Chapter Summaries

Xu Lang’s announcement that he could bring Players back to Earth shook the Titan Building, weakening its morale and dividing its leaders. The Antler Giant and Steel Titan turned against the Beast Titan’s opposition, while the Mad King Building’s influence grew as they recognized the stakes of protecting Xu Lang’s passage.

• News that Xu Lang could transport people between worlds spread through the Titan Building, and Li Shuwen told its Titans that cooperation would have to wait until the crisis ended.
• The Beast Titan argued against trusting the Mad King Building, but the Antler Giant and Steel Titan emphasized Earth’s resources and the value of returning home.
• The Antler Giant and Steel Titan said they would no longer treat the Mad King Building as an enemy, despite the Beast Titan’s warnings.
• The Steel Titan and Antler Giant realized that Xu Lang’s public announcement could make the Mad King Building a symbol of hope for Earth-born Players across the Titan Ruins.

Kui Zi established a Radio Station on Earth and connected with shelters in Su City, allowing the group to search for loved ones. They found one possible relative of a Residents' Committee member, but none of the people Cao Yaxuan and the others sought, and Liu Zhen prepared to contact more shelters.

• Kui Zi built a Radio Station that detected twelve high-value signals from shelters in Sea City, Su City, and Hang City.
• Kui Zi stopped the women from rushing the controls and asked Su Yuan to bring Liu Zhen so they could contact shelters in an orderly way.
• Liu Zhen connected with Director Li at the Su City shelter and exchanged information without revealing the Players.
• Director Li checked the shelter's records, and Su Yuan identified Pang Yu as a possible relative of one of his subordinates.
• Liu Zhen ended the call to contact other shelters, while Kui Zi warned the women that finding someone they knew was unlikely.

Pang Zhou regained hope after learning his brother was alive, while Mad King Building and Titan Building entered a new wager tied to the upcoming Grand Wuxia game. Mad King Building gained Titan Building’s Giant Fortress and surrounding territory, and Xu Lang learned the fortress could greatly strengthen their defenses.

• Pang Zhou celebrated his brother’s survival and urged the Residents’ Committee to see themselves as the Dawn Army that would save the world.
• The Dormitory Survival Game announced that Titan Building had surrendered the Giant Fortress and surrounding area as compensation and that the buildings had signed a new wager for the next game.
• Mad King Building’s Safe Zone expanded to include the new territory, while its Players welcomed the people from Earth as new employees at a banquet.
• Cao Yaxuan suspected Titan Building was being drawn into a scheme that could eventually make it a subsidiary of Mad King Building.
• Xu Ruyan and Cao Yaxuan inspected the Giant Fortress and discovered it could hold three gun turrets and triple the size of their shells.
• Xu Ruyan and Cao Yaxuan reported their findings to Xu Lang, who was watching Xu Xiaomeng and the Firepower Group play a game.

Xu Lang explained how bringing people from Earth to the Blood Mist World could make Mad King Building a beacon for players seeking a way home. After learning that Cao Yaxuan and the others worried about their families on Earth, he promised to go there after the next game and help them.

• Cao Yaxuan warned Xu Lang that Titan Building might have a hidden growth trait, but he remained unconcerned about the Wager.
• Kui Zi explained that Mad King Building could attract players across the Titan Ruins by offering a safe way to travel to Earth, which Cao Yaxuan understood as a Permanent Truce Token.
• Xu Lang noticed Cao Yaxuan was troubled and reassured her that her parents might be saved, while Aygul and Yan Xiaoli shared their fears about loved ones dying in the catastrophe.
• Xu Lang promised to go to Earth after the next game, clear Earth OL, and let the women travel separately to their home regions.
• The women celebrated Xu Lang's promise after dinner, and they stayed up with him until two in the morning.

Xu Lang considered recommendations for two new Nightmare Apostles but postponed the selection after deciding to pursue an outside candidate. Meanwhile, Sword Saint tortured Ghost Shadow in a dream and recruited him as a double agent, learning that his Shadow Prison handler was Chen Bing, a ruthless man born with double pupils.

• Li Shuwen, Fusheng Xi, Sword Saint, and Wu Huihui recommended candidates for the vacant Nightmare Apostle slots, with Wu Huihui arguing for someone outside the Mad King Building.
• Xu Lang considered Evil Dragon, Amusement, and Li Mingqing, then postponed the selection of new apostles.
• Sword Saint trapped Ghost Shadow in a nightmare, repeatedly tortured him, and revealed that he had erased Ghost Shadow's memories of earlier dream sessions.
• Ghost Shadow realized Sword Saint wanted him to become a double agent and agreed to serve the Demon King Castle.
• Ghost Shadow warned Sword Saint that his handler, Chen Bing, was born with double pupils and was ruthless.

