo of pursuing his own goal and recognized that he was stalling, while Xu Huo said he would consider revealing his purpose.
• Xu Huo left and announced he would reveal the truth and the Enbel Maiden in front of the District Government building as a powerful shock wave and mushroom cloud erupted in the lockdown zone.

Xu Huo exposed the century-old mining disaster by scattering photographs of Master Suolan’s painting, “Enbel Maiden,” across the District Government plaza. As the painting’s victims and the officials’ faces drew public scrutiny, government Players attacked Xu Huo, leaving him in danger but making his death look like an attempt to silence him.

• After disabling the city’s Space Artifacts with the Little Mushroom Cloud, Xu Huo teleported to the District Government plaza and was pinned down by its gravity defenses.
• Xu Huo opened portals and sent photographs of “Enbel Maiden” flying across the plaza, revealing two bound women and faces among the gemstones.
• Residents recognized Fragrance and shared how she had disguised herself as a man to work in the mines after her husband died, while the identities of the other faces became a public concern.
• Government Players attacked Xu Huo, disrupting his Mental Portal and slamming him into the plaza as his defensive artifacts failed to stop them.
• Xu Huo used “The Strength of Writing” and “Important Notification” to draw people’s attention and briefly make his attacker pause, while the painting’s widespread publication made killing him look like a cover-up.

Xu Huo escaped the District Government players’ pursuit when the angry crowd protected him, forcing the government to retreat. Zheng Shijiu calmed the protesters and offered to protect Xu Huo, then proposed broadcasting their conversation district-wide as Xu Huo hinted that the government’s real concern lay elsewhere.

• Xu Huo used the special item “Hard-to-Refuse Request” on a government player, then broke free and escaped into the crowd as the player performed backflips.
• Ordinary people shielded Xu Huo and confronted the government players, demanding that they return to the Government Building and bring Mattelidoreti out.
• A District 019 military officer stopped a player from secretly attacking the crowd, then introduced himself as Zheng Shijiu and promised a clear explanation.
• The crowd recognized Zheng Shijiu as a Heroic Figure, and a player told Xu Huo about his history of rescuing people and his prosthetic limbs.
• Zheng Shijiu offered Xu Huo protection if his claims were true, and Xu Huo hinted that the gathered A-class players had another reason to be inside the Government Building.
• Zheng Shijiu proposed using a Jixin Terminal to broadcast their conversation to the entire district in real time.

Xu Huo questioned Mattelidoreti in a public conversation about the District Government’s acknowledgment of Master Suolan’s painting and the deaths tied to the mining disaster. Mattelidoreti confirmed most of the figures’ identities but maintained that Suolan’s father died in an earthquake-triggered landslide, leaving Xu Huo’s accusations unresolved.

• Zheng Shijiu cleared the plaza for the public conversation, and the government arranged security and a live broadcast.
• Xu Huo asked whether the District Government acknowledged the Enbel Maiden as authentic, and Mattelidoreti confirmed that eighty-one of the ninety depicted people had been identified.
• Xu Huo connected the people in the painting to the mining disaster and related deaths, but Mattelidoreti said the government lacked enough evidence to confirm those claims.
• Xu Huo played Pu Hui’s confession and asked whether Suolan’s father had died after witnessing the mining disaster’s fabrication.
• Mattelidoreti said Government Players were searching for Pu Hui, questioned the reliability of his confession, and stated that Suolan’s father died in an earthquake-triggered landslide that killed or injured 137 mine workers.

Xu Huo challenged District 019 to investigate the mining disasters and explained his theory of how Master Suolan witnessed Xia Xi Duolai Ti’s kidnapping and murder. He ended by questioning why Suolan had waited a hundred years to reveal the truth, leaving the reason unresolved.

