Chapter Summaries

Lu Mi and the others found the exit key and prepared to leave the instance, while Lu Mi asked Roman whether he liked him and received no answer. As Zheng Sinian returned to life behind them, Lu Mi stepped through the exit and feared Roman was still in danger.

• Roman carried Yu Qingchen's corpse away, while Lu Mi found Little Ma moving Zhang Wei's sculpture and Cheng Cheng immobilized the doll with a Yellow Talisman.
• Lu Mi found Zhang Wei, Shen Yiwen, and Zhong Zixian still trapped as sculptures, and Roman explained that using the key would restore them and let the players escape.
• Roman gave Lu Mi the black key after reporting that Yu Qingchen's soul had thanked him for burying her, and Lu Mi sent Cheng Cheng to open the exit.
• Lu Mi asked Roman whether he liked him, but Roman stayed silent; Lu Mi removed Roman's scarf and said they were not on the same path before heading for the exit.
• Lu Mi stepped through the open exit with his friends as Zheng Sinian came back to life and demanded to know who had taken Yu Qingchen.

Roman was trapped inside the dark house when the exit closed early, while Lu Mi escaped to the Public Rest Area with his friends. After treatment failed to restore his powers, Lu Mi suspected Deputy Administrator 2044 had interfered with his ability to change forms.

• Roman threw Zheng Sinian aside and tried to escape, but an invisible barrier stopped him as the house doors closed and separated him from Lu Mi.
• Roman seized Zheng Sinian in the darkness, and wet chewing sounds later echoed through the house.
• Lu Mi and his friends saw players emerge from the exit and learned that its opening time had been shortened; guards said Deputy Administrator 2044 would explain the change at two that afternoon.
• Lu Mi went to the Healing Area with his friends and accepted Cheng Cheng's black key, but treatment restored only weak traces of his fire and water abilities.
• Lu Mi wondered why he could not freely change forms after losing his memory and connected his suspicion to Deputy Administrator 2044.

Lu Mi attended 2044’s address, where 2044 announced that instance exits would remain open for only thirty seconds. After Shen Yiwen challenged the rule, 2044 agreed to discuss it, and Lu Mi confronted him privately about his memory loss.

• Lu Mi and Cheng Cheng signed autographs at the Central Plaza as players shipped them together.
• 2044 announced that recent changes to the Rest Area had been made for the Ghost Spectators and that instance exits would stay open for thirty seconds.
• A player protested and was publicly executed, after which 2044 urged the crowd to maintain order.
• Shen Yiwen questioned the shortened exit window and argued it could get players, including Cheng Cheng and Lu Mi, killed; 2044 promised a decision that night.
• Lu Mi went to the Central Control Building and asked 2044 whether he had caused Lu Mi’s memory loss.

Lu Mi confronted 2044 about his lost memories, then learned that the next Human-Ghost Showdown would begin in two days. In the Dream Whale Night experience, Cheng Cheng began explaining their shared past, leaving Lu Mi’s childhood story poised to continue.

• 2044 admitted that he had caused Lu Mi to lose his memory and drawn him into the game, but refused to explain why.
• Headquarters announced that ten groups entering instances in two days would face a ghost spectator, with the exit opening time restored if players identified the ghost in most groups.
• Lu Mi watched a video of Roman, messaged Shen Yiwen, and woke before dawn to check whether he had turned into a cat, but remained human.
• Lu Mi met Cheng Cheng at the Wonderful Dream shop, and the two entered the Dream Whale Night experience together so Lu Mi could ask about their past.
• Cheng Cheng recalled meeting Lu Mi as a kitten in Bay Hamlet, naming him, and becoming his friend; five years later, Cheng Cheng sat dejected after arguing with his parents and was approached by two thugs.

Lu Mi and Cheng Cheng watched the whales swim through the night sky at Wonderful Dream and cleared up the memory of their supposed romantic vows. Lu Mi then entered the Human-Ghost Showdown with his friends, but woke in a mountain forest with unfamiliar players and a pair of eerie green eyes watching them.

• Cheng Cheng recalled that he and Lu Mi had promised that Lu Mi would buy him three roast ducks if he got into his dream university, and Lu Mi bought the ducks after Cheng Cheng confirmed he had been accepted.
• Lu Mi and his friends entered the Human-Ghost Showdown, where he found himself separated from Shen Yiwen and the others in a mountain forest.
• Xu Zhi, Lu Dalu, and the content creator Zhao Die introduced themselves as players, while Xu Zhi explained the dangers and rules of the game.
• A girl turned on a flashlight, and Xu Zhi warned that it could attract danger before she switched it off.
• Lu Mi told the others to be quiet when a pair of green eyes appeared behind a tree and they heard an animal breathing.

