Chapter Summaries

Chen Lun killed Majeri, recovered Philip’s relic and Gentleman’s spoils, then examined the items at Jack Manor and discovered that the green bookmark was an incomplete S-Rank Mysterious Object with healing and other powers. He left its full capabilities unknown, but found that combining it with Shedding Skin reduced its Sanity cost.

• Chen Lun killed Majeri, burned Gentleman’s plea for help, and collected his belongings, completing the hidden mission Philip’s Legacy.
• Chen Lun returned to the Dolphin Opera House and picked up Froy before heading to Jack Manor.
• Chen Lun examined Corona’s Radiance, Stars in the Mind, and Gift of the Stars, assessing their effects and costs.
• Chen Lun discovered that the green bookmark was the incomplete S-Rank Mysterious Object Awakening of Insects, which could heal wounds by consuming Sanity.
• Chen Lun tested the bookmark and found that combining it with Shedding Skin reduced its Sanity consumption, though its other powers remained unclear.

Chen Lun found the complete “Philip's Wonderland” inside the [Awakening of Insects] bookmark and discovered the Fate Faction knowledge that let him advance to [Fortune Teller]. After spending his accumulated experience and skill points to strengthen himself, he ended the chapter with his Sanity at zero.

• Chen Lun pressed the [Awakening of Insects] bookmark to his forehead and found “Philip's Wonderland” hidden within its world.
• Chen Lun entered the book and discovered a lakeside cabin that he suspected had once been Philip's safe house.
• Chen Lun found a notebook in the cabin and used its extraordinary knowledge to advance to [Fortune Teller].
• Chen Lun learned and maxed out [Divination], [Fate-Peering Eye], and [Spiritual Intuition], then spent 29,000 experience to reach the class's maximum level.
• Chen Lun's [Animal Mimicry] traits fused into [Steel Bone] and [Snake-Scorpion Poison], freeing three memory slots.
• Chen Lun checked his panel and discovered that his Sanity had bottomed out.

Chen Lun allocated his attribute points and considered replacing his Fisherman secondary class, while Professor Molimer investigated Majeri’s murder and discovered a letter mentioning Spade. The story then shifted to a quiet art gallery in Bradley Square.

• Chen Lun left Philip's Wonderland after realizing it drained his Sanity over time and stored the book in his bookmark.
• Chen Lun spent his attribute points on Strength, Endurance, and Intelligence, then considered replacing his Fisherman secondary class.
• Professor Molimer replayed the history of Majeri's death, but an extraordinary countermeasure prevented him from seeing the killer.
• Professor Molimer restored Majeri's letter and found the name Spade written in it.
• The story moved to Amber of Time, a gallery beside Bradley Square.

Roderick negotiated with Beckman over the coming purge of the History and Ritual Society, while Chen Lun gained the ability to fly and decided to attend the Mysterious Society gathering for a chance to acquire hidden-pathway knowledge. The gathering began with news of a Containment Bureau sweep and the likely deaths of Fish Fin and Gentleman.

• Roderick asked Beckman to help subdue Molimer, and Beckman agreed to pass information to the Red Apple Church but refused to join the purge.
• Chen Lun tested his new Crow Feather trait by flying over the city and then escaped a probe from Historical Retrospection.
• Chen Lun found a coded notice advertising Sequence 6 knowledge for a hidden pathway and decided to attend the Mysterious Society gathering after divining danger and conspiracy.
• At the gathering, Black Skeleton said Fish Fin was likely Whitley, who had been killed during a Containment Bureau sweep, and Knowledge asked whether Gentleman had also been taken down.

After Knowledge left the gathering, Chen Lun examined Miser’s offer of incomplete Fate Faction knowledge and agreed to consider trading for it later. Miser then revealed himself as Professor Molimer and ambushed Chen Lun, beginning a fight that was still underway at the chapter’s end.

• Knowledge left the gathering early and urged the others to meet less often until the danger passed.
• Miser showed Chen Lun incomplete Fate Faction knowledge about the Sequence 6 Aerialist and asked for two Class C Mysterious Objects and Middle Sequence mystical substance in exchange.
• After the gathering, Chen Lun took the route through Sewage Flats and found Miser waiting for him near the Drainage Channel.
• Miser removed his mask, revealed himself as Professor Molimer, apologized for his student, and declared that he wanted Chen Lun dead.
• Chen Lun used Fate-Peering Eye to inspect Molimer, then deflected Molimer’s attacks with the Silver Cane as their fight began.

