Chapter Summaries

Lin Yi reunited with Wei Shan and discovered that his restored body was changing as Wei Shan used the Butcher’s spine to recover. Lin Yi saw a phantom crown and heard voices from the past discussing the oak tree growing within him, leaving the cause of his transformation unresolved.

• Tian Bufan explained that the catastrophe in Little Japan had left only one person alive and advanced in Sequence, and said the threat to the Campus had already been eliminated.
• Wei Shan accepted a section of the Butcher’s spine, then threw Lin Yi’s carapace back to him so Lin Yi could reunite with his body.
• Lin Yi sensed his carapace’s changing supernatural power as Wei Shan transformed, briefly manifesting an illusory crown above his head.
• Wei Shan regained control of himself and said he could now tear Kuai Hongji apart, while Kuai Hongji and Tian Bufan reacted cautiously to the crown that appeared over Lin Yi.
• Lin Yi’s will sank deeper into his soul, where he heard Wei Liang, the Butcher, the Law-Crafting Master, the Divine Artisan, and Amon discuss the oak tree growing within him and how to use it.

Lin Yi witnessed memories beneath the World Tree, learning how the First Apostles prepared for a looming destiny and built their civilization. As the vision ended, the Butcher offered to grant Lin Yi his trait so he could spread its pathway through the streams of time.

• Lin Yi watched the Law-Crafting Master summon his phantom from the oak tree, where he warned Wei Liang and the First Apostles that timelines converged on a mysterious end and urged them to prepare.
• Wei Liang tested whether the phantom was really Lin Yi with a question about Mai Shiranui, then the group laughed and discussed what to do about the warning.
• The Law-Crafting Master named the supernatural tree the World Tree, and Amon and A Yin discussed discoveries they had made within it.
• Wei Liang and the First Apostles planned the Ark's first voyage, choosing four Apostles to accompany him while the rest drew lots to stay or go.
• Amon proposed creating humanoid Mourners from puppets and the wills of dead Mist-Nightmare Hunters, and Wei Liang approved the plan with safeguards.
• The vision dissolved into chaotic mist, where Lin Yi heard the Butcher offer to grant him his trait so he could spread the pathway through the streams of time.

Lin Yi inherited a strange power tied to Butcher and realized that the World Tree and Norse mythology might have originated from his own past. As he pieced together his connection to the First Apostles, Kuai Hongji and Tian Bufan left him with a new question about which figures from that era he truly remembered.

• Wei Shan inherited the will of Butcher, and Lin Yi absorbed the black-and-red aura and sensed a power that seemed to have always been part of him.
• Lin Yi described seeing a World Tree in his consciousness, and Kuai Hongji suggested that Lin Yi had been the origin of Norse mythology and the Hall of Heroes.
• Kuai Hongji connected Ragnarök to the Gray Fog Invasion and said the Norse Gods had descended from a branch of Black Moon Apostles.
• Lin Yi realized the World Tree in the Art Building might have grown from his former body and began piecing together how he had influenced the First Apostles.
• Lin Yi asked why Tian Bufan and the others never appeared in his memories of the First Apostles, and Tian Bufan asked how many of those figures Lin Yi actually knew.

Lin Yi and his companions used a shortcut to reach the Cafeteria, where they revealed the Convenience Store Owner’s identity and Lin Yi examined the Cafeteria’s layered structure. They discovered the Convenience Store Owner was absent, and Kuai Hongji revealed he had negotiated with him the previous day, surprising Lin Yi.

• Tian Bufan told Lin Yi to use his ability to see through layers and find a shortcut to the Cafeteria.
• Tian Bufan and Kuai Hongji revealed that the Convenience Store Owner was the previous Night Watchman-01, while the Librarian had also once held that designation.
• Kuai Hongji explained that the Convenience Store Owner’s underlying logic would not let him betray humanity, though his methods might exceed safe bounds.
• Lin Yi, Tian Bufan, Kuai Hongji, Mao Feiyang, and Wei Shan reached the Cafeteria, where Lin Yi mapped its overlapping layers and saw that its structure imprisoned the Burial Body.
• Lin Yi noticed the Convenience Store Owner was missing, and Kuai Hongji said he suspected the owner had gone to the Principal’s Office after negotiating with him the day before.

