Chapter Summaries

Fu Jue confronted the contract about its cheating and then visited the Sea God Corpse, which he called Lu Li, in the Bureau’s underground prison. Liu Yuhan searched for the Carnivore Instance’s last clearer, then learned that Tang Yu had died in the Chang Ghost Instance.

• Players on the Eerie Game forum spread theories about Fu Jue, Identity Cards, and the Nine Provinces Guild while the groups at the center of the rumors stayed silent.
• Fu Jue accused the contract of cheating, and the contract admitted it never intended to pay him for the god corpse before vanishing.
• Fu Jue brought books to the imprisoned Sea God Corpse and told Lu Li he would return in seven days.
• Liu Yuhan spent 1,000 points searching for the last player to clear the Carnivore Instance, but the ranking stele returned no result.
• Liu Yuhan went to Nine Provinces headquarters intending to report Lin Chen, where a staff member told her Tang Yu had died in the Chang Ghost Instance.

Qi Si spoke with Ning Xu about the guild exchange conference while hiding the truth about Lin Chen, then remotely controlled Lin Chen during a police interview. The investigators left with a misleading account, and Qi Si discovered that the Soul Contract could let him possess his subordinates.

• Ning Xu called Qi Si on Jin Yusheng’s phone and invited the Unnamed Guild to send two representatives to the guild exchange conference; Qi Si confirmed that he and Lin Crow would attend.
• Qi Si asked Jin Yusheng about the conference, but Jin Yusheng pretended not to hear him, so Qi Si told him to expect a box of oranges and ended the call.
• Lin Chen read forum posts about his supposed achievements, then followed Qi Si’s instruction to change Qi Si’s contact note to “Cheng An” as two police officers arrived.
• Fei Zhenqi and his younger colleague questioned Lin Chen about Lin Crow and his Eerie Game instances, while Qi Si controlled Lin Chen’s answers through their connection.
• The younger officer photographed Lin Chen’s call log entry for Cheng An, and Fei Zhenqi took back the cigarette before the officers left.
• Qi Si watched from the Game Space and realized that the Soul Contract gave him the ability to possess the Soul Leaves of his subordinates.

After learning that Qi Si had died and returned as a living corpse because of Lin Chen’s Identity Card, Lin Chen resolved to repay his debts by clearing the final Instance. Meanwhile, Chang Xu questioned the deception practiced by the authorities, and Ning Xu invited him to the guild exchange conference so he could choose his place in their cause.

• Qi Si told Lin Chen that he had died in Frog Hospital and become a living corpse after Lin Chen revived him with the Identity Card, then changed his phone and SIM card to evade the Eerie Investigation Bureau.
• Lin Chen worried about the attention his MVP ranking would bring, sought advice from his mother, and decided to press forward and repay Qi Si and Tang Yu by clearing the final Instance.
• In the Jiang City branch’s Observation Room, Chang Xu questioned Ning Xu about deception and the Nine Provinces Guild’s hidden actions.
• Ning Xu admitted that the authorities concealed the Federal Foundation’s past crimes, including those at Red Maple Leaf Boarding School, to prevent the uncanny from infiltrating humanity.
• Ning Xu told Chang Xu that Fu Jue had given him the right to choose between standing in the light or darkness, and invited him to the guild exchange conference.

Qi Si brought Lin Chen to the guild exchange conference under false identities, where Lin Chen deflected questions about his identity and the Unnamed Guild. The conference revealed that the final Instance might open this year and be connected to the black tower, while leaving Qi Si suspicious of the hurriedly departing Yu Jinsheng.

• Qi Si gave Lin Chen the [Human Skin Mask] and instructed him to appear as Lin Crow while posing as President Lin Crow of the Unnamed Guild.
• At the conference, Lin Chen rejected a player’s insinuations that he was Lin Chen and redirected the discussion toward his admiration for Fu Jue.
• Meng Wenfei showed Lin Jue’s historic speech on screen and asked Lin Chen about his age; Qi Si said Lin Chen had saved him from the Puppeteer’s control.
• Yu Jinsheng announced that the final Instance might open this year and could be related to the black tower in the Ruins of Sunset.
• Yu Jinsheng said Identity Cards were tied to divine authority, advised players to form teams, and revealed that guilds had secretly fought Eerie contamination in the real world.
• Qi Si watched Yu Jinsheng hurry backstage and wondered why he had left so quickly.

