Chapter Summaries

Zhao Xun voluntarily boarded the Endless Train hoping to discover what happened to his missing parents, but learned that passengers had to kill a monster to earn a ticket before the journey could begin. His unique Devour ability might let him borrow others’ powers, but he was already being hunted by a monster and had no chance to use it.

• Zhao Xun arrived at the platform with his suitcase, hoping to find his missing parents and learn the truth about the Endless Train.
• The train arrived at midnight, and Zhao Xun received a beginner’s gift pack containing the unique, upgradeable Devour ability.
• Zhao Xun boarded Car 17 with the other passengers and found that its interior was a vast, empty white space.
• The train announced that passengers had to kill a monster to qualify for a ticket, then monsters appeared and attacked the crowd.
• Zhao Xun dodged a long-necked monster’s attacks while other passengers were killed, but he could not use Devour and feared he would run out of stamina.

Zhao Xun discovered that his Devour ability could copy a monster’s special ability and used Sharp Teeth to kill the long-necked monster. He obtained a ticket for the Endless Train and headed toward his assigned seat, wondering why the other carriages seemed so empty.

• Zhao Xun tested the monsters’ strength and behavior, then realized he could use Devour on a monster to acquire its special ability.
• Zhao Xun bit the sharp-toothed monster and acquired a weakened, unupgradeable version of Sharp Teeth.
• Zhao Xun used Sharp Teeth to sever the long-necked monster’s neck and received a ticket for Carriage 14, Seat 014.
• Zhao Xun retrieved his suitcase and left Carriage 17 for the ordinary train carriages.
• Zhao Xun noticed the carriages were sparsely occupied and wondered whether all passengers who boarded that month had died.

Zhao Xun boarded the Endless Train, learned its rules, and received a task to steal another passenger’s ticket before an inspection. He began assessing nearby passengers as potential targets.

• Zhao Xun settled into his seat and concluded that the train was traveling through a Hyperspatial Tunnel.
• The train announced that 930 new passengers had officially become passengers and explained the rules, including daily tasks, points, station games, and passenger rankings.
• Zhao Xun recorded the rules and noted that the fare evasion rules and the lowest-ranked passenger’s assistance measures remained unexplained.
• Zhao Xun received a task to steal a randomly chosen passenger’s ticket and keep its owner from recovering it during a ticket inspection.
• Zhao Xun studied nearby passengers and rejected passengers 013 and 015 as targets before looking toward passengers 018, 019, and 020.

Zhao Xun chatted with No. 019 and No. 015 to learn about their fears and circumstances aboard the [Endless Train], then secretly used a strand of No. 019’s hair to obtain her special ability. He gained [strength enhancement], though [Devour] made it half as effective as the original and impossible to upgrade.

• Zhao Xun struck up a quiet conversation with No. 019, who revealed she was a frightened third-year college student who believed she was unlucky to have been chosen.
• No. 015 joined them and complained that the authorities had made no progress investigating the [Endless Train], while No. 019 hoped this month’s volunteers might find a way to send information out.
• No. 018 threatened the group for disturbing his sleep, and the passengers fell silent before gradually going to sleep.
• Zhao Xun revealed that he had taken a strand of No. 019’s hair and used it to obtain [strength enhancement], replacing [Sharp Teeth] with a weaker, unupgradeable version.

Zhao Xun stole No. 013’s ticket using [Eyes of Clairvoyance] and threw it off the train, then switched back to [Strength Enhancement]. He explained why his bathroom trip did not violate the rule against wandering at will, and settled down to sleep.

• Zhao Xun acquired half-strength [Eyes of Clairvoyance] by devouring No. 013’s sleeve, overwriting [Strength Enhancement].
• Zhao Xun used his new ability to locate No. 013’s ticket and steal it while No. 013 slept.
• Zhao Xun tested the ticket in the bathroom, found it could not be damaged, and flushed it off the train.
• Zhao Xun devoured No. 019’s hair to restore [Strength Enhancement] and returned to his seat.
• No. 013 questioned Zhao Xun about leaving his seat, and Zhao Xun explained that going to the bathroom was not wandering at will.
• No. 013 hurried to the bathroom while Zhao Xun settled in to sleep.

