Chapter Summaries

Su Xuan explained that his emotional turmoil had caused the dolls of Honghuai City to mutate, and that he had turned the city into a Nightmare Game arena both to cleanse it and to warn Su Bai. As the city began to stabilize, Su Bai asked what experiments the faction hunting test subjects was conducting.

• Su Xuan told Su Bai that the dolls in Honghuai City had mutated as his emotions slipped out of control, and that he had made the city a game arena to cleanse it.
• Su Bai realized Su Xuan had likely risked creating the arena mainly to see him and warn him, and Su Xuan said the city's mutations should now slow down.
• Su Xuan recognized the Ghost Shaman's aura on Su Bai and praised the help he had given, including sending a doll and a family member who lived inside Su Bai.
• Su Xuan recalled secretly visiting Fog Mountain to ask the Ghost Shaman to help him return to the Real World, but finding it sealed to visitors.
• Su Xuan explained that Rainbow Locust Tenth Middle School had become a dumping ground for his unpleasant emotions, making its mutations especially severe whenever his feelings fluctuated.
• Su Bai asked Su Xuan what experiments the faction searching for expendable test subjects was conducting.

Su Bai learned that a mysterious faction was pursuing an almost impossible route into the past, and Su Xuan gave him a key that could return him to the safety of Honghuai City. After the brothers reunited, Su Bai left to finish the game, while Su Xuan returned beneath the school to confront the Strange Creature occupying his discarded shell.

• Su Xuan warned Su Bai not to investigate the faction, then handed him a key that could return him to Honghuai City.
• Yao echoed Su Xuan's warning, and Su Bai wondered whether the faction had conflicting motives and allies.
• Su Bai recognized Su Xuan as his real brother and embraced him as memories stirred.
• Su Xuan encouraged Su Bai to finish the game, and Su Bai tied the key into his hair and left the school.
• After watching Su Bai leave, Su Xuan appeared beneath the school and threatened the bound Strange Creature occupying his discarded shell.

Su Bai decided to hunt the mutated Strange Creatures in Honghuai City and sent Little Black to find their hiding places, while teasing Yao about the Ghost Shaman and their marriage contract. Meanwhile, Chen Xi and Zhuang Anping were chased by freaks during a sudden downpour until a mysterious voice offered them help.

• Su Bai heard Yao admit that they had been there all along and asked about the way to Fog Mountain, where the Ghost Shaman lived.
• Su Bai decided to help Su Xuan eliminate the city's mutated Strange Creatures and sent Little Black to search for where they hid during the day.
• Chen Xi and Zhuang Anping found that freaks had emerged in the rain and were more savage than before.
• An invisible barrier stopped Chen Xi and Zhuang Anping from returning to Rainbow Locust Tenth Middle School, so they fled through streets and buildings filled with freaks.
• The rain stopped, but some freaks continued stalking Chen Xi and Zhuang Anping from the shadows until a voice asked if they needed help.

Su Bai and Little Black continued clearing mutated creatures from Honghuai City as the Eerie resurgence worsened and Players fought through the night. After Chen Xi reunited with her brother Chen Hai, Su Bai kept his strength hidden and carried on with Zhuang Anping, who told him that Qin Ge had been driving the Relevant Authorities’ recent efforts.

• Little Black crushed a bicycle-bodied creature and chased other anomalies through the dark streets on Su Bai’s orders.
• Su Bai, Chen Xi, and Zhuang Anping saw the Eerie resurgence level reach twenty percent as monsters appeared in greater numbers and Players regained their memories.
• Chen Xi reunited with Chen Hai, who dismissed Su Bai and Zhuang Anping as unable to protect her and tried to lead her away.
• Su Bai signaled Chen Xi not to reveal his strength, and she left with Chen Hai after silently apologizing to Su Bai.
• Su Bai continued clearing creatures with Zhuang Anping, who explained that he was registered with the Relevant Authorities and named Qin Ge as the force behind their recent activity.

Zhuang Anping explained why Qin Ge’s official player team suited him and invited Su Bai to join. Su Bai left the invitation open and continued tracking strange figures with the Black Hound as the eerie resurgence level fell.

