Chapter Summaries

After losing consciousness from the pain in her left eye, Yin Ge woke in the Neutrino Persona Order Center, where Qin Li explained the Son of Heaven Game and answered her questions. She learned that the game’s appearances were increasingly frequent and seemingly random, and that sealing off an affected area was the best way to contain it.

• Yin Ge collapsed after her left eye painfully pulled its writhing veins back, then woke in a hospital ward.
• Qin Li introduced himself and showed Yin Ge that the voices of her neighbors came from fragments of the ward wall.
• Qin Li explained that the Daylight Faction had Godheads, the Night Faction had Beasthood, and the winning faction survived.
• Yin Ge agreed to share what she knew in exchange for answers and asked where the Son of Heaven Game came from.
• Qin Li described the game as a material phenomenon that his institute was studying, then said its appearances were random and increasing in frequency.
• Qin Li told Yin Ge that sealing off an affected area was the best way to contain the game, which disappeared only if the Daylight Faction won.

Qin Li explained how Son of Heaven Games work and warned Yin Ge that a game Persona would eventually consume her own Personhood and kill her. He revealed that some people might have found a way to slow the process, leaving Yin Ge determined to rise through the Neutrino Persona Order Center to learn more.

• Yin Ge asked Qin Li about the game’s factions, schedule, timing, and the meanings of Godhead, Beasthood, and Personhood.
• Qin Li explained that Personhood gained in a Son of Heaven Game could be used in reality, but its growing entropy would consume its holder’s will, spirit, and memories.
• Qin Li said the process was irreversible and that the Son of Heaven Game Persona would persist, leading to the law, “[Persona Cannot Be Destroyed].”
• Yin Ge learned that the loss of her Personhood meant her eventual death and asked whether there was any way to stop it.
• Qin Li said some people had survived and grown stronger, and that a high-ranking member of the Neutrino Persona Order Center might know how.
• Yin Ge seized on the possibility of slowing the process and asked how she could join the Order Center’s upper ranks.

Qin Li explained the White Nighter system and how Son of Heaven Games spread through Personhood, then described the games’ ranks and their historical origins. Yin Ge learned that becoming a high-ranking White Nighter could give her a way to slow the games’ spread, but that the requirements might rise as games became more common.

• Qin Li invited Yin Ge to become a White Nighter, someone who entered Son of Heaven Games to complete missions while upholding their Personhood.
• Qin Li explained that when players died in a failed game, their Personhood could shape the next game’s scenes and pass on through further failures.
• Qin Li ranked Son of Heaven Games by the number of people affected, from Commoner games with fewer than ten people to Son of Heaven games affecting more than five hundred thousand.
• Qin Li said ancient people had contained dangerous streams of information by classifying them as Godhead, Personhood, and Beasthood, and that the game ranks drew on historical records.
• Yin Ge learned that reaching Grand Physician-level White Nighter could qualify her as a high-ranking member and provide a way to slow the spread of the games.
• Qin Li warned Yin Ge that the requirements for high-ranking membership might rise as Son of Heaven Games spread, urging her to act quickly.

Qin Li explained how White Nighters earned points, completed game missions, and used a Sage to bind Personhood, while warning Yin Ge to protect her mental state. Yin Ge decided to rest before entering another game, then tried spending her savings to feel better but left a streamer waiting when the distraction failed.

• Qin Li told Yin Ge that she needed three points to become a Grand Physician-level White Nighter and explained the point values for missions at each level.
• Qin Li described the Daylight and Night factions, warned Yin Ge to prioritize her safety, and explained that a Sage could bind Personhood and help end a game.
• After learning that Personhood could devour her if her mind collapsed, Yin Ge decided to rest for a few days before returning to the Neutrino Persona Order Center.
• Qin Li gave Yin Ge a phone for contacting the Center and left her as her personal advisor.
• Yin Ge withdrew her savings, bought a designer bag, ate seafood, and invited her favorite streamer to join her.
• When the streamer returned from the restroom, Yin Ge had left her seat, still unable to find happiness in the distraction.

Yin Ge tested her Personhood through a mirror and discovered that it let her Peep on and control people without Godheads. She realized the Bride’s question, “Who is it!?” referred to the person who had Peeped on and tried to control the Bride, then wondered what limits her own abilities had.

• Yin Ge returned to her apartment and used a mirror to test her Personhood.
• Yin Ge watched a thief steal money from an old woman and made him trip, punch himself, and return the money.
• Yin Ge concluded that her Personhood’s true power was control, while Peeping helped her choose whom to control.
• Yin Ge reinterpreted the Bride’s question as asking who had Peeped on and controlled her, rather than who had killed her.
• Yin Ge recalled Qin Li’s warning that using the Control Persona consumed her Personhood and hastened her loss of life.
• Yin Ge wondered whether Peeping and control had limits on their range or duration.