Zhao Xun watched the attendant escort passengers who had lost their tickets away under the fare evasion rules, then learned he had earned 20 points for completing his personal task. He checked the ordinary dining car’s menu to gauge what those points could buy.

• At six in the morning, the attendant checked tickets, and No. 013 discovered his ticket was missing.
• The attendant declared that No. 013 could not keep his seat without a ticket and took him away under the fare evasion rules.
• Zhao Xun followed the attendant and four other ticketless passengers toward carriage 17, but stopped when she warned him off.
• Zhao Xun received 20 points for completing his September 1 personal task.
• Zhao Xun visited the ordinary dining car and read the menu prices, finding that his 20 points would not go far.

Zhao Xun returned to Car 14 and confronted Shen Yalong, whose personal mission required him to take something from Zhao Xun’s suitcase. When Zhao Xun refused, Shen Yalong attacked and revealed a six-armed ability, leaving the fight underway.

• Zhao Xun returned to Car 14 and caught Shen Yalong watching his suitcase.
• Shen Yalong admitted he needed to take something from Zhao Xun’s suitcase, but Zhao Xun refused after Shen Yalong could not offer anything in return.
• Shen Yalong lunged at Zhao Xun, and Zhao Xun knocked his hand aside before dodging his punch and kicking at his knee.
• Shen Yalong attacked again, and Zhao Xun grabbed his shoulder before an extra arm struck Zhao Xun in the side.
• Shen Yalong manifested four additional arms, seized Zhao Xun’s arms with two of them, and attacked him with the other four.

Zhao Xun subdued Shen Yalong, broke his limbs, and tied him to seat 013 after Shen attacked him. He learned that Shen’s ability gave him four extra arms, then opened his suitcase and took out food he had brought aboard the Endless Train.

• Zhao Xun broke several of Shen Yalong’s arms as Shen tried to flee and begged for mercy.
• Zhao Xun broke Shen Yalong’s remaining arm and both legs, then tied him to seat 013 with strips torn from a curtain.
• Zhao Xun asked about Shen Yalong’s ability, and Shen confirmed that he could grow four extra arms.
• Shen Yalong deactivated his ability, returning to two arms, while Zhao Xun opened his suitcase and took out crackers, ham sausages, and mineral water.
• Zhao Xun recalled that he had packed supplies because reports showed volunteers carrying backpacks and the Endless Train had no security screening.

Zhao Xun ate his own food, left Shen Yalong tied up with a humiliating label, and tried to reach the veteran passengers’ cars. After learning that only passengers who cleared a platform game could enter, he returned toward the new passengers and found everyone in Car 11 staring in the same direction.

• Zhao Xun ate crackers and sausage while Shen Yalong, tied up with broken limbs, watched hungrily.
• A train attendant brought a trolley of cheap food, and Zhao Xun observed that passengers paid for items automatically with points.
• Zhao Xun labeled Shen Yalong a “Trophy of No. 014” and wheeled his suitcase toward the veteran passengers’ cars.
• An attendant stopped Zhao Xun from entering Car 07, explaining that he needed to clear at least one platform game first.
• Zhao Xun estimated that only a little over two hundred veterans had survived and returned toward Car 11, where all the passengers were staring in one direction.

Zhao Xun rejected Wu Wei’s invitation to cooperate with the authorities’ volunteers and returned to Car 14, where he kept Shen Yalong restrained. The chapter ended with Zhao Xun waiting out the day and warning Shen Yalong to stay quiet until after that night.

• Wu Wei approached Zhao Xun, questioned his composure, and invited him to work with the five volunteers.
• Zhao Xun refused Wu Wei’s offer and returned to Car 14.
• Zhao Xun asked the bound Shen Yalong for his name and heard that he had abandoned his personal task.
• Zhao Xun told Shen Yalong he would discuss releasing him after that night and threatened to cut out his tongue if he kept talking.
• Zhao Xun spent the rest of the day resting and eating from his suitcase while Shen Yalong remained bound beside him.