• Zhuang Anping praised Qin Ge’s ability to bring order to the Nightmare World and explained that the official team offered stability, training, and paid field assignments.
• Zhuang Anping invited Su Bai to join Qin Ge’s team, suggesting he might become a full member without serving as a reserve.
• Zhuang Anping offered to show Su Bai the team’s workplace and mentioned a possible assignment in Qingliu City.
• Su Bai thought about Qingliu City and his former university ambitions, then replied, “Next time, for sure.”
• Su Bai continued tracking strange figures with the Black Hound as the eerie resurgence level on Commercial Street’s screen dropped.

Su Bai finished the seven-day game in Honghuai City, where Su Xuan’s unstable emotions had caused Doll citizens to mutate into dangerous freaks. After saying goodbye to Su Xuan, Su Bai chose to return to the Real World, believing they would meet again.

• The Administrator announced that Honghuai City’s nights had become peaceful and gave the Players the choice to stay in the Nightmare World or return to the Real World.
• Su Bai recalled that Su Xuan had written the game for him, while Su Xuan’s emotional distress had caused the city’s Doll citizens to mutate and attack.
• Su Bai reflected that Chen Hai’s Candlelight Society team had fought most of the freaks, while Chen Xi secretly gave Su Bai and his companions her Real World contact details.
• After most of the freaks were cleared, Su Bai said goodbye to Zhuang Anping and returned to the three-story house to spend time with Su Xuan and the Puzzle Pieces.
• Su Bai chose the Real World and said goodbye to Su Xuan, trusting that they would meet again.

After completing his entrance exams, Su Bai focused on finding a way to restore his mother Lin Wan’s soul while balancing life between the Real World and the Nightmare World. He was pulled into a new Nightmare Game at the Happy Hotel’s family special event, but the game began in thick fog, leaving him unsure where he and his family had been sent.

• Su Bai returned home after seven days in the Nightmare World and found Lin Wan’s condition unchanged, so he stayed by her side and told her stories while she rested.
• Su Bai completed his entrance exams and worried about which university to choose, while Lin Wan urged him to follow his dreams and wished to visit new cities with him.
• Su Bai decided to spend more time in the Nightmare World and continued traveling between worlds after the exams, while Xiao Wu and Su Xuan searched for a way to repair a soul.
• The Administrator announced the Happy Hotel family special event and sent selected players into the game, promising them a week of activities with their families.
• Su Bai entered the game surrounded by thick fog instead of seeing the Happy Hotel, and an unfamiliar woman wondered how she could participate when her parents had died years earlier.

Su Bai and the other Players heard the Happy Hotel’s rules for a family activity and realized the hotel would assign them families who might pose a danger. As the fog began to disperse, they still did not know who their families would be or how they would survive the week.

• Players in the fog speculated about whether their own families would be brought into the Nightmare World.
• Unsettling voices that seemed to belong to family members called out from the fog, hinting at grief, guilt, and possessiveness.
• A cold-voiced woman asked the Administrator for more information about the game.
• The Administrator announced rules requiring Ticket Holders to attend activities with their families, protect them from harm, and live harmoniously with them for a week.
• Su Bai realized the rules protected the assigned families without guaranteeing the Players’ safety, and the fog began to disperse.

At the Happy Hotel, the Administrator assigned each player a strange “family” and warned them to keep their relatives happy and consult them before acting. Su Bai’s assigned family member was a frozen, ghostly boy who called him “Mommy,” while other players stood beside similarly unsettling figures.

• The Administrator told the players to fulfill their family’s requests and consult them before taking action during the special event.
• The fog around the players slowly dispersed, revealing other players and figures nearby.
• Su Bai sensed an icy presence behind him and saw a pale, frost-covered boy reaching for his hand.
• The boy smiled and called Su Bai “Mommy,” and Su Bai recognized him as the family member assigned to him.
• Su Bai surveyed the other players and saw that each had been paired with one or more lifeless-looking family members.

