Chapter Summaries

Xie De learned that he was nameless cannon fodder in an infinite-instance horror novel and was bound to a discarded system called 455. With an instance set to claim him in three months, 455 planned to change his appearance and push him toward survival, though it had few useful abilities.

• Xie De met the phone-bound system, named it 455, and learned it was discarded and nearly powerless.
• 455 showed Xie De the passage in which Wei Yanchi killed him, revealing that he was an unnamed character in a book.
• 455 explained that the book was an infinite-instance horror novel and warned Xie De about Wei Yanchi and the villain, Wei Yunmo.
• Xie De learned an instance would claim him in three months, and 455 proposed helping him exercise and changing his hair and height.

At the Hope Factory, Wei Yanchi met the newcomer 39 and tried to learn about him, while Xie De nervously concealed that he was a newcomer and the protagonist. The other players arrived, and Wei Yanchi introduced 39 to the wary group.

• The instance system announced that players had arrived at the Hope Factory to investigate workers disappearing without explanation.
• Wei Yanchi greeted the silver-haired newcomer, who called himself 39, and scrutinized him with interest.
• Xie De privately panicked and called on system 455 for guidance while trying to appear calm around Wei Yanchi.
• Wei Yanchi asked 39 whether he was an agent and explained that the instance escape game was called Life-Extending Soup.
• Five veteran players entered, and Wei Yanchi introduced 39 as the newcomer while the group eyed him warily.

Xie De and Beiwei explored the factory's second floor together, where they encountered a ghostly corpse in a workers' dormitory. After Xie De destroyed it, they searched the room for clues while 455 analyzed how having someone more frightened beside him made Xie De less afraid.

• Xie De learned from 455 that the workers had disappeared voluntarily and that the players needed to take over their jobs, though 455 could not remember the rest of the plot.
• Beiwei invited Xie De to search the second floor's office and dormitories with her, and he agreed despite his fear.
• Xie De and Beiwei entered a workers' dormitory, where the door slammed shut and a corpse appeared hanging from the ceiling fan.
• 455 panicked and shocked Xie De, who smashed the fan with a stool and made the corpse vanish.
• Beiwei searched the room for clues while Xie De smoked and argued with 455, unaware of the eyes and hands beneath the beds and tables.

Xie De and Beiwei searched the factory dormitory and exchanged clues with Wei Yanchi in the boss's office. They learned that six people connected to the boss had gone missing, while Yue Xiamo questioned Wei Yanchi's decision to share information.

• Xie De pulled Beiwei out of the dormitory after a mangled creature appeared, and they left the remaining clues behind.
• Xie De decided to search the boss's office, where he and Beiwei found Wei Yanchi and another person hiding in the shadows.
• Xie De traded a dried rose for Wei Yanchi's ledger, which showed that the boss had embezzled money and withheld workers' wages.
• Wei Yanchi revealed that six people close to the boss, including his younger female cousin, had gone missing.
• After Xie De and Beiwei left, Yue Xiamo emerged with a knife and challenged Wei Yanchi for sharing clues with them.

Xie De accepted Beiwei as his companion in the abandoned factory instance, where players had to hunt for scarce supplies while avoiding supernatural threats and one another. With help from 455, they found food and water and hid in a dorm room to rest, while Beiwei wondered about Xie De’s identity.

• Beiwei asked to follow Xie De, offered to scout and help him, and Xie De agreed.
• Beiwei warned Xie De about veteran players Wei Yanchi, Fang Jueshan, Li Luohan, Yue Xiamo, and Old Eugene.
• The factory lights turned on, its machinery started, and the system announced that supplies had been placed inside.
• 455 used thermal imaging to help Xie De and Beiwei avoid other players as they searched the factory and found compressed biscuits and water.
• Xie De and Beiwei hid in a dorm room, where Xie De prepared to rest while Beiwei wondered whether he was a secret agent.

Xie De agreed to cooperate with Wei Yanchi after a terrifying presence drove them to shelter together overnight. The next morning, Xie De overcame his fear enough to kick a decaying female corpse out of the doorway, leaving Beiwei and Wei Yanchi stunned.

