Chapter Summaries

Dr. Liangliang discovered that his dragon form could not fly in the Dream World, while Ke Meng considered whether to introduce supernatural powers for its growing population of strange creatures. On Orange Star, Liu Siting persuaded the research institute to let the isolated Cthulhu Followers use monitored computers for recreation.

• Dr. Liangliang became a white dragon in the Dream World but found he could only roll and slither, while Orange Star players mistook him for a snake.
• A Pterosaur flew overhead, showing Dr. Liangliang that some creatures in the Dream World could fly.
• Ke Meng observed dinosaur players and bizarre Xenomorphs and decided not to introduce a supernatural power system yet.
• Liu Siting asked the research institute director to let the isolated Cthulhu Followers play computer games instead of virtual games.
• The director approved Liu Siting's request, and the eight patients received sealed computers monitored by the research institute.

Orange Star’s researchers suspected Liu Siting and the other seven were seeking Cthulhu through an ancient computer game, and debated whether to stop them from playing its sacrifice quest. They let the group continue under surveillance, hoping to learn whether a ritual without spacetime stone powder could affect Orange Star.

• Researchers linked drawings made by people who went insane in the dream world to Cthulhu and ordered the artificial intelligence to search ancient games for related information.
• The artificial intelligence found games with sacrifice plotlines, and Orange Star’s officials spotted Liu Siting and the other seven playing a puzzle game with such a quest.
• Researchers argued over whether to stop the group, but the higher-ups allowed them to continue and sent psychologists to question them.
• Liu Siting and her companions denied having any plan and resumed playing, while analysts suspected the Evil God had influenced their awareness of the investigation.
• Researchers noted that the game contained no spacetime stone powder and that ordinary players had triggered no effect, but they watched to see what would happen when the believers reached the sacrifice.

Liu Siting and the other seven detectives rescued children from a ritual site in a game, then tried to recreate a summoning circle but lacked spacetime stone powder. Liu Siting devised a new plan by telling a rescued girl a nightmare story, leaving the Orange Star analysts unsure whether she could send the child into the Nightmare World.

• Liu Siting and the other seven detectives investigated the missing girl and found her shoe and a trail leading to a ritual site.
• The eight detectives charged the Evil Cultists, subdued them, and rescued the children.
• Liu Siting and the other seven drew a Magic Circle with blood, but could not complete the summoning without spacetime stone powder.
• Liu Siting brought the little girl home and told her a frightening bedtime story about a fisherman swallowed by a giant fish.
• The Orange Star analysts realized Liu Siting might be trying to send the little girl into the Nightmare World.

Liu Siting told a computer-game girl stories about the Dream World until the girl entered it, while the Research Institute allowed the experiment to proceed with only one NPC. The girl appeared beside a seaside cliff, where Clementine rescued her after she fell into the sea and began helping her.

• Liu Siting continued telling the little girl about the Dream World's history while the Research Institute let her test whether an NPC could enter the dream.
• The little girl fell asleep and appeared beside a seaside cliff, confused and unable to remember who she was.
• Clementine arrived as a Fishman, caught the girl when she stumbled off the cliff, and rescued her from the sea.
• Clementine apologized, gave the girl her Orange Star address, and started to leave before turning back to help the shivering girl dry her clothes.

Clementine looked after a frightened little girl who had no memories or name, then went swimming in the ocean as a fish-person. She returned to find the girl asleep in the dream world.

• Clementine explained the dream world to the little girl and learned that she could not remember her name or her past.
• The little girl hugged Clementine and pleaded with her to come back when Clementine set off to swim.
• Clementine explored the clear shallows and coral reefs, then turned back after deep-water pressure made her uncomfortable.
• Clementine returned to the seaside cave and discovered that the little girl was sleeping.

Clementine tried to fall asleep in the Dream World and learned that Little Peach dreamed of a deserted village where children had gone missing. Ke Meng traced the girl’s origins through Synesthesia but found that an inexplicable force blocked him from learning the truth.

• Clementine failed to fall asleep despite her exhaustion and asked the waking Little Peach about her dream.
• Little Peach described a nightmare about her missing village and said her name was Little Peach.
• Little Peach recounted how eight detectives had come to investigate missing children before strange noises drew her outside at night.
• Ke Meng used Synesthesia to observe Little Peach and discovered links to Dream Propagation and a player worshipper.
• Ke Meng sensed that Little Peach came from a distant world and encountered a force that prevented him from probing further.