Chen Bing sent shadow doubles to meet Ghost Shadow, but discovered the meeting was a trap set by Sword Saint, who had been tasked with recruiting him. Chen Bing fled toward Shadow Prison Building, only to find Sword Saint blocking his escape.

• After the Blood Mist Creatures stopped attacking Shadow Prison Building, Chen Bing ordered Da Wu and Xiao Wu to guard it and told Liu Chen to find healing items for Pan Yu.
• Chen Bing privately told Liu Chen that Ghost Shadow had been sent undercover to Mad King Building and set out alone to meet him.
• Chen Bing used successive shadow doubles and shared monocles to approach the meeting place while keeping his real body at a distance.
• At the meeting place, Chen Bing's third shadow double found Sword Saint instead of Ghost Shadow and learned that Sword Saint wanted Chen Bing to come in person.
• Chen Bing recognized Sword Saint through the shared vision and ran toward Shadow Prison Building, but Sword Saint appeared ahead and surrounded him with apparent doubles.
• Chen Bing called Sword Saint a beast and accused him of fleeing earlier, angering Sword Saint.

The Sword Saint broke Chen Bing’s resistance with a nightmare and brought him to Magic Box World, where Xu Lang recruited him as a Demon King Apostle. Chen Bing learned that Xu Lang wanted him to infiltrate Shadow Prison Building, leaving him stunned by the assignment.

• The Sword Saint trapped Chen Bing in a nightmare and subjected him to repeated sword strikes until Chen Bing begged for mercy.
• The Sword Saint took Chen Bing through a black vortex to Magic Box World, where Chen Bing reunited with Ghost Shadow and pretended not to blame him.
• Xu Lang entered, dismissed Ghost Shadow, and identified himself as the Building Lord of Mad King Building.
• The Sword Saint returned the Yin-Yang Corpse Immortal Transformation Card to Xu Lang, and Chen Bing realized the Sword Saint had been a player in disguise.
• Xu Lang warned Chen Bing against stealing the card and told him to work undercover in Shadow Prison Building, leaving Chen Bing shocked.

Xu Lang recruited Chen Bing as a Demon King Apostle and sent him to infiltrate Shadow Prison Building, hoping to seize its resources and tokens. The next day, Xu Lang gained a huge haul of Nightmare Coins and learned that the Overlord-class creatures attacking the buildings were about to make progress.

• Xu Lang threatened Chen Bing into accepting the Demon King Apostle role and ordered him to collect Shadow Prison Building's Building Lord tokens.
• Xu Lang told Sword Saint that Chen Bing's infiltration was a side move that might let him take Shadow Prison Building without relying on Mad King Building.
• On July 18, Xu Lang received nearly two million Nightmare Coins, gained attributes, and discovered that Dream Bear had grown stronger.
• Xu Lang reviewed Blade Counter, praised Dream Bear, and bought several items through the Trading Network.
• At lunch, Xu Lang told Cao Yaxuan and Xu Ruyan that the Overlord-class creatures' prolonged attack was about to make progress, though he did not consider the situation serious yet.

Xu Lang and the women discussed the Mad King Building’s resource problems as Overlord-class creatures attacked and worried about facing Titan Building players in a long game. After Xu Lang revealed wuxia-themed items from Zhou Ye, they speculated that the next Dungeon would be Grand Wuxia, while Xu Lang checked the players’ theories in the Chat Room.

• Xu Lang warned that the protective barrier could fail and force the Mad King Building to spend Copper Coins on turrets to stop stronger monsters.
• White Sand said the Mad King Building was unprepared for a long game against Titan Building players, while Xu Lang privately welcomed the prospect of outlasting them.
• Xu Lang showed the women wuxia-style items sent by Zhou Ye, and they guessed that the next Dungeon would involve the Martial Dao.
• Xu Ruyan questioned whether the Dungeon was an entirely new game, while Xu Xiaomeng showed off her Psychic Killing Force and looked forward to fighting.
• Shirley asked Alice to bring her meals to the study so she could study wuxia, and Xu Lang opened the Chat Room to read players’ theories about Grand Wuxia.

Xu Lang trained as the Mad King Community braced for an Overlord-level threat and a massive Blood Mist monster tide. The building’s turrets broke Zhang Liang’s despair, and he decided he wanted to become a player.

