Chapter Summaries

Pan Lianrong’s Rewind revealed her plans to abandon her partnership and secretly gather leverage, after which Ren Ye and the others entered Song An’s Rewind. They watched Song Mingzhe discipline young Song An and Song Yi, leaving the brothers’ contrasting natures clear as Song Yi obediently studied while Song An sneaked food.

• Pan Lianrong searched the fire-damaged Song family home for a key, then told the intellectual-looking woman to copy another key and record information at a secret location.
• Ren Ye urged the group to begin Song An’s Rewind, and Old Cadre summoned Song An’s Soul Body.
• Song Mingzhe questioned young Song An and Song Yi about fighting a classmate, then ordered them to read difficult crafting books as punishment.
• Song An sought help from Pan Lianrong, who promised to arrange food but left him and Song Yi to continue their punishment.
• Song Yi refused to break Song Mingzhe’s rule and kept reading, while Song An secretly took food from the fridge.

Ren Ye and the others witnessed Song An’s childhood memory of discovering his father Song Mingzhe’s disturbing photo album and being brutally punished, followed by Song Yi visiting him while he was imprisoned. After completing Song An’s Rewind and passing the Tiangong Building trial, Ren Ye received a fire seed ability for the final battle.

• Young Song An persuaded Song Yi to buy their father a birthday cake and tried to surprise him by entering his study.
• Song An opened Song Mingzhe’s photo album and saw photographs of corpses in eerie memorial halls.
• Song Mingzhe threw away the cake and forced Song An to knock on the balcony door for hours until his hand was badly injured.
• Months later, a psychologist assessed Song An as having severe violent tendencies.
• After the Tiangong Building explosion, Song Yi visited the chained and injured Song An in the secret chamber, bringing supplies and company.
• Ren Ye and the others completed Song An’s Rewind and passed the trial; Ren Ye unlocked the Burning Corpses Reflection ability to summon the Tiangong Building’s dead once during the final battle.

After Brother Hong died during the Tiangong Building mission, Ren Ye considered whether he had been murdered or killed by a hidden rule-based mechanism and favored the latter. The group honored Brother Hong, and Ren Ye ended the chapter by asking Old Cadre to swap rooms for the night.

• The group returned to the villa and found Brother Hong's memorial portrait in his room, which they took as a sign that he had died.
• During dinner, Ren Ye outlined the possibility of murder but argued that killing Brother Hong unnoticed would have been extremely difficult.
• Ren Ye said a hidden rule-based mechanism was more likely, possibly triggered by information Brother Hong had missed during a mission.
• Ren Ye and the others burned offerings for Brother Hong, and Ren Ye vowed to avenge him.
• During their free time, Ren Ye approached Old Cadre and asked to swap rooms for the night.

Ren Ye secretly planted Brother Hong’s divination stick in the room Old Cadre chose, hoping to test his suspicions about Brother Hong’s death and the burning corpses. Old Cadre found and pocketed the stick, leaving Ren Ye to wait for what he would do next.

• Ren Ye switched rooms with Old Cadre, then searched the Qian Character Room while concealing his gold coin total.
• Old Cadre inspected Brother Hong’s room and found a divination stick behind the memorial portrait that warned about burning corpses and objects carrying a Player’s scent.
• Old Cadre realized the stick might have belonged to Brother Hong and wondered whether items from a dead Player’s mental space appeared in the room.
• Ren Ye revealed that he had secretly planted the stick to see how Old Cadre would react, suspecting him because the burning corpses had attacked unexpectedly.
• Old Cadre pocketed the divination stick as Ren Ye waited in the Qian Character Room.

At the Villa, Ren Ye and Old Cadre discussed the Fortune Divination Stick and the possibility that someone had caused Brother Hong’s death. The Star Gate then announced the Great Evacuation mission, which would send the players back to just before Fulai County Town fell and divide them among three storylines.

• Old Cadre showed Ren Ye the Fortune Divination Stick and suggested that a player might have manipulated the burning corpses to target Ren Ye and played a part in Brother Hong’s death.
• Ren Ye agreed to keep the stick quiet for now, and Old Cadre said he would support the team if he could not compete for first place.
• The Star Gate announced that the Great Evacuation mission would rewind the players to before Fulai County Town fell and assign them to follow Song Mingzhe, Pan Lianrong, or Song An.
• Old Cadre realized he would probably be assigned to Song An’s storyline alone because the other clues linked the remaining players to the other two storylines.

