Chapter Summaries

Shen Ru questioned a woman in the Church after her confession brought the Puppets pounding at the doors. He learned that the town’s residents had been forced to participate in cannibalism by earlier Players, then punished the woman for lying about what happened.

• Shen Ru comforted a gray-haired woman in the Church, and she confessed that the Puppets had gouged out the eyes of people involved in a past atrocity.
• The Puppets began battering the Church doors, and Sheng Ziyao pulled Meng Yizhi toward the changing room with clothes for him to wear.
• Mo Yu used shadows to restrain the Church’s residents while Shen Ru pressured the woman to explain her confession.
• The woman said that several new residents had abducted a child, cooked and eaten the child, and forced the townspeople to drink the broth; she added that the newcomers later disappeared.
• Shen Ru concluded that the newcomers were likely Players and suspected the Puppets had gone berserk because the woman lied.
• Shen Ru mocked the woman’s pleas for God and tortured her with a blade as punishment for lying.

Shen Ru remembered an illusion that no one else recalled and provoked the church’s hidden rules alongside Mo Yu. The worshippers transformed into puppets, and Shen Ru dragged Meng Yizhi into their midst as the chapter ended.

• After the church scene reset, Shen Ru told Mo Yu that a lying woman had drawn him into an illusion and suggested they provoke the church’s rules together.
• Shen Ru and Mo Yu kissed during the prayers, then an obsessed NPC crawled toward Shen Ru and called his red eyes a masterpiece.
• The shadows killed the NPC, and Shen Ru gouged out his eyes after the corpse continued staring at him.
• The kneeling townspeople shed their disguises, gouged out their eyes, and transformed into puppets.
• Meng Yizhi tried to reach Shen Ru, Mo Yu, and Sheng Ziyao, but Shen Ru seized him and dragged him into the puppets.

Shen Ru and the others discovered that breaking a rule only opened an illusion when a town resident was involved, and learned that residents called the illusion the New World. After receiving quests to investigate the town’s stories and the people inside the Puppets, Shen Ru took Little Yellow and Little Pink to dig in the graveyard for answers.

• Shen Ru smashed open the Puppets and revealed living people inside, then learned from an NPC that a town resident had to be involved when Players broke a rule to enter an illusion.
• The NPC began explaining that the New World was where residents were reborn, but the illusion collapsed before he could finish; Mo Yu retained his memories because he had triggered the Church’s rule alongside Shen Ru.
• The system assigned the four Players quests to investigate the story about new residents eating people and drinking soup, and to find out why humans were hidden inside Puppets.
• Sheng Ziyao proposed threatening residents to obtain information, while Shen Ru instead asked Mo Yu about the town’s graveyard.
• Shen Ru led Little Yellow and Little Pink to dig in the graveyard, telling them that God’s followers wanted bone broth.

Shen Ru and the others uncovered a dead Player’s notes revealing that the townspeople were cannibals, then went to the mayor’s house to investigate. Shen Ru staged a kidnapping by tying up and disheveling Sheng Ziyao and Meng Yizhi, leaving the group poised to search the house.

• Sheng Ziyao dug up a dead Player’s notes, and Shen Ru read that the townspeople stewed living people for meat.
• Shen Ru decided they needed new ingredients for the soup, while Meng Yizhi and Sheng Ziyao warned that they were wanted and had to obey the town’s rules.
• Shen Ru proposed kidnapping nuns from the Church, and Mo Yu suggested targeting the mayor’s family.
• Shen Ru, Sheng Ziyao, and Meng Yizhi entered the mayor’s villa through a secluded storeroom.
• Shen Ru tied up Sheng Ziyao and Meng Yizhi, tore their clothes, and told them to pretend to be unconscious.

Shen Ru and Mo Yu framed the Town Mayor for abducting the missing nuns, then Shen Ru interrogated him about the town’s cannibalism and immortality. The Mayor’s fiery punishment revealed that he was a Puppet, and his last words pointed to the Eternal Life Game.

• Mo Yu gathered townspeople to search for the missing nuns, and Shen Ru claimed he had seen them in the Town Mayor’s house.
• Shen Ru led the crowd to the Mayor’s villa, where Little Yellow and Little Pink pretended to be bound and mistreated, prompting the townspeople to condemn the Mayor.
• Shen Ru tied the Mayor to a cross in the Church and offered to reveal who had framed him in exchange for an explanation of the town’s cannibalism.
• The Mayor explained that rule-breaking New Residents were chosen as victims and that the town ate newcomers once it had no need to turn their bodies into oil.
• God’s fire consumed the Mayor before he could explain why the town reached capacity, and Shen Ru realized the remains had belonged to a Puppet after seeing the Mayor’s final words: “Eternal Life Game.”