Lin Yi and the others learned how the Convenience Store Owner, Lao Mo, and the Campus Security Guards were connected to the Mourners. They decided to modify Lao Mo’s carapace with materials from the Burial Body, then headed toward the Cafeteria to find the Convenience Store Owner’s contingency.

• Kuai Hongji explained that the Convenience Store Owner had left a lookout in the Gallery and that the exposed Principal’s Office coordinates limited the time before the future gray fog invasion.
• Lin Yi examined Lao Mo’s condition and learned that the Convenience Store Owner had guided him onto the Mourners’ pathway.
• Mao Feiyang proposed improving Lao Mo’s carapace with Burial Body materials, while warning that Night Watchman-02 might be contaminated through the Quartermaster.
• Kuai Hongji revealed that the Security Guards were unfinished Mourner carapaces from the Hall of Heroes, brought to Campus by the Principal.
• Mao Feiyang said Lao Mo could become a Night Watchman in an emergency, and the group agreed to pursue the Burial Body after finding the Convenience Store Owner’s contingency.
• Mao Feiyang and the others jumped onto the Pebble Road and walked toward the Notice Board outside the Cafeteria.

Tian Bufan’s group concealed their auras as they headed through the Cafeteria toward the Convenience Store to find the owner’s will. Mao Feiyang casually tore out the Green Apron Chef’s heart and ate its tomato, while Lin Yi realized the Cafeteria’s opening hours marked when it was safe from sinking into the layers.

• Tian Bufan warned Mao Feiyang to rein in his aura, and the group agreed to keep a low profile on Campus.
• The Authorities’ team complained that strange entities had kept them awake near their Dormitory, then decided to treat Lin Yi’s group like ordinary classmates.
• Lin Yi sensed a direct node to the Convenience Store but followed Tian Bufan’s advice to avoid being noticed by the Authorities’ team.
• At the Student Dining Hall, Mao Feiyang plunged his hand into the Green Apron Chef’s chest, pulled out its beating tomato, and ate it.
• Tian Bufan explained that the Cafeteria’s opening hours corresponded to when its birdcage-like structure remained above the water, and Lin Yi realized it sank into the layers after closing.

Lin Yi’s group entered the Convenience Store, where Lin Yi tried to take control of its permissions and summoned the Convenience Store Owner. As the owner confronted them, Kuai Hongji stepped forward to handle the encounter.

• Tian Bufan explained that the Campus’s rules recorded safe conditions and suggested that the Principal or Celestial Worthy Wei Liang of Fortune and Life might know its design.
• Lin Yi’s group reached the Convenience Store, while the captain’s team found a dead Green Apron Chef and decided to investigate the Campus’s changes and possible threats.
• Lin Yi used Minecraft to perceive and import the Convenience Store, then searched for the owner’s will and sensed resistance.
• Lin Yi’s attempt to seize the Convenience Store’s permissions triggered alarms and drew the Convenience Store Owner into the store in his Hawaiian outfit.
• Kuai Hongji told Lin Yi to step back and declared that he would handle the Convenience Store Owner.

Kuai Hongji questioned the Convenience Store Owner about the Principal while Lin Yi and the others investigated the Burial Body. Mao Feiyang began to confront it to obtain something, but the Burial Body attacked him first.

• Kuai Hongji bound the Convenience Store Owner’s phantom and asked what the Principal had told him; the owner recalled calls for “01” and a mention of the “first seventh day.”
• Lin Yi suggested the phrase might refer to a floor, but the group found no answer and turned their attention to the Burial Body.
• Mao Feiyang, accompanied by Lin Yi and Wei Shan, reached the Burial Body and prepared to borrow something from it.
• The Burial Body recognized Mao Feiyang’s spatial imprisonment, laughed at his request, and launched an attack from the shallow layer it occupied.

Mao Feiyang used the World Tree's Tender Branch to strip the Burial Body from the Cafeteria's layers, erase its name, and destroy it. He then isolated the High-Rank Alien Angel's connection and preserved a sculpted carapace in a cocoon, leaving its remaining parts to develop further before it was given to Lao Mo.

