Chapter Summaries

The Ghost Shaman confronted Dense Fog’s Doll avatar in the Mist Shop and swallowed the portion of his mind and power trapped there. Afterward, Su Bai’s vision and movement returned, and Xiao Wu explained that the shop would need time to digest what it had taken.

• The Ghost Shaman told the Fog City Lord that he was being punished for falsely claiming to serve the Ghost Shaman and slaughtering captive Ghost Creatures.
• The Ghost Shaman silenced the Fog City Lord and made his Doll avatar vanish inside the Mist Shop.
• The Ghost Shaman touched Su Bai’s face and neck, then withdrew as Su Bai’s body began to warm.
• Xiao Wu released Su Bai’s eyes, and Su Bai saw that the Fog City Lord was gone from the shop.
• Xiao Wu said the shop had taken in part of Dense Fog’s power and would slowly digest it, then urged Su Bai to keep growing stronger.

After the Fog City Lord’s avatar was consumed inside the Mist Shop, Fog City’s strange phenomena erupted and the Red Moon’s night began breaking through the fog. Feng Zhe and the players saw the fog dispersing for the first time and gained hope of escaping, while Su Bai confirmed the shop had absorbed part of the Fog City Lord’s mind and power.

• Mayor Bai’s isolation in the Mist Shop destabilized Fog City, causing ruins, lanterns, and spreading fog to appear across the city.
• After Su Bai’s Betrothed swallowed Mayor Bai, Fog City’s strange phenomena erupted and dense fog engulfed Feng Zhe’s group in the Central Plaza.
• The Red Moon’s power seeped into the churning fog, and the night sky appeared as the fog above the players began to disperse.
• Feng Zhe judged that the fog seemed like the dying shell of a Strange Creature and warned the players to stay alert as Ghost Creatures attacked.
• Su Bai confirmed that the Mist Shop had absorbed part of the Fog City Lord’s mind and power, giving him hope of leaving Fog City.

Su Bai learned from Xiao Wu that Lord Ghost Shaman was dealing with dangerous beings who wanted him to join their plans, and that Su Bai might soon be forced into hiding for his own safety. As the fog cleared, Su Bai sensed Qing Lan following him and hurried out of the shop with painting supplies.

• Su Bai questioned Xiao Wu about his return and realized Xiao Wu might be able to leave the Mist Shop and had been away dealing with something urgent.
• Xiao Wu explained that hidden regions and other races existed beyond the human world, and that dangerous beings were causing trouble for Lord Ghost Shaman.
• Xiao Wu warned Su Bai to grow stronger because those beings might discover his relationship with Lord Ghost Shaman and force Lord Ghost Shaman to take him somewhere cut off from the world.
• As the fog began to clear, Su Bai went into the Rest Room, returned with painting supplies, and hurried toward the shop door.
• Xiao Wu saw Qing Lan's translucent figure follow Su Bai out of the shop.

Su Bai answered Qing Lan’s wish by painting a remembered version of Fog City, then left the Nightmare World for the real world. During the crossing, he experienced strange visions of a dining table surrounded by Dolls and a forest of suffering trees before arriving near Rainbow Locust No. 1 High School and heading to the hospital.

• Su Bai borrowed Qing Lan’s power to paint a peaceful morning in Fog City, and Qing Lan thanked him before returning to the Vengeful Ghost Puzzle in his shadow.
• Su Bai chose to return to the real world after the game ended and entered the Rift, where the Administrator did not answer him.
• Su Bai fell through an endless abyss and saw a vision of himself seated before a dining table surrounded by more than a dozen Dolls.
• Su Bai then saw a forest of trees with faces before a voice told him it was not time to remember; he realized the scenes had been an illusion.
• Su Bai returned to the real world near Rainbow Locust No. 1 High School at noon and set off toward the hospital.

Su Bai returned to the real world, paid his mother Lin Wan’s medical bills, and planned to bring her out of the hospital while continuing his studies. At Rainbow Locust No. 1 High School, he found the students calmer after the negative energy was removed, and Ai Xiaojia, Zhang Pan, and Zhou Qingshou considered asking him about their shared dream before Qiu Lei recognized him in shock.