Chen Lun, who had seemed defeated by Molimer, revealed his survival and struck Molimer while Newman attacked. Roderick then tried to kill Chen Lun, but Chen Lun evaded the attack and wounded him, leaving the battle unresolved.

• Molimer knocked Chen Lun down and reached for the Silver Cane, but Chen Lun’s armor concealed beneath his clothes absorbed the blow.
• Roderick revealed that he led the Containment Bureau and had worked with Newman to capture the History and Ritual Society; Newman demanded Molimer surrender the grave robber who had robbed the Red Apple Church’s bishop’s tomb.
• Newman lunged at Molimer as Spade sprang up, seized Molimer’s notebook, and helped Newman stab him in the chest.
• Roderick attacked Chen Lun with black light, but Chen Lun dodged and countered with the Silver Cane, which transformed into a whip.
• Roderick used Requiem to immobilize Chen Lun, but Chen Lun resisted the control and cut Roderick across the chest.

Chen Lun fought Roderick and Bishop Newman, but the two joined forces against him after Newman recognized him as Jack. The story then shifted to Roderick investigating Jack’s identity and accusing him at Pompey Manor, leaving Rebecca and her family stunned.

• Chen Lun blocked Roderick’s attack, while Roderick stabilized his wound and questioned whether Chen Lun had resisted his soul control.
• Molimer fell after Newman’s attacks, and Roderick called on Newman to help him fight Chen Lun.
• Roderick revealed that Chen Lun was wanted for destroying the Red Apple Church’s Jadeite Town branch, prompting Newman to attack him.
• After the battle, Roderick ordered Mona to investigate Jack’s identity and issue a citywide wanted notice.
• Roderick and investigators arrived at Pompey Manor and identified Jack Spade as the criminal who had once tutored Rebecca.
• The Pompey family froze as Roderick asked Viscount Pompey what he knew about Jack.

The Containment Bureau searched Jack Manor and seized its belongings after failing to find Jack, while Roderick confronted Viscount Pompey about Jack. Polaris and the other players watched the raid and realized their faction depended almost entirely on Jack, leaving them unsure how to proceed.

• Rebecca defended Mr. Jack when Roderick questioned Viscount Pompey, but her father sent her away and denied knowing Jack well.
• Roderick warned Viscount Pompey that harboring Jack could violate the Sun Codex, and Pompey refused to be intimidated or help the investigation.
• After the investigators left, Pompey warned Binoz not to contact Jack because the manor was being watched, while Rebecca secretly prayed for Jack's safety.
• Roderick led investigators through Jack Manor, where they found no one and confiscated the remaining tools and machinery as stolen property.
• Polaris, Su Keying, Ma Ren, Doghead Gold, and Wangwuji watched the raid, and Polaris concluded that Jack was an unusually powerful figure who alone sustained their faction.

Polaris and the other players received a message from Jack asking them to meet at the Garden Grand Hotel and help with something important. Meanwhile, Jack hid at Noah’s apartment after the Containment Bureau and the Red Apple Church began hunting him.

• Polaris and the others debated how to find Jack, then decided to log off and wait for him to contact them.
• A paperboy bumped into Polaris, and a paper airplane signed with “J” delivered Jack’s invitation to meet at the Garden Grand Hotel the next day.
• Jack hid with Connie and Froy after escaping the Containment Bureau and the Red Apple Church, and he regretted leaving his custom machines and tools behind.
• Noah offered Jack a place to stay and explained that the Containment Bureau and Red Apple Church had persecuted his family and caused his appearance.
• Noah warned Jack that the two organizations had deep reserves of strength and urged him to be careful.

Chen Lun befriended Noah, the son of Saint Blaze, and received a portrait from him. He then explored Philip’s Wonderland, learned it was a dangerous fictional world modeled on a real place, and became its new owner.

• Chen Lun spoke with Noah about painting, learned that Noah’s mother was Blaze, and earned Noah’s close affection.
• Noah painted Chen Lun’s portrait, and Chen Lun planned to retaliate against the Containment Bureau and target the Red Apple Church first.
• Chen Lun entered Philip’s Wonderland and searched the wooden house, where he found a Spade J card bearing Philip’s final message.
• The card branded a black J on Chen Lun’s chest and revealed that the book contained a dangerous fictional replica of Wonderland.
• Chen Lun learned that Philip had left him the Safe Wooden House and ownership of the fictional world so he could continue exploring Wonderland.