Shen Ru and the others entered an illusion that revealed the townspeople were monsters who ate players to preserve their youth. After examining one of them, they confirmed that player flesh was the secret to the monsters’ longevity.

• Shen Ru realized that knowingly allowing the mayor to be framed had triggered a town rule, and Mo Yu suggested killing someone to reveal whether they were in an illusion.
• Mo Yu’s shadow dragged a townsman to Shen Ru, who struck the man and exposed a monster beneath his human appearance.
• The townspeople devoured eyeballs vomited by the monster, and Shen Ru lost 5 SAN Value as the grotesque scene affected his mind.
• Shen Ru had Sheng Ziyao and Meng Yizhi restrain the monster, then cut it open and found its body cavity packed with human tissue and scraps of skin.
• Mo Yu obeyed Shen Ru’s order to scoop out the monster’s contents by hand, and its outer shell shriveled as they confirmed that player flesh kept the monsters young.

After task one ended, Shen Ru used Sheng Ziyao as a decoy so the others could enter the mayor’s house and investigate. There, Shen Ru discovered a message carved into the mayor’s desk identifying the mayor as a Player in the Eternal Life Game.

• Shen Ru recounted his illusion to the others and teased Mo Yu, who said he regretted not remembering it.
• The system announced that the Players had completed task one and instructed them to investigate the mayor’s house after obtaining permission.
• Shen Ru sent Sheng Ziyao to draw away the townspeople searching for the wanted Players.
• Shen Ru persuaded Meng Yizhi that Shen Ru’s own permission let them enter the mayor’s house.
• The Players searched the house, and Shen Ru found the carved words, “I am a Player in the Eternal Life Game.”

Shen Ru uncovered the truth behind Virtual Town and triggered the hidden Marionette scenario by breaking a rule. Trapped as a puppet, he was rescued backstage by Mo Yu and severed his own arm to reveal that he could regenerate.

• Shen Ru discovered a secret passage behind the mayor's bookshelf and found writings suggesting the mayor had been eaten, lost his body, and awakened inside a coffin.
• Shen Ru concluded that the puppet town was virtual and that the world players thought was an illusion was the instance's real world.
• The system announced that Shen Ru had completed main quest two and violated a hidden rule, triggering the Marionette scenario.
• Shen Ru was forced to dance as a puppet until Mo Yu appeared backstage and caught him during a break.
• Shen Ru severed his arm to escape the puppet's restraints and showed Mo Yu that the limb regenerated.

During Act Two of the stage performance, Shen Ru revealed his new regenerative ability and used a Cognitive Contamination Card to enter Mo Yu’s fantasy. The Card’s effect ended after Shen Ru returned Mo Yu’s pain and treated his wounds, leaving their next encounter open-ended.

• Shen Ru’s severed arm regenerated, revealing an ability that neither he nor Mo Yu recognized as a Card or Talent.
• As Act Two began, Shen Ru invited Mo Yu to dance and teased him about their intimate memories.
• Shen Ru used a Cognitive Contamination Card to pull Mo Yu into a fantasy of a chained bedroom inside a Golden Wire Cage.
• Shen Ru fought back against Mo Yu’s furious kisses, stabbed him repeatedly while avoiding vital points, and called it the pain he owed him.
• Before the Card’s effect ended, Shen Ru gave Mo Yu medicine with a kiss and suggested they do something else next time.

Shen Ru and his companions discovered that Corpse Oil-soaked wood was the key to entering the New World, then entered it to investigate the Puppets’ secret. There, Shen Ru was tied up as a supposed meal, but he turned the tables on the Puppet NPC and began carving into it.

• Shen Ru concluded that breaking the Corpse Oil-soaked wood in the Town Mayor’s House could let the players enter the New World, and the system confirmed their discovery.
• Shen Ru and the others entered the New World and woke in separate enclosed rooms, with Shen Ru tied to a chair.
• A Puppet NPC entered Shen Ru’s room with a knife and fork, declaring that he would be eaten and admiring his body.
• Shen Ru realized the system’s restrictions did not affect his body, seized the blade, and began cutting strips of flesh from the NPC while taunting it.

