Chapter Summaries

Lu Mi interrupted Xie Ping'an's attempt to kill Zhao Xiaoxiang and urged him to resist the revenge contract, but Teacher Zhao arrived with Wang Rongyu's severed head. Xie Ping'an then attacked Teacher Zhao from the shadows, accusing him of ignoring the bullying and pleas for help that led to his death.

• Zhao Xiaoxiang and Han San tried to use Wang Rongyu's blood in a curse, but an unseen force scattered their ritual tools and freed Xie Ping'an.
• Xie Ping'an pursued Zhao Xiaoxiang, while Lu Mi confronted him with the contract and explained how it had compelled his killings.
• Lu Mi urged Xie Ping'an to stop before Feng Wentian and other classmates were harmed, and Xie Ping'an admitted he did not know how to break the contract.
• Teacher Zhao arrived carrying Wang Rongyu's severed head, and Xie Ping'an attacked him with the iron stool while remaining unseen.
• Xie Ping'an accused Teacher Zhao of ignoring his humiliation, cries for help, and broken neck as Teacher Zhao collapsed.

The group discovered that empathy between Zhong Zixian and Xie Ping'an caused their Contract to burn, yielding the key to the exit. After escaping the instance, Lu Mi tried to leave the crowded Central Plaza with Roman, but two fans stopped him for an autograph.

• The group debated how to break Xie Ping'an's Contract, while Zhong Zixian cried after watching Xie Ping'an's memories of being bullied.
• Zhong Zixian shared how he had been bullied as a child, hugged Xie Ping'an, and told him to stop blaming himself.
• Xie Ping'an cried, and the Contract caught fire, leaving Lu Mi to retrieve a Flame-Red Key from the ashes.
• Shen Yiwen gathered the others at the School Gate, and Lu Mi opened it so everyone could escape the instance.
• Sun Ming rushed through the gate first to earn extra points, while Cheng Cheng and the others followed and were mobbed by fans at the Central Plaza.
• Lu Mi left with Roman to go home and cook, but two young women recognized him and asked for his autograph.

Lu Mi learned that his popularity had earned him enough points to bring his total to 380, then read the ghost viewers’ comments before Roman asked him what “size difference” meant.

• Lu Mi signed autographs for Xuanxuan and Youyou after they explained that top-ranked players’ signatures earned points.
• Xuanxuan gave Lu Mi and Roman free admission vouchers to Wonderful Dream, and Roman folded his booklet into a rose for Lu Mi.
• Lu Mi checked his status and found that his popularity had reached 1,000, earning him 320 points and bringing his total to 380.
• Lu Mi read the updated viewer comments, saw that gifts had earned him roughly 800 gold coins, and found that a comment revealing instance clues had been blocked.
• Roman asked Lu Mi what “size difference” meant.

Lu Mi turned a playful breakup bit with Cheng Cheng into a public scandal, then used his free Wonderful Dream vouchers to spend a relaxing day on the beach with friends. As the group settled by the bonfire, Lu Mi noticed Shen Yiwen watching him.

• Lu Mi and Cheng Cheng pretended to break up, but onlookers believed Lu Mi had betrayed Cheng Cheng and spread the story around the Public Rest Area.
• Lu Mi invited Shen Yiwen to Wonderful Dream and joined him, Zhong Zixian, Roman, and a gagged Cheng Cheng for a multiplayer beach dream.
• The group barbecued and chatted on the beach, where Lu Mi admitted he hated being watched and controlled.
• Zhong Zixian drew a dare to compliment Shen Yiwen for three minutes, drank for courage, and eventually passed out.
• Roman and Cheng Cheng carried Zhong Zixian to the villa, leaving Lu Mi and Shen Yiwen alone by the bonfire.
• After two hours in the dream, Lu Mi opened his eyes from a yawn and found Shen Yiwen watching him through the flames.

Shen Yiwen urged Lu Mi to examine his feelings for Roman, prompting him to recognize how much Roman had cared for him. Cheng Cheng then revealed that he and Lu Mi had shared a long past together, while Roman watched them from the doorway.

• Shen Yiwen warned Lu Mi that Roman's player status did not explain his unknown past and told him to think seriously about his feelings.
• Roman asked Lu Mi to blow-dry his hair, but Lu Mi hesitated, and Roman politely left.
• Lu Mi reflected on Roman's kindness and realized he had never considered how much Roman had supported him through the instances.
• Cheng Cheng told Lu Mi that they had known each other in the real world, where Lu Mi had been a spirit cat raised by Granny.
• Cheng Cheng claimed he and Lu Mi had spent more than ten years together and shared vows of eternal love, and Lu Mi promised to try to recover his memories.
• Roman appeared at the doorway and stared coldly at Lu Mi and Cheng Cheng.

