Chapter Summaries

Summary

Seven days after transmigrating into a world of martial arts, spirits, and possibly immortals, Lin Bai is overwhelmed when a multitude of systems suddenly appear in his mind. Most go quiet after loading, leaving four active: the Flawed Creation System, Emotion Management System, Chief Supporting Character System, and God of Cooking System. Their goals clash with Lin Bai’s ambition to regain status and success, and their first tasks offer questionable rewards—including an incomplete martial scripture.
Seeking the easiest task, Lin Bai chooses to collect an emotion directed at him. He focuses on Luo Congwen, a wealthy examination candidate who dreams of heroism and immortality but neglects both martial training and his studies. Lin Bai previously befriended Luo by telling him A Chinese Ghost Story, and Luo eagerly asks for the next installment.
Lin Bai deliberately twists the story into an increasingly disturbing parody: instead of the anticipated romance between Ning Caichen and Nie Xiaoqian, Yan Chixia attacks Ning Caichen. Luo, who strongly identifies with the scholar protagonist, becomes horrified and nauseated by the tale. He finally slams the table and orders Lin Bai to stop. The Emotion Management System registers Luo’s anger toward Lin Bai and rewards him with one spirit point.

Character developments and interactions

• Lin Bai goes from stunned disbelief at his “system bundle” to pragmatism: despite disliking several systems, he decides to exploit their rewards for survival. He uses his storytelling skills to provoke Luo deliberately.
• Luo Congwen is established as an excitable, romantic-minded scholar who treats Lin Bai as a kindred spirit. His enthusiasm turns to embarrassment, revulsion, and anger when the story violates his expectations and targets a protagonist he identifies with.
• Their friendship becomes a tool in Lin Bai’s first system experiment: Luo’s eager requests give Lin Bai an audience, while his strong reaction completes the task.

Significant themes

• Power versus burden: Cheats that should guarantee success can become an overwhelming obligation.
• Ambition versus compromise: Lin Bai wants to pursue a conventional path to advancement, while the systems push him toward contradictory roles and values.
• Emotional influence and storytelling: Lin Bai demonstrates how narrative can shape another person’s feelings—and turn trust into a source of provocation.
• Expectations overturned: The chapter’s comic shock comes from subverting familiar romantic and heroic story patterns.

Key plot points and events

• Lin Bai deliberately frightens Luo Congwen with a fabricated horror story about the cultivation world, exploiting the young scholar’s dreams of becoming an immortal.
• A new Emotion System task appears: collect ten instances of negative emotions directed at Lin Bai for a spirit reward. Luo’s anger begins providing progress.
• Lin Bai claims Luo’s father hired him to dissuade Luo from neglecting his studies. He argues that cultivators are driven by greed and desire, and that ordinary people who seek immortality may meet horrific ends.
• Luo orders Lin Bai to leave, then offers money to make him go. Lin Bai secures 200 taels before departing, enough to fund his plans.
• Outside, Lin Bai learns that strange incidents have recently plagued Jiamao City: people killing chickens, jumping to their deaths, and assaulting women. Suspecting other transmigrators or system users may be responsible, he hurries to investigate.

Character developments

• Lin Bai grows bolder after the system’s rewards restore his energy and confidence. Though he initially intended to build a cautious relationship with Luo, success in provoking him and gaining money pushes Lin toward riskier behavior.
• Luo Congwen is revealed as earnest but stubbornly devoted to cultivation. Lin’s warnings unsettle him, yet he insists his Dao heart is firm; his frustration ultimately drives him to pay Lin to leave.

Significant themes

• Ambition versus reality: Lin challenges the romantic image of immortality, portraying cultivation as competitive and morally dangerous.
• Power and manipulation: He uses fear, fabricated authority, and emotional pressure to influence Luo and advance his own interests.
• The corrupting pull of reward: System incentives encourage Lin to take risks he would otherwise avoid.
• Uncertainty in a world of systems: The city’s bizarre events suggest Lin may not be the only person operating under extraordinary rules.

Character interactions

• Lin repeatedly addresses Luo as “Brother Luo,” despite Luo rejecting the familiarity, and uses supposed concern for his future to disguise his manipulation.
• Luo alternates between threatening Lin, dismissing him, and paying him to leave; Lin turns each angry reaction into system progress.
• A respectful guard fills Lin in on the city’s recent disturbances, prompting Lin to investigate whether other system users are involved.

Key plot points and events

• Lin Bai sees a chained young man accused of molestation and discovers a glowing player name—[Jade Cat]—above him. He then spots two more named players, [Lao Mi] and [Jing Mi], in the crowd.
• By listening to their private conversation, Lin Bai learns that beta players entered the world three days earlier. They believe it is a highly realistic, open-ended game modeled on the real world, with progress carrying over and no guides.
• Lin Bai realizes he may be a transmigrator trapped between player and NPC: he can recognize players and hear their private chat, but has no player interface or way to log out.
• He concludes that players’ rapid growth and freedom could make them a major threat. Rather than remain an ordinary, uninformed NPC, he decides to grow stronger—potentially becoming an unbeatable “boss.”
• To stay close to players and learn their plans, Lin Bai approaches Lao Mi and Jing Mi, claims his family taught him face-reading, and flatters them as people destined for greatness. He asks to follow Lao Mi and calls him “big brother.”
• Lao Mi accepts, hoping the apparent quest NPC might offer opportunities or make an impressive companion. Both men privately believe they have successfully gained something valuable.

Character developments

• Lin Bai shifts from confusion and anxiety to a pragmatic plan: use his unusual insight into players, attach himself to them, and grow powerful enough to survive.
• Lao Mi is opportunistic and confident, readily welcoming Lin Bai as a possible quest-giver, servant, or companion.
• Jing Mi is curious and amused, encouraging Lao Mi to hear Lin Bai out because he might be a special NPC.
• Jade Cat appears calm despite his public arrest; the players speculate that his imprisonment may be intentional, perhaps to investigate hidden opportunities.

