Chapter Summaries

The world-class powers joined forces to stop the Demon and secure the Book of Creation before an earthquake struck the Laboratory. As the evacuation continued, Wei Yunmo learned that 009 was his father.

• Xie De told the gathered agents that their mission involved the Book of Creation and the Demon, and they set out together with seven minutes left until the earthquake.
• 455 argued with Xie De about writing a final letter, while Wei Yanchi promised to clear the mission and Xie De corrected him that they would face it together.
• Beiwei told Zuo Shenghang that Wei Yunmo was missing, and they turned back to search for him.
• Wei Yunmo visited 009, who urged him to leave the Laboratory and enjoy being young, before he continued toward Xie De.
• Ant contacted Wei Yunmo and revealed that 009 was his father, created using 009's genes.

Xie De and the others caught up with Hu Songlin and Belial on the Laboratory’s lowest floor, where they learned Hu Songlin could turn invisible and had come to act on his own. As the group fought Belial in the chaos, Wei Yanchi carved Hu Songlin’s name into his wrist to keep track of him, and Xie De told him to ask for help next time.

• Xie De recognized Belial, who greeted him as a long-lost love and mocked his haggard appearance.
• 455 reminded Xie De to check his wrist, leading him to notice Hu Songlin crouching nearby and ask why he had come alone.
• Hu Songlin explained that he wanted to take the initiative, while Wei Yanchi recognized him as the Club member with invisibility and extraordinary luck.
• Orion threatened Hu Songlin, but Xie De redirected Orion’s rifle toward Belial and warned that it could explode.
• Wei Yanchi carved Hu Songlin’s name into his wrist and realized Hu Songlin had vanished from everyone else’s sight.
• The agents attacked Belial in a chaotic free-for-all, and Xie De noticed Wei Yanchi’s bleeding wrist before telling him to ask for help next time.

Xie De persuaded Hu Songlin to abandon his plan to disappear, but Belial escaped destruction by regenerating on the thirteenth floor. Xie De and Wei Yanchi reached the Book of Creation in the collapsing Laboratory, where Xie De picked it up despite 455’s warning.

• Wei Yanchi reminded Hu Songlin that using his ability to its limit would make everyone forget him, and Xie De risked his life to grab Hu Songlin and help him choose to stay.
• Orion and the others reduced Belial to scraps and burned his remains, but Hu Songlin revealed that Belial had left a finger near New Fungus on the thirteenth floor.
• As the earthquake hit, Xie De sent Hu Songlin to safety and went deeper into the Laboratory, followed by Wei Yanchi.
• Belial regenerated by devouring New Fungus, then jumped into a fissure opened by the earthquake.
• Xie De and Wei Yanchi found the Book of Creation and fought off Belial as aftershocks shook the chamber.
• The Book of Creation fell, and Xie De picked it up just as 455 screamed a warning.

After the Worldline forced the story’s major characters back toward their original fates, Xie De and the systems planned to help them resist the plot. They found Beiwei returned to the hospital but still remembering Xie De, and saw that Yue Xiamo and Hu Songlin had already avoided their original conflict.

• Xie De refused to write in the Book of Creation, and 730 warned that changing it could create a disastrous new timeline.
• 730 proposed that Xie De find the major characters whose fates he had changed and help them break free of the original plot, starting with Beiwei.
• Beiwei woke in a hospital instead of the Arctic Base, escaped in a hospital gown, and recognized Xie De as Mr. 39.
• 455 found no physical changes in Beiwei, and 730 concluded that the Worldline had restored positions without altering memories or bodies.
• Xie De found Yue Xiamo and Hu Songlin together, and Yue Xiamo made Hu Songlin write his name on her hand so she would remember it.

Juelu and Xie De rescued the injured Silas from a deadly school Instance while Wei Yanchi waited for Xie De in Wheat Field. Wei Yanchi destroyed the Book of Creation to escape his scripted fate and confessed his feelings, but Xie De turned him down for now, urging him to mature.

• Juelu tried to protect the wounded Silas from the school dean until Xie De killed the dean and helped them escape.
• Xie De learned that Wei Yanchi had remained in Wheat Field instead of leaving the Instance and went to find him.
• Wei Yanchi asked Xie De for the Book of Creation, explaining that it had been invading his privacy and telling him he was the protagonist.
• Xie De gave Wei Yanchi the Book of Creation, but Wei Yanchi burned it, declaring that they were free from its story.
• Wei Yanchi confessed that he wanted to be with Xie De, who admitted his feelings stirred but refused to accept the confession while Wei Yanchi was still young and impulsive.