• Xu Lang found that practicing Martial God no longer raised its level and trained his combat skills to prepare for battle.
• A golden-furred monkey briefly cracked the Mad King Community’s protective barrier, strengthening the Blood Mist Creatures outside.
• Xu Lang sent the enslaved workers into the Magic Box World while the Mad King Building’s employees took shelter.
• Zhang Liang watched the monster tide approach and feared that the Mad King Building would fall.
• The players returned, and the building’s turrets cut down the advancing monsters.
• Zhang Liang cheered at the defense and vowed to become a player so he could operate a turret.

The Mad King Building and Titan Building fought side by side against a monster wave before negotiating their first major supply trade. Han Jisoo secured a deal favorable to the Mad King Building, and Xu Xiaomeng eagerly claimed a powerful armguard from the goods.

• The Mad King Building and Titan Building established steady monster-farming lines as their players held off the monster wave.
• Han Jisoo met Dream Oriole, a Titan Building foreign affairs officer, to discuss trading supplies, especially food.
• Han Jisoo rejected the Titan Building's initial offer and presented a list of goods the Mad King Building wanted in exchange.
• Dream Oriole returned with the Titan Building's agreement, and Han Jisoo completed the trade less than half an hour later.
• Han Jisoo brought back equipment, items, and skill scrolls, and Xu Xiaomeng chose a level-forty-five Excellent armguard despite giving up her other equipment.

Mad King Building’s residents traded supplies with Titan Building and organized the distribution of their new goods. A radio broadcast revealed that Mad King Building’s ability to return to Earth had become widely known, leaving its residents aware that their fame would bring both opportunities and trouble.

• Xu Xiaomeng received a new armguard, and the women selected items including Life Green Liquid through the Vortex Gate.
• Xu Lang assigned the women to distribute supplies, with priority for Floor Leaders and Residents' Committee members, while several volunteered to help Mary.
• The women heard a Kindred Ghost Domain broadcast announce that someone in Mad King Building could teleport back to Earth without restrictions.
• Zhen Lu celebrated that Mad King Building’s name had spread, while Golden Sand warned that fame could also bring trouble.

Shirley explained the theory that the Dormitory Survival Game could eventually unite its war zones in a major update, leaving Medicine Pearl impressed by the scale of the possibility. Meanwhile, Cao Yaxuan visited Xu Lang's devastated training ground, learned about his plans to support Evil Dragon and meet Amusement, and asked to accompany him.

• Shirley explained that dormitory buildings and communities appeared to be linked by geographical boundaries, leading people to suspect that the game was testing a war zone mode.
• Shirley speculated that the war zones could one day connect the entire Dormitory Survival Game, and Medicine Pearl was shocked by the prospect.
• Cao Yaxuan entered Xu Lang's exclusive training ground and found its terrain ravaged by his training.
• Xu Lang explained that Cao Yaxuan could train against the Self-Immolation Ghost, then said he planned to support Evil Dragon and meet Amusement.
• Cao Yaxuan asked to go with Xu Lang, and he agreed before she kissed him.

Xu Lang visited the weakened Evil King Building, where Evil Dragon greeted him with unquestioning loyalty. After assessing the building’s punishment and considering how to help Evil Dragon take control without alerting it, Xu Lang brought him through a Vortex Gate to the Magic Box World.

• Evil Dragon waited for Xu Lang while players continued abandoning the depleted Evil King Building.
• Xu Lang and Cao Yaxuan arrived, and Evil Dragon immediately knelt and pledged himself to Xu Lang.
• Xu Lang examined the Evil King Building with the Nightmare Eye and saw that it suffered from a Level 100 Precept-Breaking Ban.
• Evil Dragon knelt again when Xu Lang returned, and Xu Lang considered how to guide him without triggering the building’s surveillance.
• Xu Lang opened a Vortex Gate to the Magic Box World and told Evil Dragon to come with him.

Evil Dragon entered the Magic Box World and became a Nightmare Apostle, revealing that the apostles had developed distinct innate gifts. Xu Lang investigated the Nightmare Lord Sequence and tried using a dream simulation to learn its secrets, but his Nightmare Essence vanished instantly, leaving him determined to develop the Sequence’s powers further.

• Evil Dragon entered the Magic Box World, saw Black Town, and received instructions from Xu Lang to spread fear and rule the Evil King Building.
• Evil Dragon revealed that he could sense six other Demon King Apostles, prompting Xu Lang and Sword Saint to discover that the apostles’ innate gifts had improved and become individualized.
• Xu Lang examined Fusheng Xi, Wu Huihui, Li Shuwen, and Chen Bing, noting their distinct abilities and the Nightmare Apostles’ strong potential as a Sequence.
• Xu Lang realized that the Nightmare Lord Sequence was powerful because it operated within the game’s rules, making buildings unable to suppress it.
• Xu Lang used a dream simulation to try to learn the secrets of Sequences, but the simulation collapsed as his Nightmare Essence drained to zero almost immediately.
• Xu Lang decided he needed to develop the Nightmare Lord Sequence’s powers properly before he ran into another obstacle.

