Chapter Summaries

Xiao Ya brought Mu You a magical Thunder Mantis that had followed her home after biting her, and Mu You realized she had accidentally contracted it as her familiar. Xiao Ya accepted the mantis as her pet, while Cola discovered it was far quicker and stronger than expected.

• Xiao Ya visited Mu You and showed him a Thunder Mantis she had found and trapped in a bottle after it bit her and followed her home.
• Mu You recognized the mantis as a magical creature and noticed the contract mark on its forehead, realizing its bite had made Xiao Ya its master.
• Mu You reassured Xiao Ya that the mantis would not harm her, and she released it and watched it behave affectionately toward her.
• Xiao Ya decided to keep the mantis and went to find supplies to make it a nest.
• Cola challenged the mantis, but it dodged Cola's swats and shocked its paw, leaving Cola wary of the creature.

Mu You helped Xiao Ya’s Thunder Mantis behave, then persuaded Xiao Ya and Lin Xue to preregister for Fool. In the game, he found a quest to repair a magical fireplace, but discovered the farmhouse wine meant as payment was a valuable potion additive.

• Mu You used Animal Speech to tell Thunder Mantis not to hurt people unless Xiao Ya was in danger, and it accepted his touch.
• Lin Xue examined Thunder Mantis and said it did not seem to be any known Earth species; Mu You changed the subject by introducing the game Fool.
• Xiao Ya and Lin Xue preregistered for Fool after seeing that it had over two hundred million preregistrations.
• Mu You logged into Fool at noon, asked the Farming Elder for a Magic Fireplace, and learned its partition needed repairs by a blacksmith south of Mist Mountain.
• Mu You accepted the quest to bring the blacksmith Drunken Spring Breeze and repair the fireplace and farm tools, then discovered the wine improved potion-making success by 20% and could raise a potion’s quality.

Mu You learned how to sneak real-world liquor into the game by mixing it with Drunken Spring Breeze, then traded the wine to Tie Fu for repairs and received a complete magical fireplace. Back at his shop, he got an adoption eligibility certificate from Zhao Qian, who was startled when she ran into Xiao Xue.

• Mu You discovered that real-world liquor could be stored in the game if Drunken Spring Breeze made up more than half of the mixture.
• Mu You gave Tie Fu the blended wine, and Tie Fu repaired his partition and farming tools in exchange.
• Mu You returned to the cottage, handed the repaired tools to Granny, and installed the partition to obtain a complete magical fireplace.
• Zhao Qian gave Mu You an adoption eligibility certificate and reserved a procurement slot for new pets.
• Zhao Qian recognized Xiao Xue at the shop and asked what she was doing there.

Mu You successfully brewed ordinary and fine Healing Ointment in his backpack space, then went to the Times Cute Pet Care Base to arrange a pet purchase. There, familiar handwriting on a registration sheet led him to ask about Lu Yao, but the entry vanished and the receptionist could no longer remember who he meant.

• Mu You sent Zhao Qian, Lin Xue, and Xiao Ya out together, then moved his laboratory equipment into his backpack space and brewed Healing Ointment.
• Mu You used Drunken Spring Breeze in a second batch and produced fine-quality Healing Ointment, then stopped brewing when the Magic Fireplace barrier ran out.
• Mu You used Zhao Qian's claim card to enter the Times Cute Pet Care Base without joining the merchant queue.
• Mu You recognized Lu Yao's handwriting on the registration sheet as matching the note left with the game's installation package.
• The receptionist said Lu Yao often helped stray animals but could not remember her face, and then the registration entry disappeared from the sheet.

Mu You fought to preserve his memory of Lu Yao as an unknown power erased it, then learned she was the foul-mouthed girl from the game who had given him an Activation Code to help fight the Werewolf. He shared the Werewolf’s weakness, and Lu Yao planned to target his heart before Mu You demanded to know why his game lacked the Forum.

• Mu You used the Pocket Watch and repeatedly wrote Lu Yao’s name to keep the memory from being erased.
• Lu Yao called Mu You from the number 666 and confirmed she was the girl from the game who had given him an Activation Code.
• Lu Yao explained that she had distributed several Activation Codes in K City to recruit help against the Werewolf, and Mu You learned the woman killed in the neighboring residential complex had been one of those recruits.
• Mu You told Lu Yao that the Werewolf’s Butcher Wolf skin let him regenerate unless his heart was damaged, and Lu Yao decided to find a spell that could target his heart.
• Mu You asked why Lu Yao’s version of the game had no Forum, and she claimed she had forgotten to include it.

