Recaps

Franca, Lumian, Jenna, and Anthony investigated the Star Dream General Store before reading Madam Magician’s explanation of how death and advancement in the Dream City could affect reality. The letter warned that becoming a Half-God through a dream potion was possible but dangerously difficult to make safe.

• Franca examined a brass book whose blank pages briefly displayed unreadable text, then saw a winged, feathered snake that the shopkeeper called her pet.
• Lumian collected the Major Arcana’s reply, and Franca wondered whether the shopkeeper’s snake was a miniature Death God pathway Mythical Creature.
• A man selling listening devices and pinhole cameras prompted Franca to check the car for scientific surveillance; Jenna’s divination found none, and Franca and Lumian suspected the seller had been an ally warning them.
• Madam Magician’s letter confirmed that the Witch of Despair Beyonder Characteristic and related items were real, and explained that those whose real consciousness entered the dream could die there and release characteristics into reality.
• The letter said a person could advance to Half-God in the Dream City, but suppressed Sequence 4 dangers would return upon leaving unless the potion was fully digested first, a process made perilous by the dream’s uncertain duration.
• Madam Magician cautioned that Mr. Fool could not easily use such dreams to help others advance, and that prolonged dreams and the risks of potion acting made the idea impractical.

Lumian and his companions investigated why the Celestial Worthy had brought the real Witch Panatiya into the dream and considered how Witches might relate to fate and Mr. Fool’s awakening. After observing Peng Deng, their car broke down in a suspicious coincidence, and Stiano offered to help.

• Lumian and his companions discussed Panatiya’s origins and questioned why the Celestial Worthy had used a real Witch marionette instead of a dream image.
• Anthony proposed that an ordinary woman gradually becoming a Witch would have been a better way to approach Zhou Mingrui, and Lumian suspected the abundance of Witches might symbolize fate’s choice.
• Lumian and his companions watched people leaving Police Headquarters, then went to observe Peng Deng at his workplace.
• After Peng Deng entered the building, Lumian told the group to observe his girlfriend and flatmate next, but Franca’s car suddenly failed to start.
• Lumian noted the breakdown’s suspicious timing, and Stiano appeared and offered to help repair the car.

Lumian and his companions investigated Peng Deng’s routine and tried to test the dream city’s nighttime abnormalities, while adding Stiano as a WeChat friend after he repaired their car. Their movie outing led them to an unexpected encounter with Madam Magician at a bookstore signing.

• Stiano repaired the group’s car, and Lumian added him as a WeChat friend, finding posts about information, machinery, and a marvelous machine.
• The group watched Peng Deng during the day and saw him visit Yuzhou Stir-Fry, but Zhou Mingrui never appeared before Peng Deng went home.
• Lumian and the others decided not to follow Peng Deng after dark because his repeated failure to meet Zhou Mingrui at night seemed suspicious.
• Lumian proposed going out at night like ordinary people, and Franca suggested a movie and more scratch-off lottery tickets.
• At the mall, Franca and Lumian recognized the romance author at a bookstore signing as Madam Magician.

Lumian, Jenna, and Franca discovered that Madam Magician appeared in Mr. Fool’s dream as the romance novelist behind the Great Pirate series, which echoed Fors Wall’s real-world Great Adventurer books. They watched Great Pirate 3 and recognized dream versions of several real people, while the film’s Gehrman Sparrow left Lumian struck by his resemblance to Zhou Mingrui.

• Jenna and Lumian recognized Madam Magician at a bookstore signing, and Franca found that the dream’s Great Pirate series mirrored the real-world Great Adventurer series written by Fors Wall.
• Lumian suggested Madam Magician’s novelist identity might reflect her real-world role as Fors Wall and that the books helped make Gehrman Sparrow an object of worship; Franca regretted that Lumian had burned the letters they could have asked her to sign.
• The group went to the fourth floor, where Franca bought seats, popcorn, and cola for them to watch Great Pirate 3.
• As the movie opened, Jenna and Lumian recognized Vice Admiral Iceberg as resembling Principal Ai and Madam Hermit as resembling Cattleya, while Lumian identified the film’s Gehrman Sparrow as resembling Zhou Mingrui.
• Ludwig spotted grilled fish in the movie and asked Lumian to feed him, so Lumian stuffed popcorn into his mouth.

Lumian and his companions tested whether nighttime pranks could trigger changes in Dream City, then reviewed their evidence before Lumian took Ludwig to the Dream Tutoring Class to meet Zhou Mingrui. The chapter left Lumian inside the class, having added the teacher Anderson Hood on WeChat.

• Lumian pranked elevator passengers by pretending an unseen companion had entered, and the lights flickered as the elevator descended.
• Lumian explained that he was testing whether an eerie story could provoke a response from the dream, and the group returned home without further incident.
• Over the weekend, Lumian and his companions reviewed their notes, then agreed that he and Ludwig would separate from the others in case meeting Zhou Mingrui risked expulsion from the dream.
• Lumian took Ludwig to the Dream Tutoring Class, introduced himself as Lee Lu's father, and added Anderson Hood on WeChat.

Lumian tested whether brief, low-key contact with Zhou Mingrui would provoke a reaction from the dream or the Celestial Worthy, while Franca and Jenna discovered they had won a lottery prize. Lumian returned safely to the apartment and reported that nothing unusual had happened yet, though he warned the others the Celestial Worthy might still be waiting for them to reunite.