• Mao Feiyang revealed the World Tree's Tender Branch and used it to cut the Burial Body's roots out of the Cafeteria's layers.
• Mao Feiyang bound and disintegrated the Burial Body, while the Forest of the Dead's Steles stirred and then broke apart.
• Mao Feiyang carved a burly human-like carapace from the Burial Body's remains and sealed it in a cocoon of light.
• Mao Feiyang borrowed the power of Lin Yi's runes to form the Mystical Runes Big Steel Saw and cut away a false reality hiding the High-Rank Alien Angel's connection.
• Mao Feiyang told Lin Yi that the carapace's remaining parts needed more time before they could be given to Lao Mo.

Lin Yi and his companions prepared a contingency to summon Lao Mo's Will Body if the High-Rank Alien Angel attacked, then returned to the Teaching Building to seek the Proto-Type Ashes Apostles. Tian Bufan and Kuai Hongji privately worried about their dwindling time and concluded this was their attempt with the highest chance of success, while Lin Yi's check-in with Head Teacher 040 was interrupted by a confrontation with Hell Rose.

• Kuai Hongji set up a soul-guiding and trigger mechanism so the Carapace could awaken as the Mourners if the High-Rank Alien Angel attacked the Convenience Store, allowing Lao Mo to reach the Clock Tower.
• Tian Bufan directed the group to check in at their classrooms in the Teaching Building before searching above the fifth floor, and warned them not to enter Building D.
• After splitting from Lin Yi, Tian Bufan and Kuai Hongji discussed how little time remained, suspected Wei Sang had died and been revived, and agreed that their current plan was their attempt with the highest chance of success.
• Lin Yi and Mao Feiyang checked in with Head Teacher 040, who learned Mao was using the identity Bai Fangshuo; Lin Yi told her the Gray Fog Invasion was not over.
• Taozi confronted Lin Yi, accusing him of wasting Hell Rose's night by advising them to stay in the classroom, and Lin Yi replied that they had been safe.

Lin Yi warned Hell Rose’s members not to leave safe Campus areas or approach Mao Feiyang, but Girl Number Three and Girl Number Two went to observe him anyway. Girl Number Three became trapped in an apparent illusion, where Mao Feiyang killed a Grinning Angel, and Girl Number Two finally woke her back in reality.

• Lin Yi told Girl Number Three that the Campus would be calm that night but warned her group to avoid missions and stay away from Mao Feiyang.
• Girl Number Three dismissed Lin Yi’s warning, and Zhou Yi agreed that she and Girl Number Two could observe Mao Feiyang without speaking to him.
• Girl Number Three and Girl Number Two found Mao Feiyang reading in the Bookshelf Area and watched him from behind a shelf.
• Girl Number Three heard pages turning, became dazed, and saw a Grinning Angel approach her.
• Mao Feiyang grabbed the Grinning Angel and pinned it to the bookshelf with a paper slip, leaving behind a Feather Pupil.
• Girl Number Two called Girl Number Three awake, and Girl Number Three asked what had happened to her.

Mao Feiyang secretly showed off after defeating a Grinning Angel, while Lin Yi warned Head Teacher 040 that the Gray Fog Invasion’s true contest had only begun and urged her to stay inside the Teaching Building. Lin Yi then reunited with Wei Shan and Mao Feiyang, and the three entered the Stairwell, where Night-Walking Species lurked in the shadows.

• Girl Number Three noticed the scar left where One Stick had been nailed to the bookshelf, recognized the danger Mao Feiyang posed, and hurried Girl Number Two away.
• Mao Feiyang ate a piece of the Feather Pupil and privately enjoyed showing off his power to the girls.
• Lin Yi told Head Teacher 040 that the Gray Fog Invasion had only begun on a deeper level and warned her not to leave the Teaching Building for the next two days.
• Lin Yi explained that Bai Fangshuo had entered the Art Building as part of a covert Authorities plan, and Head Teacher 040 told him to stay safe as he left.
• Lin Yi reunited with Wei Shan and Mao Feiyang, who discussed eating Feather Pupils, then led them into the Stairwell.
• The three encountered lurking Night-Walking Species, and Lin Yi remarked that they could not be eradicated unless their Source was destroyed.