Lu Mi and the other players fled a beast in the woods, then followed Hu Pu to her home for shelter. The reminder that one of the ten players was a ghost left them wary of choosing roommates for the night.

• A beast attacked the group, and Xu Zhi was badly injured after it caught him while he was running.
• A woman in dark clothes chased the beast away and introduced herself as Hu Pu, offering the players a place to stay.
• Lu Mi hid in a tree until Xu Zhi warned him that the temperature was dropping, then followed the others to Hu Pu's house.
• Hu Pu questioned Lu Mi's late arrival, and he claimed Xu Zhi had waited for him; Xu Zhi backed up his story.
• Tang Niantao reminded everyone that the round was the Human-Ghost Showdown, and the players realized one of them was a ghost as they considered room pairings.

Lu Mi and the other players began investigating the ghost and the strange conditions at Hu Pu’s mountain guesthouse. After a night of unnatural cold left them all with weakened hands, Hu Pu told them the snow had blocked the road and ordered them to feed her dog with their eyes closed.

• Lu Dalu paired with Zhao Huai, while Lu Mi agreed to pair with Tang Niantao.
• Tang Niantao nearly leaned out of the second-floor window, and Lu Mi pulled her back before she joked about testing his trust.
• After a night of howling wind and cold, Lu Mi and the other players found their hand muscles stiff and weak.
• The players gathered downstairs, noticed a foul smell coming from Hu Pu, and learned that heavy snow had blocked the mountain road.
• Hu Pu told the players to feed her dog from the vat at ten each night and four each morning, keeping their eyes closed until the chewing stopped.

The players drew lots for the order of feeding the dog while Lu Mi investigated the house and watched Hu Pu and Xu Zhi interact. After Xu Zhi bit Lu Mi’s ear, Lu Mi cut off part of his arm, and Xu Zhi revealed his disturbing obsession with Lu Mi.

• The players drew lots to set the feeding order, and Lu Mi got the fourth slot.
• Hu Pu said she covered herself in the stink of piss to keep beasts away before heading into the snow to forage.
• Lu Mi overheard Xu Zhi telling Hu Pu that being in a wheelchair had brought back memories of a serious illness.
• Xu Zhi told Lu Mi to come closer, then bit his ear, so Lu Mi cut off half of Xu Zhi’s arm with a kitchen knife.
• After Shang Anbang left, Xu Zhi admitted he had repeatedly watched Lu Mi’s episodes and was thrilled to meet his idol.

Du Feiwen and Wang Kangping fed the kennel’s unseen occupant, and Du Feiwen accidentally opened his eyes. Later, Xu Zhi secretly watched Shang Anbang feed it, then tossed his bloodied bandage into the kennel as Shang Anbang waited by the back door.

• Du Feiwen and Wang Kangping brought the first bowl to the kennel, where a claw snatched it away after Du Feiwen accidentally opened his eyes.
• Du Feiwen claimed the dog had finished eating and walked back with Wang Kangping, twisting stiffly when Wang Kangping wondered whether a person could fit inside the kennel.
• Shang Anbang and Xu Zhi went to feed the kennel during the four o’clock shift, and a red-nailed paw scratched Shang Anbang as it took the bowl.
• Xu Zhi bandaged Shang Anbang’s hand while watching his bleeding palm, then tossed the bloodstained gauze into the kennel after Shang Anbang left.
• Something stirred and made a wet, sizzling sound inside the kennel, and Xu Zhi watched Shang Anbang waiting by the back door and said he would not make it back.

After the first group’s dog-feeding shift, Lu Mi and the others found Du Feiwen dead and Wang Kangping traumatized by what he had witnessed. Lu Mi suspected Xu Zhi was Ghost and considered how to investigate the house’s lack of clues.

• Lu Mi noticed the backyard door was open, and the group found Du Feiwen’s mangled body and Wang Kangping hiding in a corner.
• Wang Kangping bit Lu Dalu and revealed that a deformed dog had crawled out of Du Feiwen, eaten him, and smiled at Wang Kangping.
• Lu Mi used wind to inject Wang Kangping with a sedative, then shut and locked his door when Wang Kangping panicked again.
• Xu Zhi explained that he and Shang Anbang had kept their eyes closed while feeding the dogs and warned the others that a dog might scratch them.
• Lu Mi suspected Xu Zhi was Ghost and wondered whether he would have to search outside for clues, then came up with an idea.