Ren Ye and Yin Tiger began the final evacuation mission in Fulai County Town, where Song Mingzhe sent them to find an exposed spy carrying intelligence about a possible traitor. As war approached and the town descended into chaos, they set out for Jingming Lake while Tan Pang and Xiao Shuai met Pan Lianrong elsewhere.

• Ren Ye and Yin Tiger learned they had eight days to complete their assigned tasks and found themselves separated from Tan Pang and the others.
• Song Mingzhe explained that spy Huang Youlong had gone missing near Jingming Lake and ordered them to retrieve him and his intelligence about a possible traitor among the senior ranks.
• Ren Ye memorized Huang Youlong's photograph, then he and Yin Tiger collected a car and drove out of Fulai County Town toward the occupied area.
• Yin Tiger shared rumors about powerful figures in the Chaos Faction, and Ren Ye dismissed the claim that the Enforcers' shaved heads came from Ksitigarbha.
• Tan Pang and Xiao Shuai entered a secret chamber, where Xiao Shuai resolved to serve Pan Lianrong alongside Tan Pang.

Ren Ye and Yin Tiger waited at the Fuhai Hotel for Huang Youlong, while Xu Tingtao warned them about the strange south bank and the Thunderfire Division’s inaction. When a black-robed man reversed the lake’s current and dragged Huang Youlong’s boat back toward enemy territory, Yin Tiger charged across the lake alone to confront him.

• Ren Ye learned that Yin Tiger was destined to challenge his father, the current Lord of Thick Earth, to claim his homeland’s rule.
• Song Mingzhe told Ren Ye to wait at the Fuhai Hotel for Huang Youlong, who was trying to cross from the south bank, and warned him not to trust anyone.
• At the hotel, Xu Tingtao explained that the south bank had been occupied by Chaos and revealed that the Craftsman Prefecture’s leaders were busy evacuating and holding meetings instead of investigating.
• Ren Ye and Yin Tiger spotted Huang Youlong approaching in a tiny boat, but a black-robed man used Cycle-Reverse Flow and Retreat to send it back toward the south bank.
• Yin Tiger summoned his great saber and rode the gale alone across Jingming Lake to face the black-robed man, while Ren Ye and Xu Tingtao shouted after him.

Yin Tiger and Ren Ye fought the south bank’s Super Grade defenders, using their treasures and combined powers to set the forest ablaze. As Ren Ye tried to save Huang Youlong, the Crescent Black-Robed Man killed him, but Huang Youlong’s final warning revealed that one of the eight Grand Craftsmen was a traitor.

• Yin Tiger attacked the Crescent Black-Robed Man as he summoned a spatial boat, but the south bank’s Cursed Power and Super Grade fighters trapped Yin Tiger in midair.
• The Giant Supreme Treasure Saber broke Yin Tiger free from the curse, and he repelled several attacks before Ren Ye arrived to help.
• Ren Ye summoned a phantom of the azure bamboo while Yin Tiger lent his gale’s power, and their combined attack engulfed the forest in flames.
• Ren Ye and Yin Tiger pursued the Crescent Black-Robed Man, who shattered the boat and attacked Huang Youlong and three others with Soul-Annihilating Nails.
• Huang Youlong warned Ren Ye that one of the eight Grand Craftsmen was a traitor, then the Magic Treasures and Soul-Annihilating Nails killed him.

Ren Ye and Yin Tiger returned from the south bank with Huang Youlong’s warning that one of the eight grand artisan officers was a traitor. Song Mingzhe’s investigation exposed Xu Lang as the bald Enforcer’s inside man, and Ren Ye suspected the quest setup echoed a familiar plot.

