Chapter Summaries

Nie Yunzhen gathered players to help Su Yu, Yue Qiuchi, and Cao Xiangrong survive [Death as Scheduled], while Qin Manjiang convened a separate meeting at Clear Pupil Bar to reveal a backup version of the Eye Realm. His explanation was interrupted by an unexpected visitor.

• Nie Yunzhen noticed that most of the Ten Seats had skipped her gathering for another meeting, then asked the players who came to help Su Yu, Yue Qiuchi, and Cao Xiangrong survive [Death as Scheduled].
• Liu Jingqing arrived at Clear Pupil Bar and joined the gathering, where Xia Nan met fellow alumnus Yan Xiao and Qin Manjiang finished posing for Yu Ruoli's portrait.
• Zhong Xueran prompted Qin Manjiang to explain why he had invited everyone, and he showed them a seamless phone-like object called [Eye Realm].
• Qin Manjiang said the object was a backup that had stolen some of the permissions of Fu City's Eye Realm, but an unknown young man opened the bar door and entered.

Shen Hai revealed that Qin Manjiang’s [Eye Realm] could preserve players after death and demanded a place in it in exchange for his knowledge. He disclosed that he had seen current players searching for someone in fragments of past ghost stories, leaving Qin Manjiang and the others to consider who had been returning across multiple rounds.

• Shen Hai arrived at Qin Manjiang’s private gathering and revealed that the [Eye Realm] could back up players, potentially allowing them to be resurrected after death.
• Shen Hai warned that using the permanent item to create backups came at a price, and he asked Qin Manjiang to reserve him a place in the [Eye Realm] in exchange for what he knew.
• Qin Manjiang agreed, while the gathered players learned that Chen Zhiyuan already knew about the backup.
• Shen Hai explained that his [Faded Memories] pocket watch showed him fragments of a ghost story’s past, where he had seen current players.
• Shen Hai said he had seen a man and a woman repeatedly searching for someone, suggesting that they had been taking part for more than one round.

Shen Hai revealed that two unobservable figures had searched the Ghost Story Game for the [Eye Realm], and Qin Manjiang realized they knew its holder would eventually enter the game. As Shen Hai demanded that Qin use the item to make a backup of him, Qin wondered whether the [Eye Realm] contained earlier backups that made it worth searching across time and space.

• Shen Hai explained that he had seen a man and a woman while using [Faded Memories], but could not observe or remember their details, and suspected they did not belong to the present time and space.
• Shen Hai told Qin Manjiang that he had used [Faded Memories] to investigate the [Eye Realm] and became certain Qin possessed it when the [Forensic Doctor] entered the game.
• Qin Manjiang reasoned that the two searchers knew the [Eye Realm]'s holder would enter the Ghost Story Game, while Shen Hai mistakenly believed Qin had obtained it as his Permanent Item.
• Zhong Xueran raised the possibility that one of the searchers was among the gathered players, while Shen Hai asked Qin to keep his promise and leave him a backup in the [Eye Realm].
• Qin Manjiang admitted he did not know how to use the [Eye Realm], and Zhong Xueran, Xu Yi, Mei Sijun, Chen Zhiyuan, and Liu Jingqing warned him against accepting the cost Shen Hai described.
• Qin Manjiang considered trying the [Eye Realm] and wondered whether its previous backups explained why people had searched for it across time and space.

Qin Manjiang agreed to create a backup of Shen Hai and activated [Pupil Realm], where he discovered ten sealed Spirit Coffins. Unsealing them all at once caused him excruciating pain, and Jiang Du revealed that the coffins held the Ten Seats from twenty years ago before Qin Manjiang lost consciousness.

• Shen Hai insisted that his request was a fair exchange, and Qin Manjiang agreed to give him a backup despite Zhong Xueran's objection.
• Qin Manjiang activated [Pupil Realm] and found himself in a dark abyss surrounded by ten enormous coffins.
• Qin Manjiang agreed to unseal the Ten Spirit Coffins, causing all ten to crack open as black mist emerged and their occupants opened their eyes.
• Jiang Du spoke of the Ten Seats from twenty years ago and revealed that he was still alive, then addressed the people inside the coffins with hatred.
• Qin Manjiang lost consciousness, and Yan Xiao and Xia Nan confirmed that he was alive but unconscious.

A strange woman appeared in the rain in Fu City and devoured a man, while other dangerous strangers began appearing across the city. At the Clear Pupil Bar, the group discussed how Liu Jingqing and Xia Nan could survive the upcoming Ghost Story, and Shen Hai asked for its order.

