Chapter Summaries

Lin Yi explored the Dream Studies sector and found a book written by a dreamweaving person about reaching the boundary of dreams. As he read, its account pulled him into a vivid dreamlike world, where he began sinking into the terror and despair described on the page.

• Lin Yi learned from the Female Dorm Supervisor that she had joined the Campus for money and to pursue Master Matthew's academic research course.
• Lin Yi entered the Dream Studies sector and chose to read "Dream Boundary: The Cycle of Life and Death."
• Lin Yi encountered a sinister person watching him through the gap in the bookshelf, but he avoided engaging with him and opened the book.
• Lin Yi recognized that the book's author, Dreamweaving Person-HX-S-023, had described an expedition to the Arctic Circle and a journey to the boundary of dreams.
• Lin Yi became immersed in the account as images of life, death, and threatening phantoms formed around him, and his consciousness sank into the dreamlike realm.

Lin Yi became trapped in a Dreambuilding book’s account of Gu Fangqing’s descent into despair, while Fanatics gathered in the Library and plotted to eat him. The Female Dorm Supervisor protected him until he woke, and the chapter ended with Lin Yi checking the time and eyeing more books.

• Lin Yi read Gu Fangqing’s account of Dreamweaving Person-HX-S-023 and struggled against the dream’s pull toward death and chaos.
• Fanatics surrounded Lin Yi in the Dream Studies sector and argued over whether to eat him or claim him for their Glorious Evolution.
• The Female Dorm Supervisor arrived with her Old Kerosene Lamp and drove the Fanatics back while they waited for her to leave.
• Lin Yi woke, recalled Gu Fangqing’s name and the date March 5, Year X002, and nearly touched the Female Dorm Supervisor’s leg as he stood.
• Lin Yi checked his watch, saw it was 4:46, and looked for another book before the Female Dorm Supervisor stopped him.

Lin Yi explored the Library’s dream studies sector, where he found a warning about the Collection Area and continued reading scattered notes. As the Library’s floors shifted and revealed a book called The Law-Establisher’s Words, Amon’s Music Box and Black Nursery Rhyme began to sound, leaving Lin Yi in danger.

• Lin Yi told the Female Dorm Supervisor that he had heard the Fanatics but had ignored them, then wandered through the dream studies sector while they followed him.
• Lin Yi found a note warning people to avoid the Collection Area because its corpses moved, and he returned it to the book after studying its strange symbols.
• Lin Yi read more scattered notes as he searched the shelves, while the Female Dorm Supervisor warned that the Security Guard would arrive soon.
• The Female Dorm Supervisor saw mist surround Lin Yi and recognized that he had entered a Dreamweaving Person’s Domain, but a sinister figure in the mist made her retreat.
• Lin Yi, unaware that his consciousness had left his body, sensed an abnormal fragrance and watched the Library’s floors shift to reveal a passage and The Law-Establisher’s Words.
• Lin Yi’s left hand pointed uncontrollably toward the book as Amon’s Music Box played and Black Nursery Rhyme sounded beside him.

Lin Yi escaped a dreamlike passage where The Law-Establisher's Words and the Little Girl's influence tried to pull him in, then waited with the Female Dorm Supervisor for the Security Guard. The Security Guard arrived as darkness spread through the Library.

• The Little Girl's runes took control of Lin Yi's arm and tried to drag him toward The Law-Establisher's Words, while broken sculptures called out from the passage.
• Lin Yi ordered himself to go back, escaped the passage, and returned to the Dream Studies Sector with the runes receding from his arm.
• The Female Dorm Supervisor realized Lin Yi had been dreambuilding, and an alarm turned the Library lights red.
• Lin Yi and the Female Dorm Supervisor hurried to the counter and waited for the Security Guard, while Lin Yi felt something approaching.
• A dark rift opened near the stacks, and the Security Guard emerged carrying an Old Kerosene Lamp as darkness spread around him.

The Security Guard arrived with several Black Apron Chefs and drew the Grinning Angels hidden in Lin Yi’s ashes out of him, destroying them with his Spiked Club. He left the ashes in Lin Yi, and the chapter ended with the Female Dorm Supervisor asking to be stripped of her position.