• Ren Ye used a Ground-Shrinking Talisman to escape the south bank with Yin Tiger after dozens of Magic Treasures attacked them.
• On their way back, Ren Ye and Yin Tiger discussed the black-robed man’s unusual fragrance and whether someone had received a quest to kill Huang Youlong.
• Ren Ye told Song Mingzhe that Huang Youlong had identified one of the eight grand artisan officers as a traitor, prompting Song Mingzhe to summon them and prepare an ambush.
• Song Mingzhe learned that Xu Lang had left Headquarters in a hurry and ordered the other seven grand artisan officers to pursue him.
• Daoist Jiang reported that the officers killed Xu Lang and discovered he had been tasked by the bald Enforcer to steal Song Mingzhe’s artisan manuals and target the other officers.
• Ren Ye recognized the similarity between Xu Lang’s quest and a familiar plot, and wondered whether it was an allusive hint from the Heavenly Dao.

Ren Ye and Yin Tiger investigated the Villa after Song Mingzhe sent them to retrieve someone, only to find Song An missing from the Li Character Room. Yin Tiger detected the Crescent-Moon Black-Robed Man’s scent along Song An’s escape route, and Ren Ye’s treasure sensed a strong Yin Soul presence nearby.

• Song Mingzhe sent Ren Ye and Yin Tiger to the Villa to retrieve a prisoner and ordered them to keep the matter secret.
• On the drive, Ren Ye and Yin Tiger reasoned that a Player might have killed Brother Hong to steal his Gold Coins and rare Autobiography Fragments.
• Ren Ye and Yin Tiger found Song An’s room open and empty, with an unfinished breakfast and signs that he had left suddenly.
• Yin Tiger traced the Crescent-Moon Black-Robed Man’s scent from Song An’s room to the Villa’s rear entrance, suggesting the man had rescued Song An.
• Ren Ye’s little treasure sensed a strong Yin Soul presence spreading outward from the Villa, and Ren Ye urged it to reveal its ability.

Ren Ye used Little Ghost Child to track Song An’s Yin energy and found surveillance footage showing Old Cadre helping Song An into a car. The discovery linked Old Cadre to both the villa and the south bank of Jingming Lake, leaving Ren Ye to reconsider his movements.

• Ren Ye drew Little Ghost Child’s Yin Soul out of the bronze statue, and the child sensed that Song An’s trail led out of the villa.
• Little Ghost Child’s trail went cold near a massage parlor, so Ren Ye and Yin Tiger paid the proprietor to review its surveillance footage.
• While Ren Ye searched the recordings, Little Ghost Child climbed onto the proprietor and began taking items from her Star Source Bag.
• Ren Ye spotted Song An being helped into a car by a man whose face matched Old Cadre’s appearance.
• Yin Tiger confirmed that the scent at the villa matched the one at the south bank of Jingming Lake, and Ren Ye began reconsidering Old Cadre’s actions.

Ren Ye and Yin Tiger investigated Old Cadre’s possible connection to the mole and accepted Song Mingzhe’s order to find Pan Lianrong, while Tan Pang and Xiao Shuai had a conflicting mission to protect her. The four met in Fulai County Town and discovered that their opposing assignments could lead to a fight, then Tan Pang asked whether they had learned that one of the eight players was a mole.

• Ren Ye argued that the scent linking Old Cadre to the villa was not conclusive proof that he was the mole.
• Song Mingzhe told Ren Ye to find Pan Lianrong and bring her back, or kill her if she resisted; Ren Ye and Yin Tiger then left the villa with more than twenty thousand stolen Star Source.
• Ren Ye and Yin Tiger went to Six Dynasties Residence, where Little Ghost Child located Tan Pang and Xiao Shuai.
• Tan Pang and Xiao Shuai revealed that their mission was to ensure Pan Lianrong’s safety, directly opposing Song Mingzhe’s order.
• Tan Pang asked whether Ren Ye and Yin Tiger had received a hint during the First Act, and Xiao Shuai identified the hint as one of the eight players being a mole.

Ren Ye suspected Tan Pang might be the mole hinted at by the Star Gate and arranged to catch him off guard. After Tan Pang returned from speaking with Pan Lianrong, Ren Ye, Xiao Shuai, and Yin Tiger ambushed him and demanded that he take off his pants.

