Chapter Summaries

Lin Shen and [You've Cried Already] led Lu Ziye and [God Never Laughs] toward the Cultists’ Black Forest base, coaching them to maintain their undercover personas. The group reached a concealed cave behind a hill, leaving the infiltration about to begin.

• Lu Ziye worried that Phone Bro and the others had been caught, while [God Never Laughs] urged him to wait.
• Lin Shen and [You've Cried Already] arrived and reviewed the group’s cover stories and behavior before entering the Cultists’ Camp.
• [God Never Laughs] posed as a fear-wielding survivor of the Bloodweeping Ridge Branch, while Lu Ziye prepared to play a hotheaded bruiser seeking revenge on Kairils.
• Lin Shen warned Lu Ziye not to use his usual catchphrase, and the four adopted their roles as they set off for the Black Forest base.
• The group crossed the forest without trouble, then Lin Shen led them to a concealed cave beneath black tree roots behind a hill.

Lin Shen brought Lu Ziye and [God Never Laughs] to the Black Forest Branch, where they played the part of dangerous recruits under the Cultists’ watchful eyes. The Short Priest welcomed them and said the High Priest was waiting in the Council Hall.

• Lin Shen warned Lu Ziye and [God Never Laughs] that they were under surveillance and urged them to act respectfully toward the High Priest.
• Lu Ziye and [God Never Laughs] responded by acting like violent, intimidating outsiders who demanded to be led inside.
• Lofei watched them arrive from a hidden peephole and resented that Lin Shen had returned with two formidable guests, while privately coveting the Divine Child position.
• Lu Ziye and [God Never Laughs] entered the underground base, where Lu Ziye noticed the Cultists’ Bone Masks and regretted not having Alchemical Bombs.
• The Short Priest greeted the pair and told them the High Priest was waiting for them in the Council Hall.

Lu Ziye and [God Never Laughs] entered the Black Forest Branch and faced the Fallen High Priest, who offered them powerful positions and access to the branch's resources if they joined him. The High Priest hinted at a greater treasure, leaving the pair to consider his offer.

• The Short Priest praised Lin Shen and [You've Cried Already] for bringing the two guests back, and Lin Shen led his companion away after discreetly winking at Lu Ziye.
• The Short Priest escorted Lu Ziye and [God Never Laughs] to the meeting room, where the system identified the Fallen High Priest as a level 43 third-tier beginner.
• The Fallen High Priest apologized for Blood-Weeping Ridge's defeat and urged the pair to join his branch, promising revenge against the Winterhold Knights.
• Lu Ziye and [God Never Laughs] rejected the idea of being guard dogs and demanded vengeance, prompting the High Priest to offer them priestly status and access to the branch's resources.
• The Fallen High Priest hinted that he would show them the Black Forest Branch's greatest treasure if they agreed to stay.

Lu Ziye and Jiang Xiao joined the Black Forest Branch as priests after the High Priest promised to reveal its supreme treasure. The High Priest began demonstrating what he had promised, unleashing a terrifying abyssal aura that plunged the chamber into darkness.

• Lu Ziye and Jiang Xiao recognized the High Priest's offer to reveal Black Forest's supreme treasure as a chance to uncover a hidden storyline.
• Lu Ziye persuaded Jiang Xiao to abandon Blood-Weeping Ridge, then knelt and pledged himself to the High Priest and the Black Forest Branch.
• Jiang Xiao also knelt and joined the Black Forest Branch, while the High Priest welcomed them as two new priests.
• The High Priest told everyone to step back, placed his hand on the stone table, and released an abyssal aura that extinguished the torches.

Lu Ziye and [God Never Laughs] followed the Third Tier High Priest through a secret passage beneath the stone chamber to see the Black Forest Branch's greatest treasure. In a vast underground chamber, they discovered a boiling Blood Pool with an enormous egg at its center.

• The Third Tier High Priest opened a secret staircase beneath the stone table using a blood array pattern.
• Lu Ziye and [God Never Laughs] agreed to follow the High Priest into the passage, while the Short Priest was ordered to guard the chamber door.
• The High Priest led the two new priests down the steep passage as the blood stench and red mist grew stronger.
• Lu Ziye and [God Never Laughs] reached a vast underground chamber and saw a boiling Blood Pool surrounding an enormous egg that pulsed with muffled heartbeats.