• Qin Manjiang lost consciousness after using [Eye Realm], and Xu Yi suggested discussing the upcoming Ghost Story while they waited for him to wake.
• A confused woman appeared in the rain, lured a man into helping her, then revealed her monstrous mouth and tentacles and devoured him.
• Other bewildered but dangerous people appeared throughout Fu City as Zhong Xueran, Mei Sijun, Chen Zhiyuan, and Xu Yi analyzed the locationless, limitless [Death as Scheduled].
• Xu Yi urged Shen Hai to help Liu Jingqing and Xia Nan, arguing that doing so could earn Qin Manjiang's favor.
• Shen Hai considered Xu Yi's proposal, then looked at Liu Jingqing and Xia Nan and asked, "The order."

The group discussed how to disrupt the order of deaths in the upcoming ghost story, concluding that it would likely manifest as an intangible curse. After Qin Manjiang woke, Mei Sijun recognized that Jiang Du had taken over his body, and Jiang Du asked Shen Hai to accompany him.

• Shen Hai explained that the players should disrupt any death order, and the group agreed the unrestricted ghost story would likely involve a curse rather than a physical ghost.
• Xu Yi warned Xia Nan and Liu Jingqing that they would have to fend for themselves once the game began in six days, since they might carry a curse.
• Qin Manjiang woke, but Mei Sijun recognized that Jiang Du was controlling his body and demanded that he return it.
• Jiang Du said he had taken over because Qin Manjiang could not endure unsealing the [Eye Realm], and that he alone could store the others' backup.
• Jiang Du told Shen Hai to come with him.

Jiang Du offered Shen Hai a deal tied to the past and future, promising a chance to bring Ling back. At midnight on November 21, the [Death as Scheduled] Ghost Story began for five Players, plunging them into darkness as strange sounds filled their surroundings.

• Jiang Du told Shen Hai that his power over the past could help bring Ling back, but only if Shen Hai followed his instructions when needed.
• Qin Manjiang woke after a day unconscious, and Yu Ruoli stayed with him before agreeing to get food together.
• Qin Manjiang found that he could no longer use [Eye Realm], while the Players waited for the [Death as Scheduled] Ghost Story to begin.
• Liu Jingqing, Xia Nan, Su Yu, Yue Qiuchi, and Cao Xiangrong chose separate places to face the curse, planning to regroup only after learning their fates.
• Ten seconds before midnight, the lights went out for all five Players, and the moon vanished above Su Yu.
• At midnight, Xia Nan heard strange noises throughout his home and felt something enter it.

After the Players saw the message “Fate Is Already Decided,” Yue Qiuchi found herself unable to see her assigned fate and returned to her mahjong game. A terrifying apparition bearing her own face drove her to attack and kill a friend, then appeared to rise from the corpse and repeat, “You should die.”

• At midnight, Xia Nan, Liu Jingqing, Yue Qiuchi, Cao Xiangrong, and Su Yu saw “Fate Is Already Decided,” but none could learn their own fate.
• Yue Qiuchi tried to leave her mahjong game, upsetting her friends, who confronted her about her recent distance from them.
• Yue Qiuchi saw one friend's face change into her own and heard it say, “You should die,” then threw a glass at her.
• When another friend restrained her, Yue Qiuchi saw that person's face become her own and stabbed the friend on the right repeatedly with broken glass.
• Yue Qiuchi found her friend dead on the mahjong table, while the other two fled and she insisted a ghost had attacked her.
• The corpse opened its blood-red eyes, grinned, and repeated “You should die,” and Yue Qiuchi fled in terror.

Yue Qiuchi fled toward the outskirts after believing a ghost was pursuing her and struggling with guilt over killing her friend. An eerie call that sounded like her own voice made her stop at a service area, where a worker offered her food.

• Yue Qiuchi booked a ride out of Fu City, convinced that staying among people would let the ghost reach her.
• An unknown caller repeatedly phoned Yue Qiuchi, and she eventually answered while crying and challenging the caller to kill her.
• The caller, speaking in a voice Yue Qiuchi recognized as her own, told her to leave the car and not leave the city.
• Yue Qiuchi stopped at the Service Station before the car left Fu City, paid the driver, and watched him drive away with an eerie smile.
• A service area employee approached Yue Qiuchi and offered her a cheap late-night meal, which she accepted.

Cao Xiangrong hid in a crowded nightclub, hoping the people there would restrict the ghost’s power, but the dancers transformed into ghosts bearing his face. The crowd engulfed and killed him, leaving his corpse on the dance floor.