Shen Ru and Sheng Ziyao escaped Room Eight after the factory announced that its two food items might flee, and Shen Ru drew the pursuing NPCs away. As he prepared to fight them in a corridor, a hidden passage opened beneath him and swallowed him.

• Sheng Ziyao broke into Room Eight and found Shen Ru torturing an NPC, then the factory announced that the two food items there could escape.
• Shen Ru and Sheng Ziyao fled as NPCs approached, and Shen Ru sent Sheng Ziyao to inspect the other food while he lured the pursuers away.
• Shen Ru ran through the factory corridors as NPCs chased him, then turned back when he decided to confront them.
• A system warning cautioned Shen Ru against clearing the Instance through violence, but a hidden passage opened beneath him and swallowed him.

Shen Ru reunited with Mo Yu in an underground office, where they indulged their dangerous attraction before Mo Yu agreed to take him to the factory that created gods. Meanwhile, Sheng Ziyao searched the Long Corridor for survivors and found Meng Yizhi alive among the grisly remains.

• Shen Ru fell through the Secret Passage into Mo Yu's office, where they hid from someone searching outside and gave in to their mutual desire.
• Shen Ru threatened to kill Mo Yu if he went too far, then asked about the factory and agreed to visit it as Mo Yu's lover.
• Sheng Ziyao searched the rooms along the Long Corridor as blood spread beneath the doors.
• Sheng Ziyao found a headless, many-limbed corpse and mistook its pink-haired remains for Little Pink.
• Meng Yizhi opened the inner-room door, revealing himself alive as Sheng Ziyao clutched one of his severed arms.

Shen Ru and Mo Yu discovered that the factory used faith and cannibalism to bring God into the world, then questioned why its employees wore puppet shells. In the elevator, Shen Ru tested his theory by tempting the attendant with claims that God had granted him a special body.

• Shen Ru examined the blueprints and proposal, learning that the god-making factory lay on the third basement level and that faith empowered God while cannibalism preserved the worshippers' youth.
• Shen Ru and Mo Yu headed toward the factory to investigate the people’s puppet shells and see what God looked like.
• Shen Ru questioned the elevator attendant, who explained that their old puppet shell had broken and said commoners risked punishment for defiling God’s statues.
• Shen Ru claimed God had permitted him to go without a shell and demonstrated his extraordinary body by breaking and healing his own arm.
• Shen Ru invited the attendant to experience the same freedom, then reminded them to press the elevator button.

Meng Yizhi found Sheng Ziyao after he escaped Shen Ru, and the two hid in the Kitchen before deciding to head to the Minus Third Floor. There, Shen Ru had convinced the NPCs he was God's Envoy and faced the statue as he prepared to test the believers' resolve.

• Meng Yizhi mistook his chainsaw for a weapon of murder, while Sheng Ziyao called himself a cook and revealed that he had encountered Shen Ru again.
• Meng Yizhi gave Sheng Ziyao his jacket, and the two hid in the Kitchen while NPCs spread rumors about God's Envoy on the Minus Third Floor.
• Meng Yizhi and Sheng Ziyao decided to go downstairs to find Shen Ru before he caused trouble.
• Shen Ru and Mo Yu entered the chamber holding a massive statue, where NPCs recognized Shen Ru as God's Envoy.
• Shen Ru wept before the crowd and challenged the believers to show their resolve, intending to make the statue witness what followed.

Shen Ru persuaded the Puppet-shell believers to worship him and injure themselves in exchange for the promise of a self-restoring body. As the believers followed his commands, the nearly completed statue opened its eyes and fixed him with a familiar, obsessive gaze.

• Meng Yizhi and Sheng Ziyao arrived on the Minus Third Floor and watched Shen Ru pose as God's Envoy while Dark Shadow formed wings behind him.
• Shen Ru called on the crowd to kneel and pledge sincere, eternal devotion to him.
• Shen Ru urged the believers to break their Puppet shells and pay a price for the body they desired.
• Shen Ru cut his own arm to demonstrate its rapid healing, and the believers began cutting themselves.
• The statue shed red tears, cracked around its eyes, and revealed human eyes fixed on Shen Ru.

Shen Ru and Mo Yu confronted the Puppeteer, who tried to recruit Shen Ru by offering him power and more Instances. Shen Ru destroyed the statue sustaining the broken system, leaving the Puppeteer unable to remain in the Instance, while Mo Yu’s jealousy still needed attention.

