Chapter Summaries

Ren Ye and Tan Pang abducted Little Moon and his two companions to learn about Song Mingzhe’s case, then traveled to the former Ministry of Works dormitory. With Ren Ye wanted and unable to approach the guards safely, Tan Pang disguised himself as Little Moon and marched into the guardhouse.

• Ren Ye and Tan Pang abducted Little Moon from his car using Mirror-distortion and the Phoenix Fire Furnace, then captured the driver and attendant.
• Ren Ye and Tan Pang fought Little Moon inside the furnace, defeated him, and learned that Song Mingzhe had returned to room 805 on Changfeng Street after work.
• Ren Ye and Tan Pang drove to the former Ministry of Works dormitory and found it guarded by Enforcement Team members.
• Ren Ye revealed that he was wanted, so Tan Pang decided to approach the guards alone.
• Tan Pang wore Little Moon’s clothes and badge, kicked open the guardhouse door, and demanded to know who was in charge.

Tan Pang and Ren Ye bluffed their way into Song Mingzhe's dormitory building and found evidence that Song Mingzhe had prepared death rituals for victims trapped in the Secret Chamber. Ren Ye discovered a diary describing a killing on September 8, the day the Players entered the gate, and realized the sleeping victim might have been one of them.

• Tan Pang posed as a grieving investigator, struck the guardhouse officer, and persuaded the guards to raise the barrier.
• Ren Ye and Tan Pang drove into the Main Building, where a notice warned that the Enforcement Team was gathering information about them.
• Ren Ye opened Room 805 and activated a replay of Song Mingzhe's dormitory, then searched the desk while Tan Pang examined the sleeping area.
• Tan Pang found ritual supplies and a photo album showing hundreds of people who had died in the Secret Chamber without external injuries.
• Ren Ye found Song Mingzhe's diary, which described killing a sleeping Third Tier Player in the Kan Room on September 8, and realized the victim could have been one of the Players.

Ren Ye examined Song Mingzhe’s diary and developed a plan to test his suspicions, while Tan Pang was forced to travel to Enforcement Team Headquarters under tight supervision. On the way, Tan Pang learned that Headquarters was searching for two people who had abducted a Little Lingguan, and Handsome Baldy realized Tan Pang was one of them.

• Ren Ye read Song Mingzhe’s diary, found the next page blank, and concluded that Song Mingzhe’s choice of the Kan Room was tied to the Five Elements and Eight Trigrams.
• The Star Gate ended Ren Ye’s investigation time, so he left the Main Building intending to search the rooms again and test a suspicious person that night.
• Handsome Baldy and other Enforcers escorted Tan Pang toward Headquarters, while Tan Pang searched for a chance to escape.
• A superior ordered the traveling Enforcers to stay together because two people had abducted a Little Lingguan and might be hiding among them.
• Handsome Baldy realized that Tan Pang was one of the two people the superior had described.

Tan Pang killed three Enforcers but was surrounded by a vast force and nearly overwhelmed while trying to escape. Ren Ye arrived at the last moment, rescued him, and demonstrated that he had kept his promise to protect his customer.

• Tan Pang killed the three men in the enforcement vehicle, but enforcement spirit beasts detected the blood and led Enforcers to him.
• Tan Pang tried to bluff his way out, then fled and fought hundreds of Enforcers with his antique mirror and Dragon Fang Dagger.
• Enforcement Team headquarters dispatched fifteen Star-Moon Grand Spirit Officers, and Tan Pang feared Ren Ye had abandoned him.
• A brigade captain used a Soul Box to attack Tan Pang, but Tan Pang's mirror restored his clarity.
• Ren Ye burst into the battle, cut down Tan Pang's attackers, killed the brigade captain, and used Forced Recruitment to loot his Star Source and a book.

Ren Ye and Tan Pang fought their way through Baldhead Headquarters before escaping with Ground-Shrinking Talismans while the Grand Spirit Officers tracked them. Ren Ye used the Night Walker as a decoy and fled with Tan Pang hidden in the Phoenix Fire Furnace, leaving the pursuers facing the Night Walker.