After the Worldline crisis, Xie De realized he had left Wei Yunmo at the Arctic Base, where 009 died after the Laboratory abandoned him. Anbers and Mr. 39 arrived to take Wei Yunmo away, and Anbers led him back toward the Instance.

• Xie De welcomed Anbers at the Castle and admitted he had left Wei Yunmo in the real world.
• At the Arctic Base, Wei Yunmo spoke with the dying 009, who urged him not to let hatred control him and wished him happiness.
• 009 died in his glass tank, leaving Wei Yunmo alone at the Arctic Base.
• Anbers and Mr. 39 arrived, and Anbers wrapped Wei Yunmo in a blanket and took him by the hand.
• Wei Yunmo asked if Anbers could revive 009, but Anbers said the dead could not return, then reminded Wei Yunmo to complete his assignments.

After the Wei Family’s most respected elder died, Xu Zhouluo and Zhang Mingqi took Wei Yanchi back to the remote clan’s mountain home. They lost their way in the wilderness and encountered Xie De, who was also traveling to attend the elder’s funeral and investigate the family.

• Zhang Mingqi arrived at the Martial Arts Hall and told Xu Zhouluo that the Wei Family’s most respected elder had died.
• Xu Zhouluo explained that Wei Yanchi’s great-uncle had once entrusted the infant Wei Yanchi to their Master, then took Wei Yanchi and Zhang Mingqi toward the Wei Family.
• The three traveled by plane, train, coaches, and rural bus before continuing on foot into the mountains.
• Wei Yanchi realized they might be lost, climbed a tree to get their bearings, and spotted Xie De across the mountain.
• Xie De recognized Wei Yanchi and explained that he had come to attend the old patriarch’s funeral and investigate the mysterious Wei Family.

Wei Yanchi returned to the Wei Family Old Residence for a funeral, where Xie De revealed that he was Wei Yanchi’s uncle. As Wei Yanchi settled into his family’s sprawling home, Xie De learned that Wei Yanchi’s parents had died and he had been raised by outsiders.

• Xie De told Wei Yanchi to call him Uncle, then presented a letter and was welcomed into the Wei Family residence.
• Wei Yanchi met his relatives, including his cousin’s wife and second aunt, who told him to fulfill his family’s filial duties.
• Wei Yanchi’s cousin’s wife showed him the old residence and explained that his family belonged to the second branch.
• Old Liu told Xie De that the old master’s other friends were dead and recalled that Wei Yanchi’s father hanged himself, his mother jumped into a river, and their child was raised by outsiders.

Wei Yanchi and Xie De explored the Wei Family estate, where several deaths and strange rules hinted at hidden dangers. After Xie De rejected Wei Yanchi’s advances, they heard a woman sobbing outside his window at night.

• Wei Yanchi found a black coffin in a storage room, and an elderly servant said his parents had prepared it for him.
• Xie De learned from Old Liu about several deaths in the Wei Family and the rule against staying outside after dark.
• Wei Yanchi asked to stay with Xie De and confessed his feelings, but Xie De rejected him and reminded him to respect his deceased grandfather.
• After night fell, Xie De heard a woman sobbing outside his window and told 455 that the estate was haunted.

Wei Yanchi and Xie De investigated the Wei Family Old Residence after hearing sobbing, and a drowned woman’s corpse emerged from a dry well. As they fled, the ghost warned Wei Yanchi that his family ate people.

• Wei Yanchi saw the Ghost Bride in his room, where she said he had brought her home before vanishing.
• Xie De told Wei Yanchi he was investigating the Wei Family, and the two set out to explore the residence with Coal Ball and Little House Centipede.
• Xie De and Wei Yanchi spotted a woman near the dry well, and Xie De sent insects into it to investigate.
• A corpse covered in insects climbed out of the well, so Wei Yanchi pulled Xie De away and said they should investigate elsewhere.
• The corpse disappeared, and Wei Yanchi led Xie De away as the ghost warned that the Wei family ate people.

Wei Yanchi was overwhelmed by hostile voices and ghosts in the Wei Family estate, so Xie De brought him back to the courtyard and gave him protective items. Before dawn, Wei Yanchi used the items to pin down a female ghost and began questioning her about her death.