Significant themes

• Player versus NPC perspective: Players treat the world as a game, while Lin Bai experiences it as a real, dangerous society.
• Power and survival: Players may begin vulnerable but can grow into forces capable of overwhelming ordinary people, prompting Lin Bai to pursue strength.
• Identity and uncertainty: Lin Bai cannot determine whether he belongs to the game, its world, or something in between.
• Mutual manipulation and mistaken assumptions: Lin Bai uses the players’ expectations to recruit them into his plan, while Lao Mi assumes Lin Bai may be useful to him.

Character interactions

• Lin Bai secretly listens as Lao Mi and Jing Mi discuss the game and mock his apparent eavesdropping.
• He then performs the role of a superstitious, eager NPC, flattering the two players and offering local assistance.
• Lao Mi accepts Lin Bai as his “brother,” while each privately believes he has outmaneuvered the other.

Plot points

• Lin Bai completes the system’s first mission by acknowledging [Lao Mi] as his big brother, earning one fortune point—though he notices no immediate effect.
• A new daily mission tells him to make his big brother famous. Lin Bai exploits the systems’ loose mission checks: he publicly accuses [Lao Mi] and [Jing Mi] of plotting a jailbreak and being accomplices of a sexual harasser.
• The crowd and constables pursue the two players. Lin Bai urges the chase along, then slips away. The Jade Cat, who had only wanted a brief prison visit, is left baffled by the supposed jailbreak.
• Alone, Lin Bai reflects on whether this world is a game, what death might mean for him, and whether his systems are part of the game or something external. Unable to answer, he decides his priority is simply to stay alive.
• The pursuers later report that the fugitives vanished around a corner. Lin Bai realizes they likely logged out and resolves to learn how players do so.

Character developments and interactions

• Lin Bai is increasingly calculating and mischievous, treating his new “big brother” as a means to test his systems rather than as someone to serve faithfully. He reasons that making [Lao Mi] notorious fulfills the fame mission.
• [Lao Mi] and [Jing Mi] initially accept Lin Bai’s brotherly overtures, but his accusations turn them into targets of the crowd. They flee despite recognizing that their situation looks incriminating.
• Lin Bai’s thoughts reveal growing anxiety about his uncertain status as a possible NPC, balanced by a practical determination to survive.
• The systems reward Lin Bai for acknowledging a big brother and track further goals: teaching that big brother a specialty and collecting negative emotions.

Significant themes

• Uncertainty and survival: Lin Bai cannot establish the rules of the world or what death would mean, so he chooses caution and continued life.
• Exploiting systems: He treats missions as loopholes to test, manipulate, and complete with minimal effort.
• Power and reputation: The chapter humorously twists the idea of making a big brother famous by making him infamous—and suggests players’ ability to log out can frustrate the authorities.

Key plot points

• Lin Bai realizes Jiamao City has too few players to make searching for them worthwhile. Since he needs to outpace the players and complete his system quests, he makes quest progress his priority.
• He buys a cheap, remote, dilapidated shop in Bronze Sparrow Alley, despite suspecting the Brokerage is hiding a serious problem with the property. He needs only a permanent base for the God of Cooking System’s restaurant quest, not a profitable business.
• Lin Bai hires craftsmen to renovate the shop and gives them deliberately bizarre specifications: an incomplete sign, damaged or oddly shaped tables, uneven furniture, chipped bowls, and mismatched chopsticks.
• His strange demands irritate and unsettle the craftsmen and clerk, generating the negative emotions he wants for his systems. He reaches the ten-instance reward threshold, and the system issues a reward; another incompleteness-related quest advances to 3/10.

Character developments

• Lin Bai becomes more focused and pragmatic, treating speed and system rewards as more important than conventional business sense. He accepts a risky bargain because the shop fulfills his immediate quest needs.
• He also learns to exploit people’s irritation: rather than trying to inspire positive feelings, he deliberately speaks and acts in ways that provoke negative emotions.
• The craftsmen remain professional but grow increasingly convinced that Lin Bai is irrational. Zhang Achun, in particular, tries to negotiate a sensible fee while protecting his workshop’s reputation.

Character interactions

• The Brokerage clerk pressures Lin Bai to buy the shop with exaggerated claims about its value. Lin Bai suspects a catch but purchases it anyway and asks the clerk to arrange repairs.
• The craftsmen silently pity Lin Bai, but he ignores their misgivings and confidently promises that his restaurant will become famous.
• Lin Bai’s oddly precise wage offers and unreasonable design instructions frustrate Zhang Achun, the blacksmith, and the clerk. Their reactions provide the negative emotions Lin Bai seeks.

Significant themes

• Pragmatism over appearances: Lin Bai cares less about location, quality, or profit than about whether the shop can serve his system objectives.
• Systems as a path to power: His urgency comes from the need to grow faster than the players in a world threatened by the “fourth calamity.”
• Manipulation and comic absurdity: Lin Bai turns others’ annoyance into a resource, while his bizarre restaurant plans create humor through the gap between his confidence and everyone else’s disbelief.