Su Bai observed the players and their assigned inhuman family members outside a fog-shrouded hotel. As the hotel door opened, he noticed a black-cloaked figure beside a strange little girl and wondered whether the figure was a player.

• The fog cleared around the players, revealing a shabby hotel surrounded by fog that blocked their retreat.
• Su Bai watched a goth woman calmly endure her two-faced ghost companion while she warned a frightened boy not to show fear to his ghostly older brother.
• A snake-tailed creature coiled around a bespectacled player as he stood with his eyes closed, silently calming himself.
• The hotel door creaked open, and a pale hand beckoned the players inside.
• Su Bai spotted a black-cloaked figure beside a spider-like girl in a red dress and wondered whether the figure was human.

Su Bai and the other players entered the Happy Hotel with their assigned Family Members as the fog closed in. A zombie-like waiter turned on the lobby lights and television, then announced that the activity was about to begin.

• The gothic woman opened the hotel door, and the players followed her inside to escape the advancing fog.
• Su Bai took Xiao An’s icy hand and reassured him that he was his precious treasure before entering the hotel.
• Inside, the players examined the decrepit lobby and watched one another in silence.
• A zombie-like waiter switched on the chandelier and television, filling the lobby with eerie laughter.
• The waiter announced that the activity was about to begin.

The hotel trapped the players and their family members in the lobby for an introductory activity while rooms were cleaned and dinner was prepared. Li Feiwen introduced himself and provoked Tan Ying before declaring that Su Bai had caught his eye.

• The zombie waiter announced that the players had to introduce themselves in the lobby, then locked the stairwell gate and disappeared.
• A player failed to open the hotel’s front door, confirming that the group was trapped with their family members.
• Li Feiwen introduced himself as a player ranked 288th on the Player Forum and showed the others his three-headed hound family member.
• Tan Ying warned the younger players that Li Feiwen was careless about romance and recalled how his past infatuations had endangered teammates.
• Li Feiwen pointed out Su Bai as the person who had caught his eye, and Su Bai’s little ghost warned him not to look at his mother.

The players in the hotel lobby introduced themselves and described the ghostly family members attached to them. Li Feiwen recognized Chi Yan as an exceptionally capable player, while the newly named Wu Heng stirred a faint sense of familiarity in Su Bai.

• Tan Ying questioned Li Feiwen's choice of Su Bai, and Liang Yuyan condemned men for valuing appearances before introducing her ex-boyfriend's face inside her black-mist family member.
• Wen Wen, Ai Qing, and Liu Yongzhi introduced their frightening family members, while Zhi Yuan resumed chanting beside the female ghost with a snake's lower body.
• Li Feiwen recognized the exhausted-looking Chi Yan as an extremely capable player, and Chi Yan carefully cradled a Ghost Infant.
• Wu Heng introduced himself and explained how to pronounce his name, leaving Su Bai with a faint sense that he had heard it before.

Su Bai introduced himself to the other players and explained how he stocked the Mist Shop with strange items. After Li Feiwen flirted with him and Wu Heng rebuked Li, the waiter returned with another warning about the family members.

• Su Bai introduced himself as the owner of a grocery store and described how he used Strange Creature power to create items for the Mist Shop.
• Li Feiwen flirted with Su Bai and remarked that having a child did not diminish his charm.
• Wu Heng criticized Li Feiwen for pursuing people who had families, and Xiao An called Li ugly while pretending to be scared.
• Tan Ying ended the introductions and urged Li Feiwen to keep his distance until they returned to the Real World.
• The waiter came through the iron door and warned the players not to eat the family members.

The zombie Waiter warned the Players that their “Family Members” could eat them, then assigned them rooms and gave them key cards. The Players headed toward a night in the hotel with no clear idea what dangers each Family Member’s habits might bring.

• Li Feiwen avoided insulting the Ghost Hound after it reacted to his words, and Wen Wen realized that the Players and their “Family Members” might each be guests to the other.
• The zombie Waiter confirmed Ai Qing’s suspicion that the Family Members could eat people, and several creatures revealed their hunger for the Players.
• The zombie Waiter gave the Players key cards for rooms on the second, third, and fourth floors.
• The zombie Waiter rang a bell to announce that dinner was not ready and warned the Players that each Family Member had different habits.