• Ren Ye joined Tan Pang in battle against more than a thousand Supernatural Ability Users as fifteen Grand Spirit Officers approached.
• Xiao Shuai, Old Cadre, Yin Tiger, and Brother Hong noticed the assault on headquarters, and Yin Tiger and Brother Hong headed toward the battlefield.
• Ren Ye intimidated the nearby Enforcers with the Human Emperor Sword, then used Ground-Shrinking Talismans to escape with Tan Pang as the Grand Spirit Officers arrived.
• Ren Ye repeatedly teleported with Tan Pang while Enforcers tracked their scent, then hid Tan Pang inside the Alchemical Furnace and summoned the Night Walker as a decoy.
• Ren Ye escaped with the Phoenix Fire Furnace while the Night Walker, wearing a urine-stained robe, drew the Grand Spirit Officer's attention and declared himself the height of heaven.

The Villa Squad caused chaos across Fulai County Town to distract the Enforcers while Ren Ye tried to extract his teammates, and the Night Walker fought off fifteen spirit officials before escaping. After reuniting in the mountains, Ren Ye suddenly realized he knew the code to solve the Secret Chamber.

• The Night Walker endured a fifteen-on-one assault by the Great Spirit Official and the other spirit officials, then escaped through a manhole after tricking them into thinking he was dead.
• Yin Tiger, Brother Hong, Old Cadre, and Xiao Shuai attacked Enforcers in different parts of Fulai County Town, spreading the impression that the town was surrounded.
• Ren Ye summoned Tan Pang from the Alchemical Furnace, retrieved Yin Tiger, and ordered Xiao Shuai, Old Cadre, and Brother Hong to retreat while the central fight continued.
• The Enforcers failed to coordinate their response as the Villa Squad members drew pursuing baldheads away from their escape routes.
• In the green mountains, Ren Ye suddenly declared that he knew the code to solve the Secret Chamber and accused someone of toying with everyone.

Ren Ye explained how the woman used an Item and her sleep-inducing ability to avoid the first night's Secret Chamber death by making Xiao Yuan take her place. He then left the room-swapping details unresolved as he prepared to identify the person involved in the other killing.

• Ren Ye finished searching the Kun Room and asked Old Cadre about the woman's Mystical Ability, learning that she could use poison and a flute to put people to sleep.
• Ren Ye confirmed that someone had used the Heavenly Dao's rules to kill and separated the deaths into two connected but independent stories.
• Ren Ye reasoned that the woman had received an Item predicting that someone would die in the Kan Room, and that she had switched rooms to escape the danger.
• Ren Ye cited the poisoned rat, the woman's sleep-inducing ability, and the prey's inability to wake as evidence that she had arranged for Xiao Yuan to be killed in her place.
• Ren Ye argued that Xiao Yuan was chosen because the team's dislike of him made his death less likely to be questioned.

Ren Ye explained the woman’s murder of Xiao Yuan, then revealed that the Secret Chamber’s killings followed the almanac’s baleful direction: the Kan Room was due north on two consecutive days. With the group’s deaths prevented by understanding the rule, Ren Ye proposed inheriting the fallen comrades’ gold coins and Autobiography Fragments.

• Ren Ye led everyone to inspect the rat hole and claw marks, convincing them of his account of how the woman killed Xiao Yuan and tried to evade detection.
• Ren Ye mapped the rooms to the Eight Trigrams and explained that the zodiac heads represented animals used to imprison victims’ souls, not the killings’ underlying rule.
• Ren Ye connected the murders to the almanac’s baleful northern direction and showed that the Kan Room had been inauspicious on both September 8 and September 9.
• The group realized the almanac had revealed the danger from the start, and Ren Ye explained how the woman’s actions led her to die in the Kan Room on the second day.
• After everyone praised Ren Ye for solving the killings, he proposed inheriting the gold coins and Autobiography Fragments of their two fallen comrades.

