Chapter Summaries

Red Butterfly wiped out the Titan Building Players before the Ghost River dragged her under, while Xu Lang dealt with the arrival of Nico Sebastian at Mad King Building. Nico explained that the building’s advancement had loosened his seal temporarily, and Xu Lang asked whether he knew about demons.

• Red Butterfly charmed the Titan Building Players into revealing what they knew, then drove them to slaughter one another and absorbed their remains.
• Red Butterfly tried to fly across the Ghost River toward a newly formed Dormitory Building, but a massive bighead carp pulled her underwater.
• Xu Lang worried that Mad King Building’s commotion would attract powerful calamities and considered his need to remain a Player.
• Nico Sebastian visited Mad King Building, and Xu Lang confirmed that he showed no hostility.
• Nico Sebastian said the building’s advancement had loosened the seal on the Dusk Veil temporarily, and Xu Lang asked whether he knew about demons.

Xu Lang witnessed the Mad King Building and Safe Zone undergo a major transformation as the building advanced to Tier 1. The upgrade introduced new facilities, hazards, and Forbidden Land Gatekeepers, leaving the players to explore the expanded changes.

• Nico Sebastian was about to answer Xu Lang when a violent tremor shook the Dormitory Building and spread through the Safe Zone, damaging Xu Lang while the players inside remained unharmed.
• Xu Lang used the Eye of Heaven to watch buildings across the Safe Zone transform, including the Mad King Building, the factories, the Angel Church, the Garden Corridor, and the Ironblood Arena.
• After more than ten minutes, the Mad King Building finished transforming into a towering bloodred structure covered in shifting praise, and a loudspeaker announced its advancement to a Tier 1 Dormitory Building.
• The broadcast announced upgraded supplies, player abilities, turrets, tasks, and Exploration Mode, along with a new Madness Whispers hazard and Gatekeepers for the Dusk Veil and Rust Lake.
• The broadcast listed new buildings and facilities, including the Residents' Committee Center, Community Center, Construction Center, Madness Barracks, Crazy Soldier Demon Furnace, and House of Order.

After the Mad King Building transformed, Xu Lang explored the new Crazy Soldier Demon Furnace, which could consume equipment to upgrade itself or attempt to enhance weapons. The furnace destroyed every weapon he fed it, and Xu Lang kept gambling on another try.

• Xu Lang noticed the Mad King Building had grown to thirty floors, while Nico Sebastian hurriedly vanished after saying he had matters to attend to.
• Xu Lang found the Crazy Soldier Demon Furnace and learned that it could enhance equipment or consume it to raise the furnace's level and improve Safe Zone materials.
• Xu Lang cast an Excellent-grade Quenched Longblade into the furnace, but it only raised the furnace's upgrade progress from 1% to 1.1%.
• Xu Lang tried enhancing the Palace Longsword, which succeeded once before it was destroyed on a later attempt.
• Xu Lang fed the furnace a series of increasingly poor weapons, but it destroyed hundreds of items without getting one to +10.
• Xu Lang calculated the odds, insisted his luck could not be bad, and took out yet another weapon to try again.

Xu Lang enhanced the Swordmaster's Bamboo Pole to +11, gaining a chance to sever limbs, then left the Weapon Demon Furnace before risking another upgrade. Meanwhile, Mad King Players discovered that lowering Sanity could cause lasting mental contamination, and Demon King Castle's residents discussed how difficult it was to treat.

• Xu Lang enhanced the Swordmaster's Bamboo Pole to +11 and gained a 30% increased chance to sever a limb.
• Xu Lang resisted the Crazy Soldier Demon Furnace's prompt to try another enhancement and headed for the Intermediate Madness Barracks.
• Mad King Players discussed the growing number of Mad Vanguards and experimented with lowering their Sanity.
• Players reported that those whose Sanity reached single digits could not keep it from falling, even when using items that increased happiness.
• Wang Yazhi asked Shirley whether her Healing Art could remove mental contamination, and Shirley admitted she did not know.
• Kui Zi explained that mental contamination worsened over time and was difficult to remove, while the others suspected Xu Lang had a way to withstand it.