After Yu Jinsheng’s announcements, Qi Si met with Ning Xu, who arranged a joint operation between Nine Provinces and the Unnamed Guild and revealed worsening Eerie pollution. With Lin Chen unable to participate, Qi Si recruited Dong Xiwen for the April 23 rehearsal, leaving the guild’s second representative undecided.

• Qi Si searched the exchange venue with Lin Chen, then met Ning Xu and asked whether Jin Yusheng had entered the Eerie Game.
• Ning Xu gave Qi Si two party rings and arranged an April 23 joint-operation rehearsal, with two players each from Nine Provinces and the Unnamed Guild.
• Ning Xu told Qi Si that Fu Jue had personally arranged the partnership and that Eerie pollution was worsening, including a suspected outbreak near the Mississippi River basin.
• Qi Si told Lin Chen that he would find another participant because Lin Chen could not risk revealing his connection to the Unnamed Guild.
• Dong Xiwen learned that Qi Si was the legendary player Si Qi, and Qi Si gave him a party ring for the rehearsal.

Qi Si prepared for the joint operation, discovered that his real-world phone had entered the Eerie Game, and accepted Lin Chen’s returned reward before joining an Instance. Liu Yuhan searched the ruins of Poplar Blossom Town for Tang Yu, while Chang Xu concluded the Eerie Investigation Bureau was protecting Qi Si and entered an Instance determined to transcend The Rules.

• Qi Si found that the breakfast shop had changed owners, bought lamb skewers, and fed them to the black dog before returning home to enter the Eerie Game.
• Qi Si’s smartphone appeared in the Game Space and triggered an error, which he suppressed with the Sea God Scepter.
• Qi Si collected the Straw Tiger Lin Chen had left for him, modified the Cursed Pendulum’s appearance, and entered a randomly generated Instance.
• Liu Yuhan searched Poplar Blossom Town for clues about Tang Yu, passed through a mirror into an empty ghost town, and returned to Game Space without finding him.
• Chang Xu decided the Eerie Investigation Bureau was protecting Qi Si, refused to livestream, and entered an Instance intent on transcending The Rules.

Qi Si entered the Beast Arena and discovered that Chang Xu was a veteran player in the same Instance. Chang Xu judged Qi Si with his Dark Judge Identity Card, sealing Soul Contract and marking him as a sinner, and Qi Si vowed to kill him.

• Qi Si learned that he had entered the Beast Arena as a newcomer competing for a chance to meet the Evil God.
• The goat introduced Qi Si to the audience, and Chang Xu arrived as the veteran selected to speak with him.
• Chang Xu accused Qi Si of past crimes and declared that he would kill him, while Qi Si tried to persuade him to oppose the Instance instead.
• Chang Xu activated his Dark Judge Identity Card, which sealed Qi Si's Soul Contract and marked him as a sinner across Instances.
• Qi Si vowed to kill Chang Xu, and the system added an optional quest for players to kill Qi Si.

The Players gathered in the beast arena learned that killing Qi Si could clear the Instance, and most agreed to leave him without a partner. As the auction countdown ended, Nian Fu unexpectedly bid one hundred points for him.

• The Goat explained the Instance’s two victory conditions and announced that the Players had to form teams of two by bidding points, with anyone left unmatched becoming the first sacrifice.
• Liu Yuhan and Dong Xiwen realized the judgment had temporarily freed them from Qi Si’s Soul Contract, while Qi Si removed his Nine Provinces ring and severed ties with Chang Xu.
• Lin Ye urged the Players not to bid for Qi Si, and Nian Fu said he should die first so the others could clear the Instance.
• Ge Lin and Chang Xu each outbid others to form teams with Chu Xun and Liu Yuhan, while the Players prepared to leave Qi Si unmatched.
• As the countdown on Qi Si’s auction reached its end, Nian Fu raised her hand and bid one hundred points.