• The Security Guard entered the lit area with several Black Apron Chefs, and his darkness overwhelmed Lin Yi and the Female Dorm Supervisor.
• The Security Guard immobilized Lin Yi and exposed the ashes and Grinning Angels inside him.
• The Security Guard froze the Grinning Angels, pulled one out, and used it to target the entire group with an ancient chant.
• The Security Guard formed his Spiked Club and annihilated the Grinning Angels, leading Lin Yi to suspect that Angel Sculptures had threatened his group on the night they entered the school.
• The Security Guard let the ashes return to Lin Yi and released him without removing them.
• The Female Dorm Supervisor asked the Security Guard to strip her of her status as Dorm Supervisor.

The Security Guard stripped Zhao Lingxiao of her dorm supervisor identity, then led Lin Yi and the others away while calling Lin Yi an “Ashes Apostle.” Elsewhere in the Library, an old researcher’s experiment failed, but a passage to The Law-Establisher’s Words appeared, and he rushed toward it.

• The Security Guard removed Zhao Lingxiao’s dorm supervisor identity, restoring her student identity and revealing that she had lied about her dorm supervisor floor.
• Lin Yi joined the Security Guard’s party by grasping the chain, and the Security Guard called him an “Ashes Apostle” before leading everyone into the Library’s stacks.
• The group disappeared into the stacks as the darkness receded, leaving the first floor quiet until a disheveled figure rushed out of the elevator.
• An old man and six other Administrators failed to sustain the golden aura in their severed-limb experiment, recording Experiment 1012 as a failure.
• The old man sensed a passage to The Law-Establisher’s Words opening and ran from the laboratory toward it through a Greek-temple-like floor of the Library.

A frantic Library administrator spotted Lin Yi through a disappearing Pathway but failed to reach him before he left, then collapsed with a coughing fit. Meanwhile, Lin Yi followed the Security Guard and the others through a dark field that seemed to lead into the Wooded Belt, where a distant light appeared ahead.

• The old man searched the pillar-filled Library for a way to reach the Pathway while chained angel and demon sculptures whispered to him.
• The old man spotted Lin Yi, read a cryptic passage from his Memo Pad, and shouted for him to wait, but Lin Yi left as the Pathway vanished.
• The old man rushed to the first floor but arrived too late, then coughed violently and revealed his Library Administrator badge, numbered X0230302047.
• Lin Yi followed the Security Guard, the Chefs in Black Aprons, and Zhao Lingxiao through a dark, distorted space while holding the Iron Chains.
• Lin Yi recognized a Streetlamp Pole and suspected they had entered the Wooded Belt, recalling Tian Bufan's account and Rule 4 of the Student Rules.
• Lin Yi noticed a faint light on the road ahead, shining through the darkness.

Lin Yi and Zhao Lingxiao returned to the Campus, where the Security Guard let them go and warned that an Ashes Apostle would find Lin Yi. As Lin Yi hurried toward the Teaching Building to retrieve a dictionary left by Head Teacher 039, the Wrathful Angel Sculpture awakened and attacked him.

• The Security Guard escorted Lin Yi and Zhao Lingxiao out of the distorted darkness, then told them to follow the Rules back to the Teaching Building.
• The Security Guard said an Ashes Apostle had entered the Campus and would find Lin Yi, while the Chefs in Black Aprons worried about what might happen to him.
• Lin Yi confirmed he had reached Library-102, and Zhao Lingxiao eventually left him to continue alone.
• Lin Yi hurried toward the Teaching Building to collect the dictionary Head Teacher 039 had left in the office, arriving near Teaching Building-062 as dawn approached.
• Lin Yi spotted the Wrathful Angel Sculpture waking in the Wooded Belt and fled toward the Teaching Building.
• The Wrathful Angel launched itself at Lin Yi twice, and he dodged the first attack with Asura Flash before racing toward the nearest Streetlamp Pole.

Lin Yi lured the Wrathful Angel into the Teaching Building and discovered that the Impersonator Classmates and Purebred Night-Walking Species in the elevator could drain its supernatural power. As they began devouring it, Lin Yi noticed someone in the corner of his vision.