• Shen Ru attacked the stone statue as Mo Yu challenged the Puppeteer, and the livestream signal failed during the clash.
• The Puppeteer separated Shen Ru from Mo Yu and offered Shen Ru lasting power and control over other Instances if he joined him.
• Shen Ru realized the Puppeteer had targeted him because Shen Ru was absorbing the Faith Power, while Mo Yu battered the invisible barrier to reach him.
• Sheng Ziyao, Little Yellow, and Little Pink helped break the barrier, and Dark Shadow carried Shen Ru toward the statue.
• Shen Ru hurled his Faith Power at the statue and destroyed it, causing the broken system to fall into darkness and the Puppeteer to lose his place in the Instance.
• The Puppeteer urged Shen Ru to abandon Mo Yu and join him, but Shen Ru refused and recognized that Mo Yu’s jealousy had been stirred up.

After the Instance ended, Mo Yu invited Shen Ru on a trip, while Dark Night took control of Infinite Channel and its Instances. Shen Ru packed at Meng Yizhi’s home, where Mo Yu arrived, found him sprawled over Meng Yizhi, and had him carried away.

• Mo Yu and Shen Ru agreed to use their unused travel Card after leaving the Instance.
• Dark Night took control of Infinite Channel’s Instances, shut down livestreams for non-players, and let players choose Instance difficulty.
• Shen Ru went to Meng Yizhi’s home to pack and joked around while breaking Meng Yizhi’s plates.
• Shen Ru wrestled Meng Yizhi to protect his hidden hot pot base and threatened his cookware.
• Mo Yu arrived, saw Shen Ru on top of Meng Yizhi, and had Dark Shadow bundle Shen Ru up and carry him away.

Mo Yu took Shen Ru aboard a private plane and punished him for letting an NPC hold his fingertips, turning their argument into a passionate encounter. They were still together on the plane as their struggle escalated and spilled water across the floor.

• Mo Yu used a Card to take Shen Ru from the Infinite Channel to a private plane already in flight.
• Mo Yu restrained Shen Ru with shadows and confronted him about letting an NPC hold his hand.
• Shen Ru teased Mo Yu, and turbulence sent him tumbling into Mo Yu's arms.
• Mo Yu kissed Shen Ru until he suffered from lack of air, then said he was collecting compensation for his jealousy.
• Shen Ru fought back and flirted with Mo Yu, and they moved onto the bed as their encounter intensified.

After arriving in the Entertainment Channel, Shen Ru and Mo Yu went to a hotel restaurant, where Sang Ming approached Mo Yu while Shen Ru was away retrieving their camera. The chapter ended as Shen Ru returned and teasingly asked what they were talking about.

• After an intimate flight, Mo Yu told Shen Ru they were headed to the Entertainment Channel to investigate a photograph that paranormal streamers were pursuing.
• Shen Ru and Mo Yu arrived at a hotel overlooking the Entertainment Channel’s city and went downstairs to eat.
• Shen Ru returned to their room to fetch the camera, leaving Mo Yu alone at the restaurant table.
• Sang Ming, attracted to Mo Yu, sat beside him and repeatedly tried to start a conversation despite being ignored.
• Shen Ru came back and teasingly asked Mo Yu what had made their conversation so lively.

Shen Ru flirted with Sang Ming to learn about a popular photograph and the Silent Photo Studio, while Mo Yu grew jealous and possessive. After Mo Yu warned Shen Ru by biting his neck, Shen Ru revealed that Mo Yu was the president of the Dark Night Guild and teased Sang Ming about his dangerous crush.

• Shen Ru returned from getting the camera and found Sang Ming enthusiastically speaking with Mo Yu about the Entertainment Channel and the Infinite Channel.
• Shen Ru pretended to be Mo Yu's longtime friend and told Sang Ming that Mo Yu had no partner, encouraging Sang Ming's interest.
• Shen Ru steered the conversation toward a popular photograph, and Sang Ming explained that the Silent Photo Studio was connected to recent disappearances and channel malfunctions.
• Mo Yu grew jealous as Shen Ru and Sang Ming chatted, and he threatened Shen Ru before biting his neck when Sang Ming tried to exchange contact details.
• Shen Ru thanked Sang Ming for the information, revealed Mo Yu was the president of the Dark Night Guild, and warned Sang Ming that players from the Infinite Channel were dangerous.