Su Bai restrained Xiao An and forced the Ghost Creature to behave while the Players headed upstairs. He then suggested that Players could form a blended family, leaving Wu Heng visibly unsettled as Su Bai followed the others.

• Su Bai held Xiao An back from going upstairs and threatened him with the power in his beaded hand until the little ghost became afraid and obedient.
• Su Bai suggested that nothing in the game rules prevented Players from adding more Family Members or forming a blended family.
• Wu Heng stiffened at Su Bai's suggestion, while Li Feiwen jokingly invited Su Bai to start a family with him.
• The zombie Waiter urged Su Bai upstairs, and Su Bai led the subdued Xiao An after the other Players.

Tan Ying let Liang Yuyan visit her room, where the two women discussed the dangers of joining player teams and factions in the Nightmare World. Tan Ying’s ominous feeling about the players’ situation left her hoping the current game would bring her better luck.

• Liang Yuyan asked Tan Ying to let her visit, and Tan Ying agreed despite worrying that their Ghost Creature companions might be dangerous.
• Tan Ying and Liang Yuyan entered Room 405 and opened its window to clear some of the dust.
• Liang Yuyan asked whether Tan Ying belonged to a team, and Tan Ying said she had avoided joining one because unsuitable teams could be dangerous.
• Tan Ying warned Liang Yuyan that some factions might trap newcomers and said player teams had formed too quickly.
• Tan Ying admitted she had a bad feeling about the current game and hoped her luck would improve.

Tan Ying discussed the Players and their organizations with Liang Yuyan, trusting Liu Yongzhi but remaining suspicious of Su Bai. After Liang left Room 405, Tan Ying's Family Member asked her to find a new body for the ghosts sharing hers, and Tan Ying realized that meant killing someone.

• Tan Ying assessed the Players, saying Liu Yongzhi might be a valuable teammate and warning that Su Bai gave her an unsettling impression.
• Liang Yuyan questioned Tan Ying's suspicion of Su Bai and compared Li Feiwen's habit of helping him to her own ex-boyfriend.
• Tan Ying ended the conversation and told Liang Yuyan to rest while they waited for a possible new activity.
• After Liang Yuyan left Room 405, Tan Ying's Family Member complained that the two ghosts sharing Tan Ying's body were cramped together.
• Tan Ying asked whether the ghost woman wanted her to find someone to die in the other ghost's place.

The chapter explained how a child named Xiao An died in the Blood Sea and merged with a Blood Ghost, giving it his memories, longing for his mother, and an enduring feeling of cold. After a voice promised warmth, Xiao An found Su Bai and called him Mommy, but the chapter ended as someone rang the inn room’s doorbell and Xiao An’s expression turned vicious.

• A Blood Ghost absorbed the body of Xiao An, a child who had died after falling into the Blood Sea.
• Xiao An’s memories and final obsession merged with the Blood Ghost, leaving it longing for maternal love and believing a mother’s blood could end its cold.
• A voice told Xiao An that he could find his mommy and stop feeling cold in a certain place.
• In Room 203, Xiao An thanked Su Bai for making him feel warm while sitting beside Little Fire’s Blue Flame.
• Someone rang the doorbell, and Xiao An’s grateful expression turned vicious as Su Bai went to answer it.

Su Bai learned that the Happy Hotel’s second activity was a hide-and-seek game in which Players would hide from their Family Members. After considering how the rules favored the ghosts and constrained Players’ demands, he returned to his room uncertain how the game would unfold.

• The Zombie Waiter delivered Su Bai a notice announcing a hide-and-seek activity followed by dinner in the lobby.
• Su Bai read the rules: Players would hide on the hotel’s second through fourth floors while their Family Members searched, with penalties for either side that lost.
• Wen Wen and Zhi Yuan came out to receive their notices, while the little spider-like ghost answered the door at Room 208 instead of Wu Heng.
• Su Bai greeted Wen Wen, then returned to his room and considered how the rules might let ghosts target any Player while limiting what Players could demand.