Xu Lang inspected his new Mad Vanguard army, discovered that the Mad King Building had nine Building Lord tokens, and explored the upgraded Merit Building to see how players’ contributions were recorded. He left with a Merit Orb containing rewards for his own dormitory, while continuing to assess the other players’ merits.

• Cao Yaxuan told Xu Lang that a player's Sanity had fallen too low for them to return, and Xu Lang told her to investigate.
• Xu Lang examined his three Building Lord tokens and panels, learning that he could monitor players’ average Sanity and that Mad Filth was forming.
• Xu Lang found that the Mad Vanguards obeyed him perfectly through the Order of Madness and led a column of them to the Merit Building.
• Xu Lang discovered that the upgraded Merit Building ranked players by contribution and that his own Merit Orb contained a dormitory upgrade, a standard Core Facility choice, and an exclusive item.
• Xu Lang toured the Merit Building’s floors, saw that Kui Zi had contributed the most and Zhang Dahai was honored as a leading scout, and found no suspicious details with his Nightmare Eye.

Xu Lang explored the Mad King Community Center and Residents' Committee Center, where he found a recruitment mission and tokens for official building positions. He took all the tokens, considering how the Mad Guards might protect the building from future threats and how the Floor Leaders could affect players' Sanity.

• Xu Lang found a highest-tier mission to recruit another Dormitory Building but left it unaccepted.
• Xu Lang examined Cleaner tokens and suspected their connection to Heaven's Wrath Building and the removal of Mad Filth.
• Xu Lang inspected the Mad Guard tokens, whose holders would detect and fight outsiders entering the Safe Zone, and considered what threats the building anticipated.
• Xu Lang took all 120 Cleaner tokens, 120 Mad Guard tokens, and 30 Floor Leader tokens from the Residents' Committee Center.

After visiting the House of Order, Xu Lang discovered that the Supermarket had expanded dramatically and now sold powerful Mad King facilities and equipment. He bought ten Madness-prefix facility blueprints and left wondering what dangers the Mad King Building was preparing for.

• Xu Lang tried the House of Order’s Sanity restoration and contamination cleansing, but found the treatment prohibitively expensive.
• Xu Lang entered the expanded Supermarket and was stunned by the Mad King White Reaper blueprint, whose turret could gain attack speed without limit.
• Xu Lang discovered that nearly half the facility blueprints carried the Mad King prefix and wondered who led the building and where its resources had gone.
• Xu Lang bought ten Madness-prefix facility blueprints and inspected the equipment section, where he found powerful gear that increased Madness Capacity and attributes.
• Xu Lang considered how dangerous future games might be after seeing equipment tied to Madness Domains, Mad Vanguards, and the Mad King’s palace guards.

Xu Lang explored the Mad King Building’s newly expanded shops, discovering powerful Sanity-draining skills and new information about Exploration Mode. After reading the world intelligence scrolls, he realized the exploration worlds held materials needed to build Mad Facilities, and he intended to pursue them.

• Xu Lang bought nearly a fifth of the mad equipment stock, then headed to the Skill Area.
• Xu Lang inspected the Madness-prefixed skill scrolls, found that casting them lowered Sanity while granting powerful effects, and bought roughly a fifth of the available skills.
• Xu Lang visited the Exploration Mode section of the Madness Supermarket and bought the basic historical background scroll for Zombie Assault World.
• Xu Lang read intelligence scrolls for all seven exploration worlds and noted how Zombie Assault resembled Luo Lin’s experience.
• Xu Lang discovered that Day-Night Ghost March contained all the raw materials needed to make the White Death and that the worlds’ resources could build Mad Facilities.
• Xu Lang decided to seek Mad Facilities for himself.