Lu Mi woke bound and blindfolded, with Roman confronting him in a frighteningly possessive mood. Roman left without revealing his face, and Lu Mi freed himself, still convinced Roman meant to devour or kill him.

• After Cheng Cheng left, Lu Mi turned into a tabby cat and decided Roman could simply find another cat to adore.
• Roman appeared at Lu Mi’s open doorway during the night, closed and locked it, and left Lu Mi to sleep uneasily.
• Lu Mi woke bound and blindfolded, mistook the person beside him for Cheng Cheng, and realized it was Roman when Roman questioned their games.
• Roman restrained Lu Mi’s attempt to summon fire and warned him not to call for help, while Lu Mi assumed Roman planned to devour or kill him.
• Roman spoke admiringly about Lu Mi’s features, then left the room without his gloves, cloak, or mask.
• Lu Mi burned through the rope, removed the blindfold, and found the room empty.

After Roman’s departure, Lu Mi grieved alone but prepared to enter another instance with Shen Yiwen and Zhong Zixian. He awoke transformed into a young woman in an unfamiliar room, where a blood-red message appeared on the window.

• Lu Mi replayed a video of Roman, cried, and found a crumpled worksheet Roman had left behind.
• Shen Yiwen and Zhong Zixian worried about Lu Mi, but he arrived smiling and joined them in entering another instance.
• Lu Mi woke alone, seated at a piano, and discovered that his voice, body, appearance, and clothing had changed.
• Lu Mi examined the silent room, covered the stuffed toys’ glowing eyes, and noticed the hourglass would run out in three minutes.
• Lu Mi opened the curtains and saw a dripping, blood-red message written on the window.

Lu Mi entered Yu Qingchen’s room and tried to pass as her while Zheng Sinian tested whether he noticed anything unusual. After Zheng Sinian left, Lu Mi discovered a chained silver collar beneath the bed.

• Lu Mi searched Yu Qingchen’s spotless room, found a photo labeled with Zheng Sinian and Yu Qingchen’s names, and inferred that the room’s owner liked cleanliness, art, and literature.
• Zheng Sinian entered and called Lu Mi Qingchen, then brought him water while watching him closely.
• Zheng Sinian grew suspicious when Lu Mi kept his eyes closed and turned the dolls facedown, but Lu Mi deflected him by asking why he had to question everything.
• Zheng Sinian mentioned a piano competition and told Lu Mi to play piano for him the next day, then left the room.
• Lu Mi noticed the possibility of hidden cameras and found a long iron chain attached to a bell-hung silver collar beneath the bed.

Lu Mi discovered that Zheng Sinian’s water had stiffened his body and suppressed his magic, while Zheng tested whether he could still play the piano. After Zheng left, Lu Mi used the bathroom’s camera blind spot to order a special item and searched for a way to survive the instance.

• Lu Mi found that the bloody message on the window had changed to Zheng Sinian’s description of Yu Qingchen and noticed the house was unnaturally silent.
• Zheng Sinian brought Lu Mi breakfast and insisted that he drink a glass of water, which Lu Mi swallowed without being able to vaporize it.
• Zheng Sinian asked Lu Mi to play the piano, and Lu Mi realized he was testing whether the water had impaired his fingers.
• Lu Mi confirmed his body felt heavier and his magic had stopped working after drinking the water.
• Lu Mi used the bathroom camera’s blind spot to open the Panel Mall and order a special item so he would not have to drink Zheng Sinian’s water again.

Lu Mi realized Zheng Sinian had killed someone and uncovered clues that the real Yu Qingchen was a hollow imitation of elegance, while he secretly avoided the effects of the water and disabled the room’s power. He challenged Zheng Sinian to a candlelit dinner, and Zheng Sinian offered an antidote on the condition that he choose an acceptable outfit.

• Lu Mi spotted blood on Zheng Sinian’s trousers and used a Wristband item to divert the third glass of water into a bathroom pipe.
• Lu Mi concluded that Zheng Sinian knew the players were not the real Yu Qingchen and that the room’s artistic furnishings were merely a façade.
• Lu Mi moved into a surveillance blind spot and used an item to cut power to the room, disabling the cameras and appliances.
• Zheng Sinian brought Lu Mi cold bread and offered him a fourth glass of water, but Lu Mi asked for wine and a candlelit dinner instead.
• Zheng Sinian agreed to the date and offered an antidote, but said Lu Mi would receive it only if Zheng Sinian liked his outfit.

