Chapter Summaries

Li Xian agreed to split into groups with Jiang Yu’s party, despite recognizing their scheme to steer him toward the school. He set off with Jiang Yu, the buzz-cut man, and Sweater Man along a dark woodland path, while Song Qingzhang and Jiang Qiuyue headed for the Toy Factory.

• Jiang Qiuyue and Jiang Yu pressured Li Xian to cooperate, while the buzz-cut man and Thin Man threatened and insulted him.
• Li Xian mocked the buzz-cut man and Thin Man, then unexpectedly agreed to divide into groups.
• Jiang Yu rigged the drawing so Li Xian was assigned to the school with Jiang Yu, the buzz-cut man, and Sweater Man, while Song Qingzhang and Jiang Qiuyue were sent to the Toy Factory with the twin-ponytailed girl and Thin Man.
• Li Xian followed his group onto the dark, overgrown path leading south toward the school.

The four players reached the school, where a stuffed elephant attacked the buzz-cut man by the playground slide. Li Xian got inside the classroom building first and tried to shut the door, leaving the buzz-cut man with his fingers caught in it.

• Jiang Yu asked Li Xian about the toy on his shoulder, and Li Xian dismissed it as a toy.
• The four players reached the school after a long walk and headed across the playground toward the classroom building.
• A stuffed elephant launched itself from the slide and landed on the buzz-cut man’s shoulder.
• The elephant tugged at the buzz-cut man and pointed toward the slide, so he cut off its arm and ran for the building.
• Li Xian entered first and tried to close the door, but the buzz-cut man caught up and got his fingers trapped in it.

After fleeing the elephant doll, Li Xian searched the school with Jiang Yu and found a key in the teachers' office while a doll tore up a child's notebook. Jiang Yu accidentally drew the doll's attention, and it lunged at Li Xian in the corridor.

• Jiang Yu and Sweater Man barricaded the school entrance after the elephant doll sat outside, while Buzz-Cut Man argued with Sweater Man about attacking it.
• Li Xian searched the first-grade classroom, and the group split up, with Buzz-Cut Man and Sweater Man exploring the second floor and Li Xian and Jiang Yu searching the first.
• Li Xian checked the first-floor classrooms and found no clues before approaching the teachers' office, where he heard a doll tearing up a notebook.
• Li Xian slipped into the office, retrieved a key that had fallen beside the doll's desk, and tried to escape unnoticed.
• Jiang Yu claimed the wind had opened the office door, but the doll spotted Li Xian and lunged at him.

Li Xian chased an elephant doll into a dark activity room after it swallowed the Key. A television began a strange game show, and the chapter ended as the host prepared to ask a question.

• Ji Xie caught the elephant doll, but it later grabbed Li Xian’s Key and swallowed it before fleeing upstairs.
• Li Xian followed the doll to an activity room, where Sweater Man and Buzz-Cut Man warned him about the television and chairs inside.
• Li Xian entered the room alone, and the door slammed shut behind him, plunging it into darkness.
• The television flickered on and showed three numbered elephant dolls and three numbered costumed figures as a host announced a prize for the first correct caller.
• The host began to present the question after the phone number on the screen proved unreadable.

Li Xian ignored the dolls’ obvious hints and waited as callers chose two incorrect answers. He captured the stuffed elephant behind the television, received a key from it, and saw the corridor’s three people react as the door opened.

• Li Xian refused to choose a doll while the host took calls, and the first caller incorrectly picked doll number one.
• A second caller incorrectly chose doll number three, after which the host pressured Li Xian and caused his Mental Value to drop twice.
• Li Xian walked past doll number two, grabbed a stuffed elephant holding a remote behind the television, and the room went dark.
• The dolls opened the curtains and clapped, and the stuffed elephant dropped a key into Li Xian’s palm.
• The door opened, and the three people in the corridor stared at Li Xian and the key.

Li Xian solved the television quiz, recovered the Key, and learned an address from the elephant doll. On the return journey, Jiang Yu and the others bound him with a rope and demanded the item on his shoulder, but Li Xian invited Jiang Yu to take it.