• 455 startled Xie De awake, and Wei Yanchi slipped into the room while an oppressive presence prowled outside.
• After the presence faded, Wei Yanchi proposed working together and promised to make it easier to leave the factory.
• 455 advised Xie De to rely on Wei Yanchi, so Xie De agreed to the partnership.
• The next morning, Xie De opened the door and found a decaying female corpse blocking the way.
• Xie De kicked the corpse into the corridor wall and walked out, startling Beiwei and Wei Yanchi.

Xie De and Wei Yanchi investigated the factory’s ghostly workers, but Fang Jueshan ambushed Xie De and was torn apart after Xie kicked him into the ghosts. After Beiwei offered to hunt down Li Luohan, Xie De ordered her to bring him in so he could kill him himself.

• Wei Yanchi explained his theory that the factory boss banned romance and that the missing workers were connected to the boss.
• A ghost confronted Xie De and Wei Yanchi, but Wei Yanchi claimed they were inspectors hired by the boss.
• 455 warned Xie De to step back, and Xie dodged Fang Jueshan’s ambush before kicking him into the ghosts, who killed him.
• Li Luohan watched Fang Jueshan die and fled through the shadows.
• Wei Yanchi investigated among the ghostly workers while Beiwei offered to find and kill Li Luohan.
• Xie De told Beiwei to bring Li Luohan to him, saying he would kill him himself.

Wei Yanchi, Beiwei, and Xie De considered whether the six missing factory workers had escaped and concluded that perhaps only six people had survived. Beiwei and Xie De then trapped Li Luohan in the factory and killed him with 455’s power.

• Wei Yanchi and Beiwei discussed the factory’s suspected child labor and the six missing workers, while Xie De suggested they might have chosen to disappear.
• Xie De guessed that only six people had survived, prompting Wei Yanchi to leave and search for proof.
• Beiwei found Li Luohan hiding in the cafeteria and locked the Headless Ghost inside as Li Luohan fled into the corridor.
• Xie De blocked Li Luohan’s escape, and 455 sentenced him to death with an electric shock.
• Beiwei saw Li Luohan dead on the floor as Xie De casually flicked ash from his cigarette.

After 455 shut down and Xie De’s earpiece broke, Xie De and Beiwei searched for safety in the factory, where Xie De accidentally shot a reanimated corpse that Wei Yanchi said was key to clearing the instance. The chapter ended with Wei Yanchi mistaking 455’s insults on Xie De’s phone for someone insulting Mr. 39.

• 455 electrocuted itself into shutting down while Li Luohan died, leaving Xie De without his earpiece and unable to use his phone until it rebooted.
• Xie De headed back toward the room with Beiwei, who offered him Li Luohan’s revolver and gold bar after mistaking his expression for a rebuke.
• 455 rebooted and told Xie De how to fire the loaded revolver, just as a corpse approached; Xie De shot it five times and destroyed its head.
• Wei Yanchi emerged from the darkness and said the corpse was the key to clearing the instance, while Beiwei admired Xie De’s apparent composure.
• Xie De argued with 455 over the phone, and Wei Yanchi saw the words “mission failed, useless, loser” and assumed someone was insulting Mr. 39.

Wei Yanchi investigated the female corpse and identified the six people who escaped the factory, while Xie De fretted over money and tried to keep up with the protagonist. The instance system began testing the players about the workers’ deaths, and Xie De survived a timed question with 455’s help.

• Wei Yanchi found a knife wound through the female corpse’s heart and a scar indicating she had given birth.
• Xie De argued with 455 about the value of gold and learned that instance items could be sold after a run.
• Wei Yanchi identified the six survivors as Ma Hui, Li Qiang, Zhang Zhi, Chunju, Wu Yong, and the boss.
• The instance system asked who fathered the child, and Wei Yanchi correctly answered Zhou Bapi.
• The system asked Xie De whom Ma Hui loved, and he answered Chunju after 455 supplied the name.

