Chapter Summaries

Zhao Xun upgraded Devour, then boarded the Endless Train just before midnight and learned his rank had fallen to 430. After receiving his September 6 personal mission, he settled down to sleep, already confident he could complete it.

• The Short-Haired Woman waited outside the train until midnight to avoid receiving a personal mission for September 5.
• Zhao Xun spent 100 points to upgrade Devour to level 2, allowing him to obtain a target's full ability and hold two abilities at once.
• Zhao Xun spent 10 more points to unlock a second Storage Slot.
• Zhao Xun boarded the Endless Train at midnight and saw that his points rank was 430.
• No. 015, No. 018, No. 019, and No. 020 watched Zhao Xun but chose not to ask about his game experience.
• Zhao Xun received a mission to obtain food from a veteran player and went to sleep, believing he had a plan to complete it.

After Shen Yalong’s death left No. 015 without the information she wanted, she negotiated with Zhao Xun for details about the first Platform Game. She shared what she had learned from the Volunteers, including the game’s town setting and its rules, while Zhao Xun listened.

• No. 015 asked Zhao Xun about Shen Yalong and learned that he had died in the first Platform Game.
• No. 015 offered to help Zhao Xun in a future game in exchange for useful information, and he asked her to first gather details from the Volunteers.
• No. 015 returned with the Volunteers’ notes and tried to use their free information to pressure Zhao Xun, but he made clear he would not trade on those terms.
• No. 015 agreed to exchange information and told Zhao Xun that the game took place in a small town, six players gathered after walking through fog, and their missions sometimes conflicted.
• No. 015 said that food and clothing from the game disappeared when players boarded the train.

Zhao Xun told No. 015 that players who failed to complete a game’s main quest could be trapped as NPCs, then left to prepare for another game. After resting, he met Tiantian’s acquaintance Whistle in the dining car and asked how long Whistle had been on the train.

• No. 015 summarized the Volunteers’ information about the game in Nairui Town, and Zhao Xun revealed that failing to complete a game’s main quest could leave a player trapped as an NPC.
• Zhao Xun reminded No. 015 to keep her promise and said he would get off for the next Platform Game; No. 015 decided to prepare for one herself.
• Zhao Xun returned to his seat and slept after going two days and two nights without rest.
• Zhao Xun woke at eleven twenty and went to the regular dining car, where Tiantian introduced him to Whistle.
• Whistle asked Zhao Xun about his dislike of physical contact, and Zhao Xun asked Whistle how long he had been on the train and whether he had dyed his hair there.

Zhao Xun asked the information broker Whistle about the couple in a photo and learned that both were dead. Tiantian questioned whether their lives held a special significance for Zhao Xun, but he refused to explain.

• Zhao Xun noticed Whistle's vivid hair and learned he had dyed it with dragon fruit.
• Tiantian introduced Whistle as the train's information broker, and Zhao Xun asked what he would charge to identify the people in a photo.
• Whistle recognized the woman faintly from what might have been a portrait and said neither person in the photo was aboard the Endless Train.
• Whistle told Zhao Xun that both people were dead, and Zhao Xun silently accepted the news.
• Tiantian asked whether their being alive held special significance for Zhao Xun, but he gave no explanation.

Zhao Xun made a deal with Whistle to learn how his parents died, agreeing to assassinate Whistle’s enemy once he was strong enough. Whistle promised to investigate and left Zhao Xun to survive and build his strength on the Endless Train.

• Tiantian claimed Zhao Xun’s parents’ deaths mattered more to her, and Whistle steered the conversation back to business.
• Zhao Xun asked Whistle to determine who killed his parents, and Whistle agreed in exchange for Zhao Xun helping him kill an enemy.
• Zhao Xun accepted the deal and signed Whistle’s supernatural contract with a bloody thumbprint.
• Whistle said he would find Zhao Xun once he had definite information and urged him to build his strength.
• Zhao Xun asked for crackers or other food, but Whistle had none.

