Ji Xun

Biodata

Feature	Details
Name	Ji Xun (季寻)
Alias(es)	“Ji,” used by Tang Cha; “Yuan Ci,” a false name given to Doctor Zhai 16 30
Species/Race	Nonhuman; exact species unspecified 7 49
Gender	Male
Affiliation	Formerly the Escape Game Main System; employment contract transferred to the Infinite-Flow Main System 2 6
Occupation/Role	Former escape-game boss; infinite survival game player on the system’s permanent payroll 2 6
Residence	A cabin in the Black Pine Forest before his transfer; housing in C District of Headquarters Base afterward 2 37
Status	Active; investigating Thinking Forest Mansion at the latest documented point 50
First Appearance	Chapter 2, “Beginner Uninhabited Village (2)” 2

Background / History

Ji Xun began working in escape games as a toddler. His few childhood memories involve playing a mischievous ghost child in a dilapidated house rather than enjoying an ordinary childhood. He later worked in the Black Pine Forest, where he learned about human emotions by observing escapees 2 7 47.

Despite ranking among the escape games’ three strongest bosses by combat strength, Ji Xun had a 72% player escape rate. The Escape Game Main System interpreted his performance as slacking off and dismissed him shortly after he had saved enough points to purchase a forest cabin. He had not spent a single day in it 2 10.

His former employer sent him into a neighboring sister system’s infinite-flow game to learn how its bosses worked. Initially believing both his savings and house were lost, Ji Xun argued unsuccessfully for severance pay. After securing the possibility of returning, he asked that nobody enter his forest and that Little Mushroom look after his cabin 2 6.

Employment Terms

Ji Xun negotiated with Instance Administrator 009 rather than accepting his transfer without conditions 6.

Term	Agreement
Employment	His existing contract was transferred, making him a player on the permanent payroll 6.
Business-trip allowance	His time in the new system counts as a business trip, with an additional allowance worth twice his previous salary 6.
Choice after full clearance	He may return to the Escape System or remain employed by the Infinite-Flow System 6.
Human-world identity	The administrator agreed to provide a legal identity in the human world 6.
Power restriction	His abilities would be weakened to preserve game balance 6.

Appearance

Ji Xun is a strikingly handsome young man whose cold, predatory gaze can abruptly give way to a blank or aggrieved expression 2.

• Black hooded trench coat: His most recognizable garment, treasured as a gift from a Black Pine Forest neighbor 2 9.
• Bloodstained work clothes: Beneath the coat, he wears black trousers and a white shirt so saturated with blood that it appears rust-red. The stains do not wash away during his river dive 9 10.
• Long blade at his waist: Usually concealed or accompanied by his coat; its bloodied appearance briefly makes Tang Cha fear that he is a monster 3 9.
• Strong smell of blood: Tang Cha notices it while resting beside him 3.
• Imposed childhood photograph: The village presents an image of him as a pretty, expressionless boy with large black irises beneath an entirely black pine tree. Ji Xun suspects this connection was manufactured by the system 3.

Personality

Ji Xun is blunt, irreverent, and difficult to intimidate. He mocks hostile villagers, taunts the regenerating Administrator, and destroys the Temple’s statue after rescuing Lu Jiancheng. He is particularly hostile toward exploitation and self-proclaimed divine authority 6 34 38.

His complaints about employment, housing, and withheld rewards contrast with his frightening reputation. Points matter to him: he challenges the system over his unpaid village clearance and reconsiders Dawn’s recruitment offer only after learning that hundred-player instances award double points 2 15 37.

Although his manner is often impatient, Ji Xun repeatedly protects others and treats suffering ghosts compassionately. He comforts A-Fei, gives Zhao Fu a peaceful final dream, rescues Su Rang and Li Anmeng, and refuses to abandon Class Twelve when Doctor Zhai considers their restoration nearly impossible 9 10 27 34.

He understands friendship better than romance. Having learned familial affection and friendship from escapees, he readily regards Tang Cha’s group as friends, but does not recognize what a couple is doing when the team encounters them together in the mansion. His anger over Yuan Ci’s secrecy likewise confuses him, even though he conceals his own identity 26 47.

Ji Xun’s compassion does not extend to tolerating deliberate betrayal. He attempts to kill Deng Tianyu after accusing him of poisoning and manipulating other players, dismissing the Humanity Covenant as irrelevant because he is not human 49 50.

Abilities & Skills

Combat and Saber Use

Ji Xun ranks among the top three escape-game bosses in raw combat strength, independently of his performance record 10.