Liu Siting and Orange Star's officials discovered that the little girl had awakened despite the game's timeline being frozen. As the girl recalled a strange dream and the village's horrors, the other players found they could no longer enter Liu Siting's game.

• Orange Star's officials kept Liu Siting's character in the girl's room to freeze the game's timeline while Liu Siting and seven other followers played a separate detective game.
• After two hours, the little girl woke and asked who Liu Siting was, breaking the game's programmed timeline.
• Liu Siting returned, introduced herself, and watched the girl leave her room and call her Sister Siting.
• The girl could not remember Liu Siting's dream but recalled seeing a strange big sister and a blue ocean.
• The authorities planned to test whether the girl was anomalous by repeating the Kobold confinement experiment, while Liu Siting accompanied her around the village.
• The seven other players could not enter the girl's room, and Liu Siting concluded that they were now in two separate games.

After investigating the aftermath of a Shadow Stream sacrifice, Ke Meng searched the city for traces left by its members. He realized he might be able to use Synesthesia and his connection to the dead to find them more efficiently.

• Orange Star People concluded that electronic data able to dream and mutate could put artificial intelligences across the globe at risk.
• Ke Meng woke from a dream about the thirsty little girl and considered changing the dream world's weather rules.
• Ke Meng called Captain Luo, who directed him to Director Lei for updates on the investigation.
• Director Lei told Ke Meng that two men had lost their shadows and suggested searching the city for Shadow Stream traces with his Clairvoyance Glasses.
• Ke Meng went outside, saw holy light covering the streets, and began searching for shadow stains.
• Ke Meng realized he could use Synesthesia and his connection to the dead from the Bone Whistle to look for the traces.

Ke Meng used the Bone Whistle to trace the Shadow Stream members and reviewed the Diligent Printer at the Investigation Bureau, discovering that it could make functional paper from local trees. He reported the printer’s hidden capability to Director Lei, then tested the Bone Whistle on a Cadaver.

• Ke Meng sensed a faint connection from the Bone Whistle and saw a dark bedroom, then described the scene to Director Lei, who sent an artist to recreate it for specialists.
• Ke Meng drove to the Investigation Bureau and filmed a review showing that the printer produced about 28,800 sheets of white paper per day without ink or charging.
• Ke Meng used Big-Faced Cat to learn that the Diligent Printer randomly sourced local woods and could produce paper with different functions from strange trees.
• Ke Meng reported the printer’s hidden function to Director Lei, who began a survey of Whale City’s trees to assess the risk of the printer depleting them.
• Ke Meng tested the Bone Whistle on a Cadaver, which awoke in the formalin after he blew it, while the tester detected no effect on his own energy.

Ke Meng investigated the disappearance of 306 city trees, suspected it was caused by the anomalous printer, and released a video reviewing the device. The review was approved and quickly drew viewers, while the meaning of a Shadow Stream sacrificial pattern remained unknown.

• Ke Meng found Chen Momo with a crowd after the tree outside the convenience store vanished, and the Investigation Bureau advised citizens to leave the area.
• Ke Meng connected the printer footage to the missing trees, edited a review, and watched police investigate the empty spot outside his building.
• Ke Meng used the Shadow-Grasping Hand to put Mi Jingyun's shadow into an ant and asked her about the Shadow Stream pattern; she wrote, "Cannot be told."
• Ke Meng uploaded his printer review, which passed approval immediately, and tagged everyone in his group.
• Viewers watched Ke Meng unbox the printer as it continuously printed paper, and debated whether the footage was real.

Ke Meng reviewed a printer that kept working without electricity, then used Synesthesia as Great Cthulhu to investigate the Three-Curve Meteor Pattern and observed Clementine caring for Little Peach in the dream. Little Peach’s account of a backward village led Ke Meng to suspect her dream had originated somewhere other than Orange Star.