Lin Yi studied the Teaching Building’s layered structure and discovered how its stairwells, basements, and connected buildings worked. He used a layer lens to brighten the Stairwell and gradually kill the night-walking species, while Wei Shan and Mao Feiyang realized he had missed their hint to search for the Proto-Type Ashes Apostles.

• Mao Feiyang suggested that Lin Yi manipulate the Teaching Building’s layers to expose the night-walking species to sunlight, and Lin Yi began spreading his perception through the Stairwell.
• Lin Yi used “See Through” to perceive the Teaching Building complex, identifying its inverted structures, rotating Basement Level One, and the Stairwell’s interfering spiral paths.
• Lin Yi determined that Teaching Building D served as a layer hub connected to an illusory route and that the Library might appear there at a particular time.
• Lin Yi avoided distorting the stable layers and redirected sunlight into the Stairwell with a layer lens, making its incandescent lights brighter and reducing the night-walking species’ hiding places.
• Mao Feiyang asked whether Lin Yi had found the Proto-Type Ashes Apostles, but Lin Yi said he had only arranged to kill the night-walking species over time, leaving Wei Shan and Mao Feiyang amused by his misunderstanding.

Lin Yi, Wei Shan, and Mao Feiyang spotted the Proto-Type Ashes Apostles looming above the Teaching Building, and Wei Shan instinctively charged at it across the layers. His leap failed and he crashed back onto the eighth floor, while the resulting disturbance drew the attention of the Authorities' team, whose mission was still underway.

• Lin Yi sensed the Proto-Type Ashes Apostles above the Teaching Building, and Tian Bufan told him to meet him and Kuai Hongji on the eighth floor.
• Lin Yi examined the Apostle and realized it was anchoring onto the Campus and possibly its time, while Wei Shan and Mao Feiyang stared at the fractured sky.
• Wei Shan became enveloped in black and red steam, then leaped through the layers toward the Apostle with a makeshift rod.
• Wei Shan ran out of strength and crashed onto the eighth-floor Covered Corridor, cracking the floor, before trying to leap again.
• Su Yao, Zhao Lei, Chen Yu, Han Xuan, and their captain sensed Wei Shan's violent fluctuation while their mission in the Campus remained active.

Wei Shan possessed Lin Yi to break through the Layers and attack the Proto-Type Ashes Apostles, unleashing Divine Slaughter in the Abyss. After destroying the creature, Lin Yi fell back into the Teaching Building and hung suspended before hitting the ground.

• Su Yao and the others watched Wei Shan repeatedly fail to leap between Layers and spotted Lin Yi and Mao Feiyang nearby.
• Wei Shan asked Lin Yi to close his eyes and borrowed his body, filling him with furious memories and power.
• Wei Shan and Lin Yi leaped through the Layers toward the Proto-Type Ashes Apostles as it fled into the Abyss.
• Lin Yi wielded the Mystical Runes Steel Saw and struck the Proto-Type Ashes Apostles while Wei Shan invoked Divine Slaughter.
• The Proto-Type Ashes Apostles vanished into the black fog, and Lin Yi fell back to the Teaching Building, stopping in midair before impact.

Lin Yi rescued the Authorities team from the Proto-Type Ashes Apostles’ contamination and learned that Tian Bufan and Wei Shan had helped force the Principal’s return by striking through the Butcher’s spinal bone. Wei Shan then revealed that the Mist-Speaker and Demon Puppet Master had stolen The Stars’ Origin and betrayed The First.

• Lin Yi’s command to kill severed the captain’s team from the Proto-Type Ashes Apostles, and he warned Su Yao to leave the Campus.
• The captain ordered Han Xuan to report the new risks to the Authorities, while Tian Bufan explained that he had removed the team’s ash contamination.
• Wei Shan revealed that he had sensed the Butcher’s spinal bone and struck through the Layers, completing the beacon for the Principal’s return.
• Tian Bufan explained that the strike forced the Proto-Type Ashes Apostles to abandon the Principal, giving the Principal’s will a chance to escape its restraints.
• Wei Shan said the Mist-Speaker and Demon Puppet Master stole The Stars’ Origin, gravely wounded Astrology, and betrayed The First.