At the doghouse, Lu Dalu and Zhao Huai fed the creature, which spoke and demanded a tasty treat. Zhao Huai escaped to the cabin, leaving Lu Dalu behind and unsure of his fate.

• Lu Dalu took the vat’s foul food to the doghouse and kept his eyes shut while the creature took the bowl, cutting his palm and causing him to vomit.
• The creature’s chewing stopped, and Zhao Huai heard a voice that was not Lu Dalu’s tell her not to open her eyes.
• The creature revealed that eating something nutritious had grown it a tongue, then begged Zhao Huai for the cookie it could smell on her.
• Zhao Huai passed the wrapped cookie through the window, and the creature snatched it from her hand.
• Zhao Huai opened her eyes, ran to the cabin, locked the door, and sobbed as she wondered what had happened to Lu Dalu.

Lu Mi and Tang Niantao discovered Lu Dalu frozen to death outside the doghouse and encountered the dog after Lu Mi’s feeding attempt failed. The next morning, their legs began to weaken, and Lu Mi bought crutches while wondering what had happened downstairs.

• Lu Mi and Tang Niantao found Zhao Huai sitting in a daze and discovered Lu Dalu’s frozen body with a deep wound across his palm.
• Lu Mi tried to feed the dog, but it rejected the food and attacked, forcing him and Tang Niantao to flee back to the cabin.
• Lu Mi explained that the dog likely needed to possess someone to enter the cabin, then covered Zhao Huai with a blanket before going upstairs.
• The next morning, Tang Niantao fell onto Lu Mi as their legs weakened, and Lu Mi recognized that the players were losing the ability to move independently.
• Lu Mi bought two crutches from the mall as screams and commotion rose from downstairs.

Hu Pu revealed that Lu Dalu’s corpse was the fresh food she had prepared for her dog, then demanded another portion from the players because the dog had rejected its old food. Zhao Huai admitted she had fed it a biscuit and began mopping the bloodied floor as punishment, while the group faced Hu Pu’s demand to provide more food by morning.

• Lu Mi came downstairs and found Hu Pu dragging Lu Dalu’s corpse into the kitchen.
• Hu Pu dismembered Lu Dalu and minced his body while telling the players that her dog had become picky and irritable.
• Zhao Huai confessed that she had given the dog a biscuit, and Hu Pu handed her a mop to clean the bloodstained floor.
• Hu Pu told the players that the dog now wanted fresh food and demanded another portion before morning.
• Zhao Huai stopped mopping as the other players’ gazes turned toward her.

Lu Mi secretly watched Hu Pu retrieve a shiny object, then followed her to an abandoned house beyond a supposedly snow-blocked road. He saw Hu Pu sitting in a wheelchair in the house’s bedroom, and the chapter ended as the bedroom door opened.

• After Hu Pu searched her locked room and found a shiny object, Lu Mi hid in Zhao Huai’s room when Hu Pu approached.
• Hu Pu asked whether anyone was inside, and Lu Mi claimed they were discussing who the Ghost was.
• That evening, Lu Mi used wind to follow Hu Pu through the snow and discovered the mountain road was clear.
• Hu Pu crossed the road to an abandoned house and searched through its main room.
• Lu Mi looked through a bedroom window and saw Hu Pu sitting in a wheelchair, then the bedroom door opened.

Lu Mi investigated Hu Pu’s home and discovered the wheelchair-bound Hu Pu and the violent Hu Pu were both present, then escaped a beast that Hu Pu could command. Back at the cabin, he avoided joining the players’ debate over whom to offer as the dog’s final meal, but Xu Zhi pressed him to identify the Ghost.

• Lu Mi watched a second Hu Pu try to attack the wheelchair-bound Hu Pu, then flee when the wheelchair-bound Hu Pu looked toward the window.
• Lu Mi escaped into the mountains, where the green-eyed beast spotted him despite his invisibility potion.
• Hu Pu caught up and used a silver toy knife to command the beast, which helped her search for Lu Mi.
• Lu Mi returned to the cabin and learned the players had discussed handing the Ghost over as the dog’s final meal.
• Tang Niantao opposed sacrificing an innocent person, while Lu Mi tried to postpone giving his opinion.
• Xu Zhi stopped Lu Mi from leaving and asked whether he saw things differently from the others.

Lu Mi agreed with Xu Zhi and the others to hand Zhao Huai over as the ghost, but he secretly warned Tang Niantao that Xu Zhi was the ghost. While secretly following Hu Pu, he discovered a shallow pit like an open-air coffin and saw her wearing a Shroud beneath her clothes.