• Li Xian realized the quiz was a scam, found the hidden doll behind the television, and received the Key and a scrap bearing an address.
• Li Xian and the others searched the remaining rooms, found no more clues, and left the school to return to town.
• Jiang Yu positioned Li Xian in the middle of the group as they walked back along the path.
• Jiang Yu and the others stopped Li Xian and bound him with a rope that prevented him from reaching into his backpack.
• Jiang Yu demanded the item on Li Xian's shoulder, and Li Xian agreed, telling Jiang Yu to come take it.

Ji Xie attacked Jiang Yu, Sweater Man, and Buzz-Cut Man after they mistreated Li Xian, then carried Li Xian back to Small Town. Li Xian reunited with Song Qingzhang’s group, whose members asked where the others were and what clues he had found.

• Buzz-Cut Man removed the tentacle from Li Xian’s shoulder and tossed it toward Jiang Yu, triggering it to grow into several tentacles that slapped all three men.
• Ji Xie freed Li Xian from the rope and carried him back toward Small Town, while Jiang Yu recovered and left Sweater Man and Buzz-Cut Man behind.
• Ji Xie and Li Xian returned to Small Town before the players who had gone to the Toy Factory, and Li Xian ate his missed lunch.
• Song Qingzhang, Thin Man, and Twin-Tailed Girl arrived, and Thin Man demanded to know what Li Xian had done to Jiang Yu and the others.
• Twin-Tailed Girl asked Li Xian what clues his group had found.

Li Xian compared clues about the Toy Factory with Song Qingzhang and Jiang Qiuyue, then noticed that three parents were missing from the returning group. After learning that Jiang Yu had been beaten and seeing a man search for his missing son, Li Xian heard the man demand that Li Yuanqing open the door so he could question Li Xian.

• Li Xian invited Song Qingzhang and Jiang Qiuyue inside and exchanged their Toy Factory findings for the school group's discoveries.
• Song Qingzhang drew a map showing the Toy Factory's single entrance, guarded by a row of dolls inside.
• Li Xian counted only seven returning parents and realized that the parents of three players were missing.
• Jiang Yu returned with a badly swollen face, told his mother he had fallen, and avoided Li Xian's gaze.
• A man searched the street for Zhang Hao, whom Li Xian suspected was Sweater Man, while Li Yuanqing came home and asked why Li Xian was dirty.
• The man arrived at Li Xian's door, pounded on it, and demanded to question Li Yuanqing's child.

Li Xian watched Li Yuanqing use a conversation with Sweater Man's father to pass him a warning about the dolls. That night, Doll Rabbit distracted Li Xian and Ji Xie while Doll Cat stole the Key and sewing supplies, and Li Yuanqing caught the fleeing thief.

• Sweater Man's father demanded to see Li Xian, but Li Yuanqing refused to let him in until Li Xian came out and said he did not know where Zhang Hao was.
• Li Yuanqing told Sweater Man's father that his son was still alive if no doll had come looking for him, and Li Xian realized the remark was meant as a message.
• Doll Rabbit appeared at Li Xian's window and distracted him and Ji Xie while Doll Cat slipped into the room and stole the Key and sewing supplies.
• Li Xian chased Doll Cat into the Living Room and threw the River God Doll at it, but Li Yuanqing emerged from the darkness and caught Doll Cat.
• Doll Cat struggled in Li Yuanqing's grasp and lunged to bite his wrist.

Li Xian and Li Yuanqing fended off the Doll Cat, and Li Xian later followed Li Yuanqing outside to learn which parents worked at the Toy Factory. He counted six parents, noticed Sweater Man’s parent was missing, and saw Thin Man being taken along by his father, who refused to let him go.

• Li Xian cut off the Doll Cat’s arm, freeing the Key and needle and thread, then helped fend off its attack with the Utility Knife.
• Li Yuanqing took the Utility Knife from Li Xian, and the wounded Doll Cat retreated through the door with its severed arm.
• Li Xian put the items in his pockets and went to sleep after finding the rabbit doll gone from the window.
• Li Xian asked Li Yuanqing to let him walk him to work, hoping to count how many parents worked at the Toy Factory.
• Li Xian counted six parents and noticed Sweater Man’s parent was absent, while Thin Man had been brought along by his father.
• Thin Man tried to pull his hand free, but his father tightened his grip as Li Yuanqing told Li Xian to go home.