Mu You learned more about Lu Yao’s relic ability and the Ten Commandments Society, then installed Fool Forum to explore its global player community. He found rumors linking the Society to the Unicorn incident at the K City anomaly site, but the forum offered no confirmed account of what happened.

• Lu Yao explained that her relic ability erased objects and events from cameras, records, and memories, and warned Mu You that the Ten Commandments Society could monitor ordinary calls.
• Lu Yao told Mu You she had left a satellite phone and the Fool Forum app in his shop, then ended the call.
• Mu You returned to his shop, found the phone and USB drive, and installed the forum app on his phone.
• Mu You registered on Fool Forum as Guest13457 and browsed its domestic discussion board.
• Mu You read speculation that a Black-Robed Man from the Ten Commandments Society had clashed with the Anomaly Investigation Bureau over the Unicorn at the K City anomaly site.

Mu You searched the forum for information on domestic player factions and paid two million yuan to read a ranking guide. The guide revealed the scale and hierarchy of the major factions, and Mu You wondered whether its author knew that the Illuminati's founders belonged to the Mystic Arts Association.

• Mu You found a paid guide by the veteran forum user Yue Yin, but it cost two million yuan to open.
• Mu You borrowed two million yuan from Lin Xue, who transferred the money immediately, and added it to his forum account.
• Mu You used the Time Pocket Watch to read Yue Yin's guide, which ranked Divine Edge, the Ten Commandments Society, and the Dragon Group as the top domestic factions.
• Mu You learned that the Anomaly Investigation Bureau led the first-tier factions by player count and that the Illuminati was a second-tier faction with over 500 members.
• Mu You recognized the Illuminati as Taurus and Gemini's faction and wondered whether Yue Yin knew its founders belonged to the Mystic Arts Association.

Mu You learned about player factions and the Ten Commandments Society’s bounty on Firebearer, then watched news about the Fool game spread worldwide. As he continued gathering herbs and studying the Forum, Pocket Toad returned from its treasure hunt with a bulging belly pocket.

• Mu You read a detailed post about player factions and concluded that the country’s players were the strongest in the world.
• Mu You found the Ten Commandments Society’s bounty on Firebearer and learned from her Forum thread that she sold Activation Codes regularly.
• A video about Fool and players spread online after authorities allowed it to remain, and registrations surged into the billions.
• Mu You spent his days preparing for the game and gathering herbs, but found none of the ingredients for the Spirit-Summoning Potion.
• Mu You went up Mist Mountain to gather herbs and was surprised when Pocket Toad returned with a bulging pocket full of treasure.

Mu You searched the Pocket Toad’s haul and found a Socketing Stone, an Immortal Jellyfish, and a powerful magical Playing Card Flying Blade. He discovered that the card could conveniently trigger his Fool Barrier, giving him a new way to activate it in future battles.

• Mu You found a Socketing Stone that could let a blacksmith add a socket to equipment for gems or potions.
• Mu You discovered an Immortal Jellyfish, one of the main ingredients for the Spirit-Calling Potion.
• Mu You searched the Pocket Toad again and obtained a magical Playing Card Flying Blade that returned after completing a curved flight.
• Mu You tested the card’s power and found that it could cut through an iron desk, though its speed decreased as its destructive power increased.
• Mu You used the card to trigger his Fool Barrier and realized he could use it instead of shooting himself to activate the barrier.

Mu You fed Froglet and assessed his progress toward brewing a Spirit-Calling Potion, then sought buyers for his Healing Ointment so he could obtain the remaining ingredients. He arranged to meet a Merchant Alliance director at Golden City the next morning to sell fifty bottles.

• Mu You fed Froglet monster drops, then counted the Immortal Jellyfish, mandrake, resurrection grass, and expected red dragon blood among the six ingredients he needed.
• Mu You decided to trade Healing Ointment for inspiration grass and titan arum, and calculated that selling fifty bottles would cover their cost.
• Mu You messaged Firebearer, but received an automatic reply saying she was on a quest.
• Mu You contacted Duanpu, who recognized him from Qubai Mountain and offered to find buyers for his ointment.
• Duanpu arranged for the Merchant Alliance to consider buying all fifty bottles after inspecting them at Golden City.
• Mu You agreed to meet a Merchant Alliance director at Golden City at ten the next morning.