• Zheng Shijiu demanded evidence for Xu Huo’s claim that the District Government had caused the mining disasters, and Xu Huo urged the government to investigate the concealed deaths and Hels Group’s cemetery.
• Xu Huo returned to the “Enbel Maiden” and said he would present his personal theory of Master Suolan’s perspective before the District Government could respond.
• Xu Huo explained that Suolan may have visited her father’s mine accident site, encountered Old Mrs. Mei in Funiu Village, and witnessed part of what happened to Xia Xi Duolai Ti.
• Xu Huo reasoned that Suolan must have seen Xia Xi Duolai Ti’s body and later researched the mining disasters, which may explain why she stayed silent and left her painting at the burial site.
• Xu Huo questioned why Suolan revealed the truth only before her death, a hundred years after the events, and left the question unanswered.

Xu Huo argued that Master Suolan had concealed the mining disaster to protect the living and District 019, then revealed the truth when the district could bear it. He presented excavation footage and proposed using his Dungeon rating to verify his reconstruction, as Master Suolan’s eldest son arrived to ask why she had painted Xia Xi Duolai Ti and Fragrance.

• Xu Huo explained why Master Suolan had hidden the mining disaster and why she later chose to reveal it, then asked Mattelidoreti why she had painted two women.
• Mattelidoreti challenged Xu Huo’s claims as speculation and denied that the government had evidence connecting Old Mrs. Mei to the kidnapping.
• Xu Huo showed footage of the excavation and the discovery of the painting and Xia Xi Duolai Ti’s corpse, then said his final Dungeon rating could verify his theory.
• A Player from District 019 volunteered to join Xu Huo in the Dungeon to test the theory, and more Players followed.
• Xinhe, Master Suolan’s eldest son, arrived with two Players and asked Xu Huo why his mother had made Xia Xi Duolai Ti and Fragrance the subjects of the painting.

Xu Huo confronted Mattelidoreti over District 019’s exploitation of the weak and the deaths buried beneath the mine, then tried to clear the Dungeon despite a warning that the government had used a Super Artifact to keep him from leaving. Government players trapped and attacked him, but a robot uprising gave him an opening to activate his Spiritual World before a powerful mental force brought him to his knees.

• Xu Huo argued to Xinhe and Mattelidoreti that strength and weakness were relative and questioned whether a civilization that exploited the weak could be called civilized.
• A female player warned Xu Huo that the District Government had used a Super Artifact on him, revealing a chain attached to his heart that would kill him if he left District 019.
• Zheng Shijiu and more than a hundred A-class government players attacked Xu Huo, confined him to a fifty-meter radius, and inflicted severe injuries.
• Xu Huo used a substitute artifact to survive a fatal blow and damaged one corner of the government building with Space Rays.
• Armed robots burst from the government building and attacked the government players, allowing Xu Huo to activate his Spiritual World.
• Xu Huo searched for Mattelidoreti, but a powerful mental force crushed down on him and drove him to his knees as blood poured from his nose.

Xu Huo fought his way into the District Government while Zheng Shijiu stopped the rogue government players and took control of the situation. Then a massive rocky mountain suddenly appeared above the city, and Zheng Shijiu opened a huge Space Portal to catch it as Xu Huo realized his Justice from Above had summoned it.

• Xu Huo used the Magician Person, combat robot butler No. 11, and a decoy to escape into the government building, where he wounded an A-class player but was stabbed in the shoulder.
• Zheng Shijiu ordered the attackers to stand down, restrained the players who had led the assault, and announced they would face a public trial.
• The Chief Executive and Mattelidoreti watched from the top floor without objecting, signaling that the government had resolved its internal conflict and Zheng Shijiu had gained the upper hand.
• A huge rocky mountain appeared directly above the city, bypassing its defenses and threatening to crush the District Government.
• Zheng Shijiu activated a spatial device and connected it to underground metal pillars, opening a giant Space Portal between the government and the falling mountain.
• Xu Huo walked out of the building and realized that his Justice from Above had summoned the mountain.

Xu Huo helped stop the space portal crisis, then fought off players who tried to capture him. As District 019’s forces confronted him, a powerful man in a windbreaker intervened and declared Xu Huo his junior.