Lin Yi and the others discussed the Campus’s unresolved mysteries, learning that the Forest of Bones had been built from stolen fragments of the Hall of Heroes. With their remaining work centered on the Gymnasium and the Principal’s return, they headed back to their classrooms before meeting there that afternoon.

• Wei Shan explained that thoughts of betrayal triggered fragments of the Butcher’s will, and Tian Bufan said the Campus incident would not be fully closed until the Principal returned.
• Lin Yi wondered whether the Campus buildings were connected, and Kuai Hongji revealed that the Forest of Bones had been made from fragments stolen from the Hall of Heroes by the Demon Puppet Master.
• Lin Yi and Tian Bufan speculated about the Campus’s blueprint and the Dormitory Building’s apparent vitality, but Tian Bufan said the Principal’s return might clarify the matter.
• Kuai Hongji decided not to visit the Forest of Bones, and Tian Bufan urged him to visit someone waiting for him in the Gymnasium; Kuai Hongji hesitated without answering.
• Tian Bufan told everyone to rest in their classrooms and meet at the Gymnasium that afternoon, where Lin Yi would check whether Boss was still Boss.

Zhao Lingxiao absorbed Lin Yi’s aura and ash contamination, nearing the threshold that would turn her into a phantom. Lin Yi reunited with Wei Liang and Li Huiyuan in class and learned that Li Huiyuan had lost her memory again after the Gymnasium events.

• Zhao Lingxiao followed Lin Yi’s scent to the eighth floor, absorbed his lingering aura, and burned away the Night-Walking Species that tried to feed on her contamination.
• The ash residue inside Zhao Lingxiao accumulated toward a critical threshold that would bring her the same sublimation and withering as the Ashes Apostle · Fire Man.
• Lin Yi returned to Group B Class 2, asked Mao Feiyang to find accounts about Yuan Big Head and the Proto-Type Ashes Apostles, and waited for Wei Liang.
• Li Huiyuan and Wei Liang arrived, and Lin Yi asked them what had happened at the Gymnasium the previous night.
• Li Huiyuan said she had lost her memory again, and Wei Liang denied doing anything with her before she punched him in the face.

Lin Yi questioned Li Huiyuan about her strange Dream and realized she might have reached the Gray Fog Sea through a connection tied to his Broken Sculptures. He also learned Boss had not returned to the Gymnasium, leaving him to investigate there that afternoon.

• Wei Liang complained about watching over Li Huiyuan, and Li Huiyuan recounted falling into a vortex, hearing Lin Yi call for help, and finding him in the Gray Fog Sea.
• Lin Yi concluded that Li Huiyuan had probably been Dreambuilding and wondered whether the Broken Sculptures had connected her to him.
• Li Huiyuan said Boss had left the Gymnasium alone, and Lin Yi learned she still had not returned by morning.
• Lin Yi suspected Boss might be trapped within the World Tree's domain and decided to investigate the Gymnasium that afternoon.
• Mao Feiyang returned from the Bookshelf Area, and Li Huiyuan asked Lin Yi who the unfamiliar person was.

Lin Yi noticed a mysterious crack on Li Huiyuan’s back during a vision filled with Broken Sculptures, which urged him to stay alive. Suspecting the crack was connected to the Burial Body and wondering whether Li Huiyuan was Difa, he followed her to the Cafeteria to investigate.

• Mao Feiyang greeted Wei Liang and gave Lin Yi a stack of Hentai Manga, while Wei Liang went to find books of his own.
• Li Huiyuan said she was heading to the Cafeteria, and Lin Yi agreed after avoiding questions about its hidden dangers.
• As Li Huiyuan watched him, Lin Yi heard eerie voices and saw the classroom darken as Broken Sculptures appeared overhead and everyone else froze.
• Lin Yi used his Perception Tentacles to examine Li Huiyuan and found a fine crack on her back where the Green Apron Chef had scratched her.
• The Broken Sculptures pleaded for Lin Yi to stay alive before the vision ended, and he decided to accompany Li Huiyuan to the Cafeteria.