Chapter Summaries

Su Bai recalled how he had become an emotionally detached observer to protect himself from the Nightmare World’s slow erosion, and remembered his first encounter with Qing Lan. After Qing Lan prayed to the Red Moon for strength to avenge her friend and lost the ability to paint, she joined Su Bai, who began restoring her friend’s image in the painting.

• Su Bai reflected that the Mist Shop had come to feel like home and that detachment helped him endure the Nightmare World.
• Su Bai remembered finding Qing Lan painting the remains of her murdered friend in a ruin during an earlier game.
• Qing Lan prayed to the Red Moon for power to kill the evil ghost responsible for her friend’s death.
• Qing Lan gained the strength to pursue and kill the evil ghost, but afterward she could no longer hold her brush.
• Su Bai offered to help, and Qing Lan embraced him and vanished into his body.
• Su Bai picked up Qing Lan’s painting and began restoring her friend’s mutilated appearance.

Su Bai remembered Qing Lan’s quiet comfort after the death of her friend, while she appeared beside him unseen in the warehouse. As Bull Slayer threatened the grocery store owner, Feng Zhe arrived and demonstrated his wind ability, giving Su Bai a reason to remain a spectator.

• Su Bai recalled how Qing Lan had stayed beside him as he grieved beneath the Red Moon and urged him to stay alive.
• Qing Lan appeared unseen behind Su Bai in the Abandoned Warehouse and said Qiu Lei liked her paintings.
• Su Bai shifted Qing Lan’s blood-colored markings to his legs, restoring his ability to move while keeping her power active.
• Bull Slayer threatened the wheelchair-bound grocery store owner and considered targeting a wealthy couple on Fifth Street.
• Feng Zhe entered the warehouse, called Bull Slayer a clown, and shattered a liquor bottle with a miniature wind blade.
• Su Bai recognized Feng Zhe’s nature-based ability and settled back into his wheelchair, leaving the confrontation to him.

Feng Zhe rescued Su Bai and Qiu Lei from Bull Slayer’s gang in the Abandoned Warehouse, revealing his formidable ability and reputation as Madman Zhe. After they escaped, Feng Zhe said patrol officers would deal with the gang and invited qualified heroes to meet him at the Mist Shop after tomorrow’s settlement.

• Bull Slayer accused Feng Zhe of pursuing Lan Yin for money, but Feng Zhe said he loved her wholeheartedly and cut the muzzle off Bull Slayer’s weapon with a Wind Blade.
• Bull Slayer threatened Feng Zhe with his gang, and Feng Zhe restrained him with a breeze around his neck until Bull Slayer recognized him as Madman Zhe.
• Feng Zhe invited Qiu Lei to leave, and she fled the Warehouse with Little Black Cat and Su Bai.
• Feng Zhe led Su Bai and Qiu Lei out, then told Bull Slayer’s men to ask qualified heroes not to light the Eternal Lamp and to visit the Mist Shop on Fifth Street.
• Feng Zhe said Lan Yin had reported the Warehouse to the patrol officers, who would deal with the gang, while Su Bai wondered what changes the settlement would bring to the city.

Su Bai let Feng Zhe, Lan Yin, and other outsiders use the Mist Shop as a gathering place for heroes after Asset Settlement, then worried about what might happen if the Eternal Lamps were lit. He fell asleep uncertain whether dispersing Fog City's mist would save the city or bring it closer to destruction.

• Feng Zhe asked Su Bai to let outsiders gather at the Mist Shop, and Su Bai reluctantly agreed.
• Yang Yu offered to notify players, while Lan Yin planned to find heroes through messages hidden beneath newspaper and news reports.
• Feng Zhe left with Lan Yin, and Yang Yu decided to keep Qiu Lei from traveling alone as the shop grew quiet again.
• The news reported that Patrollers had arrested Bull Slayer's gang and that Patrollers would replace the prison guards.
• Su Bai wondered whether lighting the Eternal Lamps would invite the Red Moon and reflected that Mayor Bai might ultimately intend for players to destroy Fog City.
• Su Bai locked the shop and fell asleep beside Xiao Wu, hearing the Administrator's voice in his dream.

After the Asset Settlement, Feng Zhe explained how the Heroes could light the Eternal Lamps, while the Players debated whether anyone would risk lighting one or choose to remain in Fog City. Their discussion was interrupted when the Dense Fog began pouring down from the sky.