Chapter summary

While decorating his shop, Lin Bai is unaware that Lao Mi and Jing Mi have quietly logged back into the game. The two reflect on how an NPC unexpectedly framed them, forcing them to flee or risk arrest. They suspect the encounter may have been a quest, but Lao Mi is struck more deeply by how real his anger and fear felt—and by the NPC’s seemingly unscripted, philosophical remark. He even wonders aloud whether the game world might be real, though Jing Mi dismisses the idea.
The pair decide to find food and a way to earn money, but when they leave their hiding place, passersby recognize them as wanted bandits. They escape another pursuit by logging out, leaving Lao Mi frustrated and determined to find out why they keep being targeted. He also complains about a mysterious follower who promised to help him but whose name he never learned.
On the forums, Lao Mi reads two popular reviews of Immortal World: one praises its extraordinary realism, while another condemns its punishing systems, including limited logout options, lethal monsters, scarce money, and demanding job requirements. Players add their own complaints about failing to find work or being turned away from professions. Lao Mi is about to join in when he sees the developers’ response: “Before breaking the rules, you must first understand them and adapt to them. Only then can you create rules.”
The message changes his perspective. He realizes that he and the other players have barely learned how the world works, so they may be judging it too soon. Rather than demand that the game become another familiar grind, Lao Mi resolves to understand its systems and face its challenges.

Character developments and interactions

• Lao Mi shifts from anger and confusion toward renewed determination. He is especially troubled by how convincingly the game’s events affect him and begins to take its world seriously.
• Jing Mi is more pragmatic and skeptical, teasing Lao Mi about his follower and rejecting his speculation that the game may be real.
• Their partnership is marked by shared humor, frustration, and practical problem-solving, though Lao Mi’s reflections reveal a growing difference in how seriously he interprets the experience.

Significant themes

• Immersion and reality: The game’s sensory realism makes players feel genuine emotions and question the boundary between play and life.
• Learning before judgment: The developers’ reply becomes the chapter’s central principle: understand a system before trying to change it.
• Adaptation versus familiar expectations: The players must decide whether to treat the game as another conventional game or learn to live by its unfamiliar rules.

Key plot points and events

• [Jade Cat] retaliates against [Lao Mi] and [Jing Mi] by having them named on wanted notices after their prison escape. The authorities quickly brand them criminals, and other players begin hunting them.
• The two consider deleting their characters, but decide the wanted status may be part of a larger story quest involving the unusual NPC [Lao Mi] calls his “little brother.” They plan to find him within three days, disguising themselves as beggars to avoid recognition and save money.
• Lin Bai officially receives the deed to his new shop and begins renovations. Workers leave at dusk because the building is reputed to be haunted.
• Lin Bai learns that three years earlier a family died in a fire inside the shop. A Taoist confined their ghosts to the building, where they are expected to remain for ten years. Lin Bai is alarmed but reluctant to abandon a property bought with much of his savings.
• Lin Bai has completed the initial quest for his Flawed Creation System and received the incomplete Nine Suns Scripture. Practicing it manually would take decades, so he remains focused on quests.
• His current tasks include finishing the restaurant sign, finding his missing “little brother,” collecting a positive emotion for the Emotion System, and getting more than fifty people to appreciate imperfection for a reward of nearly five years’ worth of inner force.
• At the chapter’s end, Lin Bai decides the haunted shop may function like a game “instance.” Since ghosts should have health bars, he concludes they may be manageable.

Character developments and interactions

• [Lao Mi] responds to the wanted notices with optimism, interpreting hardship as a test that may lead to greater rewards. He takes charge of the disguise plan and tries to persuade [Jing Mi] not to give up.
• [Jing Mi] is frustrated by the unfair accusation and initially suggests logging out and asking other players for help. He ultimately commits to the risk, insisting that he and [Lao Mi] will face it together.
• Lin Bai is resourceful and increasingly willing to interpret dangerous circumstances through game logic. Though frightened of ghosts, he tries to turn the situation into a solvable challenge.
• Lin Bai’s systems push him toward conflicting social strategies: he has alienated people to collect negative emotions, but now must elicit a positive one.

Significant themes

• Hardship as opportunity: [Lao Mi] frames their criminal predicament as a test that may unlock a valuable quest.
• Game logic versus reality: The players treat an unfair arrest as quest progression, while Lin Bai applies video-game conventions to a genuinely frightening haunting.
• Risk, persistence, and investment: Both the players and Lin Bai choose to endure uncertain situations rather than abandon possible rewards or hard-won resources.
• Incomplete things and emotional balance: Lin Bai’s systems reward imperfection and negative emotions, but his new quests also demand positive connection.

• Key events: Lin Bai, terrified of the ghost that has taken over his shop, decides to use a player to test it rather than risk his own life. In a night market, he meets Long Xi, a newly arrived player being thrown out of a brothel. Lin Bai improvises a story about “Chosen Ones” and a haunted shop, presenting the ghost problem as a quest. Long Xi eagerly accepts and agrees to confront the ghost, though he briefly asks what the reward will be before claiming he was joking.
• Character developments: Lin Bai is frightened and self-interested, but resourceful: he exploits players’ enthusiasm for quests to find someone willing to face the danger. Long Xi is exuberant, impulsive, and convinced that players are fearless heroes. He seeks adventure and recognition, readily behaving outrageously to prove he is unusual.
• Character interactions: Lin Bai flatters and manipulates Long Xi by describing players as strange, fearless, and eager to help. Long Xi embraces the description, treating Lin Bai as a valuable story-giving NPC. Their exchange is comic but reveals how differently they understand the situation: Lin Bai sees a disposable test subject, while Long Xi sees the start of an exciting quest.
• Significant themes: The chapter uses humor to explore the clash between game logic and lived reality. Lin Bai treats the player’s life as expendable, while Long Xi treats danger as part of an entertaining adventure. It also highlights survival through improvisation and the gap between heroic self-image and actual ability: Long Xi confidently volunteers despite being a novice with no apparent skills or weapons.

