Chapter Summaries

Bo Yi lay dying in the sanatorium’s disposal room and recalled the Heretic Cult High Priest’s failed attempt to summon an Evil God. Missing Mitian, he drew the cult’s summoning circle and spoke its incantation, causing black mist to emerge and block the shadow’s hand from reaching him.

• Bo Yi recognized the severed head of the Heretic Cult’s High Priest and remembered how the Scientific Research Institute had tortured him for the summoning design tattooed on his skin.
• Bo Yi recalled the High Priest’s curse against the Institute and thought about how his partnership with Mitian had grown into trust.
• Bo Yi realized he had been drawing the cult’s summoning circle in blood and recited the incantation for the Nameless Mist.
• Black mist poured from Bo Yi and intertwined with the red light, stopping the immense shadow’s hand from reaching him.
• The white-robed man reacted in shock, while Mitian recognized the mist as his own power and realized he had never placed it in Bo Yi.

Bo Yi’s black mist receded, and he opened his eyes before slipping into a vision of his childhood encounter with Mitian. The younger Bo Yi summoned an Evil God and wished to live, and Mitian agreed to grant his wish.

• Black mist poured out of Bo Yi during the ritual, alarming the players and confusing Mitian about where the power came from.
• The mist returned inside Bo Yi, who opened his eyes and murmured Mitian’s name.
• Little Bo Yi saw the Evil God Mitian emerge from the black mist, but Mitian did not recognize him.
• Unable to speak because of the drugs, Bo Yi heard his younger self ask Mitian whether an Evil God could grant a wish.
• Little Bo Yi wished to live, and Mitian granted his wish.

Bo Yi woke from a dream healed and restored to his original form, with Mitian and the severed limbs gone. When Experimenters 0325 and 0412 returned to the disposal room, Bo Yi confronted them and announced he had come to settle old scores.

• Mitian's black mist healed Bo Yi's wounds and returned his body to its original state before vanishing with the severed limbs.
• Bo Yi wondered whether Mitian had left after healing him and realized he was alone in the disposal room.
• Experimenters 0325 and 0412 discussed how they had poisoned Number One and assumed he was dead.
• Experimenters 0412 and 0325 found the disposal room empty except for Bo Yi, standing in the shadows.
• Bo Yi smiled at Experimenters 0412 and said he had come to settle a few old scores.

Bo Yi used his restored power to capture Experimenter 0412 and drag him back to his laboratory. He restrained 0412 and injected him with the same substance that had nearly killed him, leaving the experimenter to face the treatment he had inflicted on others.

• Experimenter 0412 fled after Bo Yi confronted him, but Bo Yi appeared in front of him and grabbed him by the throat.
• Bo Yi loosened his grip, then dragged 0412 toward the laboratory while explaining that the soundproof rooms kept other experimenters from hearing the test subjects’ screams.
• Bo Yi strapped 0412 to the experiment table, and 0412 realized how terrifying the restraints were from a test subject’s position.
• Bo Yi approached 0412 with a syringe containing the substance that had nearly killed him, despite 0412 begging for mercy.
• Bo Yi injected 0412 and pushed the plunger all the way down.

Bo Yi took revenge on the researchers at the Scientific Research Institute by freeing its experimental subjects and setting the building on fire. As he watched the flames, a familiar snowy-white figure rushed into his arms and called his name.

• Bo Yi left Researcher 0412 after frightening him, then seized Researcher 0325 when he arrived with guards.
• Bo Yi forced 0325 to open every experimental chamber in the storage room and released the subjects by switching off the hypnotic gas.
• Bo Yi used 0325's keys to open the remaining chambers throughout the institute.
• Bo Yi doused the institute's exterior with gasoline and set it ablaze.
• A snowy-white figure rushed toward Bo Yi and plunged into his arms, calling his name.

Bo Yi woke in the Prayer Room after the chip was removed and learned that the divine descent ritual had failed when black mist appeared on him. As the sanatorium descended into chaos on the Saintess’s Birthday, Bo Yi realized it might be their chance to escape and discovered Mitian had not created the black mist.

• Bo Yi woke in the Instance with his injuries healed and learned from Mitian that the chip in his neck had been removed.
• The Director attacked Bo Yi for ruining the annual ritual, and the patients’ panic threw the Prayer Room into chaos.
• Bo Yi slipped into the crowd while Mitian explained that the NPCs had intended to use him as a vessel for the god’s descent.
• Bo Yi learned that the Saintess’s Birthday suspended the usual activity schedule and inferred that the day offered a chance to escape.
• Mitian revealed that black mist had appeared on Bo Yi during the ritual, and both realized Mitian had not caused it.

Bo Yi learned from Mitian that he had stopped a phantom god from possessing him and may have absorbed its power, while the Director continued pursuing him. With the keys needed to clear the Instance still missing, Bo Yi realized the Director’s focus on him might give Ran Yan a chance to search.