Zhao Xun learned that no Platform Game had ever repeated, then completed his Personal Mission by getting a biscuit from Tiantian. While checking his supplies, he found his father’s pocket watch, confronted his parents’ deaths, and vowed to avenge them, though he said the promise he had made to them could now end.

• Zhao Xun asked Whistle whether any Platform Game had repeated, and Whistle confirmed that none had.
• Zhao Xun traded biscuits with Tiantian and completed his Personal Mission for September 6, earning 15 points.
• Tiantian invited Zhao Xun to visit her in Car 6 before she and Whistle left.
• Zhao Xun counted his food supplies and found the pocket watch his father had given him.
• Zhao Xun acknowledged his parents’ deaths, promised to avenge them, and said the promise he had made to them could end.

Zhao Xun, No. 015, and No. 018 disembarked at the Princess Thorn platform, where they joined other players outside a vine-covered castle. The game announcement introduced a sleeping princess, but the players had not yet entered the castle.

• Zhao Xun skipped his personal mission and rested before the train reached the Princess Thorn platform.
• Zhao Xun and No. 015 left the train, and No. 018 followed them into the fog.
• Zhao Xun observed the other players and spotted a castle covered in vines as the fog cleared.
• An overhead screen announced the Princess Thorn game and described a sealed castle where a princess slept, waiting for her prince.

Zhao Xun and the other seven players learned the rules of Knights and Assassins and arrived together outside a thorny castle. The group voted to cooperate while searching for the Princess, though suspicions about Earring Woman remained.

• Zhao Xun learned that he was a Knight, and the eight players appeared together outside the castle.
• Earring Woman urged the group to cooperate until they found the Princess, while No. 015 suspected her of being an Assassin.
• The Cloaked Man supported Earring Woman, and Zhao Xun urged everyone to stop arguing and decide by vote.
• Zhao Xun proposed that ties be settled with rock-paper-scissors, and the group accepted his voting plan.
• Everyone except the woman with twin ponytails and the man in denim voted to cooperate, while No. 015 clarified that she supported the plan despite suspecting Earring Woman.

The players began moving through the thorn patch in a single-file line, while Zhao Xun considered how to identify the Assassins and choose the true Prince safely. After half an hour, Cloaked Man rotated to the back, and Bald Scorpion Man asked to borrow his cleaver.

• Zhao Xun suggested that the players clear a single-file path through the thorns and rotate the lead position every half hour, but Bald Scorpion Man took control and chose to stand second.
• Cloaked Man volunteered to lead the eight players, cut through the thorns with a meat cleaver, and began guiding the group forward.
• Zhao Xun watched the path for small creatures and reasoned that the players should identify the Assassins and avoid choosing a false Prince who might harm the Princess.
• After half an hour, Cloaked Man stopped clearing the path and went to the back of the line without speaking to Bald Scorpion Man.
• Bald Scorpion Man restrained his irritation and politely asked Cloaked Man to lend him the cleaver.

The group crossed halfway through the thorn thicket with help from the woman with twin ponytails’s fire ability. After the Bald Scorpion Man insulted Zhao Xun again, Zhao Xun silently warned him that he had one chance left.

• The Cloaked Man saved the woman with twin ponytails when a vine dragged her toward the thorns, and she burned the vine with her fire ability.
• The Cloaked Man contained the resulting fire, while the Earring Woman agreed to protect the woman with twin ponytails in exchange for her help against the plants.
• Zhao Xun suspected the Cloaked Man had a way to escape the fire safely and considered the potential value of his equipment.
• The Bald Scorpion Man cleared a path with a bone cleaver as the woman with twin ponytails repelled vines and creatures, allowing the group to reach halfway through the thicket.
• The group discussed how the castle would hold the main challenge, and Zhao Xun cautioned them not to lower their guard.
• The Bald Scorpion Man mocked Zhao Xun, who fixed him with a cold gaze and decided he had one chance left.

Zhao Xun spotted a concealed pit filled with scorpions and centipedes, and the girl with twin ponytails used her fire ability to burn them. As the group neared the castle, the attacking vines grew more aggressive, and she saved the buzz-cut man from one that nearly coiled around his neck.