Nian Fu outbid Lin Ye to team with Qi Si, and Qi Si used the auction to exploit the Players’ distrust and selfishness. Lin Ye avoided elimination but failed to join Qi Si, leaving Chang Xu and his allies weakened and under Qi Si’s taunting gaze.

• Nian Fu bid six hundred points to save Qi Si from elimination and asked him to owe her a favor.
• Qi Si asked Dong Xiwen to lend Nian Fu points, while Lin Ye borrowed points from Chang Xu and tried to outbid her.
• Qi Si argued that Lin Ye should borrow more from Chang Xu, but Ge Lin refused to lend Lin Ye additional points.
• Liu Yuhan declined Lin Ye’s request for another loan, and Nian Fu won the auction to form a team with Qi Si.
• Qi Si called Chang Xu and his teammates tail wolves, mocking them for their weakened position.

The Players formed teams in the Beast Arena, but Cinderella was eliminated after failing to find a partner and being punished for attacking Qi Si. As the Players learned they could neither kill the animal-headed gods nor leave the arena, Fan Zhanwei declared his pragmatic stance toward Qi Si, and Nian Fu revealed she had teamed up with him to pursue a TE clear.

• The Players finalized their teams, leaving Cinderella without a partner, and he begged Qi Si to die so the others could clear the Instance.
• Cinderella attacked Qi Si with a surgical scalpel, but the arena stopped him and punished him; the goat then announced his elimination and sacrificed him in a pool of blood.
• Chang Xu tried to teleport behind the goat with his Life Severer, but the system warned that gods could not be killed by humans.
• The goat dismissed the Players to their rooms, and a new rule barred humans from leaving the Beast Arena.
• Fan Zhanwei told Qi Si he would pursue whichever strategy best served clearing the Instance, then went to his room with Lin Ye.
• Nian Fu joined Qi Si in his room and said she had chosen him because she believed he could help her achieve a TE clear and obtain an Identity Card.

Chu Xun and Fan Zhanwei analyzed the teams’ positions and possible alliances, while Qi Si negotiated with Nian Fu for information about the Beast Fighting Games. After the Players were ordered to eat their food, Nian Fu identified the meat as rat meat.

• Chu Xun told Ge Lin that points might grant authority and suspected the Instance’s rules resembled Jungle Chess, then warned that their team had likely offended Chang Xu and Qi Si.
• Fan Zhanwei criticized Lin Ye’s earlier choices, silenced him with an item, and proposed allying with Ge Lin and Chang Xu before dealing with Qi Si.
• Qi Si showed Nian Fu an Identity Card and offered another in exchange for information; Nian Fu explained the history of the Beast Fighting Games across four ages.
• Qi Si and Nian Fu suspected that humans were being coerced into the Games, but paused when the system ordered everyone to finish eating within ten minutes.
• Qi Si and Nian Fu ate the meat, and Nian Fu recognized it as rat meat.

Nian Fu’s memories of the orphanage led Qi Si to suspect that the Beast Arena Instance followed the rules of Jungle Chess, with the players’ foods and animal masks revealing its mechanics. As teams independently analyzed the game, Qi Si began planning around the food chain while Chu Xun and Fan Zhanwei drew their own conclusions about the lions, elephants, and rats.

• Nian Fu told Qi Si how hunger in the orphanage had driven her to catch and eat a rat, and Qi Si recalled how he had nearly been sent to the same orphanage.
• Qi Si connected the Instance’s rat meat, the animal masks, and the elephants in the Audience stands to Jungle Chess, then began devising a strategy based on its food-chain rules.
• Chu Xun explained to Ge Lin that Chang Xu had likely defied Nine Provinces Guild orders by targeting Qi Si, and advised their team to avoid choosing sides while others offered them benefits.
• Fan Zhanwei realized his team were lions and concluded they could use Jungle Chess’s rules to their advantage, while Lin Ye questioned what would happen if a team represented an elephant.
• Chu Xun pointed at a bowl of rat meat and identified it as the rat, while Fan Zhanwei insisted the elephant was in the Audience stands.

Qi Si and Nian Fu explored the sealed room, where the Sphinx questioned their desires and granted Nian Fu a path to obtain an Identity Card. After learning that the gods used human blood to sustain themselves, Qi Si spoke with Lin Chen and began to suspect the Sphinx’s wish-granting mechanism was connected to the Eerie Game.