• Lin Yi evaded the Wrathful Angel's attack in the Teaching Building Corridor, then used a Baseball Bat to knock it down and repeatedly battered it while it regenerated.
• Lin Yi realized brute force could not destroy the Wrathful Angel, so he carried it to the Elevator Area using a fork made from mystical runes.
• Lin Yi opened the elevator and offered the Wrathful Angel to the Impersonator Classmates and Purebred Night-Walking Species packed inside, but he had to beat it whenever its roars frightened them away.
• The Impersonator Classmates began draining the Wrathful Angel's supernatural power and gnawing at its body, breaking off a fragment as they devoured it.
• As the elevator entrance grew chaotic, Lin Yi spotted someone at the edge of his vision and felt every hair on his body stand on end.

Lin Yi entered the Group B Class 2 Teachers' Office to retrieve a dictionary and was attacked by a hidden figure. After a brutal fight, he recognized the attacker as Head Teacher 040 and convinced her that he was Lin Yi.

• Lin Yi let Impersonator Wei Liang eat the Wrathful Angel while Wei Liang muttered warnings about being dead, finding his body, and not trusting someone beside Lin Yi.
• Lin Yi reached the office and found its door open, then cautiously entered without knowing where Head Teacher 040 was sleeping.
• A shadow hidden above the door attacked Lin Yi with a rune-engraved spike, and he fought back while trying to keep quiet.
• Lin Yi recognized the shadow as Head Teacher 040, but she continued attacking after he loosened his hold.
• Lin Yi opened the door to let corridor light into the office and reminded Head Teacher 040 that she had shown him her Name Badge during roll call.
• Head Teacher 040 emerged from the darkness and confirmed that she recognized Lin Yi.

Lin Yi confirmed his identity with Head Teacher 040 and retrieved the dictionary Head Teacher 039 had left for him, while the two discussed an unusual envelope that revealed their differing perceptions of contamination. Lin Yi opened the dictionary and froze at what he saw.

• Lin Yi showed Head Teacher 040 his Student ID, and she confirmed he was the student she remembered.
• Lin Yi pulled the rune-covered spike from his chest, and his wounds began healing as Head Teacher 040 watched.
• Lin Yi told Head Teacher 040 that Head Teacher 039 had left something for him, and he took the dictionary from the office desk.
• Head Teacher 040 explained that the white envelope’s perceived color reflected the observer’s direction of mutation; Lin Yi saw white, while she said it was normally transparent.
• Head Teacher 040 went behind the bookshelves to handle her own problem, and Lin Yi opened the dictionary before freezing at its contents.

Lin Yi found Head Teacher 039's investigation records about the 70th Gray Fog Invasion, the Angel, and the search for Ashes, and learned how her investigation led to her contamination and disappearance. The final entry, dated the day Lin Yi enrolled, asked, "Who is he?"

• Lin Yi discovered Head Teacher 039's hidden notes and read that she had reopened an investigation into the 70th Gray Fog Invasion.
• Head Teacher 039 recorded the Angel's appearances, the Convenience Store Owner's interventions, and clues linking Yuan Big Head and Mu Daxian to the Ashes.
• Head Teacher 039 learned that Yuan Big Head's failed attempt to reach the Night Watchman's Supreme Judgment had caused the Angel to descend carrying Ashes.
• After being ignited by Ashes, Head Teacher 039 was told to leave Campus for treatment, but the School Bus never came; she continued investigating and became contaminated.
• Head Teacher 039 tracked a faction searching for Ashes, then recorded that she would go to the Art Building as her contamination neared its threshold.
• Lin Yi read the final, repeatedly crossed-out entry from May 6, which asked, "Who is he?"

Lin Yi read Head Teacher 039’s investigation notes about the Angels, Ashes, and the concealed seventieth Gray Fog Invasion, then discussed his own Ashes contamination and the Authorities with Head Teacher 040. He learned that the Authorities sent Head Teacher 040 to replace 039, and wondered whether 039 had been sacrificed.

