Chapter Summaries

Su Wu activated the Perfect Life Simulator through his inherited watch and entered a future version of his room, where his journal revealed growing mold, nearby deaths, and a possibly inhuman killer. The simulation ended when a black shadow attacked and killed him.

• Su Wu's stopped watch came to life after his blood touched it, revealing the Perfect Life Simulator and its ability to simulate lives.
• Su Wu spent one origin jade to draw the permanent green talent Composure, then began simulating his future without bringing any real-world items into the game.
• Su Wu awoke in his mold-covered room and found the calendar marked April 17, 2030, one week after the present date.
• Su Wu read his journal entries about worsening dampness, nearby murders, his upstairs neighbors' deaths, and a question about whether the killer was human.
• A dead-rat stench filled the room, and a black shadow attacked Su Wu, leaving a hole in his chest and killing him.

After learning that a shadow-like killer would soon appear, Su Wu entered another simulation to investigate it. He died when the creature emerged from the shadows, but discovered how it hunted and returned to reality with a new question to research.

• Su Wu connected the overpowering stench of dead rats to the creature that had killed him in the previous simulation and decided to run another simulation.
• Su Wu entered the future room and encountered the stench of dead rats as soon as he prepared to move.
• The shadows cast by Su Wu and the room’s furnishings converged on him, tore his body apart, and revealed that the killer was a shadow.
• Su Wu acquired the temporary talent Pain Transfer, died, and received one Origin Jade as a reward.
• Su Wu returned to reality and searched for ways to prevent illuminated objects from casting shadows.

Su Wu prepared to confront the shadow ghost by buying an infrared night-vision device and a yak-bone Gang Cave, a rumored artifact for suppressing evil. He also arranged to replace the hallway lights in his building and secretly made a duplicate key to the main breaker box.

• Su Wu decided that avoiding shadows with perpendicular light was impractical and sought an infrared night-vision device in his fishing group.
• Su Wu bought a secondhand head-mounted infrared night-vision device for 5,800 and a yak-bone Gang Cave for 3,000.
• Su Wu asked the Peaceful Garden Building 7 tenants' group to fix the faulty hallway lights, and the landlord agreed to let him handle it.
• Su Wu arranged with Hardware Tools to replace all the hallway lights with voice- and remote-controlled models.
• Su Wu quietly had a duplicate key made for the building's main circuit breaker box.

Su Wu entered a new life simulation equipped with a night-vision device, a copper-sheathed bone, and tools from his apartment, then cautiously began descending through Peaceful Garden’s dark stairwell. He reached the first floor exhausted, where a rustling sound behind a neighbor’s door left him uncertain what awaited him.

• Su Wu spent his last 2 Origin Jade to bring an infrared night-vision device and the Gang Cave bone into the simulation, while learning that unlocking the bone’s original owner’s past life would cost 500 Origin Jade.
• Su Wu loaded his future life and found the night-vision device, electrical panel key, and hallway-light remote in his apartment, then pocketed the key and remote.
• Su Wu switched off the sound-activated hallway lights and descended the stairwell, using the remote to extinguish a light after a faint rotting smell appeared.
• Su Wu cautiously made his way down from the fourth floor, taking ten minutes to reach the second and becoming drenched in sweat.
• Su Wu paused near the first floor after hearing rustling behind the apartment door on his left.

Su Wu tested his escape from the Shadow Wraith, but the creature killed him after the Gang Cave briefly opened a path through its shadow. After the simulation, he permanently acquired and upgraded the Dark Walker talent, which gave him near night-vision without goggles.

• Su Wu watched the Shadow Wraith kill a woman after her phone screen lit up, then shut off the apartment building's power and gained the temporary Dark Walker talent.
• Su Wu fled into the alley, where the Shadow Wraith pursued him, and blew the Gang Cave to summon a skeletal hand that tore open the creature.
• Su Wu ran through the gap, but the enormous shadowy hand struck the ground and buried him, ending the simulation.
• Su Wu used 50 Origin Jade to obtain the permanent Dark Walker talent from the reward options.
• Su Wu used a Talent Upgrade Talisman to raise Dark Walker to green and found he could see in the dark almost as well as with his night-vision goggles.