• Mitian told Bo Yi that black mist had blocked the phantom god from entering him, and Bo Yi had grasped the phantom’s hand until it vanished.
• Mitian said the statue might have cracked before the Director went on a rampage, and urged Bo Yi to prepare to clear the Instance.
• Bo Yi said he had searched the Director’s Office but still had not found Miss Nina’s keys.
• Ran Yan pushed through the crowd to check on Bo Yi, who told her he felt healthier than before.
• Bo Yi noticed the Director pursued only him and turned a thoughtful gaze toward Ran Yan.

Bo Yi sent Ran Yan to gather the other players and search for the sanatorium’s escape key while he drew the pursuing NPC away. The other players refused to help, so Ran Yan threatened to lock the door behind her and Bo Yi if they found the key themselves.

• Bo Yi asked Ran Yan to find the other players and organize a search for the escape key while he kept the NPCs’ attention on himself.
• Mitian warned Bo Yi that the sanatorium’s danger came from gradually assimilating players and turning them into fertilizer for the blood pool.
• Ran Yan found the five other players and urged them to search during Amnesty Day, when they could explore without breaking the rules.
• The players refused, arguing that they could simply leave if someone else found the key.
• Ran Yan told them that she and Bo Yi would lock the door again after finding the key, leaving the other players alarmed.

Ran Yan organized the players into a thorough search for the sanatorium’s front-door key, while the players discovered that staying in the Instance was weakening their bodies. The search turned up no key, and Shen Jiayue ended the chapter showing the group an unexplained ring she had found.

• Ran Yan divided the sanatorium into six search areas and assigned each player a section, telling them to meet on the third floor afterward.
• Players in Areas A and B noticed that their stamina and physical condition had deteriorated, then began searching in earnest because they feared remaining in the Instance.
• Players across several areas also became more diligent, which pleased Ran Yan and reminded her of Bo Yi’s advice.
• At night, the players gathered on the third floor and reported that they had found no key.
• Shen Jiayue said she had followed Nina but found no keys on her or at the nurses’ station, then showed the group a ring.

The players examined the silver ring Shen Jiayue found and realized it was the empty ring from Nina’s keychain, but the keys were still missing. Ran Yan’s reminder that the players had room keys sparked Bo Yi to search his pockets, where he found his own room key.

• Shen Jiayue showed the players a silver ring, and Bo Yi identified it as a key ring like the one from Nina’s keys.
• Shen Jiayue said only the ring remained among Miss Nina’s things, leaving the players without the keys they needed.
• One player left to try opening the entrance by another method, while Bo Yi assured the others that the Instance required a key.
• Ran Yan reminded the players that they had seen an NPC unlock and relock the main door, then pointed out that their room keys were also keys.
• Bo Yi searched his pockets and pulled out his room key, prompting the other players to question whether it was the key they needed.

Bo Yi realized the players’ ward keys had to be gathered on one ring to open the sanatorium’s main entrance, so he and the others searched for keys belonging to the dead. After retrieving keys from the blood pool, Bo Yi and Ran Yan returned to the third floor and found the remaining players gone.

• Bo Yi tested his theory by adding players’ ward keys to a ring and concluded they needed thirteen more keys before time ran out.
• Bo Yi sent the players to search the wards, while Ran Yan revealed she had found Xinyi’s key in the blood pool.
• Bo Yi and Ran Yan salvaged keys from the blood pool, sorted out the ones belonging to players, and added them to the ring.
• Bo Yi and Ran Yan returned to the third floor and discovered that all the remaining players had vanished.

Ran Yan and Bo Yi reunited the twenty keys and watched the players fight over them as they tried to unlock the sanatorium’s exit. With less than ten minutes until midnight, a group of patient NPCs descended the stairs and stopped, seemingly waiting for midnight.

• Ran Yan and Bo Yi returned to the first floor, where the other players accused them of hoarding the keys, and Bo Yi collected the keys they had found.
• When Bo Yi attached the twentieth key to Miss Nina’s key ring, the keys transformed into the NPC’s original keys.
• A player snatched the key ring and began testing keys in the exit lock, prompting the others to crowd around and argue over control of it.
• Bo Yi heard footsteps and saw a group of patient NPCs descend the stairs in synchronized steps.
• The patient NPCs stopped at the bottom step and looked toward the clock, which showed that less than ten minutes remained before midnight.

Bo Yi took back the fallen keys and used his memory of the testing order to continue searching for the right one. With only seconds left before midnight, he finally unlocked the door.

• A player dropped Bo Yi's keys while trying to open the door, scattering the identical keys as patients crowded the stairs.
• The players blamed the man who dropped the keys and argued instead of picking them up.
• Bo Yi collected the keys, warned the players to clear the doorway, and explained to Shen Jiayue that he remembered which keys had already been tested.
• As midnight approached, Bo Yi tried the remaining keys while the players watched anxiously.
• With five or six seconds left before midnight, Bo Yi found the right key and unlocked the door.

