Chapter Summaries

After the Sick Sheep game, Qin Manjiang checked his rewards and learned more from Zhong Xueran about spirit pupils, items, and a notorious challenge ghost story. The call ended with Qin Manjiang considering how to earn money by renting out his spare room.

• Qin Manjiang saw that he had earned five spirit pupils and unlocked the item system, where he viewed three One-Time Items and a Permanent Exclusive Item costing one hundred spirit pupils.
• Zhong Xueran told Qin Manjiang that Liu Jingqing's surgery had succeeded, and Doctor explained how close her injuries had come to major blood vessels.
• Qin Manjiang learned that multiplayer spirit pupils were distributed according to contribution and that challenge mode could offer far greater rewards.
• Zhong Xueran revealed that the feared challenge ghost story was Ping'an Hospital, which Yang had once paid dearly to avoid.
• After Zhong Xueran ended the call, Qin Manjiang realized he needed money and decided to find a use for the spare room while Qin Manyi stayed in a psychiatric hospital.

Horsehead with a Sword and the other survivors began the second round of the Sick Sheep Ghost Story, still unable to identify the ghost or coordinate their votes. Xu Qianxing was killed after declaring that he was not a ghost, and the game continued with three human players left.

• Horsehead with a Sword reflected on the previous round’s death and considered whether the NPCs could be used as voting targets.
• Fragrant Grass at Sunset used her Wraith Pupil but found that the ghost’s vision and next target kept shifting unpredictably; she said she was thirty-two.
• Ma Junzhe said he was twenty-three, then Xu Qianxing declared, “I’m not a ghost.”
• Xu Qianxing’s head exploded, and the game skipped directly to the voting phase because of his violation.
• Ma Junzhe voted for an NPC, but the vote failed, leaving the three surviving human players uncertain as the game continued.

Ma Junzhe, Xu Tingfang, and Du Bi'an concluded that the players themselves were the ghosts and agreed to vote for themselves. Their unanimous votes produced a tie instead of ending the game, and one Spirit Player disappeared as the game continued.

• Ma Junzhe reasoned that the players themselves were the ghosts, because the previous group had been wiped out after reaching a final vote against an NPC.
• Xu Tingfang independently concluded that everyone should vote for themselves, hoping a tie would let them survive or clear the game.
• Du Bi'an decided to tell the others he would vote for himself, and Xu Tingfang and Ma Junzhe followed his declaration.
• The three players each wrote their own names on their voting boards.
• The game announced a tie, reduced the number of Spirit Players by one, and warned that a real human player would be erased at random once no Spirit Players remained.
• Ma Junzhe, Xu Tingfang, and Du Bi'an found that one NPC had vanished, while the game continued into daylight.

Qin Manjiang went to Fucheng University to submit his withdrawal application and collect a mysterious package, then returned home to find a strangely dressed young man seeking to rent his room. The young man had been sent by someone called Doctor, whose message made Qin Manjiang’s heart race.

• Qin Manjiang met the Class Monitor at Fucheng University, where she told him the counselor had approved a temporary leave instead of withdrawal, but he still planned to leave school.
• The Class Monitor led Qin Manjiang to a package that had been waiting at the university for a month, and he collected it without knowing who had sent it.
• Qin Manjiang submitted his withdrawal application, which the academic affairs office approved, and received a tuition refund.
• A young man in a white turtleneck arrived at Qin Manjiang’s home to rent the room for eight hundred yuan.
• Qin Manjiang noticed the young man had only shown him a screenshot of the rental listing and learned that Doctor had sent it to him and told him where to go.

Qin Manjiang learned that the Doctor had returned a casket left by his biological father, Qin Linghan, and that opening it had exposed his location to dangerous people. He initially rejected the inheritance, but after hearing that his adoptive parents’ deaths and Lower River Village’s ghost stories might be connected to him, he opened the casket again and found a message from his mother.

• Qin Manjiang called the Doctor, who said Lin had been sent to protect him and that Qin Linghan had left him a dangerous treasure.
• Qin Manjiang opened the Metal Casket and read his father’s letter, which revealed that Qin Linghan had been a player in the game and had found a door whose world he left to his son.
• The Doctor explained that opening the casket sent out a signal and warned that people could now detect Qin Manjiang somewhere in Fu City.
• Qin Manjiang tried to return the casket and dismiss Lin, but the Doctor said Qin Manjiang’s biological and adoptive parents had been killed and linked Lower River Village’s ghost stories to his arrival there.
• Qin Manjiang reconsidered, opened the casket again, and found an ordinary phone and a Longevity Lock bearing a message from his mother wishing him a safe, smooth life.