• Zheng Shijiu evacuated the square as Xu Huo’s rocky mountain crashed into the space portal, damaging its supports and triggering an energy storm.
• Zheng Shijiu sliced the mountain into pieces and sent them through the portal, stabilizing the crisis while Xu Huo returned to the government building to escape the players targeting him.
• Mining-group players trapped Xu Huo in a smoke-ring barrier that drained his moisture, but he cut through their attacks and used the Big Scissors to weaken the barrier.
• As more aggressive players approached, a man in a windbreaker appeared and froze four attackers with a gesture.
• Zheng Shijiu arrived with twenty A-class players and confronted the man, who said Xu Huo was his junior and criticized them for bullying him.

The man in windbreaker intervened when Zheng Shijiu’s players tried to detain Xu Huo, forcing the District Government to acknowledge its wrongdoing and offer compensation. Xu Huo accepted restitution for his losses and asked Zheng Shijiu to bring the captured players to him so he could take them through the game.

• The man in windbreaker killed the player controlling the chain and took the Super Artifact, then restrained Zheng Shijiu’s group.
• Zheng Shijiu admitted the District Government had broken its promise and acted unjustly, and offered to compensate Xu Huo.
• After a government player insulted the man in windbreaker, the man forced him to stab out his own eyes before Zheng Shijiu pleaded for mercy.
• Xu Huo listed the items and robots he had lost, and Zheng Shijiu agreed to return or replace them and cover his injuries.
• Xu Huo asked Zheng Shijiu to bring over the players the District Government had captured so he could take them through the game.

Xu Huo cleared the Enbel Maiden dungeon with an SSS-class rating after rescuing the C-class players and securing compensation from District 019. He left the painting with Zheng Shijiu and traveled with the man in windbreaker to District 011, where he inferred the man had come to save him because of his connection to He Pu.

• Xu Huo asked Zheng Shijiu to let the other players join the dungeon clear and accept replacements for the items District 019 owed him.
• The crew cut woman, the bald big man, and the other C-class players gathered, agreed to surrender their team rewards, and joined Xu Huo's team.
• Xu Huo revealed the real Enbel Maiden, and the group cleared the dungeon; he received an SSS-class rating and extra rewards.
• The other players gave up their rewards and departed, while Xu Huo handed the painting to Zheng Shijiu and left District 019 with the man in windbreaker.
• On the train to District 011, Xu Huo reasoned that the man in windbreaker had tracked and rescued him because of his connection to He Pu.

Xu Huo recovered on a train under the Magician’s protection and questioned him about how Time Rewind worked. The Magician explained that time could flow backward, but not in a way that allowed players to travel freely into the past.

• The Magician told Xu Huo to finish absorbing the Potion and improve his Evolution rate while he recovered on the train.
• The Magician prepared to leave before District 011 and warned Xu Huo not to risk his life recklessly.
• The Magician offered to make Xu Huo another Magician Person and explained how time-rewind items interacted with death, Stations, and teleportation.
• Xu Huo asked whether time could truly be reversed, and the Magician confirmed that it could while explaining that backward time travel was difficult.

After the Magician left, the Golden-eyed Player approached Xu Huo and invited him to team up for a B-class retrieval instance involving a Super Player’s missing item. Xu Huo declined and, suspecting the Golden-eyed Player could not be trusted, prepared a defense after he left.

• The Magician vanished from the train after telling Xu Huo not to look for him for a long time.
• The Golden-eyed Player thanked Xu Huo for helping him and said he was willing to give up the bounty for the box.
• The Golden-eyed Player invited Xu Huo to join him in a B-class instance to retrieve an item lost by a deceased Super Player.
• Xu Huo declined because he preferred to level up without taking unnecessary risks.
• The Golden-eyed Player left Xu Huo his contact information, and Xu Huo set up a simple defense, deciding not to trust him or take on the instance with him.

After returning to Rose Castle injured, Xu Huo recovered while his companions checked on him and Meng Cun. He reviewed his Dungeon rewards and discovered that destroying nine Dungeons had earned him the Mysterious Person set.

