Chapter Summaries

Qi Si exposed Charlie’s seat as the host’s weakness and forced him to join the Crazy Blackjack game. Qi Si won Blackjack in the second round, leaving the Players with two chips each and Charlie with one as the third round began.

• Qi Si pointed out Charlie’s three chips at Seat No. 2, forcing Charlie to take the empty seat and enter Crazy Blackjack as a player.
• The Players passed high cards to Charlie in the first round, but Charlie passed a K to Qi Si, leaving Qi Si at 20 while Charlie busted and lost a chip.
• Charlie tried to recruit Qi Si, while Cynthia and Heyi urged Qi Si to side with the Players; Qi Si warned everyone not to pass him cards.
• Cynthia passed Qi Si a 10, and Qi Si later passed her a 3; he revealed an A and reached 21, winning Blackjack.
• The failed Players suffered gruesome deaths, then returned to normal after Charlie lost another chip, leaving each Player with two chips and Charlie with one.

After Charlie was destroyed, Qi Si entered the warehouse tied to his first murder, confronted the ghost of his childhood self, and obtained his Villain Character Card. The Players searched the rooms for clues, uncovering notes about the play and a script fragment revealing Charlie’s conflict with his Puppet and the King.

• Charlie busted at fifty-one points and crumbled into dust, leaving the Players uncertain whether the Instance was cleared.
• Qi Si entered Room 1 and relived killing his childhood friend in the warehouse, where he met the ghost of his younger self.
• Qi Si obtained the Villain Character Card, which let him influence voting at plot points involving the protagonist and revive after fatal damage while the protagonist lived.
• The Players found playwright’s notes beneath the wallpaper in Room 1, and Heyi revealed that she had obtained a Supporting Character Card.
• The Players searched the next rooms and found notes about the play’s gun, expendable characters, and changing rules, along with a script fragment in Room 5 about Charlie’s theater facing closure and his escape with Papyrus.

Dong Xiwen learned that his Character Card made him an Audience member protected from physical harm, while Qi Si tried to recruit him by claiming Heyi was the villain and he was the protagonist. Qi Si died after danger struck him outside his own room, and Heyi dreamed of guards burning Charlie’s forbidden scripts as Act Two ended.

• Dong Xiwen revealed his Audience Character Card and learned that it let him see the script’s progress while keeping him in another dimension from the actors.
• Qi Si warned Dong Xiwen that Heyi had lied about her identity and argued that she was the villain while he was the protagonist.
• Dong Xiwen questioned Qi Si’s morality, but Qi Si argued that their interests aligned against Cynthia and Heyi and offered to show his role card.
• The system blocked Qi Si from revealing his card, and he vanished when danger struck because he had not returned to his own room.
• Dong Xiwen recalled Qi Si’s earlier helpful actions and reconsidered whether he was entirely evil.
• Heyi dreamed of Charlie pleading with guards to spare his manuscripts as they burned the theater, ending Act Two.

Qi Si returned after dying and discovered that Cynthia had been killed as a supporting character, exposing the playwright’s control over the Instance. Dong Xiwen revealed that he was an audience member who could see the script’s progress, and the system began Act Three as a battle royale.

• Qi Si reconsidered the hidden main quest and concluded that an unseen playwright was manipulating the Players and their supposed choices.
• Qi Si died in Room 6, while Cynthia was killed by the young man in red in her nightmare and could not escape her assigned supporting role.
• Qi Si revived in Room 4, found Cynthia’s flesh-monster in Room 2, and recovered her invalid Supporting Character Card.
• Qi Si told Dong Xiwen and Heyi that Cynthia was dead, then suggested the rules for obtaining Character Cards might differ from what he had believed.
• Heyi admitted she had lied about her identity, and Dong Xiwen revealed that he was an audience member who could see the script’s progress bar.
• The system announced that Act Three had begun and would be a battle royale segment.

The Players began a battle-royale act in which they had to evade ghosts formed from their sins, while Qi Si discovered a way to leave the performance by switching to his Audience identity. After dying, he awoke in a theater with Hansen and Cynthia and proposed they work together to escape their cages, while Dong Xiwen continued fleeing through the maze.

• The maze formed and the Players learned the battle-royale rules, prompting Qi Si to suggest killing someone while Dong Xiwen argued against harming others.
• Qi Si persuaded Dong Xiwen and Heyi to split up, then entered Room 1 as the escape timer expired and met his red-suited ghost.
• Qi Si uncovered an Audience card beneath his character card and realized he could switch identities and leave the performance.
• Qi Si asked his ghost to kill him, then awoke in a burning theater confined in a birdcage with Hansen and Cynthia.
• Dong Xiwen fled mirrors through the maze and heard Heyi ask him to kill her.