• Su Bai visited Lin Wan, learned her condition was stable despite her coma, and decided he wanted to leave the hospital with her.
• Su Bai returned to Rainbow Locust No. 1 High School to resume his studies, surprising people who had thought he was dead.
• Su Bai noticed the school had become more relaxed after his beads absorbed the negative energy that had formed Honghuai Ghost School.
• Ai Xiaojia, Zhang Pan, and Zhou Qingshou saw Su Bai and decided to ask whether their shared experience had really happened.
• Qiu Lei approached and stared at Su Bai in disbelief, leaving Ai Xiaojia to notice her name badge.

Qiu Lei saw Su Bai at Rainbow Locust No. 1 High School and became convinced she was dreaming, since she believed she had escaped Fog City only because the players had cleared the game. Su Bai overheard her confusion and let her work out the truth for herself, while deciding he needed a place to live and would have to return to the Red Moon world to grow stronger.

• After the players received a system notification that they had cleared the game, Qiu Lei returned to the real world and saw Su Bai at school.
• Qiu Lei concluded that she was dreaming because she could not believe Boss Bai from Fog City had appeared at Rainbow Locust No. 1 High School.
• Ai Xiaojia introduced Su Bai as a handsome top student and school legend, and Qiu Lei recognized his name from her previous game.
• Qiu Lei walked away, still believing she was asleep in the shelter, while Su Bai listened and chose not to reveal the truth.
• Su Bai focused on finding a place to live and planned to return to the Red Moon world to grow stronger.

Qin Yuxuan entered a new Nightmare World game, eager to escape the pressures of his real life and indulge his cruel habit of pretending to be weak before tormenting other Players. The game placed him among the residents of the Mirror Apartments and began listing its rules.

• Qin Yuxuan heard the Administrator announce that a new game was beginning while he sat in cram school.
• Qin Yuxuan recalled that his parents had pushed him to enter Chengsong University, even though he had repeatedly failed to meet their expectations.
• Qin Yuxuan embraced the Nightmare World as an escape from his parents and the dullness of real life.
• Qin Yuxuan described how he disguised himself as a weak Player before revealing his abilities and tormenting others.
• The Administrator announced that the Players would live in the Mirror Apartments and warned them that there should be no mirrors there.

Qin Yuxuan entered the Nightmare World’s Harmony Apartments, where players had to survive for three days amid warnings about mirrors and maintaining harmony. In the reception room, he sized up the other players and became fixated on two women, especially a sleepy, beautiful figure in plaid pajamas.

• The Administrator announced the Mirror Apartments’ warnings, the three-day survival requirement, and that the White Faction was at a disadvantage.
• Qin Yuxuan treated the Administrator’s rules as suggestions and considered killing ghosts or other players as ways to survive.
• Qin Yuxuan arrived in the Harmony Apartments reception room with a group of veteran players.
• Qin Yuxuan watched the other players and noticed a woman in a black silk nightdress touching up her makeup.
• Qin Yuxuan spotted an even more beautiful, sleepy figure in pale plaid pajamas and thought about ruining her.

Qin Yuxuan sized up the nine other players gathered in the reception room and judged them according to his own arrogant standards. As the players began arguing about the game and whether to introduce themselves, he looked forward to exploiting anyone who revealed too much.

• Qin Yuxuan became attracted to a sleepy, beautiful player, then turned to resentment when she ignored him.
• Qin Yuxuan observed the other players, including a middle-aged woman with a knitted yarn handbag, a nervous boy, a girl with glasses, a couple, an office worker, Black Nightdress, and a girl in a black-and-white Lolita dress.
• The man in the couple suggested that ten players meant the game would not be very difficult, and his partner warned newcomers not to cause trouble.
• Black Nightdress cautioned the couple against arrogance, and the man proposed that everyone introduce themselves and share their experience and abilities.
• Qin Yuxuan welcomed the idea, thinking that players who showed off would make it easier for him to hide and attack them later.

Yue Zhengqing bragged about his experience and ability to the Players gathered in the reception room, while Black Nightdress challenged his claims. The group learned that Xiao Xiaodie had a healing ability, and Black Nightdress ended the exchange with a grim joke about killing anyone whose name she knew.

• Yue Zhengqing introduced himself as a veteran with six months of experience and a high ranking on the Player Forum’s seniority list.
• Black Nightdress revealed that she ranked 405th and questioned whether rankings made anyone impressive, prompting Yue Zhengqing to boast that his ability was scorching hot.
• Qin Yuxuan considered how Player abilities might be graded and wondered whether Yue Zhengqing could control fire.
• Xiao Xiaodie introduced herself as Yue Zhengqing’s girlfriend and said she had a healer ability.
• Black Nightdress claimed she could kill people once she knew their names, then said she was joking.