• Cao Xiangrong recalled how [Yang] had eliminated players who committed crimes and wondered how he could escape the prophetic ghost story.
• Cao Xiangrong tried to leave the dance floor when the nightclub crowd began moving in unnaturally stiff, synchronized steps.
• Cao Xiangrong answered a phone call and heard his own voice pleading for help before ending in a scream.
• The dancers turned to face Cao Xiangrong, revealing that every face looked like his and telling him it was time to die.
• The ghostly crowd overwhelmed Cao Xiangrong, and his corpse lay beneath the nightclub lights as the other dancers kept moving.

Su Yu entered the Ghost Story Game to find his missing parents and suspected that other players were hiding their strength for a larger purpose. He went to a deserted nightclub to seek information from Cao Xiangrong and prepared to use his frightening permanent item, Pleasure and Pain.

• Su Yu reflected on his unusual entry into the game and suspected that hidden players formed a third or even fourth party.
• Su Yu noticed that the moon had vanished from the players’ view and concluded that players saw a different world from ordinary people.
• Su Yu recalled that Cao Xiangrong might have known his parents and had promised to tell him more if Su Yu protected him.
• Su Yu arrived at the empty nightclub street, where the sticky-feeling wind made him uneasy, but he continued because he wanted answers.
• Su Yu peeled the bandage from his face and wrapped it around his ring finger, preparing to use his permanent item, Pleasure and Pain.

Su Yu activated [Pleasure and Pain] and entered the nightclub, where his heightened senses revealed that the dancers were dangerous Vengeful Ghosts. He found Cao Xiangrong dead but grabbed his phone, then fled as the crowd turned on him.

• Su Yu activated [Pleasure and Pain], enduring overwhelming sensory input as he entered the nightclub.
• Su Yu followed the scent of fresh blood toward the dance floor and sensed that the dancers were Vengeful Ghosts.
• Su Yu found Cao Xiangrong's twisted, bloodless face and realized he was dead.
• Su Yu spotted Cao Xiangrong's Phone with an incoming call from an unknown caller and rushed onto the dance floor to take it.
• Su Yu dodged a stiff arm and ran as the dancers stared at him and said in unison, "It's time for you to die..."

Su Yu fled the nightclub and suspected the Ghost Story’s death order depended on how many people were present when it arrived, while wondering what happened during the ten seconds of darkness. Liu Jingqing and Xia Nan compared notes about the blackout, but their call ended with a voice outside Liu Jingqing’s window calling her name.

• Su Yu escaped the nightclub, reasoned that larger crowds might bring earlier deaths, and wondered whether the blackout had hidden something before the Ghost Story arrived.
• Su Yu’s phone suddenly rang, and he sensed intense malice coming from it as he ran without answering.
• Liu Jingqing called Xia Nan, and they agreed not to meet at night and to contact each other if anything happened.
• Xia Nan asked Liu Jingqing whether her lights had gone out for ten seconds before the Ghost Story began, and she confirmed that they had.
• Liu Jingqing heard someone call her name during the phone call, and Xia Nan realized she had encountered something strange.
• A voice outside Liu Jingqing’s window called her name repeatedly, leaving her terrified.

Liu Jingqing was hunted by a curse that called to her in her own voice and forced her to flee her apartment. She became trapped outside her third-floor window as the entity entered her bedroom.

• Liu Jingqing heard her own voice calling her name outside and asked Xia Nan what to do.
• Xia Nan reasoned that a curse was targeting her and urged her to compare their situations and identify what had triggered it.
• When knocking began at Liu Jingqing's front door, Xia Nan told her to escape through the window using a rope.
• Liu Jingqing found her climbing rope, tied it to her computer desk, and climbed out as the entity tore through the security door.
• Liu Jingqing's rope knot jammed, leaving her suspended outside the window as the entity entered her bedroom.

Liu Jingqing unexpectedly cleared the Game while a ghost pursued her, though the Ghost Story continued for the other Players. Xia Nan realized the curse’s companion entity might have triggered her escape and began contacting Su Yu and Yue Qiuchi for clues.

• As Liu Jingqing hung outside her third-floor window, the companion entity appeared to tell her she should be dead, and the window shattered as she cleared the Game.
• Xia Nan and the other Players learned that Liu Jingqing had cleared the Game, but the Ghost Story remained active and still threatened them.
• Liu Jingqing told Xia Nan what had happened, and he asked her to leave her key and get away from the apartment while he examined the scene.
• Liu Jingqing discovered that her security door was intact, leading Xia Nan to conclude the companion entity’s actions had only occurred in the Players’ perceptions.
• After ending the call to avoid putting Liu Jingqing at risk, Xia Nan received Su Yu’s and Yue Qiuchi’s contact details and called Su Yu.