Bo Yi opened the sanatorium door before midnight, but revealed that the players still needed his keys to get through an outer gate. As the patients attacked the players outside, Bo Yi and Ran Yan waited for them to return indoors, but the patients remained outside after the last player fell silent.

• The players rushed through the sanatorium door without thanking Bo Yi, leaving the keys in the lock.
• Bo Yi retrieved the keys and explained that the outer gate was still locked, so the players could not escape without them.
• Bo Yi ordered Ran Yan behind the reception desk as the patients charged downstairs and attacked the players outside.
• Ran Yan declined to rescue the players and asked how they would get past the patients to reach the outer gate.
• Bo Yi proposed waiting until the patients returned inside, then locking them in, but after the players' cries stopped, the patients continued wandering outside.

Bo Yi destroyed the Saintess Statue, drawing the patients back into the Prayer Room and allowing him and Ran Yan to lock the sanatorium doors. They found the eighth key for the iron gate, and white light appeared beyond it.

• Ran Yan and Bo Yi rejected plans that would leave one of them alone to face the patients and settled on a safer approach.
• Bo Yi smashed the cracked Saintess Statue, releasing black mist that Mitian absorbed and restoring his power.
• The patients rushed back to the Prayer Room, and Mitian directed Bo Yi through a hidden door and elevator to escape them.
• Ran Yan confirmed the grounds and lobby were clear, and she and Bo Yi locked the sanatorium doors.
• Bo Yi and Ran Yan tried keys in the iron gate until the eighth key turned and white light flared beyond it.

Bo Yi returned to his laboratory and used a machine to scan his body, confirming that the chip in his neck had been removed. Mitian teased him while he checked the results, then kissed the back of his neck, leaving Bo Yi unable to finish scolding him.

• Bo Yi returned to his laboratory, where Mitian was waiting in his own body after spending days as a pigeon.
• Bo Yi climbed into a machine to perform a full-body scan, and Mitian watched curiously.
• Bo Yi checked the results and explained that he wanted to verify the chip had been removed.
• Mitian examined Bo Yi's healed neck and teased him until Bo Yi warned him that it tickled.
• Mitian kissed the back of Bo Yi's neck, and Bo Yi turned to scold him but stopped when he saw Mitian's face close to his.

Bo Yi and Mitian nearly kissed before a news broadcast interrupted them with the Scientific Research Institute’s denial of illegal experiments. Mitian was furious that the investigation found no evidence, but Bo Yi explained that the resulting public suspicion and chaos still served his plans.

• Mitian leaned in to kiss Bo Yi, but a news alert about the Scientific Research Institute interrupted them.
• The broadcast reported that the escaped anomalies had been contained, Director Bo Zheyuan was out of danger, and his injuries were ruled an accident.
• The Anomaly Safety Management Bureau denied that the Scientific Research Institute had conducted illegal experiments, saying surveillance showed no anomalies leaving the institute.
• Mitian protested that the report contradicted what he had seen, while Bo Yi comforted him and said his actions had still pleased the researchers.
• Bo Yi privately concluded that the denial would keep the institute and its backers occupied and help his plans proceed.

Bo Yi and Mitian set the Scientific Research Institute ablaze, but Bo Yi planned to use the firefighting livestream to expose the people behind it. As reporters prepared to broadcast, he asked Mitian to scatter the papers he had copied.

• Bo Yi and Mitian flew to the Director's Office with drums of fuel, and Mitian spread gasoline through the office and corridor.
• Mitian ignited the Scientific Research Institute, and Bo Yi watched the building burn as dawn approached.
• Bo Yi told Mitian that destroying the building was not enough because the people behind the institute could rebuild it.
• Bo Yi called in the fire, explaining that nearby residents would report it anyway and that he wanted to control the timing.
• Bo Yi waited for reporters to livestream the firefighting and asked Mitian to scatter the copied papers once the broadcast began.

Bo Yi scattered authentic Scientific Research Institute experiment reports over the city, exposing its human experiments in a live broadcast. Though Mitian thought the evidence would finally bring the Institute down, Bo Yi said it still was not enough to satisfy him.

• A fire engulfed the Scientific Research Institute as sheets of documents bearing its logo fell from the sky.
• Residents found reports describing S-class anomaly tissue implanted into humans and verified the researchers’ signatures and identification codes as genuine.
• A reporter showed the documents and their disturbing contents on live television.
• Bo Yi watched the broadcast at home with Mitian and said the Institute would not escape, but he still would not let it off easily.

Bo Zheyuan watched news reports expose the Scientific Research Institute’s human experiments and realized Bo Yi had retaliated by burning the institute and releasing the stolen documents. The official who had secretly supported him gave him one final chance to resolve the scandal.

• A man confronted Bo Zheyuan in a detention center with headlines and footage revealing the institute scandal.
• Bo Zheyuan inferred that Bo Yi had burned the Scientific Research Institute and made the documents public.
• The man blamed Bo Zheyuan for damaging his department’s credibility and failing to deliver the research results they wanted.
• Bo Zheyuan indicated that he could resolve the crisis, and the man granted him one final chance.