• Bald Scorpion Man backed down from arguing with Zhao Xun and focused on reaching the castle.
• Zhao Xun noticed a suspicious patch of grass, and the girl with twin ponytails burned it away to reveal a deep pit crawling with scorpions and centipedes.
• The girl with twin ponytails repeatedly cast flames into the pit until the insects caught fire, though the effort began to tire her.
• Cloaked Man and Earring Woman fought off increasingly frequent vine attacks as the group neared the edge of the brambles.
• The girl with twin ponytails burned a white flower on a vine just before it could coil around the buzz-cut man's neck, and the vine retreated.

Zhao Xun led the players through the castle grounds, where the man in denim picked the locked main door. At the entrance, the players debated whether to search for the Prince and Princess together or split into pairs, but they had not reached an agreement.

• Zhao Xun tested the lawn, led the players across it, and guided them through the ivy-bound gates into the castle grounds.
• Bald Scorpion Man squeezed through the narrow gate opening and checked that his shallow cut was harmless.
• The players climbed to the castle entrance, where the man in denim picked the padlock with a sewing needle.
• Bald Scorpion Man proposed searching the castle in pairs, but the woman with twin ponytails and the slightly plump woman objected.
• Cloaked Man rejected pairing up because the two Assassins might end up on the same team.

The players debated whether to split up while searching the castle, and Zhao Xun concluded that Bald Scorpion Man was likely an Assassin. They found a sleeping man dressed as a Prince in the servants’ quarters but searched for clues before trying to wake him.

• Cloaked Man, Twin-Tails, Crew-Cut Man, and Zhao Xun argued that splitting up could leave Knights vulnerable, and the group rejected Bald Scorpion Man’s proposal to form smaller teams.
• The players continued through the castle together, and Zhao Xun judged Twin-Tails and Slightly Plump Woman likely to be Knights while suspecting Bald Scorpion Man was an Assassin.
• The group entered a servants’ room after Cowboy picked its lock and found a sleeping man dressed as a Prince.
• Cloaked Man stopped Crew-Cut Man from slapping the Prince awake and suggested searching for clues to confirm his identity and discover how to wake him.

Zhao Xun and the other players searched the castle, finding five princes whose documents identified them as foreign royalty while letters in their rooms claimed each was a fraud. With no way to tell which prince was real and no sign of the Princess, they were left without useful clues.

• Zhao Xun and the Cloaked Man found a prince's identity document and a letter contradicting it, then returned the document to the prince while testing each other's intentions.
• After finding no further clues in the servants' quarters, the players decided to keep the princes with them, and the Cloaked Man produced a Flatbed Cart to transport them.
• The eight players searched the castle and found four more princes, each with a document naming a different country and a letter claiming his identity was false.
• The players finished searching the castle with five princes and no way to identify the real one, while the Princess remained missing.

The players rested and discussed how to find the Princess, with Zhao Xun arguing that they should search the castle before waking the Princes. He grew increasingly certain that Earring Woman was an Assassin, while Twin-Tails remained unaware that Bald Scorpion Man had exposed his role.

• Twin-Tails complained of hunger and exhaustion, so the players stopped to eat and rest beside the cart carrying the sleeping Princes.
• The players discussed searching for more hidden rooms, and Cloaked Man insisted they keep looking despite Twin-Tails's complaints.
• Zhao Xun watched Earring Woman's quiet behavior and reasoned that she was probably an Assassin who was avoiding Bald Scorpion Man.
• Zhao Xun advised the players not to wake the Princes until they found the Princess, warning that the Princes might attack one another or the players.
• The players agreed with Zhao Xun's plan, including Bald Scorpion Man, while Zhao Xun noted that Twin-Tails still did not recognize him as an exposed Assassin.

Zhao Xun discovered that three of the five Princes’ kingdoms had fallen, allowing the group to rule out those Princes as false candidates. As dusk fell, Twin-Tails found a hidden mechanism in the study that opened a secret room.