Key plot points and events

• Lin Bai brings the player [Long Xi] to a remote, eerie shop occupied by Ghosts. Lin Bai hopes the player will investigate the threat while he watches from outside.
• A woman’s voice orders them to leave, followed by a man’s. [Long Xi] boldly challenges the Ghosts but is immediately hurled out of the shop.
• Lin Bai realizes players apparently don’t feel pain and envies their resilience. He flatters [Long Xi] as a “Chosen One,” hoping to learn more about the Ghosts.
• [Long Xi] decides the Ghosts are too strong and says he needs a better weapon. Lin Bai gives him a chipped kitchen knife, but he is thrown out again before he can make a move.
• [Long Xi] tries to leave, claiming he will return with a sword. Lin Bai pressures him by questioning whether he is truly a Chosen One and pointing out that he has learned nothing about the Ghosts.
• Tempted by the prospect of a rare boss, a first-kill reward, and a quest few players have found, [Long Xi] agrees to investigate the shop again.

Character developments

• Lin Bai is anxious about the Ghosts but shrewdly uses flattery, guilt, and pointed reasoning to keep [Long Xi] engaged. He also begins treating the game’s unusual tasks as part of everyday life.
• [Long Xi] starts out overconfident, then recognizes the Ghosts are far beyond his current ability. His desire for rewards and exclusivity eventually outweighs his caution.

Significant themes

• The chapter contrasts player expectations of a game with the world’s apparent reality: [Long Xi] assumes he can respawn and take risks, while Lin Bai sees him as a potentially useful ally.
• It plays with heroism and self-interest: [Long Xi] presents himself as a Chosen One but initially avoids danger, while Lin Bai manipulates that identity to secure his help.
• Information and preparation emerge as practical necessities; Lin Bai argues that [Long Xi] should at least observe the enemy before retreating.

Character interactions

• Lin Bai alternates between deference and emotional pressure, calling [Long Xi] a hero while accusing him of shirking responsibility.
• [Long Xi] tries to maintain face and exploit Lin Bai for equipment, but Lin Bai sees through his excuses and challenges him to follow through.
• The Ghosts remain unseen, communicating through hostile voices and forceful attacks that establish them as a serious threat.

Key plot points

• Lin Bai encourages the level-one player Long Xi to challenge the ghost in his shop, hoping to keep him invested in the quest and secure the instance’s first-clear reward.
• Long Xi is repeatedly hurled out of the shop and loses health. When he tries to negotiate, the ghost agrees to talk—then immediately throws him out again, angrily threatening to kill him if he returns.
• Lin Bai keeps urging Long Xi onward with increasingly grand motivational speeches. His sincere praise moves Long Xi enough to trigger a system reward: a charisma point and a side quest to inspire ten positive emotions.
• Realizing Lin Bai may recruit another player if he leaves, Long Xi switches tactics. He dramatically frames the fight as a matter of Chosen One honor, claims he may die, and asks Lin Bai to preserve the ghost for him until he can resurrect and return.
• Lin Bai recognizes the performance as a ploy and, exasperated, plays along by asking whether Long Xi can truly revive.

Character developments and interactions

• Long Xi shifts from frustration and reluctance to renewed determination after Lin Bai’s praise. He then becomes calculating, using a melodramatic act of bravery and self-sacrifice to keep the quest reserved for himself. He privately treats the whole effort as a way to secure the instance and improve NPC affinity.
• Lin Bai proves skilled at finding emotional leverage, though he is initially surprised that his inspirational talk earns a reward. He sincerely admires Long Xi’s apparent courage, then sees through the player’s overdone performance and responds with dry disbelief.
• The ghost is hostile and impatient. He recognizes that Lin Bai is pushing Long Xi toward danger, but his blunt warning only gives Long Xi an opportunity to perform more heroically.
• The central interaction is a comic contest of persuasion: Lin Bai motivates Long Xi, the ghost tries to deter him, and Long Xi ultimately turns emotional manipulation back on Lin Bai.

Significant themes

• Emotion as a game mechanic: Genuine praise generates positive feelings and tangible rewards, revealing how NPC interactions can affect progression.
• Performance and sincerity: Lin Bai’s words are heartfelt, while Long Xi’s later displays of valor are calculated—yet both rely on emotional impact.
• Player–NPC boundaries: Long Xi briefly forgets he is playing a game when moved by an NPC, while Lin Bai struggles to treat the player’s theatrical behavior seriously.
• Honor versus self-interest: Long Xi invokes noble ideals, but his real goal is to protect his claim to the instance and its rewards.

Key plot points

• Lin Bai’s player, Long Xi, deliberately provokes the male Ghost into killing him, believing his death will make the Ghost a Vengeful Ghost and strengthen Lin Bai’s position in the game. The Ghost kills him instantly.
• The Ghost family’s young daughter reveals that killing someone supposedly turns a Ghost into a Vengeful Ghost, according to a Daoist named Li. She blames Lin Bai for bringing about her father’s fate.
• Lin Bai confirms that the family cannot cross the shop’s boundary, then questions them about their situation. He suspects the Daoist misled them and argues that becoming a Vengeful Ghost may depend on prolonged malice and mental deterioration, not killing alone.
• Using the shop deed and the damage the haunting has caused the surrounding community, Lin Bai threatens to send people to attack the family repeatedly until they are destroyed or driven mad.
• The female Ghost protests that they have never harmed anyone and that the Daoist had offered them a way to survive. Lin Bai counters that their presence has displaced residents and caused lasting losses. He concludes that the Daoist who trapped them may not have been virtuous either.

Character developments

• Lin Bai shifts from cautious observer to calculating negotiator. He uses Long Xi’s death to gather information, then applies psychological pressure and practical arguments to force the Ghost family to engage with him.
• Long Xi proves obsessively committed to his plan, knowingly courting death for the sake of game progress.
• The male Ghost is initially restrained by his family but loses control after Long Xi’s provocations. His killing of Long Xi leaves him convinced he has become a Vengeful Ghost.
• The young Ghost daughter is emotional and quick to blame Lin Bai, but her fear grows when he outlines his plan to torment the family.
• The female Ghost tries to protect her husband and daughter, then challenges Lin Bai’s conscience and raises the family’s claim that they were given a way to survive.