Li Xian investigated the home of Zhou Wenwen after the Thin Man’s father carried him toward the Toy Factory. He uncovered the family’s history in the child’s diary, then heard fabric tearing as he read.

• The Thin Man’s father carried him away despite his struggles, and Jiang Yu and the Twin-Tailed Girl set off toward the Toy Factory.
• Li Xian sent Ji Xie after them discreetly, then used the doll’s key to enter a house with a cabinet full of defective dolls.
• Li Xian and his companions searched the dusty home and found a child’s room belonging to Zhou Wenwen.
• Li Xian read Zhou Wenwen’s diary and learned that her mother had brought her to town for a Toy Factory job and gave her defective dolls as gifts.
• As Li Xian turned to another diary entry, he heard a sound like fabric tearing.

Li Xian, Song Qingzhang, and Jiang Qiuyue were pulled into a Doll Cat’s game of playing house, where it made them sit at the table and served them disgusting dishes. Li Xian delayed their forced meal by asking the doll to bring drinks, but the equally revolting drink left the game unresolved.

• Li Xian found the Doll Cat tearing a full-body costume in the wardrobe, and it tugged him toward the living room to start a game.
• The Doll Cat drew Song Qingzhang and Jiang Qiuyue into the game and led all three to sit at the dining table.
• The doll chopped vegetables and household items together, then threw a knife at Song Qingzhang when he guessed it would make them eat the food.
• The Doll Cat served the three plates of foul mixtures and ate a screw from its own plate while growling at them to eat.
• Li Xian asked the doll to bring them something to drink, and it returned with a moldy, foul-smelling glass of layered green liquid.

Li Xian and Jiang Qiuyue avoided drinking the doll’s strange beverage, while Li Xian’s explosive item destroyed its body and Song Qingzhang helped trap its head. Li Xian read the child’s diary and searched the home, finding hints of her loneliness and her mother’s financial hardship.

• Li Xian secretly slipped a Plastic Bullet into the doll’s drink, and the explosion tore the doll apart when it realized the others had not drunk.
• Li Xian pinned the doll’s twitching head beneath an iron basin while Song Qingzhang fetched the basin and rinsed the strange liquid from his mouth.
• Jiang Qiuyue weighed down the basin to keep the doll trapped, while Song Qingzhang began repairing its costume with the needle and thread.
• Li Xian read the child’s diary, which described her loneliness during summer vacation and her excitement about visiting her mother at work before the entries abruptly stopped.
• Li Xian searched the mother’s bedroom and found a photograph of her and her daughter and a budget ledger showing that they struggled to make ends meet.

Li Xian tested whether the Doll Costume could fool Doll Cat and discovered a child’s finger bone hidden inside its head, which seemed to be the toy’s core. After Ji Xie appeared, Li Xian asked what he had learned about Song Qingzhang and Jiang Qiuyue’s trip to the Toy Factory.

• Li Xian wore the repaired Doll Costume and found that Doll Cat no longer recognized him as human.
• Li Xian spotted a faint red × on the back of Doll Cat’s head, lost one point of Mental Value, and stabbed the marked spot with a Utility Knife.
• A small bone fell from the torn head, and Song Qingzhang thought it might be a child’s little-finger bone; Doll Cat stopped moving after the bone came out.
• Ji Xie appeared at the window, and Li Xian left with Doll Cat’s remains before asking Ji Xie what had happened at the Toy Factory.
• Ji Xie said Song Qingzhang and Jiang Qiuyue had used an item to sneak into the Toy Factory but left quickly because its time limit was short.

Li Xian learned from Ji Xie that his father helped make dolls at the Toy Factory, then tested his suspicions by showing Li Yuanqing a severed Doll Cat. After interpreting his father's cryptic warning as a possible deadline, Li Xian prepared to infiltrate the Toy Factory in a Doll Costume.

• Ji Xie told Li Xian that Li Yuanqing and other parents made dolls at the Toy Factory, using bones to bring them to life.
• Li Xian decided to investigate the Toy Factory at night and slept during the day to prepare.
• Li Yuanqing examined the severed Doll Cat, confirmed Li Xian's suspicion about a hidden marking, and said he would bring something nice to eat by tomorrow night at the latest.
• Li Xian suspected his father's words referred to the Instance's deadline and wondered whether Li Yuanqing was helping or misleading him.
• The Doll Rabbit came to Li Xian's window, but left after seeing Ji Xie, and Li Xian put on the Doll Costume to head toward the Toy Factory.

