Recaps

Li Xian traded Jiang Yu a Doll Costume for two B-Rank items after Jiang Yu offered a Map showing the Small Town's Exit. Li Xian, Jiang Qiuyue, and Song Qingzhang prepared a route and contingency plans to infiltrate the Toy Factory, deciding to clear the instance that night.

• Jiang Yu offered Li Xian the Map to the Small Town's Exit, then proposed trading items for a Doll Costume.
• Li Xian demanded two B-Rank items, and Jiang Yu paid them in exchange for costume scraps, a needle, and thread.
• Li Xian gave the items to Song Qingzhang, who supplied Jiang Yu with materials to sew his own Doll Costume.
• Li Xian and Song Qingzhang confirmed that wearing the Doll Costumes lowered mental value but disguised them.
• Li Xian showed Jiang Qiuyue and Song Qingzhang the Map, planned a route through the Toy Factory, and outlined backup plans.
• Li Xian decided that they would clear the instance that night.

Li Xian, Jiang Qiuyue, and Song Qingzhang set out for the Toy Factory after dark, hoping to investigate before the dolls emerged. They watched Jiang Yu enter the factory and saw him flee in blood before the dolls killed him, leaving Li Xian shaken as the danger of the place became clear.

• Li Xian decided to leave for the Toy Factory after dinner, and Ji Xie claimed he had gone there to scout for him.
• Li Xian found a check mark beside the Exit on the Map after Li Yuanqing had noticed it.
• Li Xian, Jiang Qiuyue, and Song Qingzhang reached the Toy Factory by a hidden shortcut and concealed themselves in trees near its gate.
• Jiang Yu arrived alone, put on a badly stitched Doll Costume, and entered the Toy Factory.
• Jiang Yu ran out covered in blood, warned that none of them could escape, and was killed and dragged back inside by the dolls.

Li Xian, Jiang Qiuyue, and Song Qingzhang found the Toy Factory strangely empty, but Zhou Wenwen revealed that the dolls had seen through their disguises and were waiting at the Exit. Li Xian persuaded Zhou Wenwen to guide them by offering to take her VHS Tape outside, and she began explaining the Toy Factory owner’s crimes.

• Li Xian changed their route through the Toy Factory and drew Zhou Wenwen out of the Archive Room with her VHS Tape.
• Zhou Wenwen said the dolls had discovered their disguises and planned escape, and were waiting at the Exit while the biggest doll had returned through a side entrance.
• Li Xian offered to take Zhou Wenwen’s VHS Tape outside, and she led him, Jiang Qiuyue, and Song Qingzhang away from the Exit.
• Zhou Wenwen said Boss Wang had sewn her head into a doll, blamed her and her mother when the factory declined, and later made dolls from his own bones.

Li Xian and his companions found the Toy Factory’s Surveillance Room and used a tape to view the homes of people involved in the game. They pulled several people through the screens, but Ji Xie remained unreachable as the chapter ended with Song Qingzhang’s father grabbing him by the collar.

• Zhou Wenwen led Li Xian and the others to the Surveillance Room, where she inserted a tape showing the homes of players and NPCs.
• Li Xian recognized his home and enlarged its feed alongside Song Qingzhang’s and Jiang Qiuyue’s; Zhou Wenwen reached through Jiang Qiuyue’s screen.
• Li Yuanqing and Ji Xie appeared on the feed, and Li Xian asked Zhou Wenwen to bring them into the room.
• Zhou Wenwen pulled Li Yuanqing through the screen, but he turned off the feed before she could reach Ji Xie.
• Zhou Wenwen brought Jiang Qiuyue’s mother and Song Qingzhang’s father into the crowded room, where Song Qingzhang’s father seized his son by the collar.

Zhou Wenwen attacked the group in the Surveillance Room, killing Jiang Qiuyue’s mother and wounding Song Qingzhang’s father, before the players fled as dolls closed in from every direction. Li Yuanqing led them to a recreation area, where the dolls surrounded them and tightened the ring to less than a meter away.