• Su Bai remembered that the Administrator had named him a Hero and told him how to light an Eternal Lamp.
• Su Bai arranged new furniture in the Mist Shop and listened as Feng Zhe explained that Heroes had to choose a lamp and soak its wick in their blood before lighting it.
• Feng Zhe warned that some Players might light lamps recklessly, while others might refuse because they wanted to stay in peaceful Fog City.
• Yang Yu said he could imagine choosing to remain in Fog City, and Su Bai wondered whether Mayor Bai would let the city stay peaceful.
• A deafening crash sounded, and the Players saw the Dense Fog cascading down from the distant sky.

After a strange phenomenon engulfed part of Fog City in dense fog, Su Bai went to investigate and found the area increasingly resembled the Nightmare World. The chapter ended when a blood-red, faceless creature crawled out of an office worker who had escaped the fog.

• Lan Yin and the players watched dense fog pour down over a distant area as Fog City's daylight began to dim.
• Feng Zhe led the players from the Mist Shop toward the phenomenon, while Su Bai waited before following with Qing Lan's power.
• Su Bai used side paths and his unusual speed to slip past the Patrollers blocking access to the dense fog zone.
• Near the zone, Su Bai sensed the Red Moon's power growing stronger as the sky darkened and the temperature fell.
• An office worker emerged from the fog, collapsed, and melted apart as a blood-red, faceless creature crawled out of his body.

Su Bai used Qing Lan’s eyes to see red mist infecting Fog City residents and turning them into clay shells from which ghosts emerged. The red mist then wrapped around Lan Yin, leaving Feng Zhe and Qiu Lei facing the same transformation.

• An office worker who emerged from the fog collapsed and became a clay shell, from which a Blood Ghost crawled out before Feng Zhe’s group killed it.
• Su Bai saw a red wisp leave the Blood Ghost’s shell and infect an elderly passerby, who transformed into a clay shell and released a starving ghost.
• Through Qing Lan’s eyes, Su Bai saw mist-covered Fog City residents turning into clay shells and realized ghosts might already exist inside the city’s residents.
• After the starving ghost was dealt with, the red mist darkened and moved to Lan Yin, prompting nearby players to flee.
• Qiu Lei tried to disperse the red mist around Lan Yin while Feng Zhe stared at his wife in shock.

As Lan Yin began transforming into clay, Feng Zhe embraced her and killed her with a Wind Blade, revealing the disturbing way he treated his lovers’ deaths. The red mist left the scene, and Mayor Bai appeared behind Su Bai, declaring that Fog City was finally becoming interesting.

• Yang Yu tried to reassure Qiu Lei and Feng Zhe that the red mist probably would not harm Lan Yin.
• The players recognized Feng Zhe as Madman Zhe, a powerful player infamous for killing the women he loved.
• A crack appeared on Lan Yin’s face, and she tearfully asked Feng Zhe for help.
• Feng Zhe stabbed Lan Yin with a Wind Blade, and her body crumbled into clay and white bones as he spoke of possessing her completely.
• The red mist drifted away from the players, and Mayor Bai appeared behind Su Bai and called the city interesting.

Su Bai pressed Mayor Bai for the truth about Fog City's people and learned that they were supernatural beings placed inside crude clay dolls. Mayor Bai hinted that he planned to experiment with new ways to make more perfect dolls, leaving Su Bai facing an uncertain threat.

• Su Bai asked Mayor Bai what Fog City's people really were, and Mayor Bai questioned whether Su Bai was an outsider.
• Mayor Bai spoke of the legendary Puppeteer, who could give dolls souls and self-awareness.
• Mayor Bai explained that his own doll-making skills were crude and that creating life mattered more than appearance.
• Su Bai inferred that Mayor Bai had put supernatural beings inside clay figures to create Fog City's population.
• Mayor Bai said the method worked but suggested he might put something else into the clay dolls to make them more perfect.

Mayor Bai explained that the Dense Fog shielded Fog City's doll residents from the Red Moon, while the outsiders' arrival and spreading corruption threatened to destroy the city. He revealed that he wanted to use high-quality materials to make new dolls, leaving Su Bai suspecting that he meant the Players.

• Mayor Bai said his Clay Dolls needed Ghost Creatures as souls to gain individuality, but those dolls were unstable and vulnerable to corruption.
• Mayor Bai explained that the Dense Fog protected Fog City's residents from the Red Moon, and Su Bai realized the fog's dispersal would expose them to its power.
• Mayor Bai claimed the outsiders had brought disaster to Fog City and said they would have to do something about the situation.
• Mayor Bai described his new doll-making method and said he had found materials resistant to the Red Moon.
• Su Bai suspected that Mayor Bai intended to use outsider Players as materials for his new dolls.