Chen Lun survived Maggie Milna’s angelic gaze after the statue’s stored Sanity protected him, gaining her blessing and control over the Angel Statue. He left the cabin through the lake and entered a lifeless, strange forest, where the pool behind him vanished.

• Chen Lun approached the Mermaid Statue and was struck by Maggie Milna’s gaze, which reduced his Sanity and caused his body to collapse.
• Chen Lun woke in the cabin and discovered that Maggie Milna had given him Nature’s Favor, raising his Beast Tamer skill levels and attributes.
• Chen Lun learned that the Angel Statue had replenished his Sanity and that he could control it and its stored reserve.
• Chen Lun returned to the lake, leaped in, and swam through the darkness to reach a bleak forest.
• Chen Lun emerged from a small pool in the forest and found that his clothes were dry and the pool had disappeared.

Chen Lun explored the dangerous Wonderland, where he encountered a contaminated giant and a Rabbitman, gaining supernatural knowledge, experience, and a pure substance. He continued deeper into the forest and found a strange lava mound with a resilient worm crawling through it.

• Chen Lun discovered that destroying a tree triggered a giant hand to attack, and he fled after gaining partial Sequence 6 Berry Picker knowledge from the Barren Giant.
• Chen Lun used his stored Sanity to survive the giant’s contamination and decided to keep exploring Wonderland for supernatural knowledge.
• Chen Lun found and killed a Rabbitman, earning experience and Red Eyes, then collected a low-sequence pure substance left behind by its corpse.
• Chen Lun discovered a miniature volcano filled with lava and knocked a barbed worm away from it, but the worm began crawling back unharmed.

Chen Lun gained the Demon Worm’s Hell Resistance trait, returned from his exploration, and began considering how to preserve the statue’s Sanity and use future players to advance his strength. The next day, he met Polaris and four other players at the Garden Grand Hotel and told them he needed their help.

• Chen Lun used Animal Mimicry to learn the Demon Worm’s Hell Resistance trait and tested it against lava.
• Chen Lun left the exploration with 219 Sanity remaining in the statue, returned to his bedroom, and decided he might store some of his own Sanity in Philip’s Wonderland.
• Chen Lun suspected that future players could help accelerate his growth.
• Polaris and the other four players were initially denied entry to the Garden Grand Hotel because of their shabby clothes, but a waiter admitted them after recognizing Chen Lun’s silver badge.
• Chen Lun revealed his identity to the players and said he had invited them to help him with a small matter.

Roderick and Beckman prepared to use the Amber Art Exhibition to trap the Circus, while Chen Lun arrived with Froy and Noah, sensing the Containment Bureau’s ambush and preparing to begin his own plan. Beckman welcomed Noah and revealed that one of his works was part of the exhibition.

• Beckman handed Feiri over to Roderick, then painted Feiri’s portrait, killing him when the work was complete.
• Beckman told Roderick that the Circus planned to kidnap the exhibition’s prominent guests and might be backed by the Mutual Aid Society.
• Roderick arranged for the Containment Bureau to ambush the Circus at the exhibition, and Beckman agreed to help capture them before leaving Amber City.
• Prominent guests gathered at the gallery, while Chen Lun arrived with Froy, Noah, and Walsh under the protection of the Starlight Veil.
• Chen Lun spotted Containment Bureau investigators near the gallery and decided the concentration of their forces would let him begin his own plan.
• Beckman greeted Noah at the gallery entrance and revealed that one of Noah’s works was included in the exhibition.

Chen Lun attended Beckman’s art exhibition with Noah and Froy while Polaris and his group attacked Red Apple Cathedral to draw the Rotten Apple Church’s attention. The players fought the Church’s guards and hounds, with Doghead Gold dying as the battle began.

• Beckman apologized to Noah for displaying one of his paintings without permission and hinted that he would find it in the Gallery.
• Chen Lun entered the Gallery with Noah and Froy, passed the Pompey family, and listened as Noah explained the paintings.
• Chen Lun reflected on how people perceived the world differently, then left Froy with Noah and used the restroom as an excuse to depart.
• Polaris and four other players stormed Red Apple Cathedral, shot the Monk preaching there, and let the worshippers flee.
• Church guards and Rotting Hounds attacked the players, and Doghead Gold was killed after a hound bit through his throat.