Lu Ziye and [God Never Laughs] discovered that the Black Forest Branch was raising an unborn Dragonkin egg that might contain deity authority. Lin En learned the secret through surveillance and realized the egg was being corrupted by abyssal blood, leaving him with a reason to act quickly.

• Lu Ziye and [God Never Laughs] saw the High Priest reveal a blood-soaked egg and identify it as an unborn Dragonkin that might carry deity authority.
• The High Priest asked Lu Ziye and [God Never Laughs] whether the egg qualified as a supreme treasure of the wasteland.
• Lin En learned of the egg and asked the system whether it truly contained deity authority.
• The system explained that dragons could inherit their mother's deity authority through their bloodline.
• The system warned Lin En that abyssal blood was corrupting the egg and that it would become a destructive Dragon-Type Mutant if the Cultists raised it after hatching.

Lin En decided to leave the Dragon Egg in the Black Forest cultists’ blood pool until Winterhold attacked, preserving the players’ undercover operation and their chance to take it amid the chaos. He then used Deity’s Gaze to check on Ma Lou, who was riding a Snowwing Pegasus with Kairils and screaming in terror despite vowing to keep his composure.

• Lin En considered attacking the Black Forest Branch to steal the Dragon Egg but rejected the plan because it could expose the undercover players and draw Winterhold’s attention to them.
• Lin En chose to let Lu Ziye and [God Never Laughs] maintain their undercover roles and wait for Winterhold’s retaliation before the players pursued the egg.
• Lin En noticed [Even Monkeys Have Dignity] racing across the map at an impossible speed and recognized that Kairils had taken Ma Lou flying on a Snowwing Pegasus.
• Lin En activated Deity’s Gaze to watch Ma Lou, whose shrieks of fear broke through his determination to keep his composure during the ride.

Ma Lou rode a Snowwing Pegasus with Kairils and went from terrified screams to thrilled demands for daring dives as the party crossed the Wasteland. After reaching their destination in half a day, Ma Lou saw a vast settlement beneath an enormous blue Deity Barrier.

• Ma Lou clung to Kairils during the Snowwing Pegasus's takeoff, then overcame his fear and cheered as Kairils flew through the clouds and plunged into dives.
• The two Winterhold Knight commanders complained about Ma Lou's shouting, while Kairils defended his excitement and took the pegasus on an even faster dive.
• The High Priest led the party across the Wasteland on Snowwing Pegasi, reaching their destination in half a day instead of the day or two the journey usually took on warhorses.
• Kairils told Ma Lou they were nearly there, and Ma Lou saw a vast complex of buildings beneath a gigantic blue Deity Barrier.

Ma Lou arrived at Winterhold and was overwhelmed by the immense holy city and its divine power. Upon entering, he became the first player to reach the capital, unlocking an achievement and warnings about its dangers and opportunities.

• Ma Lou saw Winterhold’s vast white spires, castles, and temple beneath the Deity Barrier and feared the players’ plans to challenge its inhabitants.
• The Snowwing Pegasi landed outside the city gates, where Ma Lou felt the supernatural cold and watched the gates open.
• The High Priest led Ma Lou and the other travelers into Winterhold.
• Ma Lou received the Winter Emissary achievement, 100 Ash Coins, and lore about the Super City-States and the gods’ war against the Abyss.
• The system warned Ma Lou that Winterhold’s knights were powerful, city crimes could lead to arrest, and reputation and side quests could unlock new opportunities.

Ma Lou arrived in Winterhold, earned a first-exploration achievement title and 100 Ash Coins, and marveled at the city’s prosperity and strict order. As the procession approached the Divine Hall, he noticed heavily armed Church Guards and sensed that security had tightened.

• Ma Lou received 100 Ash Coins and the Winter Emissary title for being the first to explore Winterhold.
• Ma Lou entered Winterhold and was astonished by its clean streets, elegant buildings, and prosperous citizens.
• Winterhold’s residents bowed as Ma Lou rode through the city on a Snowwing Pegasus, making him relish the attention.
• Ma Lou’s procession left the outer city’s commercial district and advanced toward the Divine Hall.
• Ma Lou noticed the heightened security near the Divine Hall and identified the guards as level 52, late third-tier Church Guards.