Ren Ye agreed to take three Autobiography Fragments and half the gold coins from Xiao Yuan and the woman, while the others argued over the remaining spoils. He then warned Xiao Shuai that the east was inauspicious and told him to sleep outside his Zhen room, leaving the group to see whether the plan worked by morning.

• Ren Ye’s proposal to inherit the deceased players’ estate prompted the group to debate how the fragments and gold should be divided.
• Tan Pang proposed that Ren Ye take half the estate, and Ren Ye chose one Pan Lianrong fragment, two Song An fragments, and half the gold coins, to be given to him the next morning.
• The others argued over the remaining estate, with Brother Hong demanding Star Source and Tan Pang suggesting they buy him out.
• At 8:20 p.m., Ren Ye read the almanac and warned Xiao Shuai that the east was inauspicious, telling him to leave his Zhen room and sleep elsewhere.

Ren Ye and the others investigated a noise in the villa’s dark corridor and found Song Mingzhe’s German shepherd escaping through the back door. After Xiao Shuai survived the night in the Dui Room, the group learned they had solved the Secret Chamber and began planning their next investigations and alliances.

• Tan Pang, Ren Ye, Yin Tiger, and the others left the hall to investigate a thud and footsteps downstairs before the rooms locked for the night.
• The group found a German shepherd gnawing meat by the back door; it fled into the weeds, and they hurried back to their rooms.
• Ren Ye reviewed the gold coin rankings and his autobiography fragments, then decided to investigate Song Mingzhe’s death or origins if everyone survived the night.
• At six in the morning, Ren Ye and the others discovered Xiao Shuai had overslept but was alive in the Dui Room.
• The Star Gate announced that the group had solved the Secret Chamber, explaining Song Mingzhe had entered the empty Zhen Character Room and chosen not to kill anyone.
• Xiao Shuai praised Ren Ye and asked to work with him, and Ren Ye warned him that his price was high.

After the group agreed to compete fairly and separately, Xiao Shuai approached Ren Ye with an alliance proposal, offering to share Autobiography Fragments in exchange for help placing in the top three. Ren Ye initially rejected his offer, but reconsidered when he learned Xiao Shuai would pay three hundred thousand Star Source per day.

• Ren Ye claimed his share of the inheritance, bound three gold coins to himself, and kept the remaining thirty-seven in reserve.
• Tan Pang, Old Cadre, Xiao Shuai, Yin Tiger, Brother Hong, and Ren Ye agreed to voluntary teams and fair competition without underhanded attacks.
• Xiao Shuai apologized to Ren Ye for his earlier suspicions and proposed an alliance to exchange Autobiography Fragments and pursue a top-three finish.
• Ren Ye demanded payment for protecting Xiao Shuai and walked away after hearing an offer of three hundred thousand Star Source.
• Xiao Shuai clarified that he meant three hundred thousand Star Source per day, and Ren Ye returned to negotiate.

Ren Ye investigated Song Mingzhe’s family and discovered that their new address, Tiangong Building, was the site of a dangerous multiplayer quest that required at least five participants. He returned to the villa with a new Autobiography Fragment, where Xiao Shuai’s unusually attentive efforts to befriend him puzzled the others.

• Xiao Shuai gave Ren Ye three hundred thousand Star Source to show his sincerity and proposed trading Song Mingzhe’s Autobiography Fragment for Ren Ye’s fragment of Pan Lianrong.
• Ren Ye followed clues about Song Mingzhe’s family to Tiangong Building, where he activated the SSS+ multiplayer quest “Home,” which required at least five participants and could only be triggered before ten in the morning.
• Ren Ye copied down the quest information and left Tiangong Building, then completed a small quest and obtained Autobiography Fragment 12.
• Xiao Shuai returned to the villa with twelve dishes and booze for Ren Ye, leaving Tan Pang and the others baffled by his sudden devotion.

Ren Ye told the group about the SSS+ task at the Tiangong Building, and all six agreed to explore it together. They reached the ruins before ten, triggered the task, and vanished as eerie cries filled their ears.

