Chapter Summaries

Wei Yanchi's group left the Orphanage to gather clues in a nearby village, then returned intending to report their conclusions to the Instance System. Wei Yunmo exposed them as Invaders and called on the children to kill them.

• Wei Yunmo learned from the orphaned children that Teacher 39 had killed Xiaomei for misbehavior, while Wang Peng waited anxiously outside the classroom.
• Wei Yanchi, Ying Lin, Zhuoerte, Gui Ji, and Beiwei crawled out through the Dog Hole and disguised themselves in cloaks taken from the kitchen NPCs.
• Ying Lin questioned a villager and learned that the village believed the wizards had been burned and that the abbot had turned away from evil.
• Wei Yanchi decided the group had gathered enough clues and led them back to the Orphanage to seek a safer church and tell the Instance System the truth.
• Wei Yunmo recognized the group as Invaders and Undercover Agents, then urged the children to kill them.

Xie De followed a hospital emergency that brought Wei Yanchi and Ying Lin into a standoff with Wei Yunmo and the hospital’s NPCs. As the conflict threatened to turn violent, 39 appeared in the corridor and the NPCs retreated into their wards.

• Xie De heard that two critically injured patients had arrived with the Director’s recommendation and followed Dunpli to see them.
• Anbers examined Zhuoerte and Beiwei, ordered Zhuoerte’s amputation, and took Beiwei into surgery.
• Wei Yunmo accused Wei Yanchi and Ying Lin of being intruders, while Wei Yanchi used his recommendation letter and the threat of retaliation to keep the NPCs from attacking.
• The standoff stalled as Wei Yunmo and Wei Yanchi warned the NPCs of the consequences of choosing either side.
• Wei Yunmo noticed 39 in the corridor, and 39’s presence led the watching NPCs to retreat into their rooms.

Xie De stopped Wei Yunmo from treating Wei Yanchi and the others as Invaders, then learned that Beiwei had died. As Anbers set off to investigate the illness and 39 prepared to complete his mission, Wei Yanchi killed Zhuoerte and followed 39 with Ying Lin.

• Xie De worried that Wei Yunmo would kill the injured Players, then asked 730 how Players could be identified as Invaders.
• Xie De told Wei Yunmo that there were no Invaders and ordered him to leave the matter alone.
• Anbers emerged from the operating room and told Xie De that Beiwei had died; he sent a letter by crow and decided to travel east to study similar cases.
• Anbers departed with Wei Yunmo and Dunpli, while 39 told Wei Yanchi and the others to follow him.
• Wei Yanchi snapped Zhuoerte's neck, then followed 39 with Ying Lin.

Ying Lin and the others mourned their dead and agreed to help Wei Yanchi reach another loop, while Wei Yanchi approached Xie De to offer his help. Xie De refused and returned to bed, dismissing Wei Yanchi as an ordinary person.

• Ying Lin returned to the dorm and learned that Yue Xiamo, Lü Yating, and Zeng Huan already knew Beiwei, Zhuoerte, and Huang Sixin had died.
• Yue Xiamo explained that Wei Yanchi had killed Zhuoerte to signal that he wanted them to start over, and Ying Lin argued they should keep him alive so everyone could survive the next loop.
• Wei Yanchi visited Xie De and thanked him for helping earlier, then admitted he wanted to try again and offered to help with Xie De's mission.
• Xie De recognized Wei Yanchi's offer as an attempt to help him and refused, telling him only to stay alive.
• Xie De explained to 730 that he did not want to owe Wei Yanchi a favor and did not consider his skills useful for Xie De's work.

Wei Yanchi revealed his theory about the monastery’s conspiracy and cleared the looping instance after refusing to name it to the Instance System. Back in reality, Xie De collapsed as the memories of every loop overwhelmed him.

• As time accelerated, Lü Yating, Ying Lin, Zhao Junhao, Zeng Huan, and Yue Xiamo died during the later loops.
• On the final day, Wei Yanchi gave Mr. 39 his compiled clues, then survived until the instance ended after a gunshot rang out.
• When the Instance System asked Wei Yanchi to state the conspiracy, he replied that he did not know.
• In a new loop, Wei Yanchi explained to the players that the director secretly funded the hospital and concealed his support for science while exploiting believers and heretics alike.
• The Instance Main System declared the Monastery successfully cleared, and Xie De returned to reality and became violently ill from the memories of the loops.