The Players introduced themselves and compared their experience and abilities while the game’s opening safe period continued. Qin Yuxuan concealed his true intentions as he sized up Yue Zhengqing’s bid for leadership, and the introductions ended with only the woman in the black nightdress and the sleeping Player left to speak.

• Yue Zhengqing questioned the bespectacled girl and Zhang Yibu about their rankings, revealing that both were inexperienced rookies.
• Yao Qing introduced his dream-based ability to receive detailed information about the future and said he had already dreamed something about the game.
• Meng Zhi said she had been a Player about as long as Yue Zhengqing and kept the details of her self-preserving ability private.
• Qin Yuxuan recognized that Yue Zhengqing was trying to take charge and imagined ways to kill him.
• Chen Xi revealed that she was ranked 777, had physical enhancement, and was Chen Hai’s younger sister from the Candlelight Society, making Yue Zhengqing lose confidence.
• Qin Yuxuan pretended to be a new Player who did not understand abilities, and the Players turned toward the sleeping Player as the last person yet to introduce herself.

The Players gathered in the reception room of the Mirror Apartments discussed how to survive the game and get along with their neighbors. As Sang Sang took charge, Qin Yuxuan eagerly considered how his mind-control ability could exploit the game, unaware that Su Bai had noticed him.

• Zhang Yibu recognized Su Bai from their beginner mission and stayed quiet when Su Bai signaled that he should not reveal more.
• Yue Zhengqing learned that Zhang Yibu and the sleepy newcomer had cleared the beginner mission together, then pressed Sang Sang to introduce herself.
• Sang Sang warned the Players to maintain harmony with their neighbors after the safe period and to learn their apartment addresses without provoking anyone.
• Qin Yuxuan watched the others begin to trust Sang Sang and delighted in the chance to use his mind-control abilities in the game.
• Su Bai opened his eyes and caught Qin Yuxuan's smug expression.

After the Fog City game, Su Bai suffered strange side effects while the Mist Shop absorbed the power of the Fog City Lord’s Doll, including drowsiness and signs that his Vengeful Ghost Puzzle was becoming unstable. He entered the Nightmare Game “Mirror Apartments” still unwell, where he listened to the other Players introduce themselves and began to suspect the game would be more complicated than he had expected.

• Xiao Wu explained that the Mist Shop was absorbing the Fog City Lord’s power, which had dispersed the fog and restored the Ghost Creatures’ memories in Fog City.
• Su Bai developed drowsiness, feverish symptoms, a dry throat, and renewed disorder in his Red Moon’s Power and Vengeful Ghost Puzzle.
• Ghost Umbrella came out of the puzzle to warn Su Bai that its door had loosened, but Su Bai trusted that the puzzle pieces would remain connected to him.
• Su Bai entered “Mirror Apartments” while still drowsy and considered avoiding conflict to follow the Neighborly Harmony rule.
• Su Bai noticed Qin Yuxuan’s strange smile and recognized Zhang Yibu, then considered Chen Xi’s connection to the Candlelight Society and its possible link to Chen Hai.

Yao Qing described a prophetic dream filled with shattered mirrors, bugs, and a man whose reflection looked like a ghost, prompting Sang Sang to suspect the vision concerned one of the players. Sang Sang led the group out of the lounge, urging them to stay calm and remember that “harmony among neighbors” mattered, while Su Bai remained curled up on the sofa.

• Sang Sang asked Yao Qing to share the information from his prophetic dream, and he described mirror-filled corridors, arguing figures, crawling bugs, and a ghostly reflection.
• Sang Sang reasoned that Yao Qing’s dream-self must have recognized the man in the mirror, suggesting the man was one of the players and might conceal an evil nature.
• Chen Xi questioned whether the prophecy was reliable and argued that revealing it could change the future.
• Sang Sang stopped the argument and told the players to leave the lounge calmly while keeping “harmony among neighbors” in mind.
• Chen Xi opened the lounge door first, and Sang Sang checked whether Su Bai was all right as he lay curled up on the sofa.

The players prepared to enter the apartment building, while Yue Zhengqing dismissed several newcomers as useless and Meng Zhi reassured everyone that the opening would be manageable. When Chen Xi opened the reception room door, a wave of bloodlust and malice flooded in, leaving most players unable to stand or breathe; Su Bai endured it and wondered how they could search for clues before the Mirror appeared.