• Xiao Shuai and Tan Pang told Ren Ye that Pan Lianrong had heard one of the eight Grand Craftsmen was a mole for the bald faction.
• Ren Ye learned that Xiao Shuai and Tan Pang had opposing missions involving Pan Lianrong, and the group considered faking her death or escape to satisfy both sides.
• Tan Pang went to the teahouse to sound out Pan Lianrong about staging her disappearance, while Ren Ye stayed behind with Xiao Shuai and Yin Tiger.
• Ren Ye questioned Xiao Shuai about his movements and concluded that Tan Pang also fit the suspected-mole theory.
• When Tan Pang returned, Xiao Shuai lured him into the restroom, where Ren Ye and Yin Tiger joined him and demanded to inspect him.

Ren Ye, Xiao Shuai, and Yin Tiger stripped Tan Pang to search for Brother Hong’s stolen Gold Coins, but found nothing and ended up inspecting one another as well. Tan Pang argued that Old Cadre benefited most from Brother Hong’s death and began reconstructing the scene with his Ancient Mirror, only for a cleaning woman to walk in on the four men naked.

• Ren Ye, Xiao Shuai, and Yin Tiger forced Tan Pang to strip and searched his clothes for hidden Gold Coins, finding only inherited coins and ordinary pills.
• Ren Ye questioned Tan Pang about where he had gone after separating from Yin Tiger in the burning Tiangong Building, and Tan Pang described following a faint Mystical Ability fluctuation and smelling scented powder.
• Ren Ye explained that the killer might have carried Brother Hong’s inherited Gold Coins to avoid losing them to a reset, prompting Tan Pang to accuse Ren Ye of using the inspection to hide his own guilt.
• Xiao Shuai and Yin Tiger insisted that Ren Ye strip too, and all four inspected one another without finding anything unusual.
• Tan Pang argued that Old Cadre benefited most from Brother Hong’s death and used Mirror Replication-Scene Reconstruction to show the scene, but a cleaning woman entered and found the four men naked.

Tan Pang laid out a theory that Old Cadre had murdered Brother Hong, while Ren Ye argued the plan relied on too many things going perfectly. The group agreed Old Cadre was their prime suspect, then met Pan Lianrong, who rewarded Ren Ye and Yin Tiger with Star Source after Ren Ye explained why he would not serve the Craftsman Prefecture.

• Tan Pang theorized that Old Cadre had used a Thunder Talisman, Burning Corpses, and remote manipulation to kill Brother Hong and frame Sandbag.
• Ren Ye pointed out that Tan Pang’s theory depended on too many risky contingencies, and Tan Pang conceded Old Cadre likely had an unknown Item or Mystical Ability.
• Ren Ye, Tan Pang, Yin Tiger, and Xiao Shuai agreed to watch Old Cadre and search him for Brother Hong’s Gold Coins when they next met him.
• Tan Pang told Ren Ye that Pan Lianrong wanted to meet him at the Tea House, and the four went there to discuss keeping her alive while completing their mission.
• Pan Lianrong asked why Ren Ye was colluding with her, and Ren Ye said he rejected the Craftsman Prefecture’s corruption and sought personal benefit instead.
• Pan Lianrong praised Ren Ye’s candor and had attendants give Ren Ye and Yin Tiger two chests full of Star Source, making Xiao Shuai resentful.

Ren Ye and Yin Tiger accepted Pan Lianrong’s payment and agreed to help her deceive Song Mingzhe, then the opposing forces clashed at the teahouse. As the battle began, Ren Ye set out to plunder Star Source and treasures while Old Cadre watched from a nearby alley, unsure whether to join in.

• Ren Ye and Yin Tiger took five hundred thousand Star Source each from Pan Lianrong and discussed how to make Song Mingzhe believe she was dead.
• Pan Lianrong told Ren Ye to reveal her location in the teahouse’s temporary Inner Treasury, trusting that she had prepared her own escape.
• The group activated the main quest, agreed to compete while hoping everyone survived, and Ren Ye later led Song Mingzhe’s assassination force to Pan Lianrong’s location.
• Daoist Jiang and the Supernatural Ability Users attacked the teahouse, where Pan Lianrong’s forces met them in battle.
• Ren Ye killed three of Pan Lianrong’s subordinates and used Human Emperor-Forced Recruitment to seize Star Source and items, while Old Cadre watched the chaos from an alley.