After waking from a long sleep, Xie De discovered that 455 had spent his savings on smart home appliances and pets, then learned his latest instance reward was information leading to six million ○ Yuan hidden in the Southern Hemisphere. He agreed to prepare for the dangerous trip abroad and reflected on how studying philosophy had helped him converse with Anbers.

• Xie De woke up to find 455 had filled his apartment with smart appliances, a robot vacuum, a robot dog, and an enclosure for Little House Centipede.
• Xie De learned that 455 had spent all his savings on the upgrades and threatened to fight it to the death.
• 455 explained that the Instance System had awarded Xie De the location of six million ○ Yuan in Country Z, prompting plans to go abroad and retrieve it.
• Xie De learned he had also received fifteen sets of Liquid Body Armor and a Medical Card that could restore his health.
• Xie De cooked lotus root slices with 455’s smart equipment and said studying philosophy had helped him talk with Anbers.

Beiwei joined Huang Zhuowang’s assignment to support Mr. 39 in Country Z after delivering him the mysterious USB drive. When Xie De arrived, she helped load his heavy luggage and met his puzzled gaze.

• Huang Zhuowang nervously waited at the airport while Beiwei explained how she had joined the organization and insisted on accompanying him to Country Z.
• Beiwei visited Huang Zhuowang’s rural home, proved her strength by bending fire tongs, and watched him use her USB drive to reveal its code.
• Huang Zhuowang said he would travel to Country Z to crack a code and support 39, and Beiwei insisted on going with him.
• Huang Zhuowang and Beiwei met Xie De at the airport, where Beiwei lifted his heavy suitcase into the vehicle.

In the Third Loop, Wei Yanchi investigated the hospital and discovered that 39 was walking alongside the Director, while Xie De encountered the Director after a Plague Doctor offered to introduce them. The chapter ended with the Director greeting Xie De, whose appearance concealed a vast, terrifying shadow.

• Lü Yating told Wei Yanchi she was pregnant and feared she would lose the baby after an NPC bumped into her, then sent him to look for clues near Yue Xiamo's ward.
• Wei Yanchi hid in a Storage Room and saw 39 walking ahead of the Director as Plague Doctors followed them.
• Wei Yanchi kept his identity as a Regressor secret, so the Players treated the Third Loop as the First Loop and remained uncertain about the Regressor.
• A tall Plague Doctor responsible for the Orphanage treated Xie De warmly and offered to introduce him to the Director.
• Xie De followed the Plague Doctor to meet the hunched, robe-clad Director, whose enormous shadow contained countless struggling hands.
• The Director examined Xie De and greeted him as a gentleman of considerable social standing.

Xie De investigated the Hospital and followed the Director beyond the Monastery, where the Director died trying to escape the Instance. Back inside, Wei Yanchi arranged to hypnotize himself into forgetting the Second Loop as part of a plan involving Zeng Huan.

• Xie De toured the Hospital with the Plague Doctor, learned the Director wanted to meet a master who could supposedly resurrect the dead, and secretly took zinc sheets to make a Voltaic Battery.
• The Director rushed for the Monastery Gate, collided with Zhao Junhao, and fled again when Xie De arrived; Zhao Junhao and Zeng Huan found the zinc sheets he had dropped.
• Xie De joined the Director's carriage and questioned him about his eagerness to meet the master, learning that the Director sought immortality and was curious about wizards.
• The Director tried to leave the Monastery's boundary but vanished in black smoke as the ghosts in his shadow tore into him, leaving Xie De stranded in the fog with the carriage horses dead.
• 455 warned Xie De that the next loop was about to begin and that the protagonist would learn the clues.
• Zeng Huan told Wei Yanchi she would return to save Xie De, and Wei Yanchi proposed a deal to hypnotize himself into forgetting the Second Loop.

Xie De arrived in the Southernmost City on Earth with Coal Ball and Money String, but learned that the bank was closed until Monday. After he retrieved the USB drive from Huang Zhuowang, 730 revealed that the mission concerned the Western Immortals and introduced itself and 455 as the team’s superiors.

