Chapter Summaries

After Liao Ming's death, Zhao Xun warned Wang Ling'er not to investigate and recruited the Pygmy Marmoset to find the keys needed for his escape. As night fell, the marmoset stole a ring of keys from Wang Dongliang and carried it toward Zhao Xun in the Underground Chamber.

• Wang Ling'er cleaned Liao Ming's blood from the Underground Chamber and questioned Zhao Xun, who warned her not to meddle.
• Zhao Xun received two keys from the Pygmy Marmoset and told it to search Wang Dongliang for another key after he fell asleep.
• Wang Ling'er brought Zhao Xun clean clothes and later delivered him a warm meat bun and an egg.
• The Pygmy Marmoset reported that Wang Dongliang disposed of Liao Ming's body, cleared his room, and searched for a new favorite.
• After Wang Dongliang went to sleep, the Pygmy Marmoset stole his ring of keys and headed for the Underground Chamber.

Zhao Xun escaped the cage, accepted both side quests, and killed Wang Dongliang in front of a large audience. He returned to the Performance Troupe’s accommodation area, where two men confronted him about his escape and Wang Dongliang’s death.

• Zhao Xun used the keys brought by the pygmy marmoset to escape the cage, completed the main quest, and accepted both side quests.
• Zhao Xun confirmed he could use his special abilities, gathered instant noodles, erased the theater’s surveillance recordings, and hid behind a stage curtain.
• During the morning performance, Zhao Xun struck Wang Dongliang with lightning and killed him with a summoned cleaver before more than a hundred spectators.
• Zhao Xun escaped in the panic, found no sign of police, and returned to the accommodation area after confirming the street had settled down.
• Burly Man A and Burly Man B confronted Zhao Xun about escaping the cage, and Burly Man A accused him of killing Wang Dongliang.

After Wang Dongliang died, Uncle Wang became the Performance Troupe’s new leader, and Zhao Xun offered to help Wang Ling'er leave the troupe. Uncle Wang agreed only if she paid him fifty thousand in compensation.

• Zhao Xun convinced the troupe members that he had not killed Wang Dongliang and explained that he had escaped his cage by picking its lock.
• Uncle Wang claimed the leadership, assigned the troupe its tasks, and let Zhao Xun postpone choosing a new act while helping backstage.
• Zhao Xun secretly recalled the Pygmy Marmoset after it returned the stolen keys, then asked Wang Ling'er whether she wanted to leave the troupe.
• Wang Ling'er decided to leave, and Zhao Xun proposed that Uncle Wang find her ID card and household registration booklet among Wang Dongliang’s belongings.
• Uncle Wang said Wang Ling'er’s departure could undermine his leadership, then demanded fifty thousand in compensation before handing over her documents.

Wang Ling'er agreed to pay Uncle Wang fifty thousand yuan for her ID card and household registration booklet, while Zhao Xun forced him to search for the documents by seven that evening. Their search uncovered a locked Bible that Zhao Xun suspected was unusually heavy.

• Wang Ling'er agreed to pay Uncle Wang fifty thousand yuan for her documents, and Zhao Xun insisted Uncle Wang find them before taking the money and set a deadline.
• Uncle Wang searched his room for two and a half hours but found neither document, then proposed checking other places where Wang Dongliang had hidden things.
• When Uncle Wang set a one-week deadline, Zhao Xun grabbed him by the throat and threatened to kill him if he had not found the documents by seven that evening.
• Uncle Wang hurried to search other rooms, and Wang Ling'er quietly told Zhao Xun that she believed he had not killed Wang Dongliang.
• Uncle Wang found a locked Bible in the room once occupied by two burly men, and Zhao Xun picked it up and noticed it was unusually heavy.

Zhao Xun helped Wang Ling'er recover her documents and leave the Performance Troupe, but returned because the Dream Game confined him to the area. After surviving an assassination attempt arranged through Uncle Wang, Zhao Xun killed Uncle Wang and treated Wang Ling'er's wounds, leaving their tense partnership unresolved.