Lu Mi outwitted Zheng Sinian, obtained the antidote, and got him drunk so he could steal the keys. The chapter ended with Lu Mi preparing to restrain Zheng Sinian before leaving the room.

• Lu Mi chose the outfit shown in the photograph, received the antidote from Zheng Sinian, and regained control of his body.
• Lu Mi changed clothes and joined Zheng Sinian for a candlelit dinner, while looking for a way to escape and take the keys.
• Lu Mi rejected Zheng Sinian's red wine and challenged him to drink baijiu instead.
• Lu Mi used a premium item to get Zheng Sinian drunk, then took the keys from his waist.
• Lu Mi retrieved an iron chain and collar and approached the unconscious Zheng Sinian.

Lu Mi escaped Zheng Sinian and searched the players’ rooms, finding several dead players and rescuing Shen Yiwen and Zhong Zixian. Zhong Zixian and two others had been partially petrified, and the group set out to find more antidote while Cheng Cheng remained missing.

• Lu Mi got Zheng Sinian drunk, beat him, and left him locked in the room before searching the house for the other players.
• Lu Mi and Zhu Tong found several players dead after they had broken the rules for playing Yu Qingchen.
• Lu Mi confirmed Shen Yiwen’s identity with their password and brought her out of her room.
• Lu Mi and Shen Yiwen found Zhong Zixian alive but partially petrified after Zheng Sinian made him drink water.
• Lu Mi told them he had enough antidote for one person, and they began searching for more while Cheng Cheng was still missing.

Lu Mi, Shen Yiwen, and Zhu Tong searched Zheng Sinian’s house for an antidote and freed several petrified players. After spotting a graveyard outside, Lu Mi saw a gaunt figure beckoning from among the graves and refused to investigate.

• Lu Mi and Shen Yiwen searched the workshop and Zheng Sinian’s rooms with Zhu Tong, who repeatedly urged them to split up or leave.
• Lu Mi found the antidote hidden behind a bookshelf, and Shen Yiwen divided it into bottles for the petrified players.
• The freed players discovered that all the newcomers were missing, and Lu Mi spotted gravestones outside Zhong Zixian’s window.
• When Zhu Tong eagerly suggested investigating the graveyard, Lu Mi refused and saw a gaunt figure there beckoning them closer.

Lu Mi led the players through the mansion, discovered a hidden room full of sculptures resembling Yu Qingchen, and grew increasingly wary of Zhu Tong. In the morning, Lin Junjun reported that Shen Yiwen had turned into a sculpture.

• Lu Mi caught Zhu Tong impersonating Zhang Wei with a switched name tag and kept her under suspicion.
• Lu Mi, Shen Yiwen, and the others found a trapdoor and opened a locked iron door beneath the kitchen.
• Lu Mi discovered a room crowded with Zheng Sinian’s plaster works, whose faces all resembled Yu Qingchen.
• Lu Mi checked on Zhong Zixian the next morning and believed his friend had accepted his secret ability to turn into a cat.
• Lin Junjun told Lu Mi that Shen Yiwen had turned into a sculpture.

After Shen Yiwen turned into a statue, Lu Mi led a group to the cemetery to investigate Yu Qingchen’s grave and Zheng Sinian’s connection to her death. As Lu Mi began digging, supernatural fog trapped them in a loop, and Lin Junjun spotted something in the mist.

• Lu Mi read a blood-written message mentioning Little Ma and Little Xun, then gathered Zhong Zixian, Lin Junjun, and other players to search the cemetery.
• Lu Mi checked Zheng Sinian, found him still apparently dead, and led the group through the back door to the cemetery.
• The group discovered Yu Qingchen’s grave and realized she was already dead, while Lu Mi suspected Zheng Sinian had caused her death.
• Lu Mi ordered a shovel and started digging up Yu Qingchen’s grave, but the fog from the woods spread around them.
• Zhang Wei ran from the fog and returned to the same spot, revealing they were trapped in a supernatural loop.
• Lin Junjun stopped the arguing and pointed toward something in the fog.

Lu Mi and Zhang Wei entered a cemetery and had to play Ghost Tag for the right to dig up Yu Qingchen’s grave. Lu Mi won and opened the coffin, but he was stunned by what he found inside.