Ma Junzhe deduced that each Spirit Player was bound to a living player and led the others to vote for the last Spirit Player. The vote failed, and the game continued after Ma Junzhe was killed.

• During the fourth-round tie, Du Bi'an wondered whether the players might be ghosts without realizing it.
• Ma Junzhe reasoned that each Spirit Player was linked to a player according to speaking order and concluded the last remaining Spirit Player was linked to him.
• At the start of round five, Ma Junzhe and the others voted for the Spirit Player.
• When the Vengeful Ghost confirmation began, Ma Junzhe realized the vote had failed and saw his own headless corpse.
• The game announced that verification was complete, the vote had failed, and the game continued.

Xu Tingfang realized the vengeful ghost was whoever received the most votes, and that the chosen player had to open his eyes to verify the vote. Du Bi'an opened his eyes, confirmed the result, and he and Xu Tingfang survived the game.

• Xu Tingfang recalled the rules and realized the player elected as the ghost had to open his eyes during verification.
• Xu Tingfang tried to guide Du Bi'an, who was overwhelmed by grief and prepared to look at the ghost.
• During the sixth round, Xu Tingfang said she had been in the Ghost Story Game for half a year, and Du Bi'an spoke of letting his family down.
• Du Bi'an voted for himself, then opened his eyes when the room went dark.
• A message appeared on the board asking whether verification was successful, and Du Bi'an wrote that it was.
• The game ended, sunlight entered the abandoned Murder Mystery Shop, and Xu Tingfang and Du Bi'an embraced after surviving.

Qin Manjiang rejected Doctor’s request to investigate his biological parents’ belongings further, then focused on earning money while other players grew curious about Abyss. Zhong Xueran told him that Yang had sent messages asking whether Abyss was Qin Manjiang and reporting a Vengeful Ghost repeating both names, leaving Qin Manjiang suspecting it was Li Xijiu.

• Qin Manjiang accepted the belongings but told Doctor to sever his ties, then dismissed his biological father as selfish while worrying that his adoptive parents’ deaths might be connected to the past.
• Lin listened to Doctor on the phone, replied, and left Qin Manjiang’s apartment.
• By September 1, players had learned that Abyss and Pond Fish cleared Multiplayer Mode in one day, and many became eager to meet Abyss.
• Qin Manjiang declined invitations and worked delivering takeout; Zhong Xueran met him and explained that players planned to search for Yang at the Ghost Story’s location.
• Zhong Xueran relayed Yang’s messages asking whether Abyss was Qin Manjiang and saying a Vengeful Ghost repeated both names.
• Qin Manjiang reacted to the messages and suspected the Vengeful Ghost was Li Xijiu.

Qin Manjiang learned that Yang's ghost story was taking place in the submerged Guanyin Village and joined Chen Zhiyuan, Zhong Xueran, and Xin Danchen to investigate. He suspected the ghost might be his friend Li Xijiu, while the group admitted they did not know why the game kept appearing in Fu City.

• Zhong Xueran told Qin Manjiang that Yang's ghost story was set in Guanyin Village, which had been flooded twenty years earlier with no survivors or recovered divers.
• Qin Manjiang went with Zhong Xueran to meet Chen Zhiyuan and Xin Danchen, who was chosen to enter the game's domain because ordinary people could go inside.
• Chen Zhiyuan explained that Xin Danchen's brother had been a chosen player and that Yang's unusual message suggested he faced serious danger.
• Qin Manjiang asked whether a ghost could retain memories from life, and Chen Zhiyuan and Zhong Xueran insisted that ghosts lost their former selves.
• Qin Manjiang said the ghost might be his friend and asked why the game always took place in Fu City, but Chen Zhiyuan had no answer.
• Zhong Xueran suggested that Fu City might itself be one enormous ghost story, with the current events only its prologue.

Qin Manjiang and the others reached Guanyin Lake to investigate Xin Danchen’s brother’s death, but the barrier vanished and they found Yang struggling against the lake’s vengeful dead. After rescuing Yang and escaping, he told Qin Manjiang that the ghost seemed to have something to say to him.

• Qin Manjiang, Zhong Xueran, Chen Zhiyuan, and Xin Danchen arrived at Guanyin Lake to investigate Xin Danchen’s brother’s death.
• Qin Manjiang, Zhong Xueran, and Chen Zhiyuan saw the Game end and the blood-red barrier disappear, revealing Yang in the lake.
• Chen Zhiyuan tried to reach Yang by dinghy, then swam into the lake and encountered a mass of corpses and ghostly hands.
• Zhong Xueran drove the Off-Road Vehicle while Qin Manjiang used a rescue rope to pull Yang and Chen Zhiyuan ashore.
• Zhong Xueran drove the group away as a storm broke, and Xin Danchen asked whether they had been playing games with supernatural beings.
• Yang thanked Qin Manjiang and said the ghost seemed to have something to say to him.