As the passengers completed their first day on the [Endless Train], Zhao Xun checked the points rankings and received an unusual personal mission for September 2. Forced to keep his eyes closed, he questioned Shen Yalong about the punishment for failing a mission while waiting to see what would happen to him.

• No. 019 asked Zhao Xun why Shen Yalong was tied to No. 013's seat, and No. 020 stopped her from pressing further.
• At midnight, Zhao Xun checked his panel and learned he had 30 points and ranked 250th.
• The train announced that No. 066 in Carriage 12 ranked last and would receive an assistance and encouragement measure.
• Zhao Xun received a mission requiring him to keep his eyes open for no more than five minutes before dawn, so he immediately shut them.
• Zhao Xun asked Shen Yalong what punishment he faced for failing his personal mission.

Zhao Xun learned that failing a personal mission cost Shen Yalong five points and kept him tied up until dawn. Later, Zhao Xun survived a midnight knife attack in Carriage 14 and killed his attacker with the poison needle hidden in his ring.

• Zhao Xun questioned Shen Yalong and learned that his failed personal mission had cost him five points.
• Zhao Xun considered how mission-failure penalties might threaten players and decided to save his points in case missions grew harder.
• Shen Yalong pleaded to be released, but Zhao Xun told him to wait until dawn.
• A bearded man attacked Zhao Xun with a kitchen knife while the passengers in Carriage 14 slept.
• Zhao Xun dodged the knife, stabbed the bearded man with the poisoned needle in his ring, and watched him collapse and stop breathing.

Zhao Xun killed the bearded passenger who ambushed him, then suspected the attack was part of an “assistance and encouragement measure” tied to the passenger’s last-place ranking. He returned to sleep before his limited time awake ran out, while No. 018 began considering how he might use Zhao Xun’s danger-sensing ability.

• Zhao Xun used the poisoned needle in his ring to kill the bearded man who had attacked him.
• No. 019 and No. 020 reacted fearfully to the killing, while No. 018 questioned Zhao Xun about how he had awakened in time.
• Zhao Xun found the dead man’s ticket, which identified him as No. 066 from Carriage 12, and inferred that the man had been assigned to kill him through an “assistance and encouragement measure.”
• Train attendants arrived with a body bag and trolley, collected the body without asking questions, and pushed it toward the rear of the train.
• With too little time left to investigate, Zhao Xun returned to his seat and closed his eyes; No. 018 decided Zhao Xun’s danger-sensing ability might make him useful as a lookout.

Zhao Xun used the bearded man's ticket to Devour his ability and gained the weakened Blade Transformation. After earning points and unlocking a Storage Slot, he discovered Shen Yalong had lost all his points.

• Zhao Xun secretly bit the bearded man's ticket and replaced Strength Enhancement with the weakened Blade Transformation ability.
• Zhao Xun woke at eight and earned 30 points for completing his September 2 personal mission.
• Zhao Xun unlocked his first Storage Slot for 5 points and confirmed that each subsequent slot cost twice as much.
• Zhao Xun considered the advantages veteran players would have and decided to avoid confronting them directly in Platform Games.
• Zhao Xun asked Shen Yalong what was wrong, and Shen Yalong said all his points had been deducted.

After Zhao Xun revealed that Shen Yalong had lost his remaining points by violating the Train Rules, Shen Yalong sought help to recover from his dislocated limbs. No. 015 agreed to reset his joints in exchange for a firsthand account of the Platform Game, which Shen Yalong resolved to enter that evening.

• Zhao Xun confirmed that Shen Yalong had lost five points for failing to return to his seat, and Shen Yalong realized Zhao Xun had deliberately set him up.
• Zhao Xun untied Shen Yalong, but asked what he would offer in exchange for help resetting his dislocated limbs.
• Shen Yalong asked No. 015 for help and offered to tell her everything he experienced in that evening's Platform Game.
• No. 015 warned Shen Yalong not to lie, then popped all four of his limbs back into place.
• Shen Yalong tested his restored mobility and sprang away from Zhao Xun.