• An old man confronted Lu Mi, Zhang Wei, Lin Junjun, and Zhong Zixian, then made them play Ghost Tag to earn permission to dig up the grave.
• Lu Mi followed rice markers toward Yu Qingchen’s grave, resisted the urge to look back, and detoured to keep from running into Zhang Wei.
• Lu Mi and Zhang Wei reached the destination, while Zhong Zixian became a statue and Lin Junjun was caught by a ghost.
• Lu Mi reminded the old man that he had won, then dug up Yu Qingchen’s grave with Zhang Wei’s help.
• Lu Mi and Zhang Wei opened the coffin, and Lu Mi was stunned by what lay inside.

Lu Mi reunited with Cheng Cheng in the cemetery and learned they had found Yu Qingchen’s dissertation and a doll labeled Little Xun. After Shen Yiwen’s sculpture vanished, Lu Mi and Cheng Cheng headed for the basement, while a disguised Yu Qingchen approached Zhang Wei.

• Lu Mi thought the corpse in the coffin was Cheng Cheng, but Cheng Cheng opened his eyes, revealed he had survived using a False Death Technique, and explained that the corpses feared Yu Qingchen’s grave.
• Cheng Cheng found Yu Qingchen’s doctoral dissertation and a doll labeled Little Xun, prompting Lu Mi to wonder where Little Ma was.
• Cheng Cheng carried Zhong Zixian’s sculpture back to the house and joked about kissing him awake.
• Han Miaoke warned Lu Mi that Shen Yiwen’s sculpture had disappeared, so Lu Mi and Cheng Cheng went to check the basement.
• Yu Qingchen appeared to Zhang Wei, tore the name tag from her back, and asked him to guess who she was.

Lu Mi and Cheng Cheng investigated the players’ suspicions and learned that killing players could unlock a hidden achievement. After Han Miaoke transformed into a rag doll labeled Little Ma, they realized she was only a copy and rushed toward Zheng Sinian’s room, but fog filled the hallway and a woman cried from Shen Yiwen’s room.

• Lu Mi searched the basement for Shen Yiwen’s sculpture while Cheng Cheng examined the sculptures of Yu Qingchen, then Cheng Cheng used Lu Mi’s keys to enter a Player Room.
• Cheng Cheng found Zhang Wei and Han Miaoke together, restrained Han Miaoke with a chain, and questioned Zhang Wei about the consequences of killing players.
• Zhang Wei described a player whose body had been covered in fingernails, and Cheng Cheng explained that killing players could unlock a hidden achievement for those with more than six hundred points.
• Lu Mi questioned Han Miaoke about Zhu Tong and Little Ma, but at eleven she transformed into a rag doll labeled Little Ma.
• Lu Mi realized the doll was only a copy and ran with Cheng Cheng toward Zheng Sinian’s room, but they found the hallway filled with fog and heard a woman crying from Shen Yiwen’s room.

Lu Mi and the others learned how Yu Qingchen had been imprisoned and killed by Zheng Sinian, who returned in a rag-doll body searching for her. Zheng Sinian recognized that Lu Mi had repeated Yu Qingchen’s escape attempt and confronted him.

• Lu Mi opened the room and found Yu Qingchen’s ghost mourning over her thesis.
• Yu Qingchen told Lu Mi how Zheng Sinian isolated her, imprisoned her, and killed her after she tried to escape.
• The hourglass restarted, Yu Qingchen vanished, and Zheng Sinian arrived and grabbed Zhang Wei by the throat.
• Zheng Sinian released Zhang Wei, then told Lu Mi he had done exactly what Yu Qingchen had done, except he had not said, “I love you.”

Lu Mi destroyed the sculpture containing Yu Qingchen’s corpse and tried to carry her to the cemetery, but Zheng Sinian caught him and began strangling him. Roman appeared and saved Lu Mi, then said he had learned to read and could find Yu Qingchen’s grave himself.

• Zheng Sinian confronted Lu Mi and Cheng Cheng, and Cheng Cheng attacked him with Yellow Talismans while Lu Mi fled downstairs.
• Lu Mi found Zhang Wei transformed into a sculpture and realized Little Ma could turn people it touched into sculptures or controlled dolls.
• Lu Mi broke apart the central sculpture and uncovered Yu Qingchen’s corpse, then carried her toward the basement exit as Zheng Sinian pursued him.
• Zheng Sinian caught Lu Mi and strangled him, but black mist appeared and an unseen force severed Zheng Sinian’s arm.
• Roman supported Lu Mi and agreed to take Yu Qingchen’s body to her grave after revealing that he had learned to read.