Significant themes

• Manipulation and moral compromise: Long Xi treats his own death as a tactic, while Lin Bai uses threats and other people’s potential deaths as leverage.
• Unreliable beliefs and information: The Ghosts’ understanding of Vengeful Ghosts comes from the Daoist, whose motives Lin Bai begins to question.
• Responsibility beyond direct violence: Lin Bai argues that the family’s haunting has harmed people indirectly by making the neighborhood unlivable, even if they have not attacked anyone.
• The ambiguity of good and evil: Lin Bai presents himself as defending human society, but his proposed methods are cruel; the Ghosts’ innocence is also complicated by the damage their presence has caused.

Key plot points and events

• Lin Bai confronts three Ghosts trapped inside his shop by a spell cast by an old Taoist. The barrier keeps them from reaching him, and he reflects that the supernatural world—and the Players’ potential power—will make his future dangerous.
• The Ghosts defend the Taoist as their benefactor. Lin Bai questions their faith, arguing that if the Taoist truly meant to help them cultivate, he would have taught them or freed them rather than leave them imprisoned for years.
• Lin Bai suspects the Taoist has a hidden motive: the shop survived a fire untouched, and the Ghosts may be valuable to him. He imagines possible uses for them, such as components for a magical artifact or sources of yin energy.
• His accusations shake the Ghosts’ belief in the Taoist. They begin to lose control and transform into Vengeful Ghosts, but Lin Bai calms them by urging them to take charge of their own fate and consider seeking the truth—or revenge.
• The male Ghost asks how they could get revenge. Lin Bai proposes an alliance, claiming that cleverness can overcome strength and that they have seven years to prepare before the Taoist returns. He presents himself as a villain capable of dealing with another villain.

Character developments and interactions

• Lin Bai shows himself to be a strategic persuader, using suspicion, pointed questions, and emotional appeals to redirect the Ghosts. He is wary of the Taoist’s power but confident in his own ability to manipulate situations. His jokey references to the system and “negative emotions” contrast with the danger of the moment.
• The three Ghosts shift from fiercely loyal defenders of the Taoist to frightened, uncertain figures. Their faith collapses under Lin Bai’s arguments; the parents’ concern for their daughter helps steady them, and the father becomes open to cooperation.
• Lin Bai and the Ghosts move from confrontation to a tentative alliance. He does not promise to save them outright, but offers them hope, a plan, and a way to act rather than remain passive.

Significant themes

• Trust and manipulation: Lin Bai challenges the Ghosts’ unquestioning loyalty, while using his own persuasive skills to influence them.
• Agency and hope: The Ghosts are urged to stop letting others determine their fate and to find reasons to keep going.
• Power versus intelligence: Lin Bai argues that strength is not the only advantage; planning and understanding a person’s weaknesses may defeat even a powerful opponent.
• Uncertainty and hidden motives: The Taoist’s apparent kindness may conceal self-interest, leaving the Ghosts—and Lin Bai—to question what is really happening.

Key plot points and events

• Lin Bai calms the three Ghosts by framing them as allies against the returning Taoist, earning their trust and triggering a reward for eliciting positive emotions.
• He proposes that the Ghost family coexist with his restaurant: he will use the place by day, while they appear at night. He encourages them to reconnect with the outside world, especially for Song Ling’s sake.
• Song Jinnan worries that killing [Long Xi] will turn him into a vengeful ghost. Lin Bai explains that [Long Xi] is one of the special “Chosen Ones,” who can respawn; when they inspect the scene, [Long Xi]’s body has vanished, leaving his knife and coins behind.
• Lin Bai takes the dropped items and warns the Ghosts not to kill ordinary people. He also gives them a plan for handling [Long Xi] if he returns: avoid confronting him, move between floors, and refuse to speak to him.
• Exhausted, Lin Bai goes to sleep. Meanwhile, [Long Xi] respawns and discovers that his belongings are gone. With no money and hunger threatening his ability to continue, he seeks advice online.
• After dismissing impractical suggestions, [Long Xi] buys a guide explaining how to exploit respawning: repeatedly die while hiding his clothes, collect the extra beginner shirts, and pawn them for money.

Character developments and interactions

• Lin Bai shows himself to be a persuasive, pragmatic schemer. He reassures the Ghosts while carefully limiting the danger they pose, and recognizes that player deaths could become a source of income.
• Song Jinnan is remorseful and afraid of becoming a vengeful spirit. He accepts Lin Bai’s explanation and advice, though he remains wary of [Long Xi].
• Wu Xiuxiu is cautious about living alongside humans and asks what to do if [Long Xi] returns.
• Song Ling trusts Lin Bai and worries that [Long Xi] might become a ghost too. Her question exposes a risk Lin Bai avoids addressing directly.
• [Long Xi] shifts from threatening the Ghosts to struggling with the consequences of his first death. His resourcefulness returns when he finds a way to exploit the respawn system.

Significant themes

• Manipulation and uneasy cooperation: Lin Bai gains the Ghosts’ trust by presenting himself as an ally, while quietly steering their behavior.
• Rules and loopholes: The game’s death penalties create real hardship, but players can also find ways to exploit its mechanics.
• Fear of an unfamiliar world: The Ghosts’ isolation has left them anxious about outsiders and the changes around them.
• Comedic contrast: Lin Bai’s practical, self-serving schemes sit alongside the Ghosts’ sincere worries and [Long Xi]’s dramatic reactions.