Wei Yanchi and Xie De answered questions about the factory’s dead workers, while Yue Xiamo correctly explained why the boss forbade teenage romance. Afterward, Wei Yanchi gave Xie De a Bluetooth earpiece, and Xie De accepted it warmly.

• Wei Yanchi guessed that the boss was the child’s father, and the dead workers accepted his answer as correct.
• Wei Yanchi deduced that Ma Hui liked Chunju, and the dead workers accepted his second answer as correct.
• The instance system asked Player Three why the boss forbade teenage romance, and Yue Xiamo answered that he feared a Kuman Thong would retaliate if a worker miscarried in the factory.
• Wei Yanchi explained to Xie De that he had helped Yue Xiamo because her favor would keep her with their group.
• Wei Yanchi gave Xie De his Bluetooth earpiece after noticing Xie De’s was broken, and Xie De thanked him.

After the Instance System’s questions ended, Xie De tried to navigate the veteran players’ assumptions that he was powerful and accepted Old Eugene’s offer to protect him in exchange for three million. Wei Yanchi then shared a clue about six factory overseers and a traitor, leaving Xie De wondering who betrayed whom and what happened to the missing overseer.

• The factory’s flames vanished after a church bell rang, and 455 announced that the Q&A session was probably over.
• Yue Xiamo approached to exchange clues with Wei Yanchi, while Beiwei complained about her disdain for newcomers.
• Xie De realized that 455’s makeover had led veteran players to mistake him for a powerful player, and he worried they would kill him if they learned the truth.
• Old Eugene offered Xie De three million to ensure his safety and get him out of the instance, and Xie De accepted despite 455’s warnings.
• Wei Yanchi returned and told Xie De that Yue Xiamo had learned the factory had six overseers and that one of them was a traitor.

As the factory’s scene reenactment began, Xie De and the others hid in the cafeteria storeroom while Wei Yanchi went out to find a disguise. A giant centipede attacked Xie De, but 455 shocked it until it shrank, leaving Xie De holding a dazed, frightened little creature.

• Wei Yanchi led Xie De, Old Eugene, and Beiwei to hide in the cafeteria storeroom as the reenactment began.
• While they listened to two women arguing outside, Wei Yanchi slipped out alone to steal a cook’s uniform.
• Cockroaches fled from a food box, and a meter-long centipede crawled out and lunged at Xie De.
• 455 sent electricity through the floor, stunning the centipede and shrinking it to the size of an adult’s palm.
• Xie De approached the little centipede and pinched its antenna, and it went still and played dead.

Xie De and the others followed Wei Yanchi as he shared clues about the factory workers and a likely murder. After the cook was crushed in a storeroom meant for Wu Yong, the Headless Ghost demanded that Player No. 4 identify its killer.

• Xie De subdued a house centipede, discovered it understood human speech, and kept it as a pet.
• Wei Yanchi led Xie De, Old Eugene, and Beiwei into a supply room and explained the tangled relationships among the factory workers.
• A storeroom collapsed, crushing the cook, and Wei Yanchi inferred that someone had intended to kill Wu Yong instead.
• The Headless Ghost's severed head revived and asked who had killed it, while the Instance System ordered Player No. 4 to answer or surrender a head.

Beiwei answered that Ma Hui, Wang Qiang, Zhang Zhi, and Chunju were the killers, and the group fought off the Headless Ghost. After Wei Yanchi destroyed it with a talisman, Xie De learned that he had been a Taoist priest, and the group returned to the factory, where the burned ghosts and Yue Xiamo awaited them.

• 455 found that Ma Hui, Wang Qiang, Zhang Zhi, and Chunju were all killers, and Beiwei gave the answer just before time ran out.
• The Instance System accepted Beiwei's answer, but the headless corpse emerged from the rubble and attacked the Storage Room door.
• Wei Yanchi struck the Headless Ghost with a stool, and Beiwei kicked it to the ground.
• Wei Yanchi used a yellow talisman to burn and destroy the Headless Ghost.
• 455 told Xie De that Wei Yanchi had been an Orthodox Unity School Taoist priest before entering the instance.
• Xie De and the others returned to the factory, where they saw the burned ghosts and Yue Xiamo.

