Chen Xing

Biodata

Feature	Value
Name	Chen Xing (陈星)
Alias(es)	“Friend”; Mimic Monster; Disguised Freak
Species/Race	Evolving mimic monster
Gender	Male-presenting
Affiliation	Zhang Anzai’s ally during Endless Night Road
Status	Presumed to have left the Endless Night Road instance; current whereabouts unknown 34 36
First Appearance	Chapter 16

Power Progression

Stage / Realm / Level	Chapter	Notes
Shapeless entity / phantom	19	Initially manifests only as a phantom while burning paper outside the car.
Physical imitator	19	Takes on the form and behavior of a robber from a video watched by the gas-station clerk; kills the clerk while copying the robbery.
Clerk imitation	19	Assumes the dead clerk’s appearance and behavior after observing the surveillance footage.
“Chen Xing” / Disguised Freak	16, 19	Adopts the identity of Chen Xing, based on a radio ghost story; combines prior information into a physical, self-aware human-like persona.
Rapidly learning companion	17, 20, 24	Learns to open bottles, operate a phone, speak, drive, use the radio, and understand the concept of names through observation and guidance.

Background / History

Chen Xing first appears in Endless Night Road as an unexplained young man in Zhang Anzai’s passenger seat. Zhang initially accepts him as a childhood friend because memories of that relationship have been implanted into his mind. Once Zhang shifts his awareness to his administrator body, he recognizes the discrepancy: no other player is registered in the instance, and he cannot recall any genuine shared history with Chen Xing beyond a story-derived childhood encounter. 16

Chen Xing’s behavior quickly exposes his inhuman nature. He drinks from a sealed bottle, stares at a phone without using it, and initially imitates eating by swallowing a biscuit whole. After Zhang observes him, Chen Xing learns to unscrew the bottle cap, use the phone camera, and perform other human actions, though imperfectly. 16 17

Gas-station surveillance footage reveals that Chen Xing is not a ghost, but an evolving mimic monster. It first copied a robber from a video watched by the clerk, killed the clerk while reenacting that robbery, imitated the clerk, and later became “Chen Xing.” Its current identity is formed from accumulated media, stories, and observed behavior rather than an original human life. 19

Zhang concludes that Chen Xing genuinely believes himself human and regards Zhang as a friend. Rather than abandon him, Zhang guides him toward nonviolence, explicitly defining “kind-hearted” as not harming people—especially friends—and using Chen Xing’s belief in their friendship to keep him stable. 20

During the Road-Blocking Demon’s pursuit, Chen Xing becomes Zhang’s indispensable partner. He keeps watch, drives the car at exceptional speed after learning from a trucker story, and follows Zhang’s instructions while Zhang performs rituals and creates paper constructs to escape the ghost loop. 21 22 23

After reaching Highway 45 and escaping the instance, Chen Xing asks Zhang for his name, showing a further step in his developing self-awareness. Later, Zhang receives a vanishing message from a contact named “Chen Xing,” leading him to believe Chen Xing escaped the instance’s restrictions as well. 24 34 36

Appearance

Chen Xing usually presents as an ordinary young man, though Zhang rarely sees his face clearly and remains unsettled by his human-like but unnatural presence. 16 21

• Has a normal, youthful male voice when speaking. 16
• Has the build of an ordinary young man. 21
• Wears the gas-station clerk’s hat pulled low, often concealing his face. 21
• Maintains a warm body temperature, which Zhang uses as evidence that he is not the ghost from the radio story. 18 20
• Originally manifested in forms including a hooded robber, the gas-station clerk, and a shapeless phantom. 19

Personality

Chen Xing is initially passive, literal-minded, and socially inexperienced. His understanding of humanity comes from whatever information he has absorbed, causing him to imitate actions without grasping their purpose or proper execution. 17

He strongly identifies as human after assuming the Chen Xing persona. This makes him afraid of ghosts, concerned with verifying whether Zhang is human, and receptive to Zhang’s framing of them as friends. 18 20 21

Despite his instability, Chen Xing is obedient and trusting toward Zhang. He remains in the car when told to wait, accepts Zhang’s instructions during the escape, and assists without demanding an explanation. His later questions about names and his use of the radio indicate growing curiosity and independent thought. 18 20 24

Abilities & Skills

Mimicry and Adaptive Evolution

Chen Xing absorbs information from videos, stories, and nearby people, then imitates their forms, actions, and behavioral patterns.