Key plot points and events

• Long Xi realizes an early-game money-making method may soon become popular, so he kills his character and sets out to exploit it.
• At the night market, Lao Mi and Jing Mi pose as destitute siblings and beg for coins while also hoping to encounter their “little bro,” Lin Bai.
• Jing Mi finds a forum guide explaining that players can unlock professions by using real-world skills and behaving as though they truly belong in the game world. A metallurgy expert has become a blacksmith’s apprentice.
• Lao Mi discovers that earning thirty copper coins through begging has unlocked the Beggar profession. Jing Mi receives no profession, and points out that the pair’s red-name Wanted status may prevent them from pursuing other careers.
• Lao Mi agrees to search for Lin Bai for half a day more. If they fail, he and Jing Mi will turn themselves in and try to have the Wanted Order withdrawn—or restart their characters.
• The next morning, Lin Bai receives system rewards because Lao Mi has gained a profession and because Lin Bai is tasked with strengthening his brother’s resolve. Lin Bai is bewildered and appalled that Lao Mi became a beggar, and considers forcing him to delete his character if he will not stick to the path.

Character developments

• Lao Mi is resourceful and shameless about making money, but his pride makes him eager to see the Beggar profession as a special achievement. His excitement fades when Jing Mi reminds him that his Wanted status may limit his options.
• Jing Mi is more cautious and strategic. He researches the game, understands the competitive pressure, and urges Lao Mi to weigh the cost of continuing their search.
• Lin Bai benefits from his brother’s actions without doing the work himself, but his system-driven role as Lao Mi’s “little brother” frustrates him. He is willing to manipulate or replace Lao Mi to secure a more promising career path.

Significant themes

• Adaptability in a new world: The game rewards players for treating it like real life rather than relying only on conventional leveling and combat.
• Ambition versus practicality: Lao Mi’s unexpected profession delights him, while Jing Mi focuses on the strategic disadvantages of their criminal status and the risk of falling behind.
• The absurdity of the system: Lin Bai’s quest rewards and career expectations turn ordinary begging into a “specialty” and make family loyalty feel like a game mechanic.
• Identity and opportunity: Players’ choices—including seemingly humble ones—can shape their professions and standing in the world.

Character interactions

• Lao Mi and Jing Mi work together at the night market, but differ over whether begging is merely a money-making tactic or a worthwhile career.
• Jing Mi punctures Lao Mi’s excitement by reminding him that their Wanted status could block future opportunities.
• Lin Bai reacts to Lao Mi’s new profession with disbelief and privately considers coercing him into restarting, revealing the tension between their supposed brotherly bond and Lin Bai’s self-serving quest goals.

Key plot points and events

• Lin Bai decides that his systems, relationships, and emotions are tools for improving his life—not obligations to serve. He is willing to abandon anything that costs more than it returns, including his big brother’s role in a system quest.
• With a few new Fortune points from his brother finding a profession, and yesterday’s successful Haunted House venture behind him, Lin Bai feels confident that luck is on his side.
• He prioritizes the Flawed Creation System’s inner-force quest and the Emotion System’s positive-emotion quest. Spirit is especially valuable for stamina and keeping pace with the players, while inner force may help protect him from the trouble caused by collecting negative emotions.
• At the inn, Lin Bai tips waiter Liu Chun and then skillfully praises his work, diligence, and imagined potential as an innkeeper. The money and encouragement make Liu Chun genuinely happy and confident.
• Liu Chun provides Lin Bai with enough positive emotion to bring his quest to 9/10. Lin Bai recognizes that spending money and offering sincere-seeming attention can be an efficient way to earn quest progress.
• Refreshed after washing, Lin Bai heads out intending to act as an “angel” today, in contrast to his devilish negative-emotion collecting the day before.

Character developments

• Lin Bai becomes more pragmatic and self-directed: survival and personal growth come before loyalty to any system quest. He also shows that he can turn charm, observation, and money into practical tools.
• Liu Chun shifts from a waiter merely going through the motions to someone who feels recognized, hopeful, and motivated to work toward a future of his own.

Significant themes

• Survival over obligation: quests exist to improve Lin Bai’s life, not the other way around.
• Pragmatism and optimization: Lin Bai weighs rewards, risks, and effort, choosing the most efficient route to growth.
• Emotion as a resource—and recognition as power: Lin Bai converts praise and tips into system rewards, while Liu Chun receives real encouragement in return.
• Isolation and uncertainty: Lin Bai’s position as both outsider to the world and NPC to the players leaves him feeling fundamentally alone and vulnerable.

Character interactions

• Lin Bai uses a tip to make Liu Chun happy, then builds on the waiter’s improved mood with detailed praise and confidence in his future.
• Their exchange benefits both: Liu Chun gains money, recognition, and ambition; Lin Bai gains positive-emotion points and advances his quest.
• Lin Bai lets Liu Chun return to work, promising further tips and reinforcing their mutually useful relationship.

Plot points and events

• Lin Bai reflects on how emotional manipulation depends on choosing the right targets. After giving a beggar money, he questions him about local beggars and discovers the man is alert, wary, and unexpectedly prosperous.
• Lin Bai’s interaction earns Li Ergou a moment of relief, completing the system’s first positive-emotion task. Lin Bai gains three points of presence and chooses to focus on negative emotions. The system plants a negative-emotion tree: collecting enough negative emotions will let him water it, eventually raising his mental power and unlocking the positive-emotion tree.
• Lin Bai uses his newly heightened presence to convince Li Ergou that he is an official investigator. He tells the beggar about the wanted bandits who tried to break someone out of prison and directs the guild to find them and claim the credit. The bandits include Lin Bai’s “Big Brother,” Lao Mi, who is in danger of being trapped in government custody.
• Lin Bai visits the carpenter’s shop, where he overhears Carpenter Zhang’s sons discussing how they have delayed his order because they think he is foolish and the property he bought is haunted. Lin Bai confronts them and claims the ghosts—Song Jinnan, Wu Xiuxiu, and Song Ling—have agreed to let him open a business there.
• Terrified, Carpenter Zhang and his sons agree to finish the shop’s sign and furniture by the next morning. Lin Bai warns them to keep the ghosts’ existence secret, then heads off to hurry the blacksmith along.