Su Wu kept the sinister kangling because it could harm the shadow entity, then visited Cloud Dragon Temple seeking another ritual implement. While waiting for the young Daoist to help him, Su Wu started a new simulation, which opened on an eerie scene inside the temple.

• Su Wu concluded that blowing the human-bone kangling triggered its power and decided to keep it as a weapon against the shadow entity.
• Su Wu went to Cloud Dragon Temple to look for another ritual implement and spoke with a young Daoist, who first advised him to visit a psychiatric department.
• The young Daoist went to the rear courtyard to find something that might help Su Wu.
• While waiting, Su Wu considered moving away from Peaceful Garden Apartments and started a life simulation.
• The simulation showed Su Wu kneeling in the Hall of the Three Pure Ones at dusk before his consciousness entered the scene.

Su Wu died in a simulation of Cloud Dragon Temple, where sinister statues and red lanterns overwhelmed the temple and Mingzhou. Back in reality, he borrowed the Imperial Bell from a young Taoist priest and began another simulation, bringing the bell and mysterious copper-clad bones with him.

• Su Wu's simulated future at Cloud Dragon Temple ended when darkness spread from the statues and swallowed him.
• Su Wu skipped past the simulation's item rewards and concluded that Cloud Dragon Temple and the red lanterns outside were both deadly.
• A young Taoist priest lent Su Wu the Imperial Bell, and Su Wu warned him about the temple before inviting him and his master to go night fishing.
• Su Wu returned to Peaceful Garden, quit engaging with work, and started a new personal life simulation.
• Su Wu brought the mysterious copper-clad bones and ancient Imperial Bell into the simulation, then focused on the screen depicting his future self.

Su Wu used the Gang Cave and Imperial Bell to escape the Shadow Fiend and leave his apartment complex. He found the streets filled with headless bodies before red lanterns appeared and his own headless body came into view, leaving him apparently dead outside.

• Su Wu found that the Gang Cave and Imperial Bell had not been copied into the simulation and gained the temporary Koi Blessing talent.
• Su Wu cut the building's power and escaped into the alley, where the Shadow Fiend pursued him.
• Su Wu blew the Gang Cave to summon a skeletal hand that tore through the Shadow Fiend, then rang the Imperial Bell to hold back its enormous black hand.
• Su Wu backed out of the alley while ringing the bell, and the black hand stopped pursuing him at the entrance.
• Su Wu saw headless bodies throughout the street as the lights went out and red lanterns rose above the buildings.
• Su Wu saw a small temple glowing beside the Cake Shop, then looked down at his own headless body.

After earning a B− rating, Su Wu upgraded Composure and Koi Blessing, then began another simulation to learn more about the Shadow Fiend. When the Gang Cave released a skeletal arm that attached beneath his ribs, Su Wu discovered he could control it, and it tore through the Shadow Fiend as he fled.

• Su Wu received 100 origin jade and two Talent Upgrade Talismans, bringing his total to 104 origin jade.
• Su Wu analyzed the Lantern Fiend’s apparent link to streetlights and noted a strange little temple near the cake shop.
• Su Wu upgraded Composure to blue and acquired Koi Blessing, upgrading it to green, but saved his remaining origin jade instead of redeeming Pain Transfer.
• In a new simulation, Su Wu learned that a High-Powered Flashlight could draw the Shadow Fiend to the shadows it cast, then ran from his apartment building.
• Su Wu used the Gang Cave, but its skeletal arm attached beneath his ribs and caused him unbearable pain.
• Su Wu realized he could command the arm, which tore open the Shadow Fiend and absorbed its black membrane as he ran toward an alley corner.

Su Wu escaped the Shadow Fiend and reached a small temple whose orange light soothed his exhaustion and quieted the ghost hand. He entered the strange, apparently sudden temple and found a lone orange flame burning atop a stone candlestick.

• Su Wu used the Imperial Bell to hold back the Shadow Fiend as he crossed the passage during the darkness before the Lantern Fiend appeared.
• The red lanterns rose, but Su Wu survived their crimson light while headless corpses appeared along the street, leading him to conclude that the Lantern Fiend killed randomly.
• Su Wu suppressed the ghost hand with the Imperial Bell and spotted a small temple glowing orange beside the Imperial Pastries shop.
• Su Wu ran to the temple, where its orange light eased his exhaustion and quieted the ghost hand as the crimson light faded.
• Su Wu entered the unfamiliar temple and found no shrine furnishings, only a thick stone candlestick with an orange flame burning on top.