• Zhao Xun broke open the Bible, found Wang Ling'er's ID card, household register, and two gold bars, and accepted the bars after she freely gave them to him.
• Zhao Xun escorted Wang Ling'er out of town, collected instant noodles from her as a voluntary gift, and told her he could not leave the Dream Game yet; she walked away and completed his side mission.
• Zhao Xun returned to the Performance Troupe, where Uncle Wang backed down and let him rest, and Zhao Xun spent the next day waiting without triggering a hidden mission.
• Three armed intruders broke into Zhao Xun's room at midnight to kill him; Zhao Xun paralyzed them, killed two, learned Uncle Wang had sent them through a wealthy man, and killed the survivor.
• Wang Ling'er returned to warn Zhao Xun after escaping from the intruders, and Zhao Xun carried her to Uncle Wang's room and killed Uncle Wang when he opened the door.
• Zhao Xun rebuked Wang Ling'er for risking herself, then found gauze and wound powder in Uncle Wang's medical kit to treat her injuries.

Zhao Xun rescued Wang Ling'er from the theater after revealing that he had killed Wang Dongliang, then hid until his three days in the Dream Game were over. Back on the Endless Train, he reunited with the other players and learned that Special Abilities could not be used during any main quest.

• Zhao Xun remembered how Wang Ling'er had saved his life as a child, and told her he had killed Wang Dongliang; she understood his reasons and was not afraid of him.
• Zhao Xun gave Wang Ling'er Wang Dongliang's money and valuables, then escorted her out of the theater and warned her not to return.
• Zhao Xun hid on the roof of an abandoned house while Wang Dongliang's powerful associates searched town for him, then left the Dream Game when his three days were up.
• Back on the Endless Train, Zhao Xun checked his belongings and heard from the Short-Haired Woman that A Jie and Wu Wei had entered their own Dream Games.
• Zhao Xun visited Tiantian and asked whether players could use Special Abilities during main quests; she told him they could not.

Zhao Xun agreed to help Su Tiantian with a difficult side quest after she arranged for him to enter her Dream Game as outside assistance. They reached her former home, where Su Tiantian explained that the quest was to stop her fictional younger sister from dying by suicide, and described her three failed attempts.

• Zhao Xun and Su Tiantian agreed to enter the Dream Game together at noon on the eleventh, while Zhao Xun’s compartment mates discussed their rankings and entered their own games.
• Zhao Xun and Su Tiantian entered the game simultaneously, and Zhao Xun accepted the system’s request to provide outside assistance in Su Tiantian’s Dream Game.
• Su Tiantian told Zhao Xun she had already completed the main quest, so he would need to earn survival time through her difficult side quest or another game.
• Su Tiantian explained that the side quest required saving her younger sister from suicide, then described three failed attempts involving their parents’ deaths, their loss of income, and their continued neglect.
• Su Tiantian brought Zhao Xun into her family’s filthy apartment and described her alcoholic father, gambling-addicted mother, and younger sister’s dependence on parental love and support.

Su Tiantian and Zhao Xun planned to make her abusive parents act like caring parents for three days so her younger sister would not kill herself. They began coercing the couple into cooperating, and Su Tiantian left her mother terrified after cutting off her little finger.

• After her younger sister repeatedly died by suicide under different circumstances, Su Tiantian agreed with Zhao Xun that they should make their parents behave like good parents for three days.
• Su Tiantian and Zhao Xun planned how to threaten and incentivize the couple, then cleaned the house while the parents were out.
• Su Younger Sister came home, hid behind Su Tiantian when she saw Zhao Xun, and later went to sleep after Su Tiantian gave her milk mixed with a sleeping pill.
• After the parents returned late at night, Su Tiantian confronted her mother with a machete, while Zhao Xun used a gun to make Su Dad obey.
• When Su Mom interrupted Su Tiantian's explanation, Su Tiantian cut off her little finger and warned her not to interrupt again.

Su Tiantian and Zhao Xun forced Su Dad and Su Mom to control their addictions and act like loving parents for three days, using threats and valuable rewards to secure their cooperation. Su Younger Sister responded to her parents’ sudden kindness with hope, and the chapter ended with Zhao Xun keeping the couple in line as they prepared for Saturday.