• Lin Yi read Head Teacher 039’s notes and campus map, which described an Angel entering a classroom, suspicious New Students, and 039’s urgent investigation before she left for the Art Building.
• Head Teacher 040 emerged injured, agreed to let Lin Yi examine her wounds after daybreak, and explained that only the School Doctor might be able to treat them.
• Head Teacher 040 questioned Lin Yi about bearing Ashes and said the Head Teachers knew about the factional conflict, though she could trust Lin Yi only on a personal basis without credentials from the Authorities.
• Head Teacher 040 confirmed that details of the seventieth Gray Fog Invasion had been concealed and that the Authorities sent her after 039 left the Teaching Building.
• Lin Yi asked why 039’s request to leave had failed and whether she had been sacrificed, while Head Teacher 040 explained that departures and transfers used different administrative systems.

Head Teacher 040 explained how Head Teacher 039 had secretly continued investigating the 70th Gray Fog Invasion and recruited Lin Yi to help. Their records revealed that Mu Daxian and Yuan Big Head entered the Campus in the same batch, and that someone had deliberately erased Yuan Big Head’s first entry record.

• Head Teacher 040 told Lin Yi that Head Teacher 039 had used a concealed Special Action Group channel to reach the Art Building and continue investigating the 70th Gray Fog Invasion.
• Head Teacher 040 agreed to share her findings if Lin Yi helped investigate, and Lin Yi offered to assist while pursuing his own business and serving as bait.
• Head Teacher 040 revealed that the people who cut off Head Teacher 039’s communications had vanished and that Group B Class 2 was unusually difficult to investigate.
• Head Teacher 040 showed Lin Yi records about Yuan Big Head’s deaths during the invasion and Mu Daxian’s defense of Lookout III, then deduced that Lin Yi had visited the Art Building.
• Lin Yi said a Black Apron Chef had taken him to the Art Building and asked about the connection between Mu Daxian and Yuan Big Head.
• Head Teacher 040 found that Mu Daxian and Yuan Big Head entered the Campus in September of X021, and that Yuan Big Head’s original entry record had been deliberately erased.

Head Teacher 040 explained how Big Head Yuan and Mu Daxian had been used in a scheme to collect ashes, and revealed that Yuan Lijian was a new Ashes Collector in Lin Yi’s class. She showed Lin Yi a secret archive linking Yuan Lijian to a decades-old incident, then began recovering by absorbing primal contamination at dawn.

• Head Teacher 040 told Lin Yi that the Supreme Judgment pathway was likely bait used to get Big Head Yuan and Mu Daxian to begin collecting ashes, with Big Head Yuan intended as a sacrifice and Mu Daxian’s survival exposing the plot.
• Head Teacher 040 warned Lin Yi that a new Ashes Collector had appeared on Campus and identified the older Experience Student Yuan Lijian as the collector.
• Head Teacher 040 gave Lin Yi a secret archive about a group of hikers who encountered an empty village and strange figures in X999, along with a photograph identifying the nineteen-year-old Yuan Lijian among them.
• Head Teacher 040 explained that Yuan Lijian had been monitored by the Authorities, was the only Severely Contaminated survivor in the photograph, and had recently appeared on Campus with a legitimate reason to enroll.
• At dawn, Head Teacher 040 absorbed primal contamination and recovered, while Lin Yi observed that she seemed to be able to do so only during the daytime.

Lin Yi examined Head Teacher 040’s severe back wound and learned that Yuan Lijian had unusual contamination and a history tied to the Authorities’ exoskeleton armor project. After running dozens of simulations, Lin Yi found a way to restore her, and they moved to the Head Teacher’s bedroom to begin before 7:40.

• Head Teacher 040 showed Lin Yi the deep claw-like wound across her back while explaining that Yuan Lijian had entered the Campus and might pose a serious tactical threat.
• Head Teacher 040 told Lin Yi that Yuan Lijian had been studied by the Authorities because of his unusual contamination and suitability for the Exoskeleton tactical armor project.
• Lin Yi placed his hand over Head Teacher 040’s wound and used his perception to record a detailed imprint of her body.
• Lin Yi ran repeated simulations, testing different auras and contamination until he found a way to restore Head Teacher 040.
• Head Teacher 040 led Lin Yi to her small bedroom, lay facedown on the bed, and said they had to finish before 7:40.