After the battle at the Tea House, Ren Ye and Yin Tiger learned that Pan Lianrong had faked her death and completed the mission. Ren Ye calculated that Old Cadre might possess a huge hidden Gold Coin lead, leaving both men worried about his growing advantage and his chance to complete Song An’s Autobiography.

• Daoist Jiang led Ren Ye, Yin Tiger, and the others to Tiangong Headquarters and reported that he had killed Pan Lianrong, with Aru dying in the battle.
• Daoist Jiang showed Song Mingzhe a Water Spirit Talisman recording, while the mission notice revealed that Pan Lianrong had used the Golden Cicada Shedding Its Shell stratagem and awarded Ren Ye Song Mingzhe’s Autobiography Fragment number 14.
• Ren Ye checked the rankings and estimated that Old Cadre could have more than 780 Gold Coins if he had taken Brother Hong’s accumulated wealth.
• Ren Ye warned Yin Tiger about Old Cadre’s possible Gold Coin lead, and Yin Tiger offered to seek justice for Brother Hong if Old Cadre was the murderer.
• Ren Ye suggested that completing an Autobiography could offer a major Gold Coin reward, and Yin Tiger realized Old Cadre might also be ahead in collecting Song An’s fragments.

Ren Ye and Yin Tiger witnessed the bald men launch their assault on Fulai County Town, then received Song Mingzhe’s final mission to find Song Yi. As the Great Evacuation began, Song An sent Old Cadre after Song Yi too, while Tan Pang and Xiao Shuai set out to search for him.

• Ren Ye received Autobiography Fragment No. 15 and noticed the numbers 1-38-29-15 printed in its corner.
• Black Star Gates appeared over Jingming Lake, and ranks of bald men began attacking Fulai County Town ahead of schedule.
• Ren Ye and Yin Tiger met Song Mingzhe, who ordered them to find Song Yi at the Artisan Building and report back before five that evening.
• Song An told Old Cadre to find Song Yi, saying only Song Yi could help him stand again.
• Tan Pang and Xiao Shuai used Tan Pang’s Ancient Mirror to set off on their own search for Song Yi.

Ren Ye and Yin Tiger discovered that Song Yi had escaped from the Artisan Building, where Ren Ye believed Song Mingzhe had imprisoned him to exploit his talent for soulcraft. They followed Song Yi’s trail to Fulai County Town’s zoo, where the SSS-Rank challenge forced them to search for their homes alone.

• Ren Ye and Yin Tiger entered the empty Artisan Building and found four dead people near Song Yi’s workshop.
• Ren Ye read Song Yi’s notebook and concluded that Song Yi had killed the guards and escaped during the evacuation.
• Ren Ye explained that Song Mingzhe had likely imprisoned Song Yi to make him improve his father’s soulcraft books, and Yin Tiger agreed to search for him at Fulai County Town’s zoo.
• Ren Ye and Yin Tiger entered the zoo and learned that they had to identify their animal homes alone, unable to see one another.
• An obnoxious voice called out to Ren Ye and Yin Tiger from behind them.

Ren Ye entered Fulai County Zoo, where his powers were sealed and he had to discover what animal he was, find his home, and learn about Song Yi before 3 p.m. After surviving a fight with the lions and obtaining a five-second animal-perspective skill from the Spirit Sheep, he used it and began racing to identify his species.

• Ren Ye met Xiao Shuai and Tan Pang outside the zoo, and the group agreed to search separately for Song Yi and wait for one another before exploring further.
• Ren Ye entered the zoo, learned that he had become an unknown animal, and was told to find his home and information on Song Yi before 3 p.m.
• The Seven-Colored Crown Deer said Ren Ye’s home lay southwest beneath a blue sign, but their information led him into Lion Park, where he fought the Lion King’s family until the gate opened.
• Ren Ye escaped the lions and concluded that he was likely a powerful, high-ranking animal, then went to Spirit Sheep Park to ask for another clue.
• The Spirit Sheep repeatedly found Ren Ye during hide-and-seek, so he killed its leader during the third round and received the Original Form Restoration Skill.
• Ren Ye activated the skill and, as its five-second countdown began, tried to identify himself from the clues of tough skin, a powerful bite, slow movement, and a low viewpoint.