• Lu Mi agreed to hand Zhao Huai over after the fifth group fed the dog, and Tang Niantao angrily rejected his decision.
• Xu Zhi showed Lu Mi the bare bone of his injured leg, and Lu Mi concluded that Xu Zhi was the ghost.
• Lu Mi secretly wrote a warning that Xu Zhi was the ghost and pushed it under Tang Niantao's bedroom door, but she refused to read it.
• Lu Mi drank an invisibility potion and followed Hu Pu out past the Doghouse to a coffin-shaped pit.
• Hu Pu began removing her clothes, revealing that she wore a Shroud beneath her green padded jacket.

Lu Mi discovered that Hu Pu was already dead and stole the key from her, but Hu Pu later found and reclaimed it. After Tang Niantao was killed and chosen as the dog’s next food, Hu Pu revealed that the mountain road was still closed, leaving the surviving players trapped at the Wooden Cabin.

• Lu Mi realized Hu Pu was dead and secretly took the key from around her neck while she lay in the snow pit.
• Lu Mi overheard Cui Aobai and Long Xi'er feed the dog, and watched Long Xi'er pretend to be frightened after Cui Aobai was scratched.
• Xu Zhi told Shang Anbang there was no need to tie up the Ghost, while Lu Mi sensed something was wrong and went upstairs.
• Hu Pu announced that Tang Niantao had died and that the players would have to keep feeding the dog because the mountain road remained closed.
• Hu Pu found the key Lu Mi had stolen and put it back around her neck, while Lu Mi settled on the sofa and held onto the stolen toy knife.

Lu Mi exposed Xu Zhi as a ghost after his legs healed, and the players voted him out. With the instance still offering few clues, Lu Mi planned to go outside the next day and invited Shang Anbang and Cui Aobai, but Long Xi'er confronted them about excluding her.

• Xu Zhi tried to get close to Lu Mi, but Lu Mi tricked him into drinking a healing potion that restored his legs and exposed his deception.
• Hu Pu attacked and chopped Xu Zhi to pieces after he lost the protection of his disabled status, while Lu Mi watched.
• Lu Mi explained that a ghost possessed Xu Zhi, and all the players voted Xu Zhi out through their panels.
• Lu Mi told Shang Anbang that he planned to go outside the next day and suggested bringing Cui Aobai.
• Long Xi'er appeared behind Shang Anbang and asked whether they had left her out because they suspected she was a ghost.

Lu Mi warned Cui Aobai to be careful of Long Xi'er, then left the house to investigate Hu Pu’s past. He discovered how Hu Pu’s illness and neglect had led to her despair, before seeing her living-dead form pursued by the beast.

• Lu Mi silently warned Cui Aobai to be careful of Long Xi'er, and Cui Aobai concealed her alarm when Long Xi'er asked whether there was only one ghost.
• Lu Mi woke to Hu Pu searching the living room, then used the Toy Knife to knock down the beast pursuing him on the way down the mountain.
• Lu Mi entered the isolated house and found Ma Jianmu, who complained about caring for his ill wife, Hu Pu, and refused to repay a debt.
• Lu Mi witnessed Hu Pu’s elderly in-laws discuss abandoning her, then saw her son leave after saying he was jealous of children whose parents attended school events.
• Lu Mi heard the beast roar and saw the living-dead Hu Pu race toward the house as the beast chased her.

Lu Mi helped Hu Pu end her suffering and obtained the key to the exit, then returned to the Wooden Cabin, where he discovered Zhao Huai dead and suspected Long Xi'er was the remaining ghost. Long Xi'er appeared unaware that the players had uncovered her identity, while Lu Mi concealed his suspicions and prepared to lead the others toward the exit.

• Lu Mi killed Hu Pu in the wheelchair, freeing her trapped past self and causing Hu Pu to vanish after she explained her failed attempts to die and thanked him.
• Lu Mi took the key Hu Pu left behind and hurried to the Wooden Cabin, where he found Zhao Huai hanging from a beam and Shang Anbang terrified.
• Lu Mi told Cui Aobai and Shang Anbang that the exit was in the backyard and asked them to open their Wristbands.
• Long Xi'er appeared on the balcony, and her lack of surprise at Zhao Huai's body exposed her as a ghost to Lu Mi, Cui Aobai, and Shang Anbang.
• Lu Mi told Long Xi'er that they had found the key and were preparing to leave, while she secretly planned to kill the players at the exit.