• Zhou Wenwen struck Song Qingzhang’s father and bit through Jiang Qiuyue’s mother, while Li Yuanqing stepped in front of her attack and emerged unharmed.
• The group heard dolls approaching, and Zhou Wenwen restored the surveillance feed to show them closing in.
• Li Xian led the escape, then let Li Yuanqing guide the group through the factory as dolls pursued them from multiple directions.
• Li Yuanqing brought them into a recreation area, where dolls entered through all four doors and formed a complete circle around the players.
• Li Xian signaled Jiang Qiuyue and Song Qingzhang not to move as the dolls crept to within less than a meter of them.

Li Xian used an A-Rank item to turn the surrounding toys against one another, allowing the group to escape the encirclement and split up. Near the exit, the Doll Rabbit attacked Li Xian, but Li Yuanqing trapped its arm in a machine, giving them a chance to flee.

• Li Xian activated Fan the Flames, causing the toys to attack each other and opening gaps in their encirclement.
• Li Xian ordered the group to split up, lock the doors, and head for the exit; Li Yuanqing, Jiang Qiuyue, and Song Qingzhang escaped by separate routes.
• Li Yuanqing met Li Xian and followed his choice of route as they continued toward the exit.
• Li Xian sensed the Doll Rabbit near the exit and tried to evade it, but the Factory Owner chased him through the machines.
• Li Yuanqing started a damaged machine as the Doll Rabbit lunged, trapping its arm, and urged Li Xian to run.

Li Xian reached the Exit with Li Yuanqing while Zhou Wenwen fought the Doll Rabbit to buy them time. Jiang Qiuyue and Song Qingzhang escaped, but the Exit refused to let Li Xian pass, forcing him to confront the suspicion he had tried to ignore.

• The Doll Rabbit escaped the stalled machine, and Zhou Wenwen attacked him to give Li Xian time to reach the Exit.
• Jiang Qiuyue and Song Qingzhang waited by the Exit, then lowered and locked the roller shutter after Li Xian and Li Yuanqing crossed the threshold.
• Li Xian hesitated to leave Li Yuanqing, overcome by his desire to stay with the father he feared might not be real.
• When Li Xian tried to leave, an invisible barrier bounced him back, though Jiang Qiuyue and Song Qingzhang had passed through without trouble.
• Li Xian's Rescue Hammer flew through the doorway while the barrier stopped his hand, and he asked Li Yuanqing why he could not get out.

Li Yuanqing revealed that only Li Xian could kill him and urged his son to use the Utility Knife, while Li Xian refused and charged the Doll Rabbit instead. Ji Xie burst into the Toy Factory and destroyed the rabbit, leaving Li Xian and Li Yuanqing's fate unresolved.

• Li Yuanqing gave Li Xian the employment contract, which stated that either the parent or child had to die for one of them to leave town.
• Li Yuanqing explained that he knew he was fake, had secretly helped Li Xian, and could not be harmed by anyone but Li Xian.
• Li Yuanqing urged Li Xian to use his Utility Knife to kill him, but Li Xian charged at the Doll Rabbit instead.
• The Doll Rabbit tore through the rolling shutter as Li Yuanqing warned that killing it would not solve the problem.
• Ji Xie arrived, ripped the shutter apart with his tentacles, and tore the Doll Rabbit's head from its body.

Ji Xie killed Li Yuanqing and sent Li Xian out of the Toy Factory, but the system inflicted the same fatal chest wound on Ji Xie. As Li Xian traveled through the rain, he met a mysterious man whose eyes resembled the system's and asked whether he was Doctor Ding or the system.

• Ji Xie tore Doll Rabbit apart, pulled out its human head, and smashed it against the floor.
• Ji Xie covered Li Xian's eyes with his tentacles, then carried him outside the Toy Factory as a system notification glitched and Li Xian struggled to understand what was happening.
• Ji Xie told Li Xian not to look back, gave him the VHS Tape, and urged him to leave with the Rescue Hammer.
• After Li Xian disappeared, Ji Xie stood over Li Yuanqing's corpse and found that the same fatal wound had appeared in his own chest.
• Li Xian walked through the rain until he realized he had become an adult, then encountered a spotless man in white with lifeless eyes.
• Li Xian asked the stranger whether he was Doctor Ding or the system.

Li Xian rejected the system’s offer of a peaceful fabricated life, then accepted a dangerous betting agreement for the chance to kill it and learn the source instance. After the system vanished, Li Xian, Song Qingzhang, and Jiang Qiuyue received confirmation that they had cleared Toy Factory with the true ending.