• Ke Meng posted a printer review that suggested it no longer needed electricity, while withholding its secret properties from viewers.
• Ke Meng saw his follower count rise to 1.5 million and prepared for bed, intending to investigate the Shadow Stream pattern in his dream.
• As Great Cthulhu, Ke Meng glimpsed two men drawing the Three-Curve Meteor Pattern in a sealed room but gained little further information.
• Ke Meng observed Clementine feeding Little Peach at a camp and learned that Little Peach seemed unable to wake from the dream.
• Ke Meng learned that Little Peach had dreamed of a backward village, a detective, and children being sacrificed, and concluded that she may have entered the dream through a player from elsewhere.

Ke Meng failed to reach Little Peach’s dream directly, but his brief gaze formed a powerful connection with her. Near the end of his sleep, he received an offering from the Sand Sculpture People and awoke to find their trembling bird—and its ominous bell—in his room.

• Ke Meng tried to invade Little Peach’s dream directly, but an unknown force stopped his Synesthesia, so he entered the joint dream instead and frightened her with a fleeting gaze.
• Little Peach and Clementine woke trembling, and Little Peach recovered after a few hours; Ke Meng expected to connect with her dreams more easily in the future.
• Ke Meng heard new believers offering him a trembling white-feathered sand sculpture bird carrying a bell, while the Sand Sculpture People prayed for his awakening and asked for no reward.
• Ke Meng withdrew from the offering and used Synesthesia to wake himself, finding the sand sculpture bird trembling on his floor as its bell chimes intensified his sense of danger.
• Tangyuan bristled and prepared to attack the bird while Ke Meng sensed that it feared being eaten by the evil god.

Ke Meng identified the bell causing the sand eagle’s sense of danger and tried to calm the terrified bird. He used the Nameless Salted Fish to stop its trembling, leaving its training to continue.

• Ke Meng learned that the Ding-Ding Bell created a growing sense of danger and had Tangyuan take it from the sand eagle.
• Ke Meng put the bell away, then had Tangyuan force the sand eagle to open its eyes and face him.
• The sand eagle mistook Ke Meng for an Evil God and trembled, shedding sand as Ke Meng tried to reassure it.
• Ke Meng had Tangyuan bring the Nameless Salted Fish to the sand eagle, and seeing its reflection on the fish finally stopped its trembling.

After his printer review met the task requirement, Ke Meng gained 80 points of resistance and tested his new mental and physical defenses. He found that the Nameless Salted Fish could still affect him, but he could move under its influence, and the chapter ended with his review tasks requiring more viewers and offering larger rewards.

• Ke Meng tested Big-Faced Cat with sand shed by the sand eagle and found that the cat would not eat it, then he examined the Ding-Ding Bell's concealed danger signal.
• Ke Meng claimed the printer review task reward after the video reached two million views, raising his resistance to 80 points.
• Ke Meng looked at the Nameless Salted Fish and managed to take a step despite its mental interference, then turned away to ease the pressure.
• Ke Meng tested his physical resistance with a fruit knife and found that he could not pierce or cut his skin using ordinary strength.
• Ke Meng checked his task list and saw that review tasks now required two million viewers, difficult tasks offered 50 resistance points, and no unknown-difficulty task was available.

Ke Meng brought Sand Sculpture, the Nameless Salted Fish, and the Ding-Ding Bell to the Investigation Bureau for testing. After Sand Sculpture learned Koi Language and demonstrated supernatural strength, Ke Meng took the items home, where Sand Sculpture continued to fear the madness of the world.

• Ke Meng brought Sand Sculpture and the Nameless Salted Fish to the Investigation Bureau, where testers measured the Ding-Ding Bell and collected Sand Sculpture's blood and shed sand for analysis.
• Sand Sculpture repeatedly fainted from fear of the specialists, so a tester used special headphones to teach it Koi Language while Ke Meng immobilized it with the Nameless Salted Fish.
• The Nameless Salted Fish controlled the testers who saw its scales, and Tangyuan and Ke Meng used their abilities to help the testers recover.
• Sand Sculpture understood Ke Meng's commands and lifted weights until the tests showed it could carry one metric ton; the Bureau classified it as a level six object, below Tangyuan.
• Ke Meng took the tested items home, where Sand Sculpture trembled and recalled that its flock had sacrificed it to Black Ghost because it preferred a quiet, peaceful world.