Su Wu recovered in the temple, examined his notes, and learned that the Shadow Fiend’s attacks had begun earlier than before. He discovered an eerie exchange in his former work group chat, where Huang Zhicheng’s messages turned into blood-red writing across his phone screen.

• Su Wu noticed that the ghostly hand had left the skin beneath his arm wrinkled and black-spotted, and resolved not to use the Gang Cave in reality.
• Su Wu read his notebook and recalled that mold, murders in Building 3, and the upstairs couple’s deaths had occurred earlier in this simulation than in the previous one.
• Su Wu found a tenants’ group warning residents of Peaceful Garden to seal their windows and cut off all light because a deadly substance was spreading through light.
• Su Wu opened his former company’s work group and saw Huang Zhicheng repeatedly demanding to know why the employees had not come to work.
• Huang Zhicheng kept tagging Su Wu, and his final message turned into twisted, blood-red lettering that smeared across Su Wu’s phone screen.

Su Wu investigated the supernatural threat linked to Huang Zhicheng's Work Group, then went to a convenience store for food despite the ghost hand rapidly draining his energy. He discovered that the Lantern Fiend's red lanterns were made from living people's heads, but was killed when a severed head saw him.

• Su Wu threw away his phone after Huang Zhicheng's bloodshot eye appeared on its screen, then left the Work Group and waited in the Little Temple without further incident.
• Su Wu realized the ghost hand was causing his hunger and rapid loss of energy as he struggled toward a convenience store.
• Su Wu gained the temporary talent Hunger Endurance (white) and collected food in the empty store.
• Su Wu opened a pounding door and found a dead person's body slumped across his feet, while a severed head rolled nearby.
• The head pleaded for help, transformed into a blood lantern when it saw Su Wu, and Su Wu's head turned into a lantern as well.

After earning a B+ rating, Su Wu weighed whether to bring the dangerous Corpse Demon's Hand into reality and upgraded several survival talents. He went to sleep, planning to investigate the Little Temple and prepare his real-world assets the next day.

• Su Wu received 633 Origin Jade and two Talent Upgrade Talismans after clearing the Shadow Fiend scenario, and learned that the Little Temple was a real safe house.
• Su Wu examined the Corpse Demon's Hand, whose low containment success rate and deadly side effects made him hesitate to bring it into reality.
• Su Wu considered exploring the Gang Cave relic owner's past life to improve the hand's containment and compatibility, but decided to wait until he was safe and had more Origin Jade.
• Su Wu redeemed Pain Transfer and Hunger Endurance, upgraded them to green, and upgraded Koi Blessing to blue.
• Su Wu reviewed his five talents, exited the simulator, and went to sleep before preparing his real-world assets the next day.

At Cloud Dragon Temple, the old Daoist learned that Xie Yunqing had lent his Imperial Bell to a man named Su Wu and recalled a prophecy warning him to retreat upon meeting Wu. He hurriedly took Xie Yunqing down the mountain, while Su Wu browsed dubious antiques at Mingzhou’s market.

• Xie Yunqing told his master that he had lent the Imperial Bell to Su Wu, a fellow fishing-group member who had criticized the temple’s feng shui.
• The old Daoist recognized Su Wu’s name as matching the prophecy “retreat upon meeting Wu” and decided to leave the temple with Xie Yunqing.
• Su Wu visited Mingzhou’s antiques market and bargained an alleged Qin dynasty terracotta warrior down from eighty thousand yuan to twenty before walking away.

Su Wu prepared for the supernatural resurgence by buying a coarse porcelain bowl that inexplicably attracted him and arranging supplies near the future Little Temple. After selling a home and receiving the payment, he planned to buy more physical gold before supernatural events made antiques valuable.

• Su Wu found that the Lantern Fiend killed people in its territory when the red lanterns appeared, and planned to test whether carrying a candle from the Little Temple would protect him.
• Su Wu haggled with a stallholder and bought the coarse porcelain bowl for eight yuan.
• Su Wu checked the area around Peaceful Garden and confirmed that the Little Temple had not yet appeared, while his rented storage room held supplies for the coming crisis.
• Su Wu received 1,643,072.56 yuan from the sale of his family home in the provincial capital.
• Su Wu decided to use the money to buy more physical gold and later acquire antiques that might gain supernatural properties.