• Slaughters more than half the attacking scorpions and human-headed snakes during the river rescue 10.
• Throws his long blade to sever a scorpion’s tail; the weapon returns to him as though alive 10.
• Cuts through supernatural instrument strings and stabs the face sustaining the staircase trap 20.
• Drives off the dorm supervisor with a punch, then vaguely attributes the attack to an item 23.
• Defeats seven copies of his reflection before questioning the students behind them 28.
• Lands safely after jumping from a third-floor window 34.

Nonhuman Physiology and Perception

• Night vision: Darkness does not impair his ability to see, allowing him to investigate without a flashlight 5 28.
• No nutritional requirement: He does not need to eat, although he discovers that he enjoys food 16 18.
• Wakefulness: He does not need rest during the village watch and remains awake when supernatural drowsiness incapacitates his teammates 6 8.
• Supernatural awareness: He identifies the Red-Dress Ghost as a Proxy Ghost and reports sensing no ghosts or monsters during the mansion’s nighttime disturbances 26 43.
• Physical vulnerability: His nonhuman nature does not prevent pain or injury; molten chandelier ornaments burn his palm 27.

Final Dream

Ji Xun uses his power to end Zhao Fu’s venom-induced suffering and give him a peaceful final dream of the ordinary family life he had wanted 10.

• The documented use concerns a dying teammate, not a combat opponent 10.
• The mechanism and broader limits of the power are not explained in the provided chapters.

Investigation and Negotiation

Ji Xun combines close observation with intimidation, bargaining, and practical tests.

• Recognizes that a skeleton was skinned, drained of blood, and stripped of flesh, drawing on familiarity with a butcher colleague’s slaughterhouse 6.
• Notices a concealed watcher and allows a marble to be planted in his pocket without revealing his awareness 7.
• Removes and burns mirror talismans to let Jiang Yao and Deng Wen leave their confinement 30.
• Uses the cook’s interest in a recipe to extract information about the master’s affair 44.
• Arranges a food test with Gu Rui, helping establish that the mansion’s mushrooms cause the players’ abnormal nighttime state 45 49.
• Keeps a second vial when confronting Deng Tianyu, frustrating the latter’s attempt to destroy his evidence 49.

System Restrictions

Restriction	Effect
Neutral-NPC protection	The system forbids him from attacking the bus passengers and threatens his salary until he sheathes his saber 3.
General weakening	Administrator 009 announces that his abilities will be reduced to maintain balance 6.
Punishment for excessive killing	After the river rescue, his hand becomes too weak to lift or wield his blade; trembling continues during the village escape 11 14.
Required clearing methods	A warning prevents Ji Xun and Yuan Ci from simply breaking through the staircase’s false wall 20.
Reward penalties	His unconventional village solution earns zero points because of emergency repairs and NPC complaints, despite achieving the true ending 15.

Equipment / Weapons / Items

• Long saber — His principal weapon, used against monsters, supernatural traps, and hostile players. It can return to him after being thrown 10 20 50.
• Black trench coat — A treasured gift made from special material that protects him from the struggling student ghost’s razor-sharp paper 9 33.
• Hei Hei — A Barrier-Breaking Mouse offered by the ghost baby. It disrupts the struggling student’s frenzy, can pierce illusions, and later wakes Ji Xun from a Black Pine Forest vision by biting his finger 32 33 37 49.
• Struggling student’s skullcap — A side-quest reward stored in his inventory. Its function remains unclear; Ji Xun can only establish that the bone is very hard 33 37.
• Doctor Zhai / Little Skeleton — A companion who accompanies him out of the school and can appear as a small skeleton in his inventory 36 37.
• Maid’s notebook — Retrieved beside her decomposing body in the mansion’s underground chamber and handed to Tang Cha for examination 50.