Mu You visited the Golden City to sell fifty jars of Healing Ointment to the Merchant Alliance. After verifying the ointment, Huang Zhichao agreed to buy it and offered to provide Mu You’s requested herbs from the guild warehouse, saving him shipping fees.

• Mu You reached the Golden City in disguise and showed magic power to pass the entrance guard’s identity check.
• Duanpu recognized Mu You, introduced himself, and led him to meet Merchant Alliance officers Huang Zhichao and Li.
• Mu You asked about transaction fees and learned that Merchant Alliance officers and higher-ranking members paid no commission at the Golden City.
• Huang Zhichao and Li tested a jar of Healing Ointment and confirmed that it healed wounds rapidly.
• Huang Zhichao agreed to buy all fifty jars for six years of lifespan each, and Mu You requested Inspiration Grass and Titan Arum as payment.
• Huang Zhichao offered to supply the herbs from the Merchant Alliance warehouse at their original price, saving Mu You the shipping fees.

Mu You completed a deal with the Merchant Alliance, then prepared for the July 10 closed beta and the night’s other urgent tasks. At midnight, as millions awaited Activation Codes and the Mystic Arts Association gathering, he stood ready to begin.

• Mu You exchanged fifty portions of Magic Potion for two high-grade ingredients and received ten million from Young Master Huang, who hoped he would sell to the Merchant Alliance again.
• Young Master Li concluded that a Potion Maker had likely brewed the ointments and advised Young Master Huang to keep trying to recruit Mu You through a personal connection.
• Mu You returned to his shop with five of the six ingredients needed for brewing and waited for midnight, when the closed beta and the new week's Mystic Arts Association gathering would begin.
• An official broadcast announced that Fool's Global Open Beta would launch on August 1, while more than 6.1 billion people awaited one of ten million Activation Codes.
• Mu You put on the Night Watchman's Skin, gripped his Secret Art Cards, and watched midnight arrive.

Lin Xue received a closed beta Activation Code just after midnight, while Mu You returned to the Mystic Arts Association and began a meeting with ten occupied seats. Aquarius confirmed she had obtained the red dragon blood, and Mu You opened the meeting by offering four Secret Art Cards for trade.

• Lin Xue received a text naming her closed beta player No. 1005441 and providing an Activation Code.
• Mu You entered the palace and found ten of the twelve zodiac seats occupied; Aquarius discreetly confirmed that she had obtained the red dragon blood.
• Leo explained the previous meeting to Libra and Capricorn, who then mocked Gemini over his and Taurus's past conduct.
• Gemini presented Mu You with a handwritten statement of self-criticism, and Mu You accepted it and closed the matter.
• Mu You displayed four Secret Art Cards for trade, surprising the other members with how quickly he had made them.

At the Secret Art Card exchange, Mu You watched several members offer cards and arranged a trade with Scorpio for a difficult spatial card he believed he could copy. He promised to return a copy at the next meeting, leaving Scorpio relieved and Mu You eager to make more copies and attract future trades.

• Mu You offered four cards for Secret Art Cards of the same tier, while Gemini presented the high-tier Heavenly Thunder Net and Cancer passed without offering a card.
• Leo revealed the high-tier Fire Giant and said he might trade it for Gemini’s card if no other high-tier offers appeared.
• Virgo signed that she had fused her only mid-tier card and wanted to trade for Rejuvenation next meeting, while Libra offered Light of Denial for Rejuvenation.
• Scorpio presented the low-tier spatial card Darkness Teleportation, explained he could not copy it, and asked Leo and Sagittarius for help; both declined.
• Mu You offered Scorpio Little Fireball as a starter card in exchange for Darkness Teleportation and promised to return a copy next week, so they exchanged cards.
• Mu You realized the card’s difficulty would not stop him from copying it and planned to bring multiple copies to the next meeting.

Sagittarius asked Mu You to brew an Evolution Potion in exchange for a summoning spell card and ingredients, revealing that the potion let players advance beyond level ten and was monopolized by the Wizards' Association. Mu You claimed he could make it, and the others began treating him as a powerful figure who could reshape the balance between player factions.

• Sagittarius explained that humans needed Evolution Potions to extend their experience limits, and that each evolution doubled damage dealt and halved damage taken.
• Sagittarius offered Mu You a Summon Zombie card and two sets of ingredients in exchange for an Evolution Potion, but Leo warned that the Wizards' Association monopolized the formula.
• When Sagittarius asked whether he could brew the potion, Mu You said yes, intending to rely on the Witch of Calamity's expertise.
• Sagittarius teleported the card and ingredients to Mu You, while Gemini explained that brewing Evolution Potions could break the Wizards' Association's monopoly and shift the global balance of power.
• The group began looking at Mu You with awe and ingratiation, leaving him bewildered by how quickly accepting an order had made him seem like humanity's savior.