Yin Ge tested her Observation Persona and learned its limits before Qin Li brought her to the hidden Neutrino Persona Order Center. There she met Gu Jin, the best man she had identified in the Son of Heaven Game, and received her codename and Personhood file as she prepared to work with the Order Center.

• Yin Ge tried her Observation Persona again and learned that it could observe within roughly three kilometers for up to five minutes and control people or objects reflected fully in a nearby mirror.
• Three days later, Qin Li led Yin Ge through a hidden barrier into the Neutrino Persona Order Center and registered her information.
• A researcher questioned Yin Ge about her experience in the Son of Heaven Game and introduced intern researcher Gu Jin, who had helped study her Personhood.
• Yin Ge recognized Gu Jin as the best man she had identified during the game and apologized, but Gu Jin said her action had not changed his fate and had helped him survive.
• The researcher gave Yin Ge a file describing her Personhood and assigned her the codename Peeping; Gu Jin reminded her that death ended life but not its meaning.

Yin Ge learned how Sages were used to bind Personhood in Son of Heaven Games and discovered that the organization would reward her with one. She also learned she could earn two million for completing the Bride game and another two million for each new Personhood she bound and handed over.

• The researcher warned Yin Ge that her Control Persona made her more vulnerable to being devoured, while Gu Jin cautioned her that White Nighters generally acted alone.
• The researcher explained that Sages captured and bound Personhood, were scarce and single-use, and could not bind the Personhood of White Nighters like Yin Ge.
• Yin Ge learned that White Nighters carried Sages into Son of Heaven Games using wristbands and controlled them through their consciousness.
• The researcher told Yin Ge that the organization would reward her with a Sage for completing a mission and binding Personhood.
• Yin Ge learned that future Sages cost one point or ten million, and Gu Jin and the researcher told her she could earn two million for completing the Bride game and another two million for each Personhood she bound and handed over.

Yin Ge received Sage and studied the guide for the Commoner-level Son of Heaven Game “Deadly Mall,” learning how transferred Personhoods could make games spread and grow harder. She arrived at the chaotic mall and entered the game despite the danger of becoming another victim.

• Yin Ge asked about game bonuses and whether Sage could bind a Godhead, then received a Sage wristband and promised Gu Jin she would return alive.
• Qin Li sent Yin Ge the guide to “Deadly Mall,” and she studied how White Nighters identified and bound transferred Personhoods to end a game.
• Qin Li warned Yin Ge that if she became the Beasthood, she should hide her identity and survive rather than try to complete the mission.
• Yin Ge and Qin Li reached the mall and learned that people were still trapped on the fourth and fifth floors while new victims appeared every five seconds.
• Yin Ge entered the mall after Qin Li warned that her death could leave two Personhoods in the game and prevent anyone from escaping.

Yin Ge entered the second round of the Son of Heaven Game, set at a school, and tried to identify the Beasthood by tracing its connection to bullying. She discovered that Beasthood had attached itself to one of her soldier teammates and drew on the Sage’s power as she faced what his sacrifice would demand.

• Qin Li sent a soldier into the mall to fill the final place, and Yin Ge entered the game alongside him and two other soldiers.
• Yin Ge and the soldiers used the files to identify Beasthood in the first scenario, end the Original Son of Heaven Game, and enter its second round.
• The second scenario placed Yin Ge in the role of an old boys’ dormitory manager at a school, where she suspected the game was connected to bullying.
• After Persona Time began, Yin Ge noticed that the soldier playing the failing student seemed unusually dazed and sought him out.
• The soldier told Yin Ge that Beasthood was on him and encouraged her to continue, while she steadied herself and sensed the Sage’s power.

Yin Ge used the Sage to bind the soldier’s personhood, expecting the game to end at eight, and watched the group argue while the soldier wandered like a vacant shell. When eight arrived, Yin Ge instead felt the familiar drowsiness of Godhead Time and lost consciousness.

• Yin Ge used the Sage to extract and bind the soldier’s personhood, following Qin Li’s advice to help the Neutrino Persona Order Center study personhoods.
• Yin Ge saw the soldier become a blank, wandering shell and felt troubled that he would die when the game ended at eight.
• The School Bully accused the School Beauty of slacking, the sports committee member defended her, and the Head Teacher and soldiers joined the escalating argument.
• Yin Ge stayed out of the dispute and waited for eight, believing the bound personhood would end the game without Godhead Time.
• At eight, Yin Ge felt a sudden wave of drowsiness and lost consciousness despite expecting the game to end.