Qin Manjiang recovered his glasses and resolved to uncover his adoptive father's death, cure his sister, and find Li Xijiu. Back at his apartment, he let a stranded young woman and her dog stay despite her having only four hundred yuan, on the condition that she keep the dog from licking him.

• Yang returned Qin Manjiang's glasses, and Qin asked whether anyone knew the code name Invincible Tyrannosaurus Warrior; none of them did.
• Qin realized how strangely standardized his emotions and bodily habits were, then vowed to investigate his adoptive father's death, cure his sister, and find Li Xijiu.
• After returning to Fu City, Qin found a young woman waiting by his apartment with a little yellow dog called Xiaobai.
• The woman explained that she had lost her phone and wallet and asked to pay half the rent first.
• Qin let her stay despite her having only four hundred yuan and asked her to stop the dog from licking his ankle.

Qin Manjiang’s Ghost Story Game activated again, recruiting him for the Challenge Mode story on Butterfly Island. He learned that he had to reach White Dew Bay by 5 p.m. the next day and could not leave the island until the story was solved.

• Qin Manjiang gathered rumors about Lower River Village ahead of visiting Qin Manyi, while Mi Qiao settled into his home and prepared their meals.
• The Ghost Story Game activated during lunch, but Qin Manjiang was not selected for the Multiplayer Mode story, My Aging Self.
• Challenge Mode began, and Qin Manjiang was recruited for Butterfly Island alongside Wang Million, Swimming Fish, Coffee Machine, Wool Master, and Doctor.
• Qin Manjiang read Butterfly Island’s Opening Lines and sensed an eerie presence watching him before he reached the island.
• The game instructed Qin Manjiang to arrive at White Dew Bay by 5 p.m. the next day and warned that leaving the island, arriving late, or dying would mean erasure.
• Mi Qiao knocked on the bathroom door and asked Qin Manjiang if he was all right.

After being selected for another game, Qin Manjiang spoke with Zhong Xueran and his sister Qin Manyi before traveling to White Dew Bay. He and Doctor reached Butterfly Island by boat after the boatman vanished, leaving them on its flower-covered shore.

• Zhong Xueran told Qin Manjiang to be careful in the game and advised him to stick with Doctor.
• Qin Manjiang called Qin Manyi, who asked him to visit Sleep Mountain Hospital within a month and told him to be careful.
• Qin Manjiang arrived at White Dew Bay at five o'clock and learned that four people had already gone to Butterfly Island.
• Doctor arrived at the dock, recognized Qin Manjiang as the patient's family, and boarded the boat with him.
• The boatman warned that people could not leave White Dew Bay, then rotted away as swarms of black insects emerged from his face.
• Qin Manjiang and Doctor reached Butterfly Island and saw red flowers swaying in the cold wind.

Qin Manjiang and Yan Xiao explored Butterfly Island and found a lively town whose residents seemed completely ordinary, despite the island’s reputation as a deadly ghost story. After the six players regrouped at the Butterfly Inn, they discovered that the inn’s chicken soup contained a human hand.

• Qin Manjiang met Yan Xiao, who warned him that Butterfly Island could become an ultimate game and said the previous First Seat had died there.
• Qin Manjiang and Yan Xiao entered the town and met Chen Yu, who pointed out that there were no butterflies on Butterfly Island.
• Chen Yu led Qin Manjiang and Yan Xiao around town, where they found no signs of anything eerie despite knowing the island was dangerous.
• At the Butterfly Inn, Qin Manjiang and Yan Xiao met Liang Yue, Wang Million, and Swimming Fish, completing their group of six.
• The inn’s proprietress called the players to dinner, and Liang Yue saw that the pot of supposed chicken soup contained a human hand.

The guests on Butterfly Island found a human hand in the landlady’s chicken soup, though she and the other islanders seemed to see ordinary food. As they debated how the island was distorting their perceptions, Swimming Fish showed Qin Manjiang a drawing of a butterfly flying out of his mouth.

• The landlady drank the soup and insisted it was fine, while Chen Yu covered for Liang Yue’s disgust by saying she might have caught a chill.
• Yan Xiao confirmed the pot smelled like chicken soup, and Qin Manjiang recalled seeing an islander carrying an identical pot earlier that day.
• Chen Yu and Qin Manjiang suggested that the islanders’ senses might be altered, and the landlady brought out more dishes that looked like ordinary meat to her.
• Qin Manjiang told everyone to sit and eat, while Chen Yu and Yan Xiao discussed the island’s altered perceptions and the persistent smell of blood.
• Swimming Fish showed Qin Manjiang a drawing of him with his mouth open and a butterfly flying out.