Character developments and interactions

• Lin Bai shows increasing confidence in exploiting both people’s fears and their assumptions. Though irritated by the system’s gradual rewards, he adapts quickly, using his new presence to pose as an investigator and his knowledge of the ghosts to intimidate the carpenters.
• Li Ergou shifts from guarded suspicion to complete belief in Lin Bai’s authority, and eagerly agrees to help locate the wanted men. His sharp instincts and practical self-interest make him more than a gullible beggar.
• Carpenter Zhang and his sons move from deceitful stalling to panic and compliance once Lin Bai demonstrates that he knows about the haunted property and its former occupants.
• Lin Bai’s thoughts about Lao Mi show concern mixed with cynical amusement: he wonders whether his brother can endure imprisonment without deleting his character.

Significant themes

• Emotional manipulation as a learned skill: Lin Bai treats emotions as resources, choosing targets and tactics strategically.
• Power through perception: The system’s “presence” reward changes how others see Lin Bai, making his authority persuasive even without proof.
• Cunning and self-interest: Beggars and craftsmen alike are shrewd, challenging Lin Bai’s assumption that the world behaves like a simple game.
• Fear as leverage: Lin Bai turns the carpenters’ belief in ghosts into pressure to get his work done.
• Progress and frustration: The system offers rewards in incremental stages, while Lin Bai wants immediate results and must keep finding ways to advance his plans.

Key plot points and events

• Lin Bai forces the blacksmith to finish his order by using the ghosts to frighten and pressure him, just as he did with the carpenter. Their resentment boosts Lin Bai’s negative-emotion points and advances his stalled system progress.
• At the blacksmith shop, Lin Bai meets player Deng Libuduo, but deliberately avoids engaging him. Lin Bai recognizes that his success so far depends on borrowing other people’s power, leaving him vulnerable if any alliance or scheme collapses. He decides to keep a low profile until he can defend himself.
• After hearing the blacksmith describe Lin Bai and his haunted shop, Deng Libuduo becomes convinced Lin Bai is a powerful, mysterious NPC who may teach him supernatural abilities. He arranges to accompany the blacksmith on a delivery to Lin Bai’s shop.
• Long Xi, now flush with money from the pawnshop, buys a sword and goes looking for Lin Bai. Finding the shop empty and his lost belongings gone, he vows to recover them and grow strong enough to challenge Lin Bai.
• Lao Mi and Jing Mi search for Lin Bai so they can preserve their remaining story quest. They spot him, but before they can approach, the Beggar Gang mistakes Lao Mi for a notorious bandit and beats and captures him to claim a Government Office reward.

Character developments and interactions

• Lin Bai is pleased by the craftsmen’s frustration but increasingly aware that his influence is precarious. His reliance on the ghosts, players, and powerful institutions gives him gains without real strength of his own, and he feels time is running out.
• Deng Libuduo sees an opportunity in Lin Bai’s reputation and eagerly tries to get closer to him, viewing the game’s everyday details as clues to hidden storylines.
• Long Xi shifts from pursuing a relationship with Lin Bai to prioritizing strength and a future chance to defeat him.
• Lao Mi and Jing Mi remain determined to find Lin Bai, but their quest is derailed by the Beggar Gang’s mistaken arrest. Lao Mi’s frustration peaks as he realizes being dragged to the Government Office is very different from going there voluntarily.
• The blacksmith vents his anger at Lin Bai while mentoring Deng, stressing patience and craft. Deng, however, secretly plans to progress through his profession far faster than his master expects.

Significant themes

• Borrowed power and vulnerability: Lin Bai’s influence comes from manipulating relationships and institutions, but borrowed strength may disappear—or turn against him.
• Progress and competition: Players pursue experience, professions, quests, and chances to defeat powerful opponents, creating pressure to advance quickly.
• Misreading and unintended consequences: Deng mistakes Lin Bai’s schemes for signs of hidden mastery, while the Beggar Gang mistakes Lao Mi for a criminal.
• Resentment as a resource: Lin Bai deliberately exploits negative emotions to fuel his system, treating others’ suffering as a path to progress.

Chapter Summary

Key plot points and events

• Lin Bai witnesses Lao Mi and his companion, disguised as beggars, being abducted by a coordinated group of beggars. He chooses not to intervene, reasoning that an ordinary NPC would not recognize them.
• The beggars’ precise teamwork deepens Lin Bai’s suspicion that the world may be real rather than computer-generated. Yet the players’ presence—and the authorities’ lack of response—makes the truth difficult to determine. He decides to focus on securing his own position instead of solving the mystery.
• Lin Bai surveys Jiamao City, learning that its poorer southern district contains three prominent martial arts schools, each tied to powerful local interests. Players are flocking to them to learn combat skills and pursue different play styles.
• While listening in, Lin Bai hears four players—Bitter Melon, Terminal Laziness, Madman, and No Compromise—discuss enrollment fees. Terminal Laziness proposes exploiting character deletion to repeatedly reclaim starting money. The others agree, despite the risk of being banned, and decide to form an alliance.
• Lin Bai is horrified by how far players will go to gain an advantage. Though he had thought the game was too difficult, he now fears that, as an NPC, he may be vulnerable to the players’ schemes.