Yin Ge realized that containing the soldier’s Personhood had not ended the Son of Heaven Game because the mall might contain multiple Personhoods. With “Sage” gone, she had to identify the Beasthood before the game ended three days later, and she began observing the Dorm Supervisor’s life for clues.

• Yin Ge woke during Godhead Time and found the [Grand Physician: Death Immunity] Godhead in her mind.
• Yin Ge reasoned that the soldier had truly been a Beasthood, but the game could continue if another Personhood had appeared after someone died in the shopping mall.
• Yin Ge confirmed that “Sage” was gone and resolved to identify the Beasthood as her remaining way to end the game.
• Yin Ge checked the Dorm Supervisor’s calendar and determined that the game would end in three days, when the High School Student transferred schools.
• Yin Ge watched the Dorm Supervisor check rooms, eat breakfast, and confiscate prohibited items before the peaceful routine was broken.

Yin Ge observed the High School Student at school and learned that he had a disability, faced ridicule and isolation, and was protected by the School Bully and School Beauty. She grew suspicious that the seemingly kind Head Teacher might be covertly isolating him, while the Grade-Level Head also remained a possible threat.

• Yin Ge watched the Head Teacher move the High School Student to an isolated seat and saw that he rarely interacted with classmates.
• The Grade-Level Head demanded that the absent High School Student attend PE, and the Head Teacher explained that he had a disability.
• A classmate brought the High School Student to the field, where the Grade-Level Head scolded him for skipping class and ordered him to join the formation.
• The PE Teacher sent the High School Student to rest while the others played soccer, and several boys shoved him after the match.
• The School Bully stood up for the High School Student, and the School Beauty checked on him, prompting Yin Ge to question whether the Head Teacher was isolating him through apparently considerate decisions.

Yin Ge realized the High School Student’s teachers’ overprotectiveness might have made him feel inferior, then witnessed the School Bully lead several boys, including the Poor Student, into a restroom. During Persona Time, the Poor Student was missing, and Yin Ge hid what she knew before suggesting he might have been killed by the Beasthood.

• Yin Ge watched the High School Student stop playing soccer after the PE Teacher checked on him and suspected that excessive protection had made him feel different.
• Yin Ge saw the School Bully lead a boy who had mocked the High School Student into a restroom, followed by several others, including the Poor Student.
• At six o’clock, Persona Time began, and Yin Ge found herself in the High School Student’s classroom with the other participants except the Poor Student.
• Yin Ge kept secret that she had contained the Poor Student’s Beasthood and claimed fearfully that the Beasthood might have killed him, watching everyone’s reactions for clues to the Killer.

Yin Ge guided the group into discussing the day’s events to identify Beasthood, while suspicion centered on the Grade-Level Head and Head Teacher over their conflict about Zhang Zichen. The Head Teacher revealed that she had a Godhead and had used Discernment on School Beauty, leaving the group to question why she had targeted her.

• Yin Ge reasoned that Beasthood might have killed Poor Student and prompted the group to discuss the Godheads’ possible use of the Law.
• The soldier Principal asked everyone to recount the day and identify suspicious people for the Godheads to investigate.
• School Bully and School Beauty said they had spent the day with Zhang Zichen and described his injury and the Head Teacher’s fundraiser.
• The Head Teacher accused the Grade-Level Head of mistreating Zhang Zichen, while the Grade-Level Head denied having a personal grudge.
• Yin Ge and School Bully accused the Head Teacher of being overprotective, and School Beauty said Zhang Zichen had cried after being kept in the classroom.
• The Head Teacher revealed that she was a Son of Heaven with a Godhead and had used Discernment on School Beauty, who also had a Godhead.

Yin Ge tried to prevent the group from making a reckless accusation while the Head Teacher and Grade-Level Head remained under suspicion. As accusations against the Grade-Level Head gained support, he stopped Yin Ge from revealing her Godhead and urged her to keep her information hidden.

• Yin Ge questioned the Grade-Level Head, who revealed that he was a Feudal Lord and had partitioned himself the previous night.
• The School Bully and Principal noted that the dead Poor Student might have been the Son of Heaven or Feudal Lord, while Yin Ge warned there could be an extra Beasthood.
• The Principal proposed that everyone reveal their Personhood, but the Head Teacher and PE Representative objected to the suggestion.
• With ten minutes left, Yin Ge suggested excluding the Head Teacher, Grade-Level Head, and School Beauty from the accusation, but the Head Teacher and PE Representative pushed to accuse the Grade-Level Head.
• Yin Ge began to reveal her Godhead, but the Grade-Level Head interrupted and urged everyone to follow their own judgment while keeping their information from Beasthood.