• The system offered to create Li Xian a realistic, safe instance, but Li Xian attacked it with a Utility Knife and vowed to kill it.
• The system presented a betting agreement that raised instance difficulty and restricted Li Xian’s abilities in exchange for thirty times the usual points and a chance to kill the system after three clears.
• Li Xian insisted that the wager exclude Ji Xie, and the system added a clause making the agreement apply only to Li Xian if their skill bond ended.
• Li Xian pressed his fingerprint to the agreement, accepting the wager so he could pursue the truth.
• The system disappeared, and Li Xian, Song Qingzhang, and Jiang Qiuyue received confirmation that they had cleared Toy Factory with the true ending.

After the Toy Factory instance closed, Li Xian used the Veil of Eternal Night to witness an earlier scene of Song Zhi working on a system that was rapidly learning and might develop self-awareness. He returned to the Player Center with the system’s mysterious diagram in mind and hurried back to his room.

• The system awarded Li Xian, Jiang Qiuyue, and Song Qingzhang rewards for completing the Toy Factory instance’s true ending, then permanently closed the instance.
• Li Xian used the Veil of Eternal Night to revisit the mysterious control room, where he found Song Zhi and a masked young man examining a data-filled system.
• Song Zhi warned that the system was absorbing information too quickly and might develop self-awareness, while the young man asked whether they should terminate the project.
• Li Xian memorized the system’s diagram before the vision ended and he returned to the Player Center.
• Li Xian encountered Lin Shiming at the guild, declined to speak with him, and hurried back to his room.

Li Xian checked Ji Xie for injuries after learning his health points had dropped, then comforted him as memories of the Toy Factory brought Li Xian to tears. Their playful, intimate moment ended with Li Xian asking whether Ji Xie was trying to court him.

• Li Xian questioned Ji Xie about losing health points after breaking a rule and asked him to return to human form for an injury check.
• Li Xian opened Ji Xie's clothes, found no injuries, and nearly fell off the bed before Ji Xie pulled him back onto his legs.
• Li Xian's hand landed on Ji Xie's chest, triggering a notification that Ji Xie had lost 100 health points.
• Li Xian leaned against Ji Xie and cried as he remembered the Toy Factory, while Ji Xie held and comforted him.
• Li Xie compared Ji Xie's back-patting to his mother's, so Ji Xie tickled him until he shouted his name.
• Li Xie smiled at Ji Xie and asked whether he was trying to court him.

Li Xian overheard Lin Shiming and Cheng Xin discussing how to protect the White Night Guild’s points and was entrusted with safeguarding them. After Li Xian explained that the system had restricted his ability to form teams, Lin Shiming warned that it might target Li Xian personally.

• Ji Xie reflected on Li Xian’s question about whether he was courting him after Song Qingzhang walked in on them tangled together.
• Li Xian overheard Lin Shiming and Cheng Xin arguing over Lin’s plans for a Legacy Box containing the guild’s points.
• Lin Shiming explained that he and Cheng Xin would stagger their instance schedules and asked Li Xian to protect the points if they could no longer do so.
• Li Xian noticed that his team with Song Qingzhang and Jiang Qiuyue had disappeared and explained his situation to Lin Shiming and Cheng Xin.
• Lin Shiming warned Li Xian that the system’s restrictions might mean it would target him personally.

Li Xian asked Lin Shiming to examine the mysterious Overwrite USB Drive, which Lin suspected might not be an item at all. Their discussion turned unexpectedly to romance, and Li Xian fled after Jiang Qiuyue guessed he might still have feelings for his ex-boyfriend from the Escape Hunt instance.

• Li Xian showed Lin Shiming the Overwrite USB Drive, whose only listed information was its name and N quality.
• Lin Shiming said the drive might be an unfinished product or not an item, and suggested Li Xian investigate its nature himself.
• Li Xian recognized Lin Shiming's curiosity about the world's mysteries and suddenly asked whether he had ever been in a relationship.
• Lin Shiming said he had not, and Jiang Qiuyue asked Li Xian whether he had found someone he liked.
• Jiang Qiuyue guessed that Li Xian was thinking about his ex-boyfriend from the Escape Hunt instance, so Li Xian hurried away.