• Qi Si hung the fox mask on the wall and saw a river of blood made from the dead, which the Sphinx said flowed into the gods’ feast.
• The Sphinx questioned Qi Si about his desire and concluded that he had none, warning that a being without desires could cause senseless destruction.
• Nian Fu said she wanted a bindable Identity Card, and the Sphinx told her she could obtain one for three thousand points before the side quest ended.
• Qi Si explained his vision of the gods slaughtering humans for their blood, and Nian Fu said she wanted an Identity Card so she could enter the final Instance and influence her fate.
• Qi Si contacted Lin Chen through the Mind Palace, told him about Chang Xu’s plan to kill him, and asked him to research the Sphinx.
• After Lin Chen explained the Sphinx’s legend and said he wanted to survive and support his parents, Qi Si wondered whether the Sphinx’s questions and offers were tied to the Eerie Game’s wish-granting mechanism.

Chang Xu decided to spend three thousand points to wish for Qi Si’s death, while Dong Xiwen and Lai Na'an realized how easily that wish could be funded. After a dream revealed a monster trying to cover Qi Si in desire, Qi Si and Nian Fu faced underground snake-and-rat creatures that begged them to fulfill their desires.

• Chang Xu told Sphinx that he wanted to kill Qi Si, and Sphinx said the wish would cost three thousand points.
• Dong Xiwen and Lai Na'an learned that their wishes also cost three thousand points, and Lai Na'an warned that Chang Xu could gather enough points to kill Qi Si.
• Dong Xiwen refused to help Chang Xu, hoping to try the low-cost wish system before leaving the Instance.
• Qi Si dreamed that a red-robed monster with his face called him a failed attempt and covered him in the crowd’s desire so the world could see him.
• Qi Si woke as an Underground Resident grabbed his ankle, then discovered snake-bodied, rat-headed creatures surrounding him and Nian Fu.
• Nian Fu set the creatures ablaze with her whip, and the creatures retreated while bowing and asking God to fulfill their desires.

Qi Si used the Sea God Scepter and a cut on Nian Fu’s arm to test his theory that desire caused the rat people to turn to stone, saving the Players from their attack. He and Nian Fu then considered why the rat people believed humans could become gods, while Qi Si privately expected that he would die.

• The rat people explained that their gods had appeared human in dreams and that they needed divine blood to lift their curse, then attacked Qi Si and Nian Fu.
• Qi Si used the Sea God Scepter to pose as a god and provoke the rat people’s desires, while Nian Fu fought off the snakes with her whip.
• Qi Si cut Nian Fu’s arm, and the rat people turned to stone as their desire for her blood peaked; Qi Si explained that he believed stronger desire caused greater petrification.
• Qi Si told Nian Fu that weakening desire had reduced the lime spreading over her ankle, and he revealed that he had provoked the rat people to test his theory.
• Qi Si connected the rat people’s beliefs to the idea that gods created humans in their own image, and he and Nian Fu resolved to do everything they could to win the Beast Arena games.

Liu Yuhan discovered that desire caused petrification, while Qi Si and the others learned the rules of the Jungle Chess game, which required teams to send one player onto the board and another into a mini-game. When the game began, Chang Xu attacked Qi Si, who entered Test Site 9 just in time to evade the scythe.

• Liu Yuhan used her blood to petrify the snakes and rats and deduced that awakened desire was turning Players to stone.
• Qi Si and Nian Fu discussed the Instance’s rules and speculated that its beast-fighting games served the rat-men’s entertainment.
• Qin Mu told the Players that rat-men had eaten Zhang Mo, then used his cat-face mask to transform into a black cat.
• Goat announced the Jungle Chess rules, assigned teams animal ranks, and explained how Players could earn food, points, and movement attempts through mini-games.
• Qi Si and Nian Fu decided that Nian Fu would take the board while Qi Si entered a mini-game, and Chang Xu prepared to attack Qi Si when the killing restriction lifted.
• Chang Xu’s scythe attack missed Qi Si, who spent one game coin to enter Test Site 9.