Yin Ge volunteered to be identified as the Killer, using her Grand Physician Godhead to survive the Son of Heaven Game and prove she could lead the Daylight Faction. After Death Immunity saved her from Zhang Zichen’s attack, she looked toward someone suspicious before losing consciousness.

• Yin Ge refused to sacrifice a suspected Feudal Lord and volunteered to be identified, revealing that she was the Grand Physician.
• At eight o’clock, Zhang Zichen appeared bloodied on the podium, and Yin Ge urged everyone to identify the Killer.
• The sports committee member, School Bully, School Beauty, Head Teacher, Principal, and Grade-Level Head all identified Yin Ge, while Yin Ge identified Grade-Level Head.
• Zhang Zichen merged into Yin Ge, but she used Death Immunity to survive as his figure scattered away.
• Principal and Grade-Level Head celebrated Yin Ge’s survival, and she coldly glanced toward someone before losing consciousness.

Yin Ge watched the School Bully defend Zhang Zichen as rumors spread that Zhang Zichen had written the School Beauty a love letter. In the small garden, Zhang Zichen confessed his feelings, but the School Beauty rejected him and said she had only pitied him.

• Yin Ge learned that the School Bully had beaten the student who mocked Zhang Zichen and received a major demerit.
• At lunch, a male student mocked the School Beauty with a supposed love letter from Zhang Zichen, and the School Bully confronted the hecklers.
• Zhang Zichen hurried away from the cafeteria, followed by the School Bully, while the sports committee member watched them with a menacing gaze.
• The Dorm Supervisor secretly observed Zhang Zichen, the School Bully, and the School Beauty in the small garden.
• Zhang Zichen confessed that he liked the School Beauty but denied writing the letter, and she rejected him and told him to keep his distance.

Yin Ge watched Zhang Zichen get beaten by the class sports representative and then brought to the Principal, who urged his parents to transfer him to another school. After Zhang Zichen left, the Dorm Supervisor reported the School Bully’s movements to the Principal, revealing the Principal’s close surveillance of him.

• The School Beauty confessed that she had been following Zhang Zichen only because of the School Bully, then ran away crying, and the School Bully chased after her.
• The class sports representative attacked Zhang Zichen for confessing to the School Beauty, and the Dorm Supervisor brought them both to the Academic Affairs Office.
• The Principal ordered Zhang Zichen and the sports representative to call their parents, and the sports representative’s father slapped him when he arrived.
• Zhang Zichen’s parents comforted him and defended him, but the Principal advised them to transfer him because of his unstable mental state and the bullying he faced.
• After Zhang Zichen and his parents left, the Dorm Supervisor reported the School Bully’s movements to the Principal.

After the Grade-Level Head was erased, Yin Ge and the others explored the game’s boundaries and questioned one another about their Godheads. The School Beauty and the Principal both claimed to be Commoners, and the School Bully revealed that he was the Court Minister, leaving the group questioning why he had not used the Law.

• Yin Ge saw the School Bully watching Zhang Zichen and his family before Persona Time began, when the group discovered that the Grade-Level Head had been erased.
• The School Bully opened the classroom door, and Yin Ge, the Principal, and the others explored the teaching building before finding that they could not leave the game’s boundaries.
• Yin Ge led the group in recounting the day’s incidents, exposed the sports committee member’s role in assaulting Zhang Zichen, and learned that the Head Teacher had used Discernment on the Grade-Level Head.
• The School Beauty and the Principal each claimed to be a Commoner, and Yin Ge could not determine which one was telling the truth.
• Yin Ge suggested accusing one Commoner and having the Court Minister erase the other; the sports committee member agreed, but the School Bully then claimed to be the Court Minister, prompting the Principal to ask why he had not used the Law to save anyone.

Yin Ge reasoned that the Court Minister’s saving Law had likely already been used, and the School Bully revealed that he had saved himself from the Killer on the first day. The School Bully blamed the Sports Committee Member for the Poor Student’s erasure and urged everyone to accuse him.

• Yin Ge suggested that the Court Minister’s Rule Disruption might already have been used, drawing suspicion toward the School Bully.
• The School Bully revealed that the Killer had targeted him on the first day and that he had saved himself, while his erasing Rule Disruption remained unused.
• The group reasoned that the Poor Student might have been erased after a Scholar used the Admonition Law on the wrong person.
• The School Bully accused the Sports Committee Member of hiding his Godhead and choosing Scholar only after everyone else had revealed theirs.
• The School Bully pointed at the Sports Committee Member and called on the group to accuse him.