• Yue Zhengqing complained to Xiao Xiaodie that Sang Sang acted as though she were in charge, then judged the rookie players as dead weight.
• Chen Xi hesitated at the reception room door, and Meng Zhi reassured the group that they would likely have time to find their rooms and rest.
• Chen Xi opened the door, releasing a terrifying bloody aura and malice that stained the hallway and reception room pale red.
• The players staggered and fell under the oppressive force, while Su Bai remained standing because he was accustomed to the crushing side effects of the Fog City Lord’s power.
• Su Bai wondered how the players could search for clues when the Mirror mentioned in the rules had not yet appeared.

Su Bai endured the oppressive force outside the reception room and sheltered Zhang Yibu in his shadow while the Players struggled against the bloody aura. After Sang Sang shut the door, the group realized the lingering power was corrupting their emotions, and they decided they had to leave and split up.

• Su Bai spotted a bowed security guard beside a blood-red vortex at the end of the corridor and used his shadow to shelter the collapsed Zhang Yibu.
• Sang Sang shut the reception room door, reducing the pressure but leaving the Players surrounded by the lingering stench and vicious energy.
• Yao Qing, Meng Zhi, Xiao Xiaodie, and Yue Zhengqing described feelings of irritation, hatred, and violent impulses caused by the power outside.
• The braided girl suggested that the Players split up, and Sang Sang agreed that the corrupted reception room was no longer safe.
• Sang Sang said the Players had to go out.

The players left the reception room after its contamination worsened and found an ordinary corridor outside, where the oppressive force and violent emotions disappeared. As Zhang Yibu stayed to help the exhausted Su Bai, Qin Yuxuan watched and considered how to stir up conflict among the players.

• Sang Sang urged the players to leave the reception room because its contamination was worsening, and they agreed to split up.
• Sang Sang opened the door to reveal an ordinary, brightly lit corridor instead of the blood-red world they had seen before.
• Sang Sang stepped outside and felt the pressure and violent emotions vanish, prompting the other players to follow.
• Zhang Yibu stayed beside the sleepy Su Bai while the others left the room.
• Qin Yuxuan teased Zhang Yibu about his concern for Su Bai and privately considered using the players' conflicts to make the game more interesting.

Su Bai and the other Players reached the Security Office in Harmony Home Apartment and were told to choose apartment keys. The experienced Players took keys and headed upstairs, leaving Su Bai and the others to choose from the remaining apartments, including 101 and 102.

• Su Bai refused Zhang Yibu's help and left the reception room with him, avoiding Qin Yuxuan's unsettling gaze.
• The Players approached the Security Office and studied the first-floor layout, unsure where they were meant to live.
• The middle-aged guard offered ten apartment keys to Yue Zhengqing, who accepted them as the Players' leader.
• Yue Zhengqing and Sang Sang each chose a key and went upstairs without discussing their plans in front of the guard.
• When Su Bai and the others chose, keys for apartments 101 and 102 remained among the four unclaimed keys.

Su Bai and the other players chose apartments in a building where the ordinary-looking security guard made the first floor seem especially dangerous. Su Bai recognized Feng Ling, leader of the Nameless Society, though she did not recognize him, and the chapter ended as he asked Zhang Yibu whether his face had changed.

• The players chose rooms, and Su Bai took Room 101 while Zhang Yibu picked Room 102 to stay close to him.
• Feng Ling offered to help the others from Room 303, warned Su Bai about his poor health, and left without recognizing him.
• Su Bai recalled meeting Feng Ling before and wondered whether his face had changed or she was face-blind.
• Su Bai asked Zhang Yibu if his face had changed, and Zhang Yibu hesitated before Su Bai unlocked Room 101.

Su Bai noticed that the Red Moon’s power had transformed his appearance and left him weakened after absorbing the Fog City Lord’s power. In Room 101, he asked Zhang Yibu to explain and explore his newly emerging ability.

• Su Bai entered Room 101 and examined his reflection, finding no visible injury or immediate danger.
• Zhang Yibu told Su Bai that his appearance had changed so much that he seemed older and more striking than before.
• Su Bai recalled how his body had recovered and grown as the Mist Shop’s power and excess Red Moon power strengthened him.
• Su Bai realized his transformation could explain why Feng Ling had barely recognized him and why Qin Yuxuan had mistaken his gender.
• Feeling the side effects of his power, Su Bai settled onto the sofa and urged Zhang Yibu to explore his ability, warning that help in the Nightmare Game would not always be available.