• Wei Yanchi heard voices and saw ghosts in the depths of the estate, and Xie De realized that something was manipulating his mind.
• Xie De led Wei Yanchi back to the courtyard with Coal Ball, then gave him his Bluetooth earbud and sent protective items to his room.
• Wei Yanchi left the courtyard before dawn and pinned a female ghost inside the dry well with Five Emperor Coins.
• Wei Yanchi threw cinnabar at the ghost and asked how she had died, and she said she had been driven to her death.

Xie De searched for the missing Wei Yanchi during the Wei Family patriarch’s funeral and learned that the family’s ancestral worship had grown deadly. He left the funeral gathering after discovering that people were being boiled on the mountain and hearing that the clan had arranged a marriage for Wei Yanchi.

• Xie De found Wei Yanchi missing and told 455 that he had not seen him that morning.
• At the funeral, Xu Zhouluo and Zhang Mingqi asked Xie De about Wei Yanchi, while an old man called the estate the Wei Family Tomb and predicted trouble.
• The guests heard that the third master of the third branch had died, and the old man and Granny Shaman explained that the Wei Family revered the dead and drove people to their deaths.
• Zhang Mingqi and Xu Zhouluo went to search for Wei Yanchi, while 455 reported that people were being boiled and eaten on the mountain and that Wei Yanchi’s items were there.
• A Wei Family aunt asked the guests to tell Wei Yanchi that the clan had arranged a meeting for him with a distant older cousin.
• Xie De made an excuse and left the gathering.

Xie De left the Wei residence to search for Wei Yanchi and uncovered a sinister ritual in the mountain bamboo grove. He found Wei Yanchi emerging from a pit after killing the people at the altar, and the chapter ended as Wei Yanchi lunged toward him.

• Xie De used concealment talismans to leave the Wei residence despite Old Liu and Diviner Granny trying to stop him.
• Xie De met the Ghost Bride on the mountain path, and she warned that Wei Yanchi might already be dead before disappearing.
• Xu Zhouluo and Zhang Mingqi confronted the Wei Family, but Diviner Granny ended their quarrel; they then realized Xie De was missing too.
• At the old gentleman's funeral, the Wei Family opened the forbidden loft, releasing resentful ghosts as a red figure appeared.
• Xie De found an altar where people were preparing a sacrifice, then watched a black-shrouded figure kill them and emerge from a pit.
• Xie De recognized the figure as Wei Yanchi, who dropped his knife and lunged at him as if to embrace him.

Wei Yanchi returned from investigating the Wei Family’s sacrifices, while the Ghost Bride slaughtered the family and outsiders at the estate. The chapter ended as she tore out her mother’s heart and her resentment spread as black mist over the estate.

• Wei Yanchi told Xie De that the Wei Family had murdered a servant for the old patriarch’s burial and that he had killed ghosts while investigating, using the power of the Subconscious Space.
• Xie De gave Wei Yanchi Glucose Water and continued farther into the mountain as Wei Yanchi headed back.
• The Ghost Bride killed a little girl, and the Wei Family members continued kowtowing to her.
• The old man with the pipe and Diviner Granny attacked the Ghost Bride while Xu Zhouluo urged Zhang Mingqi to flee for reinforcements.
• The Rich Landowner entered the Ancestral Hall as Wei Family members offered children to him and the Ghost Bride.
• The Ghost Bride confronted her mother, then tore out her heart as black mist spread across the Wei Family estate.

Wei Yanchi enacted his plan to turn the Wei Family into ghosts and imprison them in the Subconscious Space, nearly sacrificing his life in the process. Xie De caught the collapsing Wei Yanchi, who confessed his feelings and kissed him as the battle continued.

• The old Wei patriarch emerged from his coffin as the Ghost Bride slaughtered the Wei Family, while TC730 identified Wei Yanchi as the one who could resolve the crisis.
• Wei Yanchi refused to explain his plan to Xie De, then turned back toward the estate after Zhang Mingqi warned him that the Ghost Bride was killing everyone.
• Xie De arrived at the estate and knocked out the living people, then watched as the dead Wei Family members revived as ghosts.
• Wei Yanchi arrived with an axe, opened the Subconscious Space, and used the dragon soul to imprison the Wei Family ghosts in a cage made from their bloodline.
• Wei Yanchi collapsed from the effort, and Xie De carried him away from the fighting as Wei Yanchi confessed that he liked him and kissed him.