Xu Lang returned from the Task Hall with new insight into the Mad King Building’s changing strategy and discussed mental contamination with his companions. The chapter ended with him realizing that the strange images in his mind were mental contamination, though he had dismissed them as a cartoon.

• Xu Lang reviewed the Task Hall’s Exploration Mode missions and concluded that the Mad King Building was encouraging Players to seek resources.
• The Mad King Building assigned Xu Lang the highest-grade Neighbor Recruitment mission, requiring him to win over half the Mad King Players and recruit a neighboring Dormitory Building.
• Shirley told Xu Lang that her healing and purification spells could not treat mental contamination, so she wanted to organize tests with Players who had healing abilities.
• Xu Lang told his companions about the outside developments, warned that the Mad King Building’s new benefits came with increased difficulty, and advised them to let others explore the Frost Ghost King’s world first.
• Xu Lang’s companions discussed using Madness skills to manage Sanity, and Zhen Lu explained that entering the Madness Domain inevitably exposed Players to mental contamination.
• Xu Lang said he had not noticed any serious effects and realized that the strange images he had experienced were mental contamination, which he had mistaken for a cartoon.

Xu Lang explained how the Mad King Building’s facilities and items could help players manage mental corruption, then introduced mad jobs and their restrictions. Xu Ruyan took the Mad Guard position and gained powerful skills, including an alert that detected outsiders entering the building outside game hours.

• Shirley and the others discussed mental corruption, and Xu Lang explained that the House of Order could remove abnormal statuses at an astronomical price.
• Xu Lang showed the group mad medicine, which restored Sanity without removing mental corruption, and they discussed how the building’s specialized items restricted who could use them.
• Xu Lang revealed mad job tokens, and the group learned that players could take only one job and that most jobs offered little direct combat strength.
• Xu Ruyan chose to become a Mad Guard, while Mary and Shirley agreed to prepare a list of candidates for the other jobs.
• Xu Ruyan gained Mad Guard skills, including Alert Signal, which warned her whenever an outsider entered the building’s territory outside game hours.

After the building battle, Xu Lang told the women how the Mad King Building had tried to undermine them, and they decided to publicize its betrayal. Kui Zi then proposed centralizing control of dormitory upgrades and defenses under the Demon King Castle, but the women disagreed over the cost to Players’ freedom and creativity.

• Xu Lang described how the Mad King Building had tried to provoke internal conflict during the final round, and the women condemned its actions.
• Aygul proposed spreading the truth about the Mad King Building, and Xu Lang assigned her and Golden Sand’s group to publicize it.
• Xu Lang explained that the Merit Building’s light orb provided an opportunity to upgrade a dormitory, and Kui Zi asked whether the other light orbs did too.
• Kui Zi proposed taking complete control of the Mad King Building’s dormitory development and requiring Players to report any changes to the Demon King Castle.
• Zhen Lu, Shirley, Tong Qi, and Wang Yazhi raised concerns about Players’ freedom, creativity, resentment, and social mobility.

After debating Kui Zi’s proposal for comprehensive control of Mad King Building, Xu Lang rejected rigid centralized planning but proposed using rewards and relocation compensation to guide development. He decided to conduct a second census of Players before planning future facilities.

• Kui Zi argued for comprehensive control of Players and resources, while Red Butterfly and Shirley opposed her plan.
• Xu Lang rejected Kui Zi’s detailed, absolute control, saying complex plans were too prone to failure.
• Xu Lang supported extending governance throughout Mad King Building, using tasks and rewards to encourage Players to meet development goals.
• Xu Lang proposed paying relocation compensation to secure dormitories for Heavy Turrets, while Zhen Lu hinted that Yaxuan could deal with holdouts.
• Xu Lang decided to conduct another census of Players and assess the combat and development styles of the dormitories.

Xu Lang discovered that Medicine Pearl could treat low-level mental contamination and appointed her as the Residents' Committee physician. He ordered a building-wide census, barred residents from leaving until it was complete, and sent Mary and Miaoying to help.