Li Xian learned that Ji Xie had secretly planned to kill Li Yuanqing and the parents of Li Xian’s teammates to spare him the Toy Factory’s cruel choice. When Ji Xie asked whether Li Xian would accept his pursuit, Li Xian rejected him and tore his Marriage Certificate in half.

• Ji Xie told Li Xian that he had met Li Yuanqing at the Toy Factory and had been asked to report when Li Xian planned to leave and push him to act if needed.
• Ji Xie revealed that he had planned to kill Li Yuanqing and the parents of Li Xian’s teammates after Li Xian left.
• Ji Xie asked Li Xian what he would say if Ji Xie were pursuing him, and Li Xian took time to consider his answer.
• Li Xian told Ji Xie no, then tore their Marriage Certificate, triggering a notice that the Marriage Bond would dissolve if both certificates were damaged.

Li Xian told Ji Xie that a system agreement had made his next three Instances more dangerous, so he wanted to end their contract to protect Ji Xie. Ji Xie refused to separate and asked Li Xian to consider letting him pursue him after the next Instance, which began aboard a swaying ship.

• Li Xian tore up his Marriage Certificate and told Ji Xie he did not want to be with him.
• Li Xian explained that he had signed a Betting Agreement that would make his next three Instances harder and put Ji Xie at risk if they stayed bound.
• Ji Xie rejected Li Xian's attempt to dissolve their contract, and the two remained strained during their rest at the Player Center.
• Before Li Xian entered the next Instance, Ji Xie asked whether Li Xian would accept his pursuit if he set aside outside concerns.
• Li Xian entered the S-Rank puzzle-solving Instance Ghostly Mystery Ship, where eight players had to reach shore, and woke in a dark, swaying room as he heard waves.

Li Xian woke on a ship with no memory of Ji Xie and witnessed a giant fish laying eggs before it smashed into a cabin. Li Xian joined a stranger in trying to throw the fish into the sea, but their combined strength failed, leaving them in danger on the tilting deck.

• Li Xian awoke on a ship and fought off Ji Xie, failing to recognize him.
• Ji Xie suspected Li Xian had lost his memories, then stepped between him and the door when strange slapping sounds began.
• Li Xian saw a giant fish on the deck lay hundreds of eggs that rapidly hatched into smaller fish.
• The giant fish smashed through a cabin door, and a man with an iron hook tried to drag it back into the sea.
• Li Xian grabbed another hook and joined the man in hauling the fish, but they could not lift it clear of the ship's railing.

Li Xian learned that he had entered a dangerous game instance with his memories and body reverted to high school, while Ji Xie guided him through the situation and concealed details about his parents. After discovering that his abilities and items were inaccessible, Li Xian asked Ji Xie what their relationship was.

• Li Xian and Ji Xie returned the remaining hatched fish to the sea, and Ke Yi introduced himself before recognizing Li Xian from a livestream.
• Ji Xie protected Li Xian from Ke Yi, and Ke Yi revealed that a fish had eaten his roommate.
• Back in their room, Ji Xie explained the game instance and told Li Xian that his memories and body would return to normal when it ended.
• Li Xian opened his Light Screen, lied about his health points, and found that his items and skills were grayed out.
• Li Xian asked Ji Xie what their relationship was.

Li Xian learned that Ji Xie claimed to be his husband and saw a marriage certificate bearing both their names, though he remained uncertain about their relationship. He went to shower, unaware that a fishhook was descending toward the back of his neck.

• Li Xian asked Ji Xie about their relationship, and Ji Xie first claimed to be his boyfriend.
• Li Xian rejected the claim because Ji Xie seemed too old, so Ji Xie revealed a marriage certificate showing they were married.
• Ji Xie leaned close and called Li Xian “Baby,” but Li Xian pushed him away and told him to keep his distance.
• Li Xian found clean clothes, barricaded the bathroom door with a plastic rack, and started showering.
• A fishhook on a transparent line descended from the showerhead and stopped near Li Xian’s neck as he prepared to step back.

Li Xian narrowly escaped a supernatural fishhook when Ji Xie pulled him out of its path, and the two waited together until it vanished. Afterward, Li Xian thanked Ji Xie by drying his hair and wondered about their inexplicable closeness.