Zhao Xun left the train to enter the platform game at Nairui Town, where thick fog obscured the train and the surroundings. He reached a clearing with five other players and began judging which were veterans and which were newcomers.

• Shen Yalong promised No. 015 something before leaving Car 14, and Zhao Xun suspected he could use Shen as a source of information.
• Zhao Xun spent the day resting and preparing for the platform game while considering how train-rule violations affected points.
• The train stopped at Nairui Town, and Zhao Xun disembarked after hearing that passengers had three days to return before its departure.
• White fog hid the train and surroundings as Zhao Xun walked forward, while Shen Yalong called out in panic and followed the sound of footsteps.
• Zhao Xun and Shen Yalong reached a grassy clearing with four other players, and Zhao Xun guessed that the burly man and the sleazy middle-aged man were veterans.

Zhao Xun arrived in Nairui Town and received an individual quest to obtain the Sculpture's Heart. As he began searching for information about sculptures, he learned that a witch had escaped and was being hunted by the town.

• Zhao Xun read the town's introduction and received his main quest to obtain the Sculpture's Heart, then reasoned that players might have different quests.
• The scene shifted, separating Zhao Xun from the other players and placing him beside a fountain in Nairui Town.
• Zhao Xun hid in a secluded corner, reapplied poison to the needle concealed in his ring, and considered the Platform Game's unexplained difficulty and scoring.
• Zhao Xun followed townspeople to the Bulletin Board and read a notice warning of an escaped witch and offering rewards for information or help capturing her.

Zhao Xun investigated a witch’s escape in Nairui Town and secured a place to stay with Xiao Ai. After learning that Xiao Ai blamed the witch for her parents’ deaths, Zhao Xun began questioning whether the witch was a longtime town resident.

• Zhao Xun asked Xiao Ai about the witch who vanished during her attempted burning, and she explained that a sand-filled wind had blinded the crowd.
• Zhao Xun claimed to be a traveling performer and asked the townspeople for lodging; Xiao Ai offered him a spare bed at her home.
• Zhao Xun recognized Nairui Town as resembling a setting from the Dark Ages, then followed Xiao Ai to her small house.
• Xiao Ai told Zhao Xun that her parents had died a month earlier and that the Public Security Office blamed a witch for their murders.
• Zhao Xun asked whether the witch had lived in Nairui Town for a long time, and Xiao Ai said she had been hiding there as an ordinary person.

Zhao Xun learned that the witch was called Ruby and reasoned that finding her was key to locating the sculpture and its heart. After spending the night at Xiao Ai’s home, he set out to look for work and information, with about two and a half days left in the game.

• Xiao Ai told Zhao Xun that the witch was named Ruby and described her appearance, while suspecting that Ruby had replaced the real girl.
• Zhao Xun considered how the witch might be connected to the sculpture and decided he needed to find Ruby before he could locate the sculpture’s heart.
• Zhao Xun rested at Xiao Ai’s home and planned to ask someone who knew Ruby about her the next day.
• At dawn, Zhao Xun told Xiao Ai he would look for work, and she suggested that he perform in the town square and gave him a key to her home.
• After Xiao Ai left for the flower fields, Zhao Xun checked his phone and saw that he had roughly two and a half days remaining.

Zhao Xun learned about Ruby’s life as the Duke’s Manor’s Head Maid and arranged to enter the manor for the duke’s open banquet. He left Lisa expecting two kisses, but privately planned to abandon the promise once she had served her purpose.

• Zhao Xun asked townspeople about Ruby and learned she had been orphaned at five before the duke hired her as a maid.
• Lisa told Zhao Xun that Ruby had become Head Maid and personally cleaned the many sculptures in the Duke’s Manor.
• Zhao Xun asked to visit the manor, and Lisa offered to bring him through a side gate for the duke’s banquet that evening.
• Lisa asked Zhao Xun for a kiss, and he promised her two after they entered the manor so she would agree to take him.
• After Lisa left, Zhao Xun washed his hand and decided he would not keep his promise once Lisa was no longer useful to him.