• Su Tiantian threatened Su Mom and Su Dad into limiting their drinking, smoking, and gambling, then treated Su Mom’s severed finger and told her what explanation to give Su Younger Sister.
• Zhao Xun offered Su Dad and Su Mom a gemstone necklace and gold bar for cooperating, gave them a pearl each as a deposit, and let Su Tiantian explain the plan.
• Su Dad and Su Mom cooked breakfast, showed Su Younger Sister affection, and spent the day caring for her, giving her hope that their family had changed.
• Su Younger Sister told Su Tiantian she feared the kindness would disappear, and Su Tiantian reassured her as the first day passed without suicidal thoughts.
• Su Dad asked Zhao Xun for baijiu and Su Mom asked to gamble, but Zhao Xun refused and warned them not to bargain with him.
• Zhao Xun let Su Dad have one can of beer and gave Su Mom a casino simulator app, then confirmed that the couple had prepared for their Saturday duties.

Su Tiantian and Zhao Xun accepted a hidden mission to make Su Younger Sister despair, despite its conflict with Su Tiantian’s side quest to end her suicidal thoughts. They arranged to expose Su Dad and Su Mom’s false reform through their greed, and the chapter ended as the parents demanded the promised rewards in front of Su Younger Sister.

• Su Dad and Su Mom took Su Tiantian, Su Younger Sister, and Zhao Xun to the amusement park, where Su Younger Sister enjoyed a rare happy day with her family.
• Su Younger Sister’s happiness triggered a hidden mission for Su Tiantian and Zhao Xun to plunge her into despair, and they agreed to expose that her parents were only pretending to change.
• Su Tiantian chose to prioritize the hidden mission if the two quests could not both be completed, and she and Zhao Xun planned to reveal the truth around eleven thirty the next day without exposing it themselves.
• On the 14th, Su Dad and Su Mom struggled with their cravings while Zhao Xun refused to let them indulge, and Su Younger Sister accepted Su Tiantian’s explanation for their irritability.
• At lunch, Zhao Xun pretended not to know about the promised gold bar and necklace when Su Dad expected payment, prompting Su Dad and Su Mom to angrily reveal their agreement in front of Su Younger Sister.

Zhao Xun and Su Tiantian completed their dream-game missions by exposing Su Younger Sister to despair and knocking her unconscious before she could act on suicidal thoughts. Back aboard the Endless Train, Su Tiantian teased Zhao Xun and Qianqian, then A Jie asked whether she belonged to the organization founded by someone nicknamed “Rainbow.”

• Zhao Xun refused to give Su Dad and Su Mom the promised gold and gemstone necklace, and they exposed that they had only pretended to quit gambling and drinking for money.
• Su Younger Sister learned that her parents had never intended to change, and Su Mom slapped her while Su Dad and Su Mom argued.
• Zhao Xun used an airborne iron pan to knock Su Younger Sister unconscious, and he and Su Tiantian completed their side quest and hidden mission before leaving the dream game.
• Aboard the Endless Train, Zhao Xun and Su Tiantian discussed their rewards, and Su Tiantian flirted with him before he suggested Su Younger Sister reflected part of her own past self.
• A Jie and Qianqian returned to the compartment, where Su Tiantian teased Qianqian about choosing between her teammates and asked if she could pick one herself.
• A Jie asked Su Tiantian whether she belonged to the organization founded by the person nicknamed “Rainbow.”

Zhao Xun examined his new [Shackles of Cowardice] and discussed his plans with Su Tiantian, while Wu Wei decided to reach out to newer Volunteers and later discovered that rule-breaking players had become attendants. The chapter left Zhao Xun suspecting that attendants might be able to return to player status if they met certain conditions.

• Su Tiantian invited Zhao Xun to a merged dream game, but he refused and said he preferred to play alone.
• Wu Wei returned from his dream game and proposed finding newer Volunteers so their group could share information and grow.
• Wu Wei, A Jie, and Qianqian visited the newcomers' carriage and saw two players from their batch working as attendants.
• Zhao Xun concluded that Train Rule violations could carry different punishments and wondered whether attendants could become players again.
• Zhao Xun recalled No. 013 and suspected that he, too, might have become an attendant after losing his ticket.

Zhao Xun entered a merged dream game with another player and received a quest to attend an apartment meal and a side quest to identify and kill a serial killer. At the dinner, he met the other player, Fan Xiaodan, and watched the guests cautiously as Jiang Shuai ate fish and Grandma Feng served him chicken.