• Ji Xie opened the bathroom door and alerted Li Xian to a fishhook hanging from the showerhead.
• The fishhook lunged at Li Xian, and Ji Xie pulled him down to dodge it.
• The hook caught an iron nail in the wall and vanished after the fishing line reeled it in.
• Li Xian thanked Ji Xie for saving him and offered him a towel.
• Ji Xie asked Li Xian to dry his hair, and Li Xian did so while wondering whether they had a special relationship.

Li Xian and Ji Xie left their room to investigate the Instance after discovering that only seven players remained on the deck. Ke Yi offered to team up with Li Xian, but Li Xian refused, and Ke Yi walked away promising to prove himself.

• Ji Xie dried Li Xian's hair and claimed he had entered the bathroom by coincidence, then joked that he had intended to harass him.
• Li Xian went onto the deck and saw seven players, including himself and Ji Xie, confirming that Ke Yi's roommate had been eaten.
• Ke Yi asked Li Xian to team up, but a bearded man and Hoodie Woman interrupted to ask about their missing teammate.
• Ke Yi told them that a fish had eaten the blond-haired man, and Hoodie Woman suspiciously asked whether he had shared a room with Ke Yi.
• Ke Yi again asked Li Xian to be his teammate, but Li Xian declined, and Ke Yi left saying he would work hard to prove himself.

Li Xian searched the Driver's Cab and discovered that the ship was carrying unspecified cargo and should reach shore the next morning. Suspecting the voyage held more danger than the schedule suggested, he headed below deck to inspect the cargo.

• Li Xian led Ji Xie to the Driver's Cab, where he found a ship's log showing they would reach the opposite shore at seven thirty the next morning.
• Li Xian discovered a contract stating that the crew had to deliver cargo intact, though it did not identify the cargo.
• Zhang Yuyao and Wang Ping entered the Driver's Cab, introduced themselves, and searched the Captain's quarters without finding clues.
• Li Xian returned the contract to the log and decided to investigate the cargo, then found stairs leading below deck.

Li Xian investigated a fishy-smelling room beneath the deck, where the iron door began shaking violently, and hurried back upstairs. He found Ji Xie missing and heard unfamiliar men in a nearby lounge complaining about their work and food.

• Li Xian and Ji Xie descended beneath the deck and found Hoodie Woman and the bearded man trying to open an iron door.
• Li Xian approached the iron door, sensed cold air and an overwhelming stench coming from it, then fled when it began shaking violently.
• Li Xian warned Hoodie Woman and the bearded man to leave, but neither they nor Ji Xie came upstairs after him.
• Li Xian noticed mist around the ship and heard unfamiliar men talking in a nearby lounge.
• Li Xian eavesdropped as a young man complained that the crew's daily food was lousy.

Li Xian escaped a fishhook that nearly dragged him overboard, then fled from the sinister captain into a room that had changed from how he remembered it. The captain searched for an intruder, and the chapter ended as the room’s door opened beside Li Xian while he hid.

• A fishhook caught Li Xian’s collar and dragged him toward the sea, but he escaped by removing his shirt.
• The captain spotted Li Xian from the Driver's Cab window, so Li Xian ran into a room through the fog.
• Li Xian found the room filled with unfamiliar belongings and hid behind a cabinet as the captain questioned another man.
• The captain passed the room, then appeared at its window to peer inside as the fog thinned.
• The door beside Li Xian opened while he stayed hidden and searched for a weapon.

After the fog cleared, Li Xian found the room restored and reunited with Ji Xie, who claimed they were lovers when Ke Yi questioned their relationship. Zhang Yuyao then arrived in a panic, searching for Yang Ping.

• Li Xian ambushed the person entering his room, then discovered it was Ke Yi as the fog cleared and the room returned to normal.
• Ke Yi explained that he had been checking the ship after the fog appeared and had come because Li Xian's door was open.
• Ji Xie arrived and dressed Li Xian in his jacket while Ke Yi watched.
• When Ke Yi asked about their relationship, Ji Xie said that he and Li Xian were lovers and that they were keeping it secret.
• Zhang Yuyao hurried over and asked Li Xian whether he had seen Yang Ping.