Su Wu used the Little Temple save point to prepare for another attempt at escape, then drove away from a restaurant with a candle in the car. As the city’s lights went out and the Lantern Fiend approached, he raced onward with the candle flame trembling on the dashboard.

• Su Wu reviewed the simulator’s options and loaded his future life from the Little Temple save point.
• Su Wu checked his notebook and phone, recalling that replacing the hallway’s sound-activated light had caused events to happen earlier.
• Su Wu ignored the corrupted Work Group’s repeated invitations and lit a red candle from the Little Temple lampstand.
• Su Wu pulled a headless corpse from a parked sedan, set the candle on the dashboard, and drove away using skills he had developed in previous simulations.
• The streetlights and neon signs went out as the Lantern Fiend was about to appear, and Su Wu accelerated through the darkness while watching the candle.

Su Wu repeatedly encountered a girl carrying a rooster who survived the Lantern Fiend’s red lanterns while he died in front of her. After questioning her, he suspected she had a way to escape the Fiend’s killing rule and prepared to test his theory with the Imperial Bell.

• Su Wu died when the Lantern Fiend’s red light reached his car, but saw a pajama-clad girl cross the street unharmed while holding something.
• Su Wu began another simulation, approached the girl with candles, and discovered she was carrying a rooster.
• The red lanterns rose as Su Wu used the candles to protect himself, but his head floated away while the girl remained unharmed.
• Su Wu repeated the encounter and learned that the girl had seen people’s heads rise but had not known the red lanterns caused it.
• With his candles exhausted, Su Wu concluded that the girl’s survival could not be explained by chance and prepared to test the Imperial Bell.

Su Wu seized the rooster Emergency Rations from a girl, hoping it would protect her from the Lantern Fiend, but she died when the red lanterns rose. He drove toward the outskirts of Mingzhou before the Lantern Fiend killed him, and his simulation rewards brought his balance to 816 Origin Jade.

• Su Wu grabbed Emergency Rations from the girl, believing the rooster might keep the Lantern Fiend from killing her.
• The red lanterns rose, and the girl's head floated toward Su Wu after the Lantern Fiend killed her.
• Emergency Rations died shortly afterward, and Su Wu took a car and drove toward the outskirts of Mingzhou.
• The Lantern Fiend killed Su Wu after he drove for twenty minutes, ending the simulation.
• Su Wu received 70 Origin Jade, raising his balance to 816, and planned to simulate the Gang Cave owner's past life once he had over 1,000 Origin Jade.

Su Wu prepared for another simulation and drove through Mingzhou to reach the girl carrying the rooster before the Eye Fiend appeared. He persuaded her to get into his car and gained the temporary Art of Speaking talent.

• Su Wu decided to rest, then spent the night preparing candles and studying a map of Mingzhou.
• Su Wu began a simulation from the Little Temple, bringing the Imperial Bell and a box of candles with him.
• Su Wu drove away from the temple, using his upgraded Veteran Driver talent to navigate the streets.
• Su Wu stopped in front of the girl carrying a rooster and urged her to get into his car before the lanterns rose.
• Su Wu’s words earned him the temporary white talent Art of Speaking.

Su Wu learned that Jiang Yingying’s rooster, Emergency Rations, protected people nearby from the Eye Horror as they drove through the lantern-filled city. They reached a road blocked by a mountain of crashed cars.

• Su Wu lit candles on the dashboard and drove off with Jiang Yingying, keeping her and Emergency Rations close as red lanterns filled the sky.
• Jiang Yingying told Su Wu that her parents had died after her father’s severed head called to her mother.
• Su Wu explained that the lanterns were the heads of the dead and that the rooster had protected Jiang Yingying from the Eye Horror.
• Jiang Yingying said her grandfather had sent Emergency Rations, the sole chick hatched from a wild pheasant and one of his hens.
• Su Wu and Jiang Yingying crossed the city without being harmed by the lanterns, then found their route blocked by a heap of crashed cars.