• Zhao Xun's rank rose to 165, and he moved into Compartment 2 with Wu Wei, A Jie, and Qianqian.
• Zhao Xun entered a dream game that had merged with another player's and accepted the side quest to identify and kill the serial killer in the Apartment.
• Zhao Xun met the apartment residents at a group meal and recognized Jiang Shuai, while learning the other player was Fan Xiaodan.
• Zhao Xun and Fan Xiaodan refrained from eating as the other guests chatted, and Zhao Xun summoned a Squirrel Monkey to help him assess the food.
• Jiang Shuai ate braised fish, and Grandma Feng placed a chicken drumstick in Zhao Xun's bowl; Zhao Xun fed a piece to the Squirrel Monkey instead.

Zhao Xun and Fan Xiaodan realized the food was poisoned when Grandpa Feng suddenly died after drinking or eating something brought out after the meal. They narrowed the likely source to the fruit and drinks, but the communal kitchen gave many people access, and Zhao Xun found no obvious way the sealed milk had been tampered with.

• Zhao Xun used the squirrel monkey to sample the meal, and he and Fan Xiaodan noticed that no one showed symptoms after eating the dishes.
• Grandma Feng brought out fruit and drinks, and Grandpa Feng collapsed and died shortly after consuming something.
• Fan Xiaodan identified Grandpa Feng's symptoms as likely cyanide poisoning and concluded that the poison was probably in the fruit or drinks.
• Zhao Xun observed that Grandpa Feng alone had drunk milk, while Fan Xiaodan defended him against Dou Yaohui's accusation that he was the killer.
• Grandma Feng described everyone's access to the kitchen and groceries, leaving many people as suspects.
• Zhao Xun examined the sealed milk jug but found no needle hole or other obvious sign of tampering.

Zhao Xun questioned the residents after Grandpa Feng was poisoned, while Fan Xiaodan revealed clues linking her to the Volunteers. With the only bridge destroyed and the police delayed for two days, Zhao Xun began investigating everyone’s whereabouts that morning.

• Zhao Xun asked the residents about their occupations, and Fan Xiaodan said she was a traffic police officer before Zhao Xun questioned her about being a Volunteer.
• Gu Xiaoyun learned that the suspension bridge had been destroyed and the police would not arrive for two days, so Zhao Xun began asking where everyone had been after Grandma Feng returned at eight thirty.
• Dou Yaohui said he had run that morning and helped the Feng couple carry groceries, but Fan Xiaodan pointed out he could have reached the bridge during the time of the crime.
• Gu Xiaoyun and Fan's Mother described making breakfast and said Gu Xiaoyun had watched television afterward, while Fan Xiaodan could not confirm the account because she lacked the game's memories.
• Liu Mei said she had studied and later gone out with Jiang Shuai, who revealed that he and Liu Mei had recently started dating.

After the group questioned one another about their movements, Zhao Xun and Fan Xiaodan pushed for a search to find evidence related to Grandpa Feng’s poisoning. The body searches found nothing, so everyone went upstairs to search the rooms.

• Zhao Xun questioned Liu Mei and Jiang Shuai about their date, then asked Dou Yaohui about his whereabouts and heard Fan Xiaodan summarize her own timeline.
• Fan Xiaodan questioned Grandma Feng about whether she had been alone, and Grandma Feng angrily denied killing her husband before ending the meal.
• After the main quest awarded Zhao Xun 50 points and 50 hours of survival time, Zhao Xun and Fan Xiaodan persuaded the group to conduct body searches while they waited for police.
• Fan Xiaodan searched the women and Zhao Xun searched the men, but the searches found no suspicious items; Dou Yaohui objected to Zhao Xun searching him and was kicked down when he reached toward Zhao Xun.
• Zhao Xun proposed searching everyone’s rooms, and Jiang Shuai pointed out that Dou Yaohui’s repeated objections made him seem suspicious; the group agreed to search the rooms.
• Fan Xiaodan split the group into two teams of four so they could search two rooms at once.

Zhao Xun and Fan Xiaodan led searches of the residents’ rooms, uncovering a hidden bottle with traces of suspected cyanide in Liu Mei’s room and bolt cutters hidden beneath Jiang Shuai’s bed. As the group accused Liu Mei and Jiang Shuai, Zhao Xun noticed matching marks on the bolt cutters and the bottle’s stopper.