Relationships

• Tang Cha — Friend and recurring teammate. They first bond over losing access to something they had just earned: Ji Xun’s cabin and Tang Cha’s university admission. Tang Cha increasingly relies on his protection 2 3 15 37.
• Lu Jiancheng — Trusted teammate. Ji Xun rescues him from the Temple after discovering that he has been abducted 37 38.
• Fang Rui — Trusted teammate whose reasoning Ji Xun actively solicits. She organizes the group’s clues and supports his cautious approach 6 12 40 49.
• Yuan Ci — Powerful ally, prospective recruiter, and source of flirtatious teasing. His secrecy damages their trust, leading Ji Xun to block him; they resume cooperation, and Ji Xun later removes the block 18 27 28 35 37.
• Su Rang — Ally whom Ji Xun rescues from the auditorium fire. He later supplies gasoline for Ji Xun’s plan to free Class Twelve 27 35.
• Zhao Fu — Teammate whose fatal poisoning Ji Xun cannot reverse. He ends Zhao Fu’s suffering and gives him a comforting final dream 10.
• A-Fei — Drowned child whom Ji Xun comforts and retrieves from the river. A-Fei later repays him by disrupting the monsters with firecrackers 9 11 14.
• Deng Wen and Jiang Yao — Student ghosts whom Ji Xun promises to free. They help gather evidence and assist in liberating Class Twelve 28 29 30 35 36.
• Doctor Zhai / Little Skeleton — Reluctantly accepted companion. He recognizes Ji Xun’s shared boss identity and warns him about Yuan Ci’s repeated massacres in the school instance 36 37.
• Gu Rui — Veteran player who negotiates an alliance using the Painting Studio key. Ji Xun entrusts him with tests and distractions; Gu Rui later requests an ongoing partnership 45 48 50.
• Deng Tianyu — Suspected betrayer whom Ji Xun attempts to kill. Deng escapes by submitting the correct murderer and clearing the instance 49 50.
• Little Mushroom — Black Pine Forest acquaintance entrusted with watching Ji Xun’s cabin. Addresses him as “Big brother” during the mansion-tunnel vision 6 49.
• Administrator 009 — System contact with whom Ji Xun negotiates employment conditions and disputes reward penalties 6 15.

Story Role / Major Arcs

Uninhabited Village

• Enters with an assigned “ordinary working stiff” identity and a suspicious village backstory claiming he left for the city at seven 2 3.
• Becomes the group’s principal protector, keeps watch, and wakes teammates from the instance’s forced nighttime sleep 6 8.
• Dives into the river, encounters A-Fei, receives the child’s memories, and retrieves him before rescuing the other players from monsters 9 10.
• Following Zhao Fu’s death and his own punishment, tells the survivors that they must rely on one another rather than depend entirely on him 11.
• Escapes with help from A-Fei while his hand is still trembling. The group achieves the true ending, permanently sealing the village, but Ji Xun receives no clearance points 14 15.

Headquarters Base and Experimental Middle School

• Registers in C District and agrees to team up with Tang Cha again, but is forcibly sent into another instance on his second day at the base 15 16.
• Enters the seven-day, twenty-player A-rank school scenario and works with Yuan Ci to investigate its ghost stories 17 20.
• Witnesses the memory of Class Twelve’s murder in the auditorium fire and rescues Su Rang and Li Anmeng, burning his hand in the process 27.
• After distancing himself from Yuan Ci, negotiates with the mirror students and investigates the school’s drugging, exploitation, and disposal of students 28 29 30.
• Reunites the ghost baby with his mother and helps resolve the struggling student ghost’s unfinished problem 32 33.
• Burns the classroom building and breaks the lobby mirror to release Class Twelve. The school itself is verified as the final ghost story 35 36.
• Has Doctor Zhai report the crimes to police, who uncover student remains and evidence against the principal. He also delivers a departed person’s final message to a grieving woman 36 37.

Reward / Offer	Outcome
School clearance	Receives 1,799 points 37.
Thanks for saving Su Rang	Accepts 5,000 points from Yuan Ci 37.
Dawn recruitment	Initially refuses, then agrees to consider it after learning about double-point hundred-player instances 37.

Temple Rescue and Thinking Forest Mansion

• Finds a note leading to the Temple after Lu Jiancheng disappears, frees him, rejects the God Lord’s recruitment, and destroys the guild’s statue as a warning 38.
• Leads Tang Cha, Fang Rui, and Lu Jiancheng through the mansion investigation, refusing its meals and sourcing pheasants and fruit instead 41 42.
• Connects the mistress’s earring to the Iron Soldier, uncovers the master’s affair, and recognizes that all seven marriage portraits depict the same woman 41 43 44 45.
• Protects Liu Jincheng from the cook and arranges a kitchen investigation while privately preparing to confront Deng Tianyu 48.
• Accuses Deng of poisoning players and manipulating them into blaming the cook. His attempt to kill Deng fails when the latter clears the instance and disappears 49 50.
• Finds the Maid and Mr. Lin’s bodies in an underground chamber, retrieves the Maid’s notebook, and shares the correct answer—the Male Host killed the mistress—allowing other players to leave. Ji Xun remains to examine the notebook with his team 50.