Lin Yi used his simulated contamination to restore Head Teacher 040’s wound, then learned how the School Doctor’s power to “repair” differed from his restoration. As he waited with Head Teacher 040 for evening self-study to end, Lin Yi began to suspect that Wei Liang might be tied to the mysterious “he” mentioned in earlier clues.

• Lin Yi reopened Head Teacher 040’s wound, erased its contamination, and stitched it closed, leaving her exhausted but healed.
• Head Teacher 040’s nightgown slipped off during treatment, and she drove her Mystical Rune dagger through Lin Yi’s hand before retreating to shower and change.
• A Chef delivered Head Teacher 040’s breakfast, and Lin Yi hid in the little room until the delivery was over.
• Head Teacher 040 explained that the School Doctor could repair injuries by replacing missing body parts, while Lin Yi’s ability had restored her original body.
• While eating a Tomato and waiting for evening self-study to end, Lin Yi connected Head Teacher 039’s and Night Watchman 02’s references to a mysterious “he” and considered whether Wei Liang had once been the Dorm Supervisor and visited the Art Building and Library.

Lin Yi and Head Teacher 040 discovered that a strange, unrecognized figure had infiltrated the classroom and vanished, and Lin Yi suspected Mountain Man was connected to it. While taking attendance, Lin Yi recorded clues from his recent experiences and ended by writing, "I am human."

• Head Teacher 040 gave Lin Yi clothes to wear, and they waited until 7:40 before entering the classroom.
• A terrified classmate appeared at the office door, but Lin Yi and Head Teacher 040 realized he was not a real student after he disappeared from the Corridor.
• Lin Yi and Head Teacher 040 returned to the classroom, where seven Experience Students were present, and Head Teacher 040 began attendance.
• Lin Yi noticed Mountain Man in the classroom and suspected he was linked to the intruder because Mountain Man had likely returned after 21:00.
• Lin Yi reviewed his notes and wrote down clues about the Campus, then recorded, "I am human."

Lin Yi learned that the Gymnasium battle had left many Athlete Students injured and some dead, while Boss remained unharmed and sent him a message of thanks for repairing the City Wall. After promising Li Huiyuan he would explain the secret someday, Lin Yi went with her to question Xu Shunkang about what happened.

• Lin Yi noticed that Xu Shunkang and seven other Athlete Students had returned to class, and he worried about the casualties from the previous night's fighting.
• Li Huiyuan greeted Lin Yi, sensed that his Memo Pad was dangerous, and urged him to destroy it; he promised to do so after two more days.
• Li Huiyuan told Lin Yi that Boss was unharmed but that many seniors had been injured and some had died after the Gymnasium group returned from an unknown location.
• Li Huiyuan relayed Boss's thanks to Lin Yi for giving them time to leave the Gymnasium, and Lin Yi realized Boss had understood that he repaired the City Wall.
• Lin Yi promised Li Huiyuan he would eventually tell her the truth, then took his backpack containing Lao Mo's heart and approached Xu Shunkang with her.

Lin Yi questioned Xu Shunkang about Lao Mo’s death and the previous night’s events, then learned how the Gymnasium and Art Building related to the Gray Fog Invasion. Xu Shunkang began describing the ominous being summoned by the Fanatics, leaving its threat unexplained.

• Lin Yi asked Xu Shunkang about last night, and told him Lao Mo had died while rescuing Mu Daxian at the Art Building.
• Xu Shunkang said Lao Mo had been the Cafeteria’s final hit point and planned to report his death to Boss; Lin Yi asked him to tell her not to worry too much.
• Lin Yi selectively recounted the Art Building events and said Lao Mo had planned his escape route.
• Xu Shunkang explained that the Gymnasium served as a levee against the Gray Fog Invasion, while the Art Building was the river’s first floodgate.
• Xu Shunkang revealed that Boss and the others had taken the Nonexistent Road toward the Coastline, while other Athlete Students cleared Wrathful Angels and Fanatics in the Wooded Belt.
• Xu Shunkang said the Fanatics had summoned a being beyond ordinary Angel Sculptures, covered in a Glass Shards-like sheen and sunset-colored dust.