• Xu Lang gathered the Players with mental contamination and learned that Medicine Pearl could use an Epic mind-control skill to erase contaminated memories and then heal the resulting brain damage.
• Medicine Pearl explained that her skill could treat contamination below Level Five and that Xu Lang's coffee had protected her from the contaminated images.
• Xu Lang appointed Medicine Pearl as the Residents' Committee physician and had Mary prepare a detailed information form for the census.
• Xu Lang ordered Zheng Kai, Fusheng Xi, Su Yuan, and Zhou Ye to conduct a confidential census with the Supervisory and Taxation Departments, and prohibited anyone from leaving Mad King Building until it was finished.
• Mary volunteered to join the census, then ordered Miaoying to come with her as Miaoying tried to slip away.

The Residents’ Committee began surveying dormitory facilities as Demon King Castle prepared to reorganize Mad King Building. Medicine Pearl advised Xu Lang on limiting Floor Leaders’ power, then found herself drawn into a group of women’s conversation about him.

• Su Yuan and Mary required Chen Dazhuang and his tenants to complete dormitory information forms, and Mary said qualifying dormitories could later receive support through Demon King Castle missions.
• Xu Lang told Medicine Pearl to treat patients with her limited coffee supply at high prices and asked whether she wanted to become a Floor Leader.
• Medicine Pearl warned Xu Lang that Floor Leaders had become too powerful and complacent, and she proposed reforms after he invited her to explain her views.
• Xu Lang and the others listened seriously to Medicine Pearl’s advice, and she left Demon King Castle convinced that he had taken her suggestions to heart.
• Wang Tingting and the female Players questioned Medicine Pearl about Xu Lang, leaving her to conclude that delusional fans were terrifying and to admit she also wanted to please him.

Medicine Pearl argued that Floor Leaders should be held accountable, and Xu Lang postponed another vote until after the census. Demon King Castle then upgraded, expanding its defenses and facilities and producing a powerful Three-Eyed Demonic Hound, which Xu Lang chose not to strengthen yet.

• Medicine Pearl reflected on whether sincere admiration could win women a place in Demon King Castle, then caught herself thinking about Xu Lang and left in the elevator.
• Xu Lang agreed that powerful managers needed accountability and said another Floor Leader vote would take place after the census.
• Demon King Castle upgraded to three floors, gained the War Fortress ability, and expanded its Spirit Fields, training rooms, study, Fear Pedestal, and Fear Power uses.
• An Abyss Fang Beast called the Three-Eyed Demonic Hound emerged from the Abyss Whisper Gate, and Shirley described the species' powerful healing.
• Xu Lang declined to strengthen the hound with Fear Power for now, stroked its head, and joked that they seemed to have a thing for dogs.

After the True King Showdown, Xu Lang and the others considered whether to choose a new Core Facility, then collected merit light orbs and resumed farming points. Xu Lang checked his overnight gains and found he had nearly 1.84 million Nightmare Coins, while the Nightmare Bed still needed half a month before it could upgrade.

• Zhen Lu clarified that she envied monsters' high stats, and Cao Yaxuan guessed that Xu Lang could overpower the Three-Eyed Demonic Hound.
• Xu Lang dismissed the Three-Eyed Demonic Hound and discussed choosing a Core Facility with the women, but Gu Ya advised waiting until they understood the Mad King Building's recent changes.
• Xu Lang agreed with Gu Ya and took the women to collect their merit light orbs before going to farm points.
• Xu Lang checked the Golden Time-Reversal Clock and confirmed that the Nightmare Bed's cooldown was not tied to Blood Mist World time, letting him continue farming points.
• Xu Lang reviewed his overnight gains, counted 1,834,984 Nightmare Coins, and lamented that the Nightmare Bed still needed half a month of sleep before it could upgrade.

Xu Lang worried that his three active Sequences would destabilize him and tried to reach Li Mingqing through Golden Dawn Radio, where Young Lord relayed that Li Mingqing wanted to speak with him. Meanwhile, Li Mingqing briefly left his dorm room during a game in Extermination Building, prompting the other players to believe they had found his weakness and attack.