Ke Meng learned how the Investigation Bureau detected and separated Shadow Stream parasites, while discovering that black smoke reflected differences in a person’s concept of justice. The chapter ended with two parasitic shadows being separated from their hosts.

• Ke Meng showed his white sand eagle the memes fans had made from its picture, and the bird feared it had been trapped inside his phone.
• Captain Luo told Ke Meng that the Investigation Bureau had caught two Shadow Stream members, and Ke Meng went to see their hosts.
• Captain Luo and Director Lei explained that bright light could separate parasitic shadows, though the process caused pain and prolonged parasitism could permanently damage a host’s mind.
• Director Lei explained that black smoke indicated a difference between someone’s sense of justice and the Investigation Bureau’s definition, but did not reveal how the Bureau defined justice.
• Ke Meng watched two parasitic shadows separate from their hosts in the interrogation room.

Ke Meng watched the Investigation Bureau separate parasitic shadows from two victims and then interrogate the captured Shadow Stream creatures. When the shadows refused to answer, the interrogators prepared to use a bizarre Special Item and decided to draw lots for who would wear it.

• Director Lei encouraged the two victims to endure the painful shadow separation, and staff gave them towels to bite.
• The Desk Lamp separated the parasitic shadows, leaving the two men unconscious and their captured shadows pinned in a corner.
• Ke Meng watched the interrogators question the shadows about their sacrifices and the bloodied Whale County Travelogue, but they refused to answer.
• Captain Luo and Luo Yuan told Ke Meng that the Bureau's level-six Red Headscarf made its wearer dance and weakened the mental defenses of anyone who watched.
• The interrogation team decided to draw lots to choose who would wear the Red Headscarf.

Ke Meng and the interrogation team drew lots to choose who would use a special item on the two shadows, and Di Ping drew the red stick. Di Ping used the Freedom Dance Headscarf, making himself and the shadows dance, but the shadows had not yet revealed why they wanted to contaminate Whale City.

• Luo Yuan explained the draw, and Ke Meng drew a white stick while Di Ping drew the red one for the second time.
• Di Ping received the Freedom Dance Headscarf and refused to let a young rank F staff member stay and watch.
• Di Ping asked the shadows whether they had contaminated the Whale County Travelogue to contaminate Whale City, but they refused to answer.
• Di Ping put on the headscarf, stripped down to his underwear, and began dancing before the shadows.
• The headscarf made the two shadows join Di Ping in dancing as surveillance operators watched and played music.

Ke Meng learned that the anomalous printer had consumed 360 trees in a week and that the Whale County Travelogue had been cleansed after a failed sacrifice to the Lord of Shadows. At home, he considered the dangers of using Synesthesia on an evil god and named his sand eagle White Sugar.

• Captain Luo explained that the printer produced 28,800 sheets a day, consumed trees while outside the desert, and could run continuously alongside a Special Item that produced trees.
• Di Ping finished interrogating the suspects and directed Captain Luo to the investigation file rather than discussing the unpleasant interrogation.
• Ke Meng learned that Shadow Stream had sacrificed to the Lord of Shadows, and that the bloodstained Whale County Travelogue threatened to bring disaster to Whale County.
• Ke Meng used Synesthesia on the sacrificial symbol, glimpsed the shadows escaping the ritual room, then burned the notebook page after fearing the symbol might connect him to an evil god.
• Ke Meng considered whether sleep could protect him if Synesthesia drove him mad, then named his white-feathered sand eagle White Sugar.

Ke Meng delegated sweeping to White Sugar, but Tangyuan had to teach her how to use a broom without breaking it. After Ke Meng fell asleep, he watched the Starfish and Monster Coral fight in R'lyeh, then observed Dream World players building and debating whether their world was square.

• Ke Meng asked White Sugar to sweep the sand, and Tangyuan led her to fetch a broom.
• White Sugar accidentally snapped the broom, so Tangyuan demonstrated how to sweep with his fur.
• White Sugar practiced sweeping with Tangyuan’s guidance while Ke Meng watched videos and went to sleep.
• Ke Meng watched the regenerating Starfish and Monster Coral fight in R'lyeh, then turned his attention to Dream World players.
• Ke Meng observed construction at the World Tree Project and Sky-Piercing Tower, while a forum post claiming the Dream World was square drew millions of replies.