Xie De and the other players investigated the factory fire and the Boss's Wife's death as the Instance System prepared another question. Old Eugene was killed after giving the wrong answer about Chunju and the Boss's Wife, while the survivors realized they had been romantic rivals.

• Yue Xiamo revealed that the Boss's Wife had argued with Chunju and told her to keep Wu Yong in line.
• Wei Yanchi and Beiwei discussed whether the factory fire was connected to the workers' conflicts and romantic entanglements.
• Xie De went upstairs to search the dormitory as flames spread through the factory, and bluish-black hands emerged from the rooms.
• The Instance System asked Old Eugene to explain Chunju's relationship with the Boss's Wife, and he answered incorrectly.
• Bluish-black hands strangled Old Eugene to death while the other players withheld the correct answer.
• Beiwei and Yue Xiamo identified Chunju and the Boss's Wife as romantic rivals, and Xie De pieced together how rumors about an affair had led to the Boss's Wife's death.

Xie De found clues in Ma Hui’s room while unknowingly evading a female ghost, then used a dagger to drive her into the flames. He reunited with Wei Yanchi and the other veteran players, who had watched the deadly encounter unfold.

• Xie De led the group down the left corridor, where Wei Yanchi, Beiwei, and Yue Xiamo saw a female ghost clinging to the ceiling and feared that 39 would trigger her rules.
• Xie De failed to notice the female ghost following him and entered a room he identified as Ma Hui’s.
• Xie De found three love letters, curses carved into a bedside table, and a dagger beneath Ma Hui’s pillow.
• Xie De opened the door while arguing with 455, whose electric shock also struck the female ghost waiting outside.
• 455 urged Xie De to stab the female ghost, and Xie De threw the dagger into her chest, sending her tumbling into the fire.
• Xie De spotted Wei Yanchi and the other veteran players nearby.

Wei Yanchi solved the factory fire mystery, allowing the players to escape the burning Instance. Xie De returned to his shabby home, where 455 urged him to recharge it before passing out.

• 39 handed Wei Yanchi three love letters, and Wei Yanchi said he understood the Instance's mystery.
• As flames and smoke trapped the players in the room, Beiwei gave Yue Xiamo biscuits while Xie De and 455 feared the window led to a void.
• Wei Yanchi explained how Chunju's jealousy, Ma Hui's disclosure, and the men's fight in the kitchen had caused a gas stove to ignite; the Instance System accepted his answer.
• The window opened onto a rainy landscape, and Xie De jumped through it to escape the Instance.
• Xie De woke on the floor of his shabby home, vomited, and heard 455 tell him to charge it before he passed out.

After waking from a day and two nights of exhaustion, Xie De examined his rewards from the instance and went to a remote mountain to practice with his weapons. His training was interrupted when a child suddenly emerged from the bushes.

• Xie De woke up two days after clearing the instance and recovered at home while little House Centipede tried to share a cockroach with him.
• 455 explained that Xie De had received Door God Talismans, ammunition, a Glock 17, and an SSG 3000 as rewards for clearing the instance.
• Xie De took out the gold he had brought back, disguised himself, and went outside to reconnect with ordinary life.
• Two days later, Xie De practiced shooting in a remote mountain region but quit after a few hours and argued with 455.
• Little House Centipede sensed something nearby, and Xie De approached the bushes with his pistol before a child suddenly burst out.

Xie De discovered that the bedraggled boy he had found in the mountains was the future villain Wei Yunmo and took him along to escape the laboratory's pursuit. He brought Wei Yunmo to a safe house, where the boy asked what to call him and Xie De answered, “39.”

• Xie De found Wei Yunmo in the mountains and gave him food after learning his name.
• 455 identified Wei Yunmo as the villain and warned that the secret laboratory might kill Xie De to silence him.
• Xie De decided to take Wei Yunmo with him and concealed their trail with House Centipede and a swarm of insects.
• Xie De drove Wei Yunmo to a small safe house in an old district and settled him in a bedroom.
• Wei Yunmo asked what to call Xie De, and Xie De told him to call him 39.