Ma Lou accompanied Kairils to Winterhold, where Kairils shielded him from having to testify before the Archbishop and took him to his modest home. The chapter ended with Kairils lending Ma Lou a warm robe and promising to buy him clothes after his report.

• Ma Lou learned that Winterhold's gate guards were powerful Third Tier fighters and followed Kairils to the Divine Hall.
• The High Priest ordered Kairils to report to the Archbishop about the Novice Knight squad's annihilation and the Cultists' activities in the Black Forest.
• Kairils asked to report alone, saying Ma Lou was only a frightened commoner, and the High Priest allowed him half an hour to settle his friend.
• Kairils led Ma Lou to his small, austere house near the Divine Hall.
• Kairils gave Ma Lou a clean, warm robe and offered to buy him clothes after his report.

After Kairils left to report the Cultists, Ma Lou was caught beneath the gaze of Winterhold’s Lord of Winter and Contracts, terrifying both him and Lin En. Lin En paid 3,000 faith points to add a sleep mode for player logout, then checked on Ma Lou as the divine chill faded.

• Kairils left Ma Lou in the room and went to the Divine Hall to report the Cultists to the Archbishop.
• Ma Lou put on Kairils’s warm robe, then felt a supernatural chill and received a warning that the Lord of Winter and Contracts was watching him.
• Lin En saw the warning through Ma Lou’s view and cut off the Deity’s Gaze, fearing that the Lord of Winter might discover the players’ secret.
• The system assured Lin En that players appeared mortal to other deities and that the Deity’s Gaze connection was encrypted.
• Lin En paid 3,000 faith points to add an idle sleep mode that would leave players’ bodies dormant when they logged out.
• Lin En reconnected to Ma Lou’s view and saw him sit rigidly until the divine chill faded.

Kairils returned to Winterhold’s Divine Hall, burdened by guilt over the knights killed under his command. The Archbishop tried to comfort him and excuse the defeat, but Kairils openly admitted his failure, leaving the Archbishop’s gentle expression to fade.

• Kairils climbed the steps to the Divine Hall without shielding himself from the blizzard, grieving for the knights he had lost.
• The Archbishop welcomed Kairils and said the Church and the Lord of Winter and Contracts would not blame him for the disastrous mission.
• Kairils knelt before the divine statue and refused to let the Archbishop gloss over his failure.
• Kairils revealed that nearly all the teammates who followed him into the Wasteland had died and that a resident of Fog Town had carried him to safety.
• The Archbishop watched Kairils in silence as his warm expression gradually disappeared.

The Archbishop defended the deaths of Viel and the Novice Knights as necessary sacrifices for Winterhold, but Kairils rejected his reasoning and accused him of being wrong. The Archbishop asserted his authority, ordered a citywide celebration for Kairils's return, and postponed action on the Cultists' ambush.

• The Archbishop told Kairils that the fallen knights had died in holy martyrdom to preserve Winterhold's genius.
• Kairils recalled Viel and the knights who had turned back, and decided that Winterhold had abandoned the Knight's Code and needed to be cured.
• Kairils told the Archbishop, "You were wrong," and the Archbishop acknowledged Kairils's chivalry while defending his own choices as necessary for the city-state's safety.
• The Archbishop ordered the officials to announce Kairils's safe return and hold a grand celebration the next day.
• The Archbishop said the Church would discuss the Cultists' ambush and forbade anyone from acting without authorization.

The Lord of Winter and Contracts manifested in the Divine Hall and dismissed the Archbishop and Winterhold’s other leaders to speak with Kairils alone. Kairils reaffirmed his faith, admitted his failures, and asked the deity for greater power to reform Winterhold, while accepting punishment for his command failures.

• The Divine Statue froze the hall and the Lord of Winter and Contracts ordered everyone but Kairils to leave.
• The Archbishop and the three senior figures withdrew, leaving Kairils alone in the Divine Hall.
• The Lord of Winter and Contracts appeared in spectral form and told Kairils she sensed his troubled thoughts.
• Kairils declared that his conviction had not wavered despite the pain he suffered in the Wilderness.
• Kairils admitted he was too weak to save his followers or stop Winterhold’s teachings from being undermined, and begged for greater power.
• Kairils accepted responsibility for his failures in the Wilderness and asked to receive the punishment he deserved.