Xu Lang welcomed the chance to investigate the secrets of the Scarlet Shepherd Sequence and Original Sin Plateau while Mad King Building fought an overwhelming monster assault. As its residents held their defenses, Red Butterfly flew toward Dusk Veil to investigate the aura driving monsters away.

• Xu Lang considered using his Divine Thinker and Simulation abilities to uncover secrets while remaining safely hidden and growing stronger.
• Thirty-six hours into the Grand Wuxia Dungeon, Mad King Building's players and repair specialists coordinated their defenses against increasingly fierce monster attacks.
• Zhen Lu and Xu Ruyan fought from the corridor, and Zhen Lu observed that Xu Ruyan could now imitate some of her targets' skills.
• Tong Qi and Red Butterfly spotted a murky yellow aura around Dusk Veil that caused monsters to avoid it, and Red Butterfly flew there to investigate.
• Zhen Lu surveyed the Forbidden Lands and noted that they might offer shelter if Mad King Building fell, though their dangers could change with it.

Xu Lang learned that Red Butterfly had entered the dangerous Dusk Veil and sent his avatar and Strange Tales through a secret passage to find her. Red Butterfly was safe in a secluded mansion, where she ate apples and was treated as a queen by a strange servant.

• Xu Lang reviewed his Nightmare Coin gains and prepared to melt down facilities for Nightmare Essence and turret upgrades.
• Tong Qi told Xu Lang that Red Butterfly had gone into the Dusk Veil and lost contact with her.
• Xu Lang decided to send his avatar and Strange Tales to find Red Butterfly rather than risk a player scout team.
• Xu Lang used the Mad King Building map to guide the Rakshasa avatar through a secret passage toward Red Butterfly's location.
• Red Butterfly ate the mansion's last plate of Red Dragon Apples while a frail creature addressed her as Your Majesty.

Red Butterfly reassured Hoover after he mistook her doubts for accusations, while Xu Lang arrived at the Queen's Residence and learned that Hoover guarded it. Hoover's questions about the previous queen raised new doubts about the Dusk Veil's history.

• Red Butterfly convinced Hoover that she had only been testing his loyalty, and Hoover revealed that he was not an Overlord-class creature.
• Xu Lang sent the Rakshasa avatar into the hall, where Hoover forced it to its knees until Red Butterfly identified Xu Lang as her friend.
• Xu Lang asked Red Butterfly how she had entered the Dusk Veil and met Hoover, and Hoover asked whether Xu Lang knew where the previous queen had gone.
• Hoover said the previous queen had been beautiful, but insisted that Red Butterfly was more unique.

Xu Lang learned that Red Butterfly had inherited the Queen's Residence in the Dusk Veil and that its queen and five other residence lords were expected to serve the master of the hall when he awakened. Red Butterfly left Hoover in charge of the residence, while Hoover secretly resolved to find a chance to kill Xu Lang.

• Xu Lang questioned Hoover and learned that the Dusk Veil had six core residences, each with a residence lord, and that they would serve the awakened master of the hall.
• Hoover said the Queen's Residence was supposedly the strongest of the six, though most of its functions were still awakening and its apple grove rarely produced fruit.
• Xu Lang asked Red Butterfly whether other residences might also be waiting for heirs, but she dismissed the question and asked to leave with him.
• Red Butterfly appointed Hoover to manage the Queen's Residence and threatened to punish him if it showed no progress when she returned.
• After Xu Lang and Red Butterfly left, Hoover tended the residence and secretly planned to find a chance to kill Xu Lang.

Xu Lang returned to Demon King Castle with Red Butterfly, who had inherited the Queen's Residence in Dusk Veil. After describing Hoover and warning the women about Dusk Veil's powerful monsters, Xu Lang reaffirmed his resolve to oppose the Mad King Building, while Shirley began profiling Hoover.

• Red Butterfly returned to Demon King Castle and excitedly told Tong Qi and Jiang Wan's group about her inheritance of the Queen's Residence.
• Xu Lang explained how Red Butterfly had inherited the residence and said Hoover seemed at least as strong as Nico Sebastian.
• Cao Yaxuan and the others worried that Dusk Veil's monsters and the other Forbidden Lands could pose an overwhelming threat.
• Xu Lang reassured the women that the Mad King Building had to obey the Dormitory Survival Game's rules and declared that he still intended to fight the building.
• Shirley asked Xu Lang to describe Hoover, then used her profiling skill to write a character profile.