After Liu Jingqing cleared the trial, Yue Qiuchi tried to return to the city but was arrested on suspicion of murder. A crash freed her from the police car, where she faced an apparent Xia Nan while the real Xia Nan spoke through her phone, leaving her to bluff that she was talking to Su Yu.

• Yue Qiuchi heard that Liu Jingqing had cleared the trial and called her, but the call was busy.
• Xia Nan called Yue Qiuchi and told her to return so they could discuss how Liu Jingqing had cleared the trial.
• Yue Qiuchi asked Xia Nan to pick her up, but police arrived and arrested her on suspicion of murder.
• A vehicle crashed into the police car, knocking out the officers while leaving Yue Qiuchi unharmed.
• An apparent Xia Nan came to the wreck and asked Yue Qiuchi to come with him as the real Xia Nan spoke through her phone.
• Yue Qiuchi claimed she was talking to Su Yu, and Xia Nan muted his call to listen for what was wrong.

Yue Qiuchi realized the Xia Nan driving her might be a ghost, while the real Xia Nan helped her stay calm over the phone. Su Yu and Xia Nan compared their theories about [Death as Scheduled] and concluded that the Players might have died when the Ghost Story descended, leaving the meaning of the scheduled deaths unresolved.

• Yue Qiuchi suspected that the fake Xia Nan was a ghost but stayed in the car because she did not understand why it had not attacked her.
• The real Xia Nan asked Yue Qiuchi to answer “okay” if the curse had found her, and she confirmed that it had.
• Su Yu learned that Liu Jingqing had cleared the Game and inferred that [Death as Scheduled] was fundamentally an individual Game.
• Su Yu told Xia Nan that Cao Xiangrong was dead and proposed that the number of people nearby might determine the order of deaths.
• Xia Nan described his theory that something had happened during the ten seconds of darkness, and he and Su Yu considered whether all the Players had died when the Ghost Story descended.

Xia Nan deduced that the curse could kill players only when enough people and light caused humans to recognize them as dead, and he helped Yue Qiuchi escape its illusion. Before he could confirm the escape method at Liu Jingqing’s home, the curse surrounded him, but a strange figure offered to share his body, and Xia Nan accepted as memories of Li Xijiu entered his mind.

• Su Yu and Xia Nan considered whether the players were already dead, while Xia Nan contacted Yue Qiuchi after the curse latched onto her.
• Xia Nan compared the players’ surroundings and concluded that light and nearby people determined how the curse could attack them.
• Yue Qiuchi told Xia Nan how she thought she had killed her friend, and he explained that the blood and events were an illusion meant to keep her among people.
• Xia Nan told Yue Qiuchi to jump from the car, and she woke at the service area, realizing she had been dreaming while speaking with him by phone.
• Xia Nan concluded that the players were both alive and dead, but eight drunken students saw him beneath a streetlight and transformed into copies of him.
• As the copies attacked, a dark figure asked to share Xia Nan’s body; he agreed, and memories bearing the name Li Xijiu entered his mind.

Su Yu and Xia Nan reconstructed the events in Liu Jingqing’s apartment to determine how the curse had worked. They realized the crucial clue was the shadow Liu Jingqing saw, just as something seemed ready to appear.

• Liu Jingqing called Qin Manjiang and told him she had cleared the game, and he invited her to Clear Pupil Bar.
• Su Yu chose not to seek Doctor’s help and traveled to New Fate Community to meet Xia Nan.
• Xia Nan and Su Yu entered Liu Jingqing’s apartment and found her bedroom window open, with the climbing rope still hanging outside.
• Xia Nan reenacted Liu Jingqing’s escape while Su Yu played the ghost, and they realized the shadow was the crucial part of the scene.

Su Yu and Xia Nan discovered that the curse could be defeated by making it kill a reflection, then went to North City Amusement Park’s Mirror Maze. Yue Qiuchi was killed on the way there, but Su Yu and Xia Nan survived the Game; the chapter ended with an author’s quarantine update.

• Su Yu and Xia Nan deduced the curse’s two paths to death and identified making it attack a false reflection as the way to survive.
• Su Yu texted Yue Qiuchi their deductions and went with Xia Nan to the Mirror Maze at North City Amusement Park.
• Yue Qiuchi saw a ghostly version of herself in a red sedan and jumped from the rideshare, dying on the road.
• Su Yu and Xia Nan entered the Mirror Maze, where the Vengeful Ghost could not distinguish them from their reflections.
• As dawn approached, the Players received the notice that Death as Scheduled had been cleared.
• The author said an uncle had tested positive for COVID and that the author’s family might be quarantined after testing.