Mayor Bai explained Fog City’s collapse and his plans to make puppets from a new material, while Su Bai kept his composure and gathered information. After the Patrollers sealed the disaster area, Su Bai headed back to the Mist Shop as fear and rumors spread through the city.

• Mayor Bai described Fog City’s people, the effects of the fog, and his interest in a new material for making puppets, while Su Bai asked cautious questions.
• Mayor Bai left to inspect other areas, and Su Bai watched the Patrollers suppress the unrest and seal off the devastated streets.
• A Ghost Creature emerged from the fog-covered area and was killed by a Patroller, leaving behind a wisp of blood mist.
• Su Bai turned toward the Mist Shop, believing his home was the safest place as the apocalypse approached.
• Su Bai crossed the increasingly anxious streets of Fog City, where confused residents spread rumors and faced an unknown threat.

Su Bai encountered infected residents in Fog City and rescued Jin Zheng and Jin Yi from a strange ghost creature. After the brothers compared his appearance to Su Xuan, Su Bai demanded to know more about the name that stirred painful memories.

• Su Bai found an infected customer reaching toward him, but Jin Zheng intervened and warned him to avoid crowds and infected people.
• Jin Zheng and Jin Yi told Su Bai that he looked somewhat like Su Xuan, then hurried to find An'an.
• A ghost creature emerged from the infected man's shattered clay shell and moved to attack the brothers.
• Su Bai used Qing Lan's power to reach the creature, seized its black heart, and destroyed it.
• Su Bai confronted Jin Zheng and Jin Yi and asked them to tell him about Su Xuan.

Su Bai recalled his older brother Su Xuan’s decline and the family’s ruin, then learned that the Su Xuan known to Jin Zheng and Jin Yi might be his missing brother. The matching missing little finger convinced Su Bai, who demanded to know where Su Xuan was.

• Su Bai remembered how Su Xuan had once cared for him, lost his right little finger saving him, and later became addicted to gambling and abandoned the family.
• Su Xuan took the family’s savings and ran away, and their mother was struck by a car while trying to stop him.
• After destroying a white Ghost Creature, Su Bai asked Jin Zheng and Jin Yi to tell him about the Su Xuan they knew.
• Jin Zheng said their Su Xuan was missing a little finger, and Su Bai recognized the matching injury from his childhood.
• Su Bai asked where Su Xuan was now.

Su Bai questioned Jin Yi and Jin Zheng about the missing-fingered Su Xuan, and learned they had once been his teammates. Jin Yi asked Su Bai to enter the Dense Fog Zone to find two missing teammates, and Su Bai’s curiosity about Su Xuan’s unfinished goal left him reconsidering his refusal.

• Su Bai confirmed that the Su Xuan known to Jin Yi and Jin Zheng was missing a little finger, while Jin Yi stopped Jin Zheng from revealing too much.
• Jin Yi explained that Lei Ming had taken Xia An'an toward the neighborhood shortly before the Dense Fog Zone appeared, and the brothers had lost contact with them.
• Jin Yi asked Su Bai to help find Lei Ming and Xia An'an, offering to tell him what they knew about Su Xuan in return.
• Su Bai refused because the Dense Fog Zone seemed dangerous, but Jin Yi said he and Jin Zheng would enter it regardless and warned Su Bai he might lose his chance to learn about Su Xuan.
• Jin Yi revealed that he and Jin Zheng had been Su Xuan's teammates and knew what Su Xuan wanted to do, prompting Su Bai to consider entering the Dense Fog Zone.

Su Bai entered the dense fog zone with Jin Zheng and Jin Yi despite the dangers, hoping to find information about Su Xuan. After only a few steps, the three became disoriented and found they could not retreat out of the fog.

• Su Bai agreed to enter the fog with the Jin brothers for thirty minutes and warned them not to break their agreement.
• Jin Zheng and Jin Yi prepared to enter with their supplies and explained how their shared Trait strengthened their bodies and linked their senses.
• Su Bai and the brothers avoided the Patrollers and reached the fog as Feng Zhe and other Players distracted them.
• Jin Yi pulled Jin Zheng into the fog, and Su Bai followed after thinking of Su Xuan.
• Su Bai discovered that visibility extended only about a meter and that walking backward did not lead them out.
• The three Players lost their sense of direction and became completely lost within minutes of entering.