• Xiao Shuai apologized to the group for his earlier argument, and they accepted his apology.
• Ren Ye revealed that the Tiangong Building required at least five participants, and the group agreed to explore it together the next morning.
• Ren Ye found the second-floor lights out before bedtime but stayed in his room; in the morning, the group discovered that a bulb had burned out.
• The six arrived at the Tiangong Building before ten and received the task instructions, including a warning that the Star Gate involved role-playing.
• Tan Pang led the group in sensing the Heavenly Dao, and all six vanished as ghostly cries sounded around them.

Ren Ye woke inside the Tiangong Building Star Gate with a wife, a covert Fire Talisman investigation, and a timed mission to prepare a celebration before she came home. He guessed that it was her birthday, made her happy, and gained five Tiangong points, while other players prepared to meet their respective bosses.

• Ren Ye discovered a wedding photo showing himself married to a beautiful woman and received instructions to investigate the stolen Blazing Sun Tiangong Fire without drawing attention.
• Ren Ye learned he had half an hour to prepare a celebration for his wife, with failure potentially trapping him at home and ending his mission.
• Ren Ye searched the apartment for clues, found intimate items and a note about ordering crab, then spotted a bakery brochure and deduced what special occasion to celebrate.
• Yin Tiger questioned the clothes Pan Lianrong had sent him before changing, while Tan Pang, Old Cadre, and Brother Hong prepared to meet their bosses.
• Ren Ye greeted his returning wife by telling her it was her birthday and claiming he had learned a cooking trick; she embraced him happily, earning him five Tiangong points.

Ren Ye celebrated his wife’s birthday, but lighting the candles revealed her burned, rotting form and triggered a deadly attack that ended when the Human Emperor Sword extinguished the flames. After finding a way to let her make a wish without fire, Ren Ye learned that the Fire Talisman’s disappearance was linked to a break-in at the Inner Treasury and set out to investigate.

• Ren Ye prepared a birthday dinner and gave his wife an antique hairpin, earning Heavenly Craft Points for her affection.
• When Ren Ye lit the cake candles, his wife transformed into a burned corpse, attacked him, and nearly strangled him until the Human Emperor Sword drove her back and destroyed the flames.
• Ren Ye replaced the candles with glow sticks, allowing his wife to make a wish for them to have a warm home and someone waiting for them.
• His wife told Ren Ye that the Fire Talisman had gone missing after someone broke into the Inner Treasury, three treasury keepers had been killed, their bodies were missing, and Old Yan had disappeared.
• Ren Ye hugged his wife goodbye, left their home at address 1109, and called his team for help.

Ren Ye and Xiao Shuai divided their investigation into the missing Fire Talisman, with Ren Ye heading to the inner vault and Xiao Shuai to the surveillance room. Ren Ye found three ghostly figures in a reflection, while Xiao Shuai encountered an old man who asked him for a light.

• Ren Ye met Xiao Shuai at the sixth-floor mall, where Xiao Shuai shared what he had learned about the missing Fire Talisman and the vanished vault keeper, Old Yan.
• Ren Ye and Xiao Shuai agreed to investigate separate leads: Xiao Shuai would check the surveillance footage, while Ren Ye inspected the inner vault and the murdered keepers' scene.
• Ren Ye reached the second basement and found the inner vault doors shut; in a booth window's reflection, he saw three ashen figures standing behind him.
• Xiao Shuai entered the surveillance room and found an old man watching television, who said he could not light his cigarette; Xiao Shuai offered to help.

Xiao Shuai avoided a suspicious cigarette-lighting trap and obtained access to the surveillance playback, while Ren Ye investigated how to enter the Inner Treasury and sought ritual supplies. Meanwhile, Yin Tiger and Tan Pang followed a woman to a hidden floor, where they were warned to prepare for a heavy workload.