Character developments

• Lin Bai remains cautious and observant. He sets aside his questions about the world’s nature, prioritizing survival, and begins treating players as potential threats.
• Terminal Laziness shows practical, exploitative ingenuity by devising a loophole to raise money.
• Madman, Bitter Melon, and No Compromise reveal their willingness to take risks and bend the rules. No Compromise also emerges as an organizer, proposing that the group work together.

Significant themes

• Reality versus simulation: The beggars’ sophisticated coordination makes the world feel convincingly real, while the players and game-like systems suggest otherwise.
• Survival and self-interest: Lin Bai chooses not to intervene and focuses on building his own security.
• Player behavior and exploitation: The players treat hardship as part of the challenge, but also exploit loopholes and cooperate to get ahead.
• Unequal power and social structure: Jiamao City’s districts, martial arts schools, and their connections to gangs, wealthy families, and the military reveal a layered society.

Character interactions

• Lin Bai watches Lao Mi’s abduction from a distance and later listens discreetly to players discussing their plans.
• The four players debate exploiting the character-deletion system, weigh the possibility of a ban, then agree to proceed and form an alliance.
• Lin Bai’s silent observation contrasts with the players’ open scheming, reinforcing his growing wariness of them.

Plot points and events

• Lin Bai considers exploiting players by helping the Mo Family Sword Hall recruit students, but decides to wait. He wants the players—and his opportunities to profit from them—to mature, and prefers not to draw the locals’ attention too early.
• At the inn, he deliberately calls the waiter Liu Chun by the wrong name again, earning a point of disappointment. Feeling a little guilty, he gives Liu Chun money and reframes the mistake as advice about judging people and staying resilient.
• Lin Bai’s restaurant opens. Its furniture and equipment are newly made but conspicuously crooked, mismatched, or broken-looking, and even the menu and couplet contain oddities. The craftsmen and player Deng Libuduo help install everything.
• The God of Cooking System rewards Lin Bai for owning a restaurant, then assigns a mission to sell his first dish. Lin Bai has no interest in relying on the system’s cooking mission, but discovers he can materialize withdrawn silver directly into his hand.
• Seeing the silver, the carpenter and blacksmith assume Lin Bai intends to pay them. Instead, Lin Bai angrily points out the poor workmanship and refuses to settle the bill, arguing that they deserve no payment after trying to exploit him.

Character developments and interactions

• Lin Bai remains calculating and self-interested, but sees himself as a “good man” who will not bully the vulnerable. He is gentler with Liu Chun than with the craftsmen, whom he believes previously conspired to cheat him. His systems and the silver’s sudden appearance also give him new ideas for using money as a weapon.
• Liu Chun is eager to serve Lin Bai and readily accepts his supposed life lesson, revealing his trusting, impressionable nature.
• The carpenter and blacksmith are anxious around Lin Bai, whom they now regard as dangerous because of his dealings with Ghosts. Their relief at seeing the silver turns to anger when he refuses to pay.
• Deng Libuduo watches Lin Bai closely and interprets the bizarre restaurant setup as evidence that Lin Bai is an extraordinary figure.

Significant themes

• Exploitation and self-preservation: Lin Bai delays exploiting players, but does not hesitate to confront people he believes have tried to cheat him.
• Goodness versus self-interest: Lin Bai’s claim to be kind is selective; he treats the vulnerable gently while using harshness—and emotional manipulation—against those he considers guilty.
• Power and opportunity: Lin Bai sees systems, money, players, and even other people’s emotions as resources to cultivate or exploit.

Plot and events

• As Lin Bai prepares to open his restaurant, blacksmith Zhang warns him that being an outsider has risks. Lin Bai dismisses the warning.
• Player Deng Libuduo quits Zhang’s forge, accusing the blacksmith of maliciously cursing Lin Bai. Lin Bai hires him on deliberately punishing terms: no wages, a steep room fee, and only a modest food discount. Deng accepts, hoping Lin Bai is an unusual, powerful NPC.
• The carpenter and blacksmith stay to watch the restaurant’s opening, apparently giving up on getting paid.
• Lin Bai’s strange sign and awkward decor repeatedly trigger his flawed-creation system. Food suppliers bring in ready-made dishes, and Lin Bai offers each a discount—prompting Deng’s resentment when he realizes suppliers receive the same discount as employees.
• A lion-dance troupe and its crowd bring the total number of people who have experienced the restaurant’s “flawedness” to fifty. Lin Bai completes a quest and gains 4.9 years of inner force. A new quest offers an incomplete Dragon-Subduing Ten-Stroke Palm for reaching three hundred people.
• Determined to attract a larger crowd, Lin Bai asks Deng to sing an absurd advertising jingle outside. Deng agrees after Lin Bai hints that he might eventually get free meals.

Character developments and interactions

• Lin Bai is entrepreneurial but calculating: he turns the restaurant’s defects into a source of power and treats employees and suppliers with self-serving pragmatism. His new martial strength makes him eager to pursue greater rewards openly.
• Deng Libuduo breaks with his blacksmith master and attaches himself to Lin Bai, believing Lin Bai may be a special NPC. He remains compliant despite unfair conditions, rationalizing each indignity as a worthwhile investment in his game character.
• Blacksmith Zhang moves from warning Lin Bai to angrily confronting Deng, then watches Lin Bai’s exploitative hiring with satisfaction.
• The carpenter, blacksmith, and suppliers serve as an audience to the bizarre opening, reacting with disbelief or discomfort. The suppliers’ discounts also make Deng feel undervalued.

Significant themes

• Flaws turned into opportunity: The restaurant’s awkward appearance embarrasses visitors but advances Lin Bai’s quest and power.
• Power and exploitation: Lin Bai gains advantages while imposing harsh terms, and Deng accepts them because he expects future rewards.
• Absurdity and misunderstanding: NPCs and players struggle to make sense of one another, while the restaurant’s chaotic opening becomes entertainment for the crowd.