During the Jungle Chess game, Qi Si was trapped in a deadly rock-paper-scissors contest with his reflection while stalling inside the tower. Outside, Chu Xun moved against Nian Fu to pursue his wish, then proposed using points and food as leverage as the Players’ rankings shifted.

• Nian Fu appeared on the board as a tiger, revealing that the game had two tigers and no foxes.
• Qi Si encountered his reflection on the ninth floor, learned that a draw counted as the reflection’s win, and discussed desire with it before plunging into the river.
• Chu Xun used Ge Lin’s action point to advance toward Nian Fu, hoping to kill her and gain the coins needed to pursue his wish.
• Qin Mu chose an action point, while Chang Xu, Lin Ye, and Lai Na’an chose points as more Players completed their first games.
• The Players watched Qi Si stall inside the tower, and Chu Xun revealed that he planned to trade food for borrowed points and use the group’s need for food as leverage.

Qi Si won the third round of rock-paper-scissors against his reflection, chose five hundred points, and entered the next game through a stone door, suspecting that the Eerie Game was itself a giant Beast Arena. Meanwhile, disputes over food and points intensified among the Players, and Chang Xu, Lin Ye, and Ge Lin nearly fought over Nian Fu before the break ended.

• Qi Si explained how he had learned to beat his reflection by exploiting visual perception and hand gestures, then won the third round with rock against scissors.
• Ge Lin, Qin Mu, Chang Xu, and Lai Na'an chose five hundred points while Lin Ye chose food, prompting Fan Zhanwei to argue with Lin Ye about the team's strategy and survival.
• Liu Yuhan concluded that the wish-granting option could divide the Players and tried to borrow one thousand points from Chang Xu, but Goat refused because teammates could not transfer or lend resources to each other.
• Qi Si chose five hundred points, appeared before a great stone door, and recognized that the tower's games resembled Instances and a livestream arena before entering the darkness beyond it.
• During the break, Liu Yuhan urged Chang Xu to protect Nian Fu, while Chu Xun told Ge Lin to kill her; Ge Lin moved to attack, but Chang Xu and Lin Ye intervened, and Goat ordered the Players back to their positions.

Qi Si and Liu Yuhan entered the Clock Tower game based on the Sea of Hopelessness, where players had to descend while obeying the Sea God's sleep cycle. After meeting on the stairs, Qi Si used the Sea God Scepter and other items to pin Liu Yuhan in place, leaving her alive but imprisoned until the beast-fighting game ended.

• Qi Si entered the Clock Tower, read the rules, and began descending while considering whether its clocks followed the Sea of Hopelessness Instance's distorted time.
• Liu Yuhan entered the tower, recalled that the Sea of Hopelessness's timekeeping had been false, and started down the stairs cautiously.
• At nine o'clock, Qi Si used the Sea God Scepter as waves and sea phantoms filled the stairwell, and Liu Yuhan stopped nearby to avoid violating the rules.
• Qi Si and Liu Yuhan were brought together on the stairs, where Qi Si attacked her with the Sea God Scepter and pursued her as she tried to escape.
• Qi Si said he would not kill Liu Yuhan, then pinned her to the floor, wounded her, and used the Nether Guide to turn her into a ghost so she would remain alive and unable to gather resources.

Qi Si realized that the Clock Tower forced him to gamble by choosing between two timekeeping systems, and he advanced by accepting the crushing pressure. He cleared the stage and chose 500 points, leaving Liu Yuhan and Chang Xu believing he would have to leave the tower before the beast-fighting game ended.

• Qi Si stopped on the Clock Tower stairs under increasing pressure and considered whether the Sea God Scepter could help him.
• Liu Yuhan told Chang Xu that Qi Si feared their wish to kill him and warned that he might stall inside the tower; Chang Xu prepared to use the broken blade to kill him.
• Pinned by the Sea God Scepter, Liu Yuhan recalled her life and questioned whether killing Qi Si was truly her desire.
• Qi Si realized the Eerie Game required him to choose one timekeeping rule and gamble, then stood and advanced despite the pressure.
• Qi Si appeared aboard a ship, chose 500 points after the countdown, and Liu Yuhan told Chang Xu that they had won the bet because the stage had not consumed real-world time.