• Xiao Shuai recognized that the old Remnant Soul was trying to trigger a quest, refused to light his cigarette, and returned with an e-cigarette and a no-smoking sign to make him show the surveillance footage.
• Ren Ye failed to use Ai Fei’s Soul-Summoning Talisman outside the Inner Treasury and suspected that the three murdered Treasury Keepers needed a ritual for their seventh day.
• Ren Ye learned from the first-floor guard that Granny Wang in room 1804 sold ritual supplies and went to ask for her help.
• Granny Wang opened her door to Ren Ye and asked whether someone in his family had died.
• Yin Tiger and Tan Pang met a refined woman, followed her into an elevator that stopped at a floor marked “--,” and heard that they had a heavy workload ahead.

Ren Ye agreed to deliver Wang Dàniáng’s funeral offerings in exchange for free seventh-day packages and money, while Pan Lianrong received Li Changfeng’s group at the Heavenly Palace to discuss valuable supplies. Ren Ye reached the final delivery, whose instructions required him to burn the offerings in the building’s first-floor square.

• Wang Dàniáng charged Ren Ye 150 gold coins per seventh-day package, then offered him three free packages and twenty gold coins if he delivered her orders.
• Ren Ye accepted the job, stored the packages in his Consciousness Space, and left Room 1804 as Wang Dàniáng made a paper figure with her own blood.
• Pan Lianrong welcomed Tan Pang and Yin Tiger to the hidden Heavenly Palace floor and told them to follow her instructions when greeting the guests.
• Li Changfeng and Xu Ke arrived with military officers from the Heavenly Fire Division to collect valuable supplies, and Li Changfeng’s entourage demanded Mystical Ability Treasures and Thunder Talismans.
• Ren Ye completed six deliveries and found that the final package for Room 3999 instructed him to burn the offerings in the first-floor outdoor square.

Ren Ye delivered the final offerings, learned that the recipient’s soul could not be summoned, and bought a Nether Mountain Ghost Child Statue from the Old Woman. He then burned offerings for his three dead friends, and the Inner Treasury opened as the statue’s child spirit warned him of danger.

• Ren Ye burned Package A’s offerings at address 3999, but no Yin Soul appeared, so he left the offerings and returned to Room 1804.
• The Old Woman told Ren Ye that 3999’s soul could not be summoned and called it her final order.
• Ren Ye bought the Nether Mountain Ghost Child Statue for one million Star Source after learning a four-year-old child’s Yin Soul had been trapped inside it.
• The Old Woman finished a paper figure and mourned the deaths of herself and a fellow Craftsman Prefecture worker.
• In the Heavenly Palace, Li Changfeng and a military officer discussed secretly intercepting the Tiangong Building’s final supply shipment, while Pan Lianrong said she had made preparations.
• Ren Ye burned offerings for his three dead friends; the Inner Treasury doors opened, voices invited him to play mahjong, and the Ghost Child warned him of danger.

Ren Ye entered the Inner Treasury and joined three wounded ghosts in a mahjong game that required him to uncover a secret about the missing Blazing Sun Tiangong Fire in ten yes-or-no questions. After three questions drew only negative answers and summoned freezing yin souls, he continued playing as the challenge left him close to freezing.

• Ren Ye entered the Inner Treasury, where three bloodied people invited him to play mahjong.
• The Star Gate tasked Ren Ye with uncovering a secret connected to the missing Blazing Sun Tiangong Fire in ten questions, deducting Heavenly Craft Points for each no and Gold Coins when he lost.
• Ren Ye chose Sichuan Mahjong, and the woman won the first hand, taking two Gold Coins from him.
• Ren Ye asked whether the three players had a romantic entanglement; the man with his intestines spilling out answered no and won a hand, costing Ren Ye eight Gold Coins as a bridal ghost appeared behind him.
• The woman answered no when Ren Ye asked whether the players had entangled interests, costing him ten Heavenly Craft Points and summoning another yin soul.
• The man with the silver nail in his eye answered no to Ren Ye's question about whether they discovered the Inner Treasury thief together, and another yin soul appeared as Ren Ye continued playing in the cold.