Polaris and the other players repeatedly attacked the Red Apple Church, killing its guards and a Beyonder before Bishop Newman arrived and drove them to flee. As Newman pursued them, Jack ambushed him, and Newman recognized his attacker.

• Polaris and four companions were killed by the Church’s armored guards, then returned from the dead and attacked the cleanup crew.
• Ma Ren warned the group that a monk was a Beyonder, and the players killed him and claimed his D-Rank Mysterious Object.
• Polaris identified Bishop Newman as extremely lethal, so he and the others fled while Church guards and Rotting Hounds pursued them.
• Bishop Newman killed Doghead Gold with a thrown candlestick as the other players escaped.
• Jack descended on Bishop Newman and struck him with his cane, and Newman recognized him.

The guests at Beckman’s gallery discovered that his paintings exposed their private secrets before a tailcoated man announced their kidnapping and demanded payment for their lives. Noah and the Pompey family were among the captives, while Beckman stood by the entrance as blood seeped beneath him.

• Viscount Pompey and his family decided to seek out Beckman after learning his paintings revealed hidden truths.
• Guests found paintings depicting the secrets of people they knew, and Noah wept before an image of himself as a child with Rosa beside him.
• Viscount Picot confronted Beckman, but the gallery doors slammed shut and a tailcoated man announced that the guests had been kidnapped.
• An old man in theatrical costume killed Baron Matthew, and other costumed attackers surrounded the guests with blades.
• The tailcoated man silenced everyone and said each captive would have to pay an individual price to buy their life.
• The Pompey family stayed composed, Noah remembered being powerless as a child, and Froy hoped Chen Lun would not return.

Chen Lun fought Bishop Newman as he transformed into a powerful Ghoul, while the players arrived and watched. Chen Lun wounded Newman with bolts that drew in Spirit World Visitors, but Newman devoured one and faced Chen Lun’s threat to summon more.

• Newman attacked Chen Lun, then transformed into a towering Ghoul after leaping onto the Church’s entrance porch.
• Polaris, Su Keying, Ma Ren, Doghead Gold, and Wangwuji gathered outside and watched Chen Lun battle Newman in his monstrous form.
• Chen Lun used his cane, wings, and sword to trade blows with Newman, then fired the Hand Crossbow and hit Newman’s shoulder with a red bolt.
• Newman wrestled with an invisible Spirit World Visitor, swallowed it, and dismissed Chen Lun’s method as unimpressive.
• Chen Lun raised the Hand Crossbow and threatened to send Newman a whole pack of Spirit World Visitors, making Newman curse in alarm.

Chen Lun defeated Newman at the Red Apple Church, but Newman’s sacrifice triggered a trap and prompted the early start of the Scarlet Festival main quest. Chen Lun hurried to the Amber of Time gallery, while Polaris and the other players followed him.

• Newman pinned Chen Lun down and bit him, but Chen Lun’s scales poisoned Newman and left him vulnerable to a fatal sword strike.
• After Chen Lun beheaded him, Newman grabbed his head, revealed that Lord Rafa had left a trap on Grand Bishop Monroe’s remains, and sacrificed his body in an explosion of blood and flesh.
• Chen Lun received quest rewards for defeating Newman, searched the Red Apple Church, and collected gold, mysterious substances, books, and the Blood Brew item.
• Chen Lun received the Scarlet Festival main quest, which warned that Beckman planned to use the White Bone Gallery to capture Transcendents and endanger Amber City.
• Chen Lun flew toward the gallery, and Polaris led the other players after him.

The Containment Bureau and Beckman stopped the Circus from killing the Gallery’s guests, then pursued and killed its leader. After the guests were rescued, Froy secretly collected the small objects left behind by the Circus members.

• Beckman began painting the Circus leader as Roderick and Mona entered the Gallery with Containment Bureau investigators.
• Beckman used the Pupil in the Painting to kill the Circus members, while the leader escaped through the shadows.
• Roderick restrained the leader, and Mona shot him with a golden bullet, bringing him out of hiding.
• Beckman completed a painting called Watching, draining the leader’s spirituality and leaving him dead.
• The guests thanked the rescuers, Noah sighed, and Froy secretly gathered the small objects left by the Circus members.