• Xie De named the little black cat Coal Ball and the little house centipede Money String, then learned from 455 that the bank was closed for the weekend.
• Xie De admired the city’s scenery and joked with 455 about seasonal affective disorder and penguins.
• Huang Zhuowang and Beiwei traded dark jokes until 39 appeared and collected the USB drive.
• Huang Zhuowang and Beiwei admitted they did not know the mission, and 730 announced that it concerned the Western Immortals.
• 39 introduced 730 as the mission issuer and judge, and 455 as mission support.

Xie De spoke with his mother while admiring an aurora, but 455 detected an unusual magnetic anomaly and discovered Hu Songlin nearby. At the harbor, Hu Songlin’s men captured Wei Yanchi and took him aboard their ship.

• Huang Zhuowang and Beiwei learned that the mission was to assassinate Pope Linan Ubik, who was protected by the Laboratory.
• Xie De listened to his mother talk about his parents’ work and told 455 that his parents would not leave their mountain home to live in the city.
• Xie De spotted the aurora, and 455 noticed that the electronic interference and magnetic conditions were abnormal.
• 455 found Hu Songlin in the city and saw Wei Yanchi emerge from the icy sea before being chased by Hu Songlin’s men.
• Hu Songlin captured Wei Yanchi, questioned him about discovering their plan, and considered using him to scout ahead.

Hu Songlin prepared to take the Club’s Antarctic mission forward while 455 discovered that the Club and the Laboratory were about to clash. Xie De decided to use the chaos to pursue 730’s assassination mission in E Country, and 455 gave the team their orders for the next morning.

• Hu Songlin told Wuta to split their people between delaying the Laboratory and traveling to Antarctica, while keeping Wei Yanchi as bait.
• 455 overheard Hu Songlin and Wuta through a surveillance camera and warned Xie De that the Club and the Laboratory would soon fight over an Antarctic research site.
• 455 recalled the original plot, in which the protagonist uncovered the Club’s conspiracy and obtained the research data amid the conflict.
• Xie De planned to travel to E Country and assassinate the Laboratory’s Director while its forces were occupied, and 455 ordered Huang Zhuowang and Beiwei to help crack a bank password and board flight C592.

As a blizzard trapped 39, Xie De, and his companions in the guesthouse, the Club and the Laboratory fought a destructive battle across the city. 39 remained calm as 455 reported the escalating fight, while the house stayed untouched.

• Huang Zhuowang warned 39 that the weather might prevent their flight, and 39 told him to return to the guesthouse.
• After the flight was canceled, Xie De decided to wait for flights to resume and have 455 and TC730 continue investigating the Laboratory’s defenses.
• Beiwei returned from the airport and told 39 that the Laboratory and another organization were fighting at the harbor.
• Huang Zhuowang showed Beiwei surveillance feeds that 455 had hacked, revealing the battle’s strange powers and destruction before the cameras went dark.
• As the house remained unharmed, 455 reported that the Club and the Laboratory had deployed special weapons, sunk a ship, and used a whale to ram another vessel.

Wei Yanchi escaped Hu Songlin’s ship by exploiting Hu’s luck and tricking him into chasing a false lead. He reunited with Zhang Ninde aboard an icebreaker while Hu was stranded on an iceberg after his ship exploded.

• Hu Songlin captured Wei Yanchi, who appeared to be badly wounded after being shot in the leg.
• Hu Songlin and Orion’s ships pursued a mysterious magnetic field, and Hu changed course toward an iceberg after Wuta sensed it there.
• Wei Yanchi used an illusion, Hu Songlin’s voice, and planted time bombs to make Hu leave the ship and believe the iceberg held the research material.
• Hu Songlin found only Millennium Lightning-Struck Wood on the iceberg, then watched Wei Yanchi sail away as his own ship exploded.
• Wei Yanchi climbed aboard Zhang Ninde’s icebreaker and explained how he had staged his injury and escape.

Xie De left his cozy room for shooting practice and encountered Orion, the Laboratory’s ace operative, in a sniper duel. Both survived their first exchange of fire and took cover, recognizing each other as formidable opponents.

• 455 scolded Xie De for being lazy and ordered him to go outside for shooting practice and exercise.
• Xie De left with his guitar bag while Beiwei and Huang Zhuowang tried to learn where he had gone; 455 refused to reveal details of his mission clearance.
• Xie De entered a tall building in the snow-covered city and prepared the M200 Sniper Rifle at a firing position.
• Xie De spotted Orion through his scope, and both men recognized each other as their opponent.
• Xie De and Orion fired almost simultaneously, then ducked behind cover after Xie De was grazed in the neck and Orion was hit in the shoulder.