• Xu Lang realized he had Scarlet Shepherd, Seven Kill Monarch, and another Sequence in fusion, and feared the combined backlash would make him unstable.
• Xu Lang contacted Golden Dawn Radio and spoke with Young Lord, who said Li Mingqing had told him to wait for Xu Lang.
• Xu Lang joked that Li Mingqing liked men, leaving Young Lord shaken, then asked why Li Mingqing wanted him.
• Players in Extermination Building discussed their fear of Li Mingqing and prepared for the game, believing he could not be defeated.
• Li Mingqing stepped out of his room, then went back inside before the game began, leading players to suspect something had distracted him.
• A scholarly-looking player rallied the others to attack Li Mingqing's room, and many players went upstairs to surround it.

Xu Lang spoke with Li Mingqing, who proposed that they join forces—and become husband and wife—while warning that the Mad King Building’s hunger could threaten both its rules and its residents. Xu Lang was left considering what terrifying beings might emerge if the building’s rules collapsed.

• Xu Lang learned that the Extermination Building had reached Tier 3 and was in its thirty-first period, but Li Mingqing said it could not yet enter the True King Showdown.
• Li Mingqing proposed joining forces with Xu Lang to purge the Blood Mist World, then insisted they must become husband and wife so they would not betray each other.
• Li Mingqing warned that the rapidly upgrading Mad King Building might develop an appetite that could consume Xu Lang and destroy itself if left unsatisfied.
• Li Mingqing explained that dormitory buildings and their players depended on a balanced sharing of resources, and that imbalance could collapse both resource chains and the building’s rules.
• Xu Lang wondered what might escape from Agatha, the Dusk Veil, the Astrology Platform, the Garden Corridor, Rust Lake, and the Underground Palace if the Mad King Building’s rules collapsed.

Xu Lang learned from Li Mingqing about building resource-sharing rights, later-born Sequences, and the limits of controlling Sequence rampage. He was left weighing his options against the danger of losing control and the cost of strengthening his suppressants.

• Xu Lang realized Mad King Building might be trying to consume neighboring buildings and asked Li Mingqing how to negotiate resource sharing with Dormitory Building.
• Li Mingqing warned Xu Lang that he would need to judge the fair share himself or find a key item inside Dormitory Building.
• Xu Lang asked how to suppress Sequence rampage, and Li Mingqing explained that later-born Sequences could revive as gods and drain their hosts’ origins.
• Li Mingqing advised Xu Lang to strengthen his resistances, warned him not to awaken a later-born Sequence, and revealed that Angel Building had an item that could strip one away.
• After learning Xu Lang’s later-born Sequence was A-rank, Li Mingqing urged him to awaken it and offered to help suppress it if the god awakened.
• Zhi Chun reported an audio fluctuation during Li Mingqing’s conversation, and Xu Lang considered his limited options while checking his Nightmare Coin balance.

Xu Lang advanced his Martial God level, unlocked Madness: Blood Dance, and decided that sleep and the Nightmare Bed could solve his problems. After noticing the Mad King Building had less than fifty million Copper Coins, he turned to its development plans, which Kui Zi and Mary were still revising.

• Xu Lang went to the training room to vent his restless killing intent, and blade practice advanced his Martial God level to 30.
• Xu Lang unlocked Madness: Blood Dance, calmed down, and decided to focus on leveling up the Nightmare Bed through sleep.
• Xu Lang noticed the training room repair cost had left him with 47,480,800 Copper Coins and considered plundering other Dormitory Buildings to raise funds.
• Mary returned with facility data, and Kui Zi explained that revising the Mad King Building's layout would take about a day because new dormitories created unpredictable variables.
• Xu Lang studied Kui Zi's models and closed his eyes to think through the building's facility deployment, considering it worth spending Nightmare Essence on.