The Lord of Winter and Contracts refused Kairils’s request to advance to the third tier, warning that his unsettled heart could not withstand winter’s baptism. She ordered him to endure a victory banquet as punishment and summoned him to a council that night to report on the Cultists at the Black Forest Edge.

• The Lord of Winter and Contracts explained that the divine hall’s fire represented the warmth needed to balance winter’s cold laws.
• She refused to grant Kairils the power to advance, warning that baptism could extinguish the fire in his heart.
• The deity ordered Kairils to attend the victory banquet and accept the praise of the city as punishment for his guilt over his comrades’ deaths.
• Kairils accepted the punishment and agreed to attend the celebration.
• The Lord of Winter and Contracts announced a council of deities that night to discuss the Cultists at the Black Forest Edge and summoned Kairils to report what he had witnessed.

After meeting the Lord of Winter and Contracts, Kairils returned home and found Ma Lou asleep on his sofa. Meanwhile, Ma Lou logged out using the new deep-sleep feature, which had already caused chaos among the players in Fog Town.

• The Lord of Winter and Contracts disappeared, and Kairils left the Divine Hall after bowing to the statue.
• The Archbishop told Kairils to rest and prepare for Winterhold’s celebration, and Kairils thanked him before heading home.
• Kairils found Ma Lou sprawled asleep on the sofa, covered him with a robe, and left him undisturbed.
• Ma Lou logged out to Blue Star using the new feature that left his in-game body sleeping realistically.
• Players in Fog Town tested the update and collapsed into sleep, frightening the town’s residents.

Players tested a new feature that let their characters convincingly appear asleep, while Ma Lou boasted about reaching Winterhold and planned to sell high-resolution photos of the city. The group chat erupted when players reported that Road God, Smiley, and the others had found a living Dragon Egg beneath the Cultists' Main Base.

• The High Priest and Ilyena calmed Fog Town after the Apostles suddenly fell asleep, explaining that they were in deep meditation.
• Players in the Expeditionary Command Headquarters group chat celebrated the new feature and discussed using it to infiltrate enemy bases.
• Ma Lou bragged that he had reached Winterhold and ridden a flying horse, then declined to share pictures because he planned to sell a high-resolution photo collection.
• Soy Sauce Only announced that Road God, Smiley, and the others had found a living Dragon Egg beneath the Cultists' Main Base.
• Ma Lou and the other players rushed to the Ninth Art gaming forum to open the link.

Ma Lou read Lu Ziye’s viral forum post about infiltrating the Black Forest Branch and discovering a living Dragon Egg beneath its base. The post’s comments erupted after a Closed Beta Player revealed that Ma Lou had ridden a Pegasus to Winterhold.

• Lu Ziye posted that he and Smiley had become Priests of the Black Forest Branch and outranked its other undercover agents.
• Lu Ziye described how the High Priest had shown them a huge underground Blood Pool with a living Dragon Egg at its center, which might possess deity authority.
• Lu Ziye and Smiley took Phone Bro and Cried Already to the underground library to research the egg’s origins and how to hatch it.
• Ma Lou read the post and marveled at the Dragon Egg and its apparent divine power.
• A Closed Beta Player revealed in the comments that Horse God King had ridden a Pegasus to Winterhold and Ma Lou had taken a ride through the sky.
• Forum users flooded the thread with questions and demands for pictures of the Pegasus.

Ma Lou explored the forum posts about the Dragon Egg and discovered God Never Laughs’s newly uploaded scans of ancient books from the Cultists’ library. The first book described the Old Continent’s supernatural beasts before the Abyss corrupted them, leaving Ma Lou with new questions about Wasteland World’s past.

• Ma Lou bragged on the forum about visiting Winterhold and promised to post high-definition flying horse pictures after upgrading his Game Pod.
• Players discussed how to retrieve the Dragon Egg from the Cultists, while God Never Laughs said they were searching records for another way to access it.
• Ma Lou imagined himself riding a dragon and decided he would join the effort to claim the Dragon Egg despite being stuck in Winterhold.
• Ma Lou found God Never Laughs’s forum posts containing screenshots of books from the Black Forest library and opened the first one.
• The book’s preface explained that supernatural beasts once thrived across the Old Continent before the Abyss’s corruption turned many into murderous mutants, and Ma Lou wondered whether today’s mutant monsters had once been ordinary creatures.