Su Bai led Jin Zheng and Jin Yi through the disorienting dense fog while questioning whether Xia An'an had lit an Eternal Lamp before the fog appeared. The chapter ended with Jin Yi walking into a wall Su Bai had somehow detected, prompting Jin Zheng to question who Su Bai really was.

• Jin Yi called for Xia An'an and Lei Ming in the fog, but received no answer.
• Su Bai warned Jin Zheng and Jin Yi to keep quiet and suggested they might be unable to find their teammates or an exit.
• Jin Zheng told Su Bai that Xia An'an had become a Hero after caring for an elderly resident who left her their property.
• Su Bai pointed out that Xia An'an and Lei Ming had gone near an Eternal Lamp shortly before the surrounding area was swallowed by fog, making Jin Yi wonder whether An'an had lit it.
• Jin Yi wandered into a white wall, and Jin Zheng demanded to know how Su Bai had detected it.

Su Bai saw Fog City’s true ruins through Qing Lan’s eyes and discovered that the dense fog had transported him and the Jin brothers to a random location. He led them toward a nearby Eternal Lamp, hoping it might help them find Xia An'an.

• Su Bai viewed Fog City’s peaceful surface and grotesque ruins through Qing Lan’s eyes, understanding that repeated destruction and rebuilding had left layers of buildings and people behind.
• After entering the dense fog with the Jin brothers, Su Bai found that the false peaceful scenery had vanished and he could make out ruined streets and strange figures.
• Su Bai realized an unknown force had shifted their location inside the Dense Fog Zone, making escape difficult even though he could identify the city’s landmarks.
• Su Bai told Jin Zheng and Jin Yi that his intuition could help them avoid danger but could not reveal an exit or locate Xia An'an, and he gave them the name Su Xuan.
• Su Bai led the brothers toward a nearby street intersection and Eternal Lamp, where they might find Xia An'an before reaching the zone’s exit.

Su Bai and the Jin Family Brothers traveled through the Dense Fog Zone, where the Red Moon’s influence and the Nightmare World’s eternal night were spreading. After meeting a mutating Fog City woman who still hoped to reach Central Plaza, Su Bai led the brothers toward the nearby Eternal Lamp.

• Su Bai asked Jin Zheng and Jin Yi about useful items, and they said their items had disappeared after Xia An'an and Lei Ming left.
• Jin Zheng promised they would help in a fight and reveal what they knew about Su Xuan if they faced a danger they could not handle.
• The flashlight beams drew a mutating Fog City woman out of the fog, and she asked for directions to Central Plaza so she could meet her boyfriend.
• Su Bai directed the woman toward Central Plaza, recognizing that she was unlikely to reach it after leaving the fog.
• Su Bai led Jin Zheng and Jin Yi toward the nearby Eternal Lamp.

Su Bai led the Jin brothers through the Dense Fog toward the Eternal Lamp, protecting them from Ghost Creatures while questioning Xia An'an’s role in their missing items. The group heard Xia An'an and an angry man nearby, who accused her of abandoning him just as she had the Jin brothers.

• Su Bai guided Jin Zheng and Jin Yi deeper into the Dense Fog, suspecting that Xia An'an might not be as innocent as Jin Yi insisted.
• Su Bai fought off Ghost Creatures that attacked the group, using Qing Lan's power and his ability to spot their weaknesses.
• Jin Zheng and Jin Yi wondered whether Fog City residents were all disguised uncanny creatures and worried that residents they knew would mutate.
• Su Bai told the Jin brothers to turn off their flashlights after he heard two people talking nearby.
• A furious man accused Xia An'an of abandoning him and the two Jin brothers.

Su Bai and the Jin brothers overheard Lei Ming confront Xia An'an in the fog and expose her motives for bringing him to light the lamp. Their argument escalated into a struggle that attracted ominous creatures.

• Su Bai, Jin Zheng, and Jin Yi hid in the fog and listened as Lei Ming accused Xia An'an of abandoning the others and tying him up.
• Lei Ming revealed that he had worked as a security guard at Chenshan Garden and knew about Xia An'an's affair with a wealthy married man.
• Lei Ming accused Xia An'an of pursuing the man's will and recruiting him to kill the man so she could claim the inheritance.
• Lei Ming said Xia An'an wanted to leave Fog City before the man's letter was destroyed and the inheritance became inaccessible.
• Xia An'an screamed and called Lei Ming a loser, then they grappled and made enough noise to attract ominous things.