• Fan Xiaodan and Zhao Xun divided everyone into groups to search the rooms while keeping residents from searching their own rooms.
• Zhao Xun found a tiny bottle hidden above a desk drawer in Liu Mei’s room and brought it downstairs.
• Fan Xiaodan found bolt cutters tied beneath Jiang Shuai’s bed, and Zhao Xun observed wear marks that could have come from cutting the Suspension Bridge’s chains.
• Fan Xiaodan smelled a faint bitter-almond odor from the bottle and said it was probably cyanide, prompting the group to suspect Liu Mei and Jiang Shuai.
• Zhao Xun found three crooked strokes on the bolt cutters and an identical mark on the underside of the bottle’s stopper.

Zhao Xun and Fan Xiaodan arranged to tie up Jiang Shuai and Liu Mei while the residents searched for Grandpa Feng’s killer. While preparing restraints, Fan Xiaodan revealed that she had taken another person’s place as a Volunteer to pay for her mother’s cancer treatment, and described how the Volunteer selection process had deteriorated.

• Zhao Xun argued that Jiang Shuai and Liu Mei remained suspects despite their claims that the evidence had been planted, and the residents searched the remaining rooms without finding anything suspicious.
• Zhao Xun suggested restraining Jiang Shuai and Liu Mei and having everyone stay together overnight; Fan Xiaodan promised to organize shifts to watch over them.
• Fan Xiaodan used an old bedsheet to make restraints with Zhao Xun’s help, and Zhao Xun asked again why she had become a Volunteer.
• Fan Xiaodan told Zhao Xun that she had replaced a powerful family’s chosen Volunteer in exchange for money to pay for her mother’s cancer treatment.
• Fan Xiaodan explained that Volunteer standards and screening had weakened after repeated failures, while Zhao Xun noted that September’s Volunteers seemed more optimistic.

After discovering a possible clue while inspecting the residents’ suitcases, Zhao Xun kept his findings to himself, but Grandma Feng suddenly died from cyanide poisoning. Fan Xiaodan remained suspicious that Zhao Xun had learned more than he admitted as they placed Grandma Feng beside her husband.

• Zhao Xun noticed something inside his suitcase handle, then examined Dou Yaohui’s and the other residents’ suitcases without explaining what he was looking for.
• Zhao Xun said he had hoped the suitcases would reveal the killer but claimed he had found nothing unusual.
• While the residents ate dinner, Grandma Feng drank from her insulated cup, collapsed, and died from cyanide poisoning.
• Zhao Xun reasoned that someone could have poisoned Grandma Feng’s cup in the morning, before the residents began watching one another, and Jiang Shuai’s angry denial drew suspicion.
• Fan Xiaodan and Zhao Xun carried Grandma Feng’s body to the dining room, where he questioned Fan Xiaodan about her exhaustion and desire to stay alive.
• Fan Xiaodan asked Zhao Xun whether he had discovered something by inspecting the suitcases and was hiding it from her.

Zhao Xun realized he was the serial killer in the dream game, killed himself to complete the side quest, and unlocked a hidden mission to kill everyone in the apartment. After reviving, he attacked Fan Xiaodan, whose defensive scarf stopped his dagger, and tried to devour her ability.

• Fan Xiaodan agreed to accompany Zhao Xun to inspect his suitcase, while Zhao Xun claimed he needed to use the restroom.
• Zhao Xun concluded that the distinctive mark on his suitcase, the glass bottle, and the Bolt Cutters identified him as Grandpa Feng and Grandma Feng’s killer.
• Zhao Xun stabbed himself, revived with [Resurrection and Frenzy], and completed the side quest by identifying and killing the serial killer.
• Zhao Xun received a hidden mission to kill everyone in the apartment, selected [Agility] and [Strength] for his frenzy, and chose Fan Xiaodan as his first target.
• Fan Xiaodan’s scarf deflected Zhao Xun’s dagger, and Zhao Xun’s squirrel monkey plucked a strand of her hair while she confronted him.
• Fan Xiaodan hurled a fireball at Zhao Xun, but he dodged it and put her hair in his mouth to try to [Devour] her special ability.