Dong Xiwen was stabbed by Heyi as the sins closed in, while his character card activated its “Otherworld” effect. In the theater setting, Qi Si and Cynthia killed Hansen to force the plot forward, and Dong Xiwen suddenly appeared in an empty cage beside them.

• Heyi asked Dong Xiwen to kill her, claiming she could revive, but then stabbed him in the back and admitted she had lied.
• Dong Xiwen’s character card grew hot and activated its “Otherworld” effect as the monsters closed in.
• Qi Si and Cynthia discussed the theater’s clues and agreed to kill Hansen to test whether it would advance the plot.
• Cynthia used her One-Shot Guaranteed Gun to kill Hansen after charging it for five minutes.
• After nothing happened for a moment, Dong Xiwen fell from above into the empty birdcage beside Qi Si.

Dong Xiwen killed Heyi after learning she was the protagonist, and the surviving players were returned to the theater, where Qi Si suspected Charlie was trapping them in an endless cycle of games. As Charlie restarted the first act with only three players, Qi Si and Cynthia maintained their alliance while Dong Xiwen challenged the game’s unfair rules.

• Dong Xiwen’s Otherworld card activated after Heyi stabbed him, and he killed her, triggering the system’s victory message and revealing her Protagonist character card.
• Heyi’s past revealed that The Scales had killed her by forcing her to relive her revenge against her adoptive father, before she returned to the battle royale and died again.
• Dong Xiwen fell into the birdcage, where he and Cynthia reunited with Qi Si; Qi Si inferred that deaths caused by the Instance’s mechanics were not permanent, while player-caused deaths were.
• Qi Si accused Dong Xiwen of hiding his Villain role and persuaded Cynthia to keep cooperating by claiming their Soul Contract meant she would die if he did.
• Charlie restarted the performance, seated Qi Si, Cynthia, and Dong Xiwen around the round table, and ordered them to vote for one of their number to be executed.
• Dong Xiwen objected that alliances made the game unfair, and Charlie replied that unfairness was part of the drama.

Qi Si deliberately voted for himself and was executed, then awakened in Charlie’s burned theater and exposed the playwright’s scheme. He offered Charlie a deal, leaving the fate of their negotiation unresolved.

• Qi Si, Cynthia, and Dong Xiwen voted, and Qi Si received all three votes after voting for himself.
• Cynthia tried to attack Qi Si and then offered him a favor from Nine Provinces in exchange for his clues, but he refused as the execution devoured him.
• Qi Si realized he was still the Villain, and the Main Quest refreshed to “Escape the Scarlet Theater.”
• Qi Si awoke alone in the burned theater, recognized that the scene was a false space, and challenged Charlie about exploiting Players and hiding his actions from the Eerie Game.
• Qi Si invoked the Pocket Watch of Fate and proposed that Charlie make a deal with him.

Charlie recounted his tragic life, his deal with the Main God, and his secret attempt to gather sin before Qi Si confronted him with a new bargain. After seeing Charlie’s memories, Qi Si secured Charlie’s agreement, and a world-rule-backed contract was signed.

• Charlie died in the burning Scarlet Theater and remained there as a resentful ghost, waiting for people to discover and appreciate his plays.
• The God offered Charlie a deal: he would be imprisoned in the theater but receive a steady stream of actors and audience members, and Charlie accepted.
• Charlie used the theater’s trials to gather sin and secretly altered its design, but Qi Si’s arrival exposed his schemes.
• Qi Si threatened to draw the Main God’s attention and offered to help Charlie escape his old deal by making a new one.
• Qi Si followed fragments of Charlie’s memories and learned that Charlie had pursued recognition partly to fulfill his grandfather’s dream of having his plays loved.
• Charlie agreed to trade with Qi Si, and their contract was signed under the rules of the world.

Qi Si killed Cynthia, forced Dong Zixi to sign a Soul Contract, and escaped the ruined Scarlet Theater with him after clearing the Grand Performance Instance. As the chapter ended, Qi Si noticed a ghostly double watching over Dong Zixi, while the two awaited their teleportation out.

• The stage collapsed into the burned ruins of the theater, and the Main Quest updated to escaping the Scarlet Theater.
• Qi Si, with Charlie's help, attacked Cynthia from behind and offered Dong Xiwen the choice to die or sign a contract.
• Dong Xiwen signed the Soul Contract, revealing his real name as Dong Zixi, and Qi Si searched Cynthia's belongings before leaving with him.
• Qi Si and Dong Zixi reached a buried wooden box, where the system confirmed the Instance was cleared and recorded the True End, “The Lonely Playwright.”
• Qi Si removed his mask and showed Dong Zixi his self-inflicted facial wounds, then noticed a ghostly figure resembling Dong Zixi watching him.