Mu You completed his trades at the meeting, receiving the red dragon blood he needed, then spent thousands of attempts brewing a fine-grade Spirit-Calling Potion. He performed the summoning ritual on a remote mountain, and the formation reached its blinding peak as he finished the incantation.

• Aquarius gave Mu You the promised red dragon blood after explaining that Rejuvenation had helped her complete her mission.
• After the meeting ended, Mu You extracted mandrake juice and repeatedly brewed the Spirit-Calling Potion until he made a fine-grade batch on his 3,450th attempt.
• Mu You took the potion, a canary, and chicken blood to a remote mountain and drew the ritual formation beneath the moon.
• Mu You recited the incantation and dripped the potion onto the formation, which glowed red and drove nearby wildlife into a panic.
• As Mu You finished the final line, his Magic Power ran out and the formation erupted in dazzling light.

Mu You completed the Witch of Calamity's Trial by summoning Vivian into a canary, though Vivian judged his potion-making aptitude poor. After escaping the Forest Rangers, Mu You brought Vivian to the Pet Shop, where she easily defeated Cola and appeared to be using magic power drained from Mu You.

• Mu You discovered that Vivian had revived in the canary's body, and she criticized the potion he had brewed while confirming that he had barely passed the trial.
• The Forest Rangers rushed toward the summit after noticing the ritual's disturbance, so Mu You erased the circle's traces and fled with Vivian.
• Mu You returned to the Pet Shop, where Cola tried to pounce on Vivian and was knocked down and stung by her magic.
• Cola accused Mu You of bringing another Familiar into the shop, while Mu You realized Vivian might be casting spells with magic power she had drained from him.

Vivian explained that she depended on Mu You’s Magic Power to remain in the world and would vanish if she moved too far away and ran out of power. She agreed to teach him the Evolution Potion after he completed an assignment to memorize her Potionology notes in six days.

• Vivian told Mu You that she was a remnant soul who needed to remain within a hundred meters of him or risk dissolving into nothingness.
• Mu You explained how he had obtained the Evolution Potion from the Mystic Arts Association, and Vivian said she knew how to make it.
• Vivian opened a spatial backpack and explained that teaching spells required high-level magic and would lower the spell’s level.
• Vivian summoned forty-two volumes of Potionology notes and assigned Mu You to memorize seven volumes a day for six days before she would teach him the Evolution Potion.

Mu You began Vivian’s demanding potionology lessons by studying seven notebooks inside an endlessly repeating time barrier. After spending seventeen years and more than 300,000 rewinds, he finished reading them and recognized that the assignment had also tempered his temperament.

• Mu You tried to postpone memorizing seven notebooks until after brewing an Evolution Potion, but Vivian insisted that he first build a solid foundation.
• Mu You brought Vivian into his backpack space, where she praised his Unicorn and explained that its blood could replace ingredients in many potions.
• Vivian told Mu You he could merge his backpack space into his body by having a Star Spirit World blacksmith forge its spatial nodes into a lock cylinder.
• Mu You activated his Time Pocket Watch and Fool Barrier, then began studying the first seven notebooks while Vivian controlled the time loops.
• Mu You spent six months learning the Star Spirit Language and struggled with frustration and slow progress before gradually calming down.
• After more than 300,000 rewinds and seventeen years in the barrier, Mu You finished reading all seven notebooks and understood that Vivian’s exercise had also tested his disposition.

After seventeen years of studying Potionology, Mu You finished Vivian’s first seven notebooks with a calmer outlook and earned her rare praise. He returned to Fool, set up a teleportation array, prepared strong liquor for the dwarf blacksmith, and encountered the growing impact of the large-scale closed beta.

• Mu You completed Vivian’s first seven Potionology notebooks after changing his approach to learning, and Vivian praised his progress.
• Mu You logged into Fool, inscribed three new Secret Art Cards into the Crystal, and created a Darkness Teleportation Array at the Thatched Cottage.
• Mu You filled a barrel with well water, mixed in vodka, and sent the resulting drink into the game for the dwarf blacksmith.
• On his journey, Mu You killed three level-one Nameless Persons who attacked him, gaining lifespan and experience each time.
• Mu You realized the new players had made encounters more frequent and competition for herbs and wild monsters fiercer.