• The group agreed to search the castle’s study for a secret room and began looking through its bookshelves.
• Zhao Xun found a history book showing that three of the five Princes’ kingdoms had fallen three to five years earlier.
• Cloaked Man concluded that the Princes from those fallen kingdoms were false candidates, and the group decided to leave them in the study.
• Zhao Xun considered killing the unconscious false Princes but kept his thoughts to himself while continuing the search.
• Twin-Tails found a small bump beneath a bookcase, triggering a mechanism that made two bookcases recede into the wall.

The players found the sleeping Princess in a hidden room and woke the Princes of Mountain Country and Water Country to identify the real one. After the two Princes fought, the Prince of Mountain Country claimed he was the Princess’s childhood sweetheart and showed his sapphire engagement ring.

• The players opened a secret room and found a sleeping Princess in an ornate bed.
• The players slapped awake the Princes of Mountain Country and Water Country, who rushed toward the Princess.
• Zhao Xun and Cloaked Man stopped the Princes and asked which one was real, prompting them to accuse each other of being impostors.
• The Princes fought for several minutes before stopping, bruised and exhausted.
• The Prince of Mountain Country claimed he and the Princess had been engaged since her coming-of-age celebration and showed his sapphire ring.

The players debated the Prince of the Water Country’s missing feather fan and sent the Volunteer in denim with him to search for it, while Zhao Xun suspected the Earring Woman might be manipulating the group. As night fell, a pitch-black figure suddenly attacked the Cloaked Man from behind.

• The Prince of the Water Country insisted that the Princess had given him a feather fan, but the players pointed out that they had found no fan where he had passed out.
• Zhao Xun suggested sending one player with the Prince of the Water Country, and the players chose the Volunteer in denim by rock-paper-scissors.
• The Earring Woman warned the Volunteer in denim to be careful, leading Zhao Xun to wonder whether they were allies or whether she was trying to sow distrust.
• The Cloaked Man stopped the Prince of the Mountain Country from approaching the Princess, and Zhao Xun persuaded him to wait until his injuries healed.
• After night fell and the Volunteer in denim and the Prince of the Water Country had not returned, a pitch-black figure leaped at the Cloaked Man from behind.

Three fake Princes transformed into werewolves and attacked the players, giving Zhao Xun a chance to observe their abilities and maneuver the attackers. After Bald Scorpion Man’s summoned scorpion killed two werewolves, Zhao Xun killed Bald Scorpion Man, whom the others had identified as the Assassin.

• The three fake Princes transformed into werewolves and attacked Cloaked Man, whose cloak protected him from their claws.
• Zhao Xun threw stones at two werewolves and led them toward Bald Scorpion Man, forcing him to summon his giant scorpion.
• Bald Scorpion Man’s scorpion killed one werewolf with its venom and ate another alive, while Cloaked Man killed the remaining werewolf.
• Zhao Xun suddenly killed Bald Scorpion Man with an enormous Reaper’s Scythe, causing the scorpion to vanish.
• Cloaked Man questioned Zhao Xun’s timing, and Zhao Xun said he had struck because Bald Scorpion Man’s ability had left him vulnerable.

Zhao Xun killed Bald Scorpion Man and had the Mountain Kingdom Prince clear away the bodies. After Cowboy returned with the Water Kingdom Prince and the feather fan, the two Princes argued over who was real, leaving the players to weigh their claims as night settled over the castle.

• Zhao Xun received ten points for killing Bald Scorpion Man, and the players accepted the death without protest.
• Zhao Xun asked the Mountain Kingdom Prince to move the bodies, and the Prince reluctantly pushed them into a corner and cleaned some blood.
• Cowboy returned with the Water Kingdom Prince and a feather fan he had found on the stable roof.
• Cowboy told the players that insects and leaves had gone silent outside when darkness fell, and he had hurried back to the study with the Water Kingdom Prince.
• Zhao Xun reasoned that awakened fake Princes could remain human after dark, while the lack of werewolf sounds suggested there were no other fake Princes in the castle.
• The Water Kingdom Prince claimed the feather fan proved he was real, while the Mountain Kingdom Prince challenged his story and accused him of being an impostor.