Song Qingzhang tried to survive the Doll Rabbit’s attack, while Li Xian prepared to leave for the Toy Factory and Ji Xie pursued a small doll that had spotted them. The chapter ended with another doll crashing into Li Xian in the street.

• Song Qingzhang tried the bedroom door, then hid beneath the bed when the Doll Rabbit climbed inside.
• The Doll Rabbit failed to reach Song Qingzhang under the bed and began biting through the bed frame.
• Song Qingzhang used his Lucky Coin, which landed on NO, then crawled out as the Doll Rabbit lunged at him.
• Li Xian put on the Doll Costume and refused to take Ji Xie along because he had nowhere to hide him.
• Ji Xie spotted a small doll watching them, transformed into tentacles, and chased it while Li Xian headed for the Toy Factory.
• A small doll suddenly darted into Li Xian in the street.

Li Xian followed the dolls to the Toy Factory, discovering that their gathering had been aimed at Song Qingzhang’s house, though Song was nowhere to be seen. He found a shortcut through the woods and explored the apparently abandoned factory, eventually reaching an unusual door.

• A Doll Rabbit inspected Li Xian, then summoned the surrounding dolls, who gathered around it without attacking him.
• Li Xian recognized the house the rabbit had emerged from as Song Qingzhang’s and saw a wrecked bed, but no sign of Song or blood.
• Li Xian followed the dolls along a woodland shortcut and reached the Toy Factory in less than an hour.
• Li Xian explored the factory and found the workstation where his father had sewn dolls, with bleached bones in the final box.
• Li Xian passed through numerous production rooms and spotted a door that looked different from the others.

Li Xian searched the Toy Factory records room and found newspaper reports tracing the factory’s rise, Zhou Wenwen’s disappearance, rumors of moving dolls, and the factory’s eventual closure. After confirming the incident date, he put the newspapers back and headed to the final display cabinet.

• Li Xian searched the records room’s documents but found them too disorganized to be useful.
• Li Xian found newspapers in a cabinet beneath a display of doll samples and read about the factory’s early success.
• Li Xian learned that Zhou Wenwen had disappeared at the factory and that its owner, Mr. Wang, blamed the incident on inadequate oversight.
• Li Xian read reports of employees seeing moving dolls, the factory owner’s explanation that a windup teddy bear was being tested, and the factory’s eventual closure.
• Li Xian memorized the reports, confirmed the date of Zhou Wenwen’s disappearance, and walked toward the final display cabinet.

Li Xian found the Toy Factory’s archived surveillance tapes and was caught by a talking Sheep Doll when he tried to take one. She forced him to play a game to find something that did not belong in the Archive Room, and he had one choice left after two wrong answers.

• Li Xian discovered that the factory had preserved its camera recordings on videotapes and selected tapes from the hour the girl disappeared.
• A display cabinet toppled as Li Xian took a tape, and a talking Sheep Doll confronted him in the Archive Room.
• The Sheep Doll sealed the exit and challenged Li Xian to find something that did not belong in the room, giving him three timed choices.
• Li Xian chose the Sheep Doll as his first answer, but she declared it wrong.
• Li Xian chose himself as his second answer, and the Sheep Doll also declared it wrong.

Li Xian solved the Sheep Doll’s timed game by realizing the answer could be outside the Archive Room. After he won by choosing a loose screw from a nearby machine, the Sheep Doll demanded to know how he had figured it out.

• The Sheep Doll taunted Li Xian and clarified that his answer had to be an object, not a living thing.
• Li Xian rejected the doll’s misdirection and opened the Archive Room door, then ran to a nearby machine.
• With seconds remaining, Li Xian returned and chose a loose screw he had removed from the machine.
• The Sheep Doll acknowledged Li Xian’s correct answer and angrily threw the screw at a machine.
• Li Xian reasoned that the rules had never limited the game to the Archive Room, which allowed him to find the answer.