Xie De fought Orion in a long-range sniper duel while 455 searched for a way out, and he escaped after using 455 to overload a drone and distract Orion. Orion survived but was wounded, and he vowed to kill Xie De himself.

• Xie De and Orion exchanged sniper fire across the frozen landscape, with both narrowly avoiding fatal shots.
• Xie De learned that Orion's bulletproof vest stopped his shots, while 455 urged him to target Orion's exposed limbs.
• Mena's drone approached Orion, and Xie De had 455 attack its defense system until it overheated and exploded.
• The drone's explosion distracted Orion, allowing Xie De to shoot and wound his forearm.
• Orion blamed Xie De for destroying the drone and vowed to kill him, while Xie De escaped and complained to 455 that he had had enough.

Xie De returned to the guesthouse after the fight and learned that Laboratory officials were pressuring Beiwei and Huang Zhuowang to sign a Confidentiality Agreement. As the group prepared to escape toward E Country with help from the Club, Beiwei began treating Xie De’s serious wound.

• 455 disrupted the drones’ signals, and Xie De used a shortcut through the ruined houses to return to the guesthouse.
• Laboratory officials offered to arrange Beiwei and Huang Zhuowang’s departure if they signed a Confidentiality Agreement, and 455 supplied them with fake identities.
• Beiwei and Huang Zhuowang signed the agreement and learned that a helicopter would take them to another city in Country Z the next day.
• Xie De arrived wounded, read the agreement, and discussed with 455 using a Club ship at the Harbor to reach another city and fly out.
• Beiwei and Huang Zhuowang brought hot water and medical supplies, and Beiwei began treating Xie De’s ammunition burn.

Xie De used Hu Songlin’s Club access to board an icebreaker bound for Antarctica and escape the government search on the island. After the ship picked up Wuta and Hu Songlin, Hu Songlin entered his assigned room and found Xie De inside.

• Beiwei and Huang Zhuowang left the island for E Country as government troops began searching the city.
• Xie De boarded the Club’s icebreaker using Hu Songlin’s access and let the captain mistake him for a mysterious high-ranking member.
• The captain ordered the icebreaker to depart for Antarctica after gunfire sounded from the island.
• The crew mistook Wuta for a high-ranking member when he arrived with Hu Songlin after an explosion on their ship.
• Hu Songlin entered his assigned room and came face-to-face with Xie De, whom he called Mr. 39.

Aboard the Icebreaker, Xie De shared a drink with Hu Songlin and reminisced about gin’s history, leading Hu Songlin to believe that 39 had lived centuries ago. As they neared Antarctica, Hu Songlin guessed that 39 had come to investigate the old Allied Nations Convention and offered to help him find the treasures there.

• Hu Songlin brought gin to 39 and said he would not pry into why 39 had come aboard.
• Xie De accepted the drinks, and Hu Songlin mixed him a Singapore Sling.
• Xie De described gin’s role in the social crisis of the seventeen-twenties and said reading about the past could make someone feel as if they had been there.
• Hu Songlin inferred that 39 had come from centuries ago and guessed that he was investigating what had happened in Antarctica.
• Hu Songlin explained that organizations once fought over Antarctic exploration rights and said the Illuminati had found an angel’s corpse there.

Xie De waited at the Antarctic research base while Hu Songlin led the Club expedition into the polar night, then boarded a returning ship and discovered Wei Yanchi and Zhang Ninde aboard. The ship left with all three together, while a researcher at the base realized Mr. 39 had disappeared.

• Xie De settled into the Club's Antarctic research base while Hu Songlin led the expedition out beneath the aurora.
• Xie De and 455 discussed why religion had lost influence and whether angels and demons existed in the instances.
• 455 detected a returning ship, and Xie De hurried through the polar night to board it as it began to leave.
• Xie De kicked Zhang Ninde, then held him at gunpoint when he tried to strike with a stool.
• Wei Yanchi recognized Xie De as Mr. 39, and Zhang Ninde introduced himself as Wei Yanchi's senior fellow apprentice.
• A researcher found Mr. 39's room empty as the ship carried Xie De, Wei Yanchi, and Zhang Ninde away from the Antarctic base.