After clearing Grand Performance, Qi Si received the Human Skin Mask and tested its ability to change how others perceived his face. He then checked his companions’ rewards and watched a school Instance livestream, where he spotted Lin Chen helping a Player named Ah Ling.

• Qi Si received the Human Skin Mask as his Grand Performance reward and tested it by changing his appearance into several identities.
• Qi Si checked Dong Xiwen’s rewards, transferred three thousand points from him, and found no videos under the name Dong Ziwen.
• Qi Si entered Ah Ling’s livestream, where Players were taking an exam while a corpse-carrying teacher prowled the classroom.
• Ah Ling accepted an answer slip from a nearby Player, and Qi Si recognized the helper as Lin Chen.

Qi Si discovered that Lin Chen had survived and watched his livestream as Lin Chen faced a deadly summons to the school office. Lin Chen received Qi Si’s tips just before entering, realized Qi Si was watching, and resolved to fight for survival.

• Qi Si searched for Lin Chen’s account and watched Lin Chen take an exam in the No. 33 Middle School Instance.
• The female ghost invigilator told Lin Chen to come to her office, and the other players urged him to go before she returned.
• Lin Chen gave A Ling the blade Qi Si had lent him and asked her to return it to Qi Si if they met.
• Qi Si noticed a student ghost slip Lin Chen a note, but Lin Chen failed to notice it and instead worried about the ghost.
• Qi Si tipped Lin Chen 74 points and then 6 more, and Lin Chen realized Qi Si was watching his livestream.
• Lin Chen heard the ghost inside the office call him in and resolved to try to survive.

Qi Si searched the game forum for clues about Dong Ziwen and Grand Performance, then grew wary that Jin Yusheng might leave their criminal dealings behind for a normal life. He went to meet Jin Yusheng for a murder mystery game and was introduced to Xu Ning.

• Qi Si found an old forum post accusing Dong Ziwen of sabotaging Players in an Instance, but could not confirm whether the name referred to Dong Zixi's brother.
• Qi Si reviewed Grand Performance guides and forum discussions, then checked No. 33 Middle School guides and confirmed that entering the teachers' office meant certain death.
• Jin Yusheng reminded Qi Si about their planned outing, prompting Qi Si to worry that Jin Yusheng's romance might draw him away from handling Qi Si's affairs.
• On April 1, Qi Si struggled to find the murder mystery venue and waited nearby until Jin Yusheng arrived with a woman.
• Jin Yusheng introduced the woman as Xu Ning, and she greeted Qi Si.

Ning Xu returned to the Eerie Investigation Bureau and learned that Fu Jue was coming to inspect the Jiang City branch. Qi Si prepared to move and revisited the night his parents died, when he tried to summon their ghosts and realized he could no longer see any.

• Ning Xu added Qi Si to a list of dangerous people who might be recruited, then heard investigators gossip about Fu Jue’s upcoming inspection.
• Qi Si switched phone cards, packed to move back to his old house, and prepared paper offerings while considering negotiations with Nine Provinces.
• Qi Si cleaned the two skeletons of his parents and fell asleep after closing the master bedroom.
• Six years earlier, Qi Si’s parents died in a truck accident, and he brought their bodies home and tried to summon their ghosts.
• Qi Si preserved his parents’ bodies as skeletons and later realized he could no longer see ghosts, though he believed his parents were still with him.

Ning Xu returned to the Eerie Investigation Bureau as investigators prepared for Fu Jue’s early inspection, while Qi Si decided to move back to his old residence and prepared offerings beside the skeletons of his parents. A flashback revealed how his parents’ deaths and his inability to see ghosts led him to preserve their bodies as specimens.

• Ning Xu added Qi Si to a list of people who were dangerous but might be recruited, then heard investigators complain about Fu Jue’s upcoming inspection.
• Qi Si switched SIM cards, packed to move, and decided he would negotiate with the authorities from a place where he could protect himself, resorting to violence if necessary.
• Qi Si folded paper ingots and prepared incense and candles, then carefully cleaned the two skeletons in his master bedroom.
• Six years earlier, sixteen-year-old Qi Si’s parents died in a truck accident, and he brought their bodies home, believing they might return as ghosts.
• When his parents’ ghosts never appeared, Qi Si taught himself to preserve their bodies as skeletons and realized he could no longer see ghosts.