Wei Yanchi recovered and pressed Xie De to start dating, while Xie De prepared a new S-Rank Instance and returned to G City. Wei Yanchi left to deal with the Wei Family’s surviving children and estate, and Xie De ended up locked out of his home beside blooming lilacs.

• Wei Yanchi admitted he had faked being ill to get a kiss, then hugged Xie De and asked him to date; Wei Yunmo accidentally interrupted them while delivering medicine.
• Anbers warned Wei Yunmo that the medicine he had picked up was sulfuric acid.
• Xie De planned to test the new Wei Family-themed S-Rank Instance with the Witch, Zuo Shenghang, and the trio so he could set its clearing rules and main quest.
• Wei Yanchi prepared to take the two surviving Wei children to Daoist Liu and began handling the family’s estate and distant relatives.
• On the way to find transportation, Wei Yanchi spoke with a woman with heterochromia and her husband before their paths separated.
• Xie De sat locked out of his home and recalled a passage about lilac knots and life’s unresolved problems.

455 and 730 took a brief walk together, while Xie De returned home and found his family life settling into ordinary routines. Wei Yanchi asked whether he had a place in Xie De’s future and received an affirmative answer, before Xie De noticed a calligraphy poem titled “Inkstone Pool Tree.”

• 455 persuaded 730 to take a five-minute walk, and 730 said it would never let 455 go barring unforeseen circumstances.
• 455’s celebratory fireworks damaged Xie De’s computer, and Xie De reassured his mother that his changed appearance was only due to dyed hair.
• Xie De checked the faction’s active internal forum and saw updates from Beiwei, Huang Zhuowang, and Lin Darong.
• Wei Yanchi asked Xie De whether he had a place in his future, and Xie De replied that he did.
• Xie De found a poem titled “Inkstone Pool Tree” hanging in his family’s living room and learned that his father had written it the previous year.

Juelu discovered Wei Jianye’s grave on a remote Southern Hemisphere island, casting doubt on the Wei Family instance and prompting Xie De to order an investigation. As Xie De weighed his feelings for Wei Yanchi, he told him the Wei Family matter remained unresolved and offered him a choice of where to investigate.

• Juelu and Silas found a gravestone bearing the name Wei Jianye, the old patriarch and Boss of the Wei Family instance.
• Juelu drew the Tower tarot card, and Xie De asked her to investigate the grave and contact 455 and 730.
• 730 told Xie De that the Wei Family instance was being reconstructed and asked him to question Wei Yanchi for more information.
• Xie De reflected on his growing feelings for Wei Yanchi but decided he was not ready to commit.
• After Wei Yanchi messaged Xie De about the bright moon, Xie De offered him the choice to find Juelu on the Southern Hemisphere island or enter the instance to find the Wei Family.

Juelu and Silas endured a disturbing night on the island before Wei Yanchi and Zhang Mingqi arrived to investigate Wei Jianye’s unexplained grave. As Wei Yanchi began digging, Xie De discovered that the old man’s memorial tablet also gave his death date as November 9.

• Juelu saw a blood-red eye outside the door while Silas repeatedly tried to sleepwalk out of their room.
• Wei Yanchi traveled with Zhang Mingqi to the remote island to investigate Wei Jianye’s grave and consider unanswered questions about the Wei Family.
• Wei Yanchi questioned the ghosts in his Subconscious Space about the Wei Family’s history but learned little.
• Juelu welcomed Wei Yanchi and Zhang Mingqi, and Silas appeared on the island as Juelu’s boyfriend.
• Wei Yanchi found Wei Jianye’s grave marked with a sudden illness and began digging it up.
• Xie De reached the Wei Family estate and found the old man’s memorial tablet dated November 9.

Xie De returned to the Wei Family Old Residence to search for overlooked clues while construction began to turn it into a tourist attraction. As seven university students entered the estate, Xie De encountered a ghostly disturbance and found a letter from Wei Jianjun to his older brother.

• 455 told Xie De that Wei Yanchi had donated the estate and that the local government planned to turn it into a haunted-residence tourist attraction.
• Xie De searched the Ancestral Hall and the rest of the estate for clues before construction crews could damage it.
• Seven members of the Paranormal Exploration Club entered the residence to film their exploration, and Liu Jiarui noticed the sound of the excavators had stopped.
• Xie De realized he had encountered a ghost when 455's drone disappeared, Coal Ball grew wary, and Little House Centipede trembled.
• Xie De found a letter in which Wei Jianjun described family pressure, his older brother's studies and relationships, and an arranged marriage to a distant cousin.