• Xu Huo returned to Rose Castle, learned that three painters were staying there, and asked the painted woman to watch them without being noticed.
• Mr. Dong told Xu Huo that Meng Cun had been examined and needed ongoing medication and occasional hospitalization.
• Xu Huo rested and woke the next afternoon, where Xiao Yuan and Tan Qi visited him before they ate together with the painted woman.
• Tan Qi went to check on Meng Cun while the painted woman played with Xiao Yuan, and Xu Huo reviewed his Dungeon rewards.
• Xu Huo received an SSS rating, several valuable rewards, and the Mysterious Person set for helping cause nine District 019 Dungeons to disappear.

Xu Huo tested a special cloak and examined the abundant personal rewards he received, including powerful items and new Abilities. He began assessing how the rewards could complement his existing equipment and skills.

• Xu Huo tested the Mysterious Person outfit and found that it blurred his movements and offered limited protection, while the painted woman failed to remove it or blow it off.
• Xu Huo told the painted woman to stay in the room and reviewed his personal rewards, which included items, Abilities, upgrades, cash, and equipment for a portable hotel.
• Xu Huo examined The Realm of Thought and Dimension Fog, comparing the latter’s Ability-blocking effect with his Magic Lantern.
• Xu Huo read about the Snowflake Hotel and Parallel Lines, and recognized that the hotel’s household appliances and power-storage panels could make it a mobile home.
• Xu Huo examined The Sole Protagonist and its extended Ability, The Art of Deception, which drew attention and made others believe his words.

Xu Huo upgraded several abilities, including gaining ten seconds of absolute protection through "The Never-Dying Passerby," and reviewed the expanded permissions and rewards he had received. He finished by taking stock of his revamped inventory, including the new A-class item "Perfect Support."

• Xu Huo upgraded "Accident Trigger Constitution" into "Choice of Fate" and "Talented at Playing Dead" into "Rest in Peace."
• Xu Huo upgraded "Truth Transcends All 0" into "The Never-Dying Passerby," which granted ten seconds of protection and had a twelve-hour cooldown.
• Xu Huo received broader Dimension Rift Library and Dimension Below access, along with a Happy Transfer Station admission ticket.
• Xu Huo reviewed his team and additional rewards, including A-class items, Sub-class Stones, crafting vouchers, cash, and other supplies.
• Xu Huo tallied his A-class items and noted that "Perfect Support" could greatly extend a blade or sword item's attack range.

Xu Huo examined his rewards, including powerful items and a Chaos Spacetime Ticket, then upgraded his Ability to Home Field Advantage Perspective. The expanded Ability revealed more about people and events around him, while Xu Huo kept the Square Pyramid for himself.

• Xu Huo inspected the Honest Circle, Same Sub-district Portal, Cabin in the Storm, and Explosion Demon, learning how the rewards worked and testing Explosion Demon on his hand.
• Xu Huo reorganized his items and reviewed his Sub-class Stones, crafting voucher, and Chaos Spacetime Ticket, which led to a secret site for a possible second Evolution.
• Xu Huo upgraded Completed Script to Home Field Advantage Perspective, which could describe important people and events within the reach of his Spiritual World.
• Home Field Advantage Perspective recounted the Magician's actions, the Golden-eyed Player's departure, and the District 019 government's divided orders after Xu Huo's confrontation there.
• Xu Huo dismissed the Ability's criticism and decided he would not give the Magician the Square Pyramid.

While recovering at the Ancient Castle, Xu Huo followed the growing public debate over his actions in District 019. The district government acknowledged parts of its wrongdoing and publicly honored him, while Xu Huo continued preparing for future instances.

• Mr. Dong treated Xu Huo’s wounds, and Xu Huo refused to meet the guests staying at the Ancient Castle.
• During his recovery, Xu Huo studied guides for instances in other Sub-districts and used bounties to obtain B-class guides.
• Players revealed that Xu Huo was Passerby A, an SSS-class instance clearer whose leaderboard rank had risen sharply.
• Players from Master Suolan’s entourage and Xu Huo’s fellow clearers testified that he had acted honorably and had helped rescue and guide them.
• Zheng Shijiu and the District Government addressed the mining corporation’s blight, punished players who had disobeyed orders, and admitted they had known part of the mining disaster’s truth.
• The District Government thanked Xu Huo, named him a friend of District 019, and offered him free access to government property, housing, and an identity if he returned.