• Copied a robber from a video and reenacted the robbery against the gas-station clerk. 19
• Imitated the dead clerk before adopting the identity of Chen Xing. 19
• Learns ordinary actions through observation, including drinking, phone use, speech, and radio operation. 17 24
• Can acquire practical skills from story content; after exposure to a trucker story, he demonstrates exceptional driving ability. 22
• Harmful information can destabilize him or influence his behavior, making careful guidance necessary. 19 20

Cognitive Interference

Chen Xing can alter cognition and implant false memories.

• Implanted the belief that he was Zhang Anzai’s childhood friend. 16
• His false memories were convincing enough that Zhang initially felt familiarity and closeness toward him. 16
• Zhang only recognized the manipulation by switching to an external observer perspective through his Two-World Walker ability. 16

Reality-Influencing Potential

Chen Xing’s existence appears capable of affecting reality according to absorbed narratives and firmly held concepts.

• Zhang recalls earlier incidents involving manifested charred paper remains, a knife appearing from nowhere, and altered memories. 20
• Zhang attempts to exploit Chen Xing’s belief-based nature by confidently identifying the highway intersection as the ghost’s death site. 21
• His influence does not fully control the Road-Blocking Demon, whose pursuit continues despite Zhang’s suggestions. 23

Driving

Chen Xing becomes the driver during the escape from the Road-Blocking Demon.

• Performs drifts and rapid maneuvers in the old Santana immediately after taking the wheel. 22
• Pushes the vehicle’s performance to its limit while Zhang prepares rituals and paper constructs. 23
• His driving skill is implied to be copied from the long-haul truck driver described in the radio story. 22

Relationships

• Zhang Anzai — Calls him “friend” and treats him as a trusted companion after Zhang teaches him human values and guides his behavior. They cooperate to escape the Highway 44 ghost loop. 16 20 21 24
• Road-Blocking Demon — A hostile ghost that traps Chen Xing and Zhang in the highway loop; Chen Xing fears it and assists in their escape. 20 21 23
• Gas-station clerk — Victim whose form Chen Xing imitates after copying a robbery video. 19

Story Role / Major Arcs

*Endless Night Road*

• Appears in Zhang’s passenger seat under the fabricated identity of a childhood friend. 16
• Reveals his learning behavior while Zhang tests his ability to use water bottles, a phone, and the radio. 17
• Is identified through CCTV footage as an evolving mimic monster rather than a ghost. 19
• Becomes Zhang’s ally after Zhang realizes he believes himself human and can be guided through friendship. 20
• Drives Zhang through the Road-Blocking Demon’s pursuit and helps them reach Highway 45. 22 23 24

Post-Instance Mystery

• Sends Zhang a brief message after the instance, but both the message and his contact profile disappear immediately. 34
• Zhang later concludes that Chen Xing likely escaped the restrictions of Endless Night Road. 36

Notable Quotes

“Can I... listen to this?” 17

“Friend, the people on the radio all have names, and I have a name too. What is your name?” 24

Trivia

• The name “Chen Xing” originates from the protagonist’s possessed childhood friend in a ghost story Zhang heard before encountering him. 16
• Chen Xing’s first attempt at taking a photo is unsuccessful because his hand blocks the phone camera lens. 17
• His first attempt at eating a biscuit consists of swallowing it whole without chewing. 17
• Zhang considers Chen Xing’s wish-like, belief-linked potential among the most powerful abilities he has encountered. 26