On Qingming Festival, Qi Si returned to Qi Family Village, where he had turned the village into a ghost domain and harvested its Sin. After surviving the Sea God’s attempt to possess him, Qi Si used the World Fruit to understand and control the village, then offered its surviving villagers a choice: endure the ghosts or become Players in the Eerie Game.

• Liu Pu picked Qi Si up for a ride to Qi Family Village, recognizing him from a previous bizarre trip.
• Qi Si entered the fog-shrouded village, had Xu Yao’s paper figures carry his coffin box, and settled into his relatives’ abandoned house among the corpses.
• Qi Si recalled that he had activated the Joy God Idol on April 2, turning the village into a ghost domain where many villagers died the next day.
• In the Game Space, Qi Si used the Sea God Scepter to absorb Sin, but the awakened Sea God tried to possess him until the golden vine helped him regain control.
• Qi Si discovered that the World Fruit gave him knowledge of Qi Family Village and its inhabitants, then declared himself Contract, Main God of the Eerie Game.
• Qi Si offered every surviving villager the choice to live with the ghosts forever or enter the Eerie Game as a Player, causing the village’s ghosts to freeze.

Qi Si established Qi Family Village as an anchor point in the Real World, gaining greater control over the villagers and the ability to observe Liu Yuhan in reality. After spending points and inspecting a costly item in the store, he entered another Instance.

• Qi Si bound the villagers to Soul Contracts and sent 109 new Players into different Instances.
• Qi Si established Qi Family Village as an anchor point in World No. 47, renamed it the Real World, and learned that enough anchor points could let him control a world’s past and future.
• Qi Si took twenty thousand points from Dong Zixi and secretly watched Liu Yuhan working on a strategy guide in reality.
• Qi Si withdrew twenty thousand points from Liu Yuhan and considered buying the Self-Harmer's Paper Knife, but lacked the 150000 points it cost.
• Qi Si refused to pay for more time in the Game Space, put on his Human Skin Mask, and entered a randomly generated Instance.

Qi Si was trapped in a boarding school detention room with a mandatory quest to find food before time ran out. After using the school uniform to load the Bad Child identity, he heard two visitors discussing food and called to them for help.

• Qi Si woke in a detention room, learned he had to eat within an hour, and found that candy could not satisfy the quest.
• Qi Si searched the room, changed into the Red Maple Leaf Boarding School uniform, and found no way out or food.
• As his strength failed, Qi Si saw shifting figures and overheard Brother Chen and Little Zhou discussing food and team survival.
• Qi Si used the uniform to load the Bad Child identity, which established that he was student number 47 and had been detained by Ms. Medina.
• Qi Si knocked on the iron door and pleaded with the classmates outside to tell Ms. Medina he was hungry.

Chen Lidong and Zhou Datong explored Red Maple Leaf Boarding School, where Chen gained a philanthropist identity and rescued a boy who revealed a school rule. The boy was actually Qi Si in disguise, and he secretly pursued a different objective tied to the Scarlet High Priest card.

• Chen Lidong and Zhou Datong watched Ms. Medina send a player to detention after he asked about the school rules.
• Chen Lidong and Zhou Datong left the student group, and Chen received the identity of a philanthropist inspecting the school.
• Chen Lidong opened the detention-room door and found a starving boy, who revealed that students had to wear uniforms.
• Chen Lidong and Zhou Datong gave the boy food and water, then learned he called himself 47 and had forgotten his original name.
• Qi Si, disguised with a Human Skin Mask, listened as Chen Lidong and Zhou Datong discussed the Instance, then followed them back toward Ms. Medina.

In the Red Maple Leaf Boarding School Instance, the players waited for clues until Chen Lidong and Zhou Datong returned with student NPC 47 and revealed a school-uniform rule. Zhang Yiyu recognized Qi Si as a terrifying existence, and the system assigned her the identity of Witch as the Instance officially began.

• The players remained divided and reluctant to explore, while Zhang Yiyu joined Jiang Jue and the other Listen Wind Guild members after discovering her Nine Provinces companion was missing.
• Zhang Yiyu sensed a dangerous anomaly approaching the room, but the other players failed to notice it as Chen Lidong and Zhou Datong returned with student NPC 47.
• Chen Lidong told the players they had found a solitary confinement room and identified the rule requiring school uniforms on campus, prompting the system to confirm that The Rules had been updated.
• Zhang Yiyu saw that terrifying black smoke and golden vines surrounded Qi Si and realized he was an overwhelming existence hidden behind an ordinary appearance.
• The system announced that Zhang Yiyu had witnessed the Evil God, assigned her the identity Witch, and began the Instance after loading all special identities.