On Butterfly Island, Swimming Fish revealed that her Spirit Medium Sketchbook produced symbolic clues about each game and had drawn Qin Manjiang as a key piece of information. As Chen Yu investigated the strange opening lines and the suspicious chicken soup, she noticed her reflection in the window stop following her.

• The group debated sleeping arrangements, and Swimming Fish chose to share a room with Qin Manjiang.
• Swimming Fish explained that her Permanent Item, the Spirit Medium Sketchbook, could make three symbolic drawings per game, each hinting at key information.
• Qin Manjiang asked Swimming Fish about the opening lines, while Chen Yu considered their references to bubbles, flowers, and snow.
• Chen Yu decided to investigate the town and its surrounding fog after daybreak, focusing on the chicken soup that appeared to contain a hand.
• Chen Yu saw her reflection in the window fail to move when she did, then watched it remain still as she turned away.

A group of players discovered Chen Yu’s mutilated corpse in bed beside Liang Yue, who had slept through the attack. Yan Xiao became aggressive as he questioned Liang Yue, and Qin Manjiang restrained him while asking what had happened before she fell asleep.

• Liang Yue fell asleep beside Chen Yu, who had appeared to be resting with her eyes closed.
• Wang Million woke from a dream about Liang Yue calling for help, while Qin Manjiang noticed a strong smell of blood and mist flowing from Chen Yu and Liang Yue’s room.
• Yan Xiao, Qin Manjiang, Swimming Fish, and Wang Million entered the room and found Chen Yu’s mutilated corpse beneath the covers.
• Yan Xiao revived the fainted Liang Yue and pulled her off the bed, while Qin Manjiang caught her and asked Swimming Fish to look after her.
• Yan Xiao questioned Liang Yue about not hearing anything and tried to act against her, but Qin Manjiang restrained him and asked what had happened before she fell asleep.

After Chen Yu was found dead, Yan Xiao tried and failed to revive her before leaving with one of her fingers. Qin Manjiang questioned the circumstances of her death, while Wang Million revealed a dream in which Chen Yu had eaten Liang Yue, leaving him afraid that he might be next.

• Yan Xiao stabbed Chen Yu’s corpse with his Permanent Item, then cut open her chest and discovered her heart was missing.
• Yan Xiao cut off one of Chen Yu’s fingers, put it in his pocket, and left the room.
• Qin Manjiang sent Wang Million, Swimming Fish, and Liang Yue downstairs, then covered Chen Yu’s corpse and wondered whether she had truly been the one who died.
• Swimming Fish kept her distance from Liang Yue because she suspected Liang Yue might be the ghost.
• Wang Million described dreaming that Chen Yu had eaten Liang Yue, and Qin Manjiang asked when the four of them had arrived on the island.
• Wang Million realized Chen Yu had arrived first and died first, then feared that his own dream meant he would be next.

Qin Manjiang and Swimming Fish connected the clue in her drawing to Qin Manjiang’s inability to dream and proposed that Butterfly Island existed inside a ghost’s dream. They concluded that everything in the fog-shrouded town was part of that dream, though they had not yet learned how to escape it.

• Wang Million worried he might be the next to die and learned from the boss's wife that only chicken would fill their stomachs.
• Qin Manjiang left the lodge for a walk, and Swimming Fish followed him with her interpretation of the drawing.
• Swimming Fish linked the butterfly flying from Qin Manjiang's mouth to his claim that he did not dream, suggesting dreams were key to Chen Yu's death.
• Qin Manjiang recalled that Butterfly Island had no butterflies and proposed that the players were inside a ghost's dream.
• Qin Manjiang and Swimming Fish interpreted the Opening Lines and concluded that everything in the fog was the ghost's dream.

Qin Manjiang and Swimming Fish investigated the town and concluded that it was a ghost’s dream, while Liang Yue and Wang Million became trapped in the proprietress’s terrifying kitchen. The proprietress began preparing a dish from a horrifying duplicate of Liang Yue, leaving the pair facing immediate danger.

• Swimming Fish suggested that killing themselves might wake them from the dream, but Qin Manjiang warned that the dream belonged to a ghost that had already experienced death.
• Qin Manjiang wondered whether the dream was making them relive the ghost’s past and, after surveying the town, said he knew who owned the dream.
• Liang Yue and Wang Million found the proprietress’s severed head on a kitchen chopping board while the Ghost-Pointing Needle spun wildly.
• The kitchen door slammed shut, and the proprietress asked what they wanted to eat before ordering them to wait beside the chopping board.
• The proprietress threw a half-slab of meat onto the board, and Wang Million realized it was half of Liang Yue’s body.
• The proprietress picked up a boning knife and said she would make pork rib soup.