• Lumian reviewed Anderson Hood's Moments, sent him a brief voice message, and later spoke briefly with Zhou Mingrui after Business English class without leaving a strong impression.
• Lumian took Ludwig out before Zhou Mingrui could see him, then spent the night observing for changes; Anderson did not contact him, and no immediate restrictions or other abnormalities appeared.
• Franca remembered the lottery draw and discovered that she and the others had won more than twenty second-prize entries worth over 150,000, prompting her to worry about attracting attention.
• A thunderstorm brought torrential rain overnight, and Lumian wondered whether the flooding and weather signified something before taking Ludwig out for breakfast.
• Lumian returned with Ludwig to the rented apartment and told Franca, Jenna, and Anthony that his brief contact with Zhou Mingrui had caused no obvious consequences, while cautioning that the Celestial Worthy could be delaying its response.

Lumian and his companions discussed how to approach Zhou Mingrui and submitted job applications to the Intis Group, while Franca and Jenna suspected that Mr. Fool’s influence was subtly helping them. Their lottery prize collection was delayed by a suspicious series of setbacks, and Lumian received an interview after a lightning strike killed and injured Intis Group security staff.

• Lumian joked about being expelled from the dream, then warned the group that the Celestial Worthy’s intervention could leave them with no second chance.
• Franca submitted the group’s résumés to the Intis Group, and Lumian considered ways to reach Zhou Mingrui without drawing the Celestial Worthy’s attention.
• Franca and Jenna interpreted the team’s recent good fortune as a manifestation of Mr. Fool’s inclinations, and Anthony agreed to collect their lottery winnings.
• Franca, Jenna, Anthony, and Ludwig reached the lottery center late after delays and learned that its head had died by suicide during an anti-corruption investigation; staff then refused to pay the prize that day.
• Lumian told Franca that the Intis Group had invited him to interview, and she saw a report that lightning had struck a sedan carrying the company’s security personnel, killing one and injuring three.

Lumian, Franca, and Jenna rented an apartment in Dechuang Jiayuan to approach Rosanne, an Intis Group employee, while investigating the dream. After Jenna met Rosanne and returned to the apartment alone, the lights suddenly went out.

• Lumian said the group would join the Intis Group despite the strange deaths in its security department, and they went to find a new residence.
• Lumian, Franca, and Jenna rented an apartment in Dechuang Jiayuan, where Rosanne lived, and Franca bought a mysterious Sleepless beverage from a vending machine that vanished moments later.
• Jenna met Rosanne at the complex and added her on WeChat after Rosanne offered to paint her portrait.
• Jenna returned to the apartment alone, spent the evening waiting for anything unusual to happen, and saw no abnormalities for nearly two hours.
• Jenna switched on the bathroom light, heard a sizzling sound, and the apartment plunged into darkness.

Jenna witnessed Rosanne defending Dechuang Garden’s Spirit World barrier from monsters, while Lumian and Franca tested a Sleepless potion and planned to redeem their lottery prize. Lumian arrived at the Intis Group building for an interview and encountered President Huang Tao in the elevator lobby.

• Jenna called property management to fix a tripped breaker, then discovered in her Astral Body that Rosanne was protecting Dechuang Garden from invading monsters.
• Lumian tested the Sleepless beverage on a rat, which began mutating before Ludwig swallowed it and said he was storing its Beyonder Characteristic.
• Lumian and Franca decided Franca and Anthony would visit the lottery center without the ticket while Lumian kept it, testing whether the dream’s rejection targeted the ticket.
• Lumian carried the lottery ticket to the Intis Group building and studied its unusual mix of company departments and tenants.
• Lumian waited by the elevators and recognized President Huang Tao, the head of the Intis Group, as he appeared beside him.

Lumian, Franca, and Anthony successfully claimed a second-prize lottery ticket while Lumian attended an interview at Intis Group. Franca received an interview invitation, but the group remained uncertain about who was preventing first prizes from being claimed.

• Huang Tao rode the employee elevator to his clubhouse and privately wondered why he had found Lumian attractive.
• Franca waited in the car with Ludwig while Anthony went to claim the lottery prize, then hid nearby to monitor the exchange.
• Lumian transferred the second-prize ticket through a mirror to Anthony, who handed it to the lottery staff and claimed the prize.
• Lumian used his fate abilities during his interview, gave the interviewers an elaborate account of his past, and was told to wait for a decision.
• Franca learned that the group had received over 156,000 in prize money and was invited to interview at Intis Group the next morning.
• Jenna watched Rosanne return home, change clothes, and leave again with a white handbag.

Jenna investigated Rosanne through mirrors and discovered evidence that Rosanne was a Painter whose art depicted monsters trapped in cages. Their messages revealed Rosanne’s admiration for protectors, leaving Jenna to suspect that this protective instinct was resisting the Fantasy Society’s corruption.

• Jenna used the Ice Mirror Charm to spy on Rosanne’s apartment and recognized the creatures in Rosanne’s paintings as monsters from the Spirit World community, all shown inside iron cages.
• Rosanne returned home, painted a silver door on the window, and entered the mirror-behind region, but Jenna escaped before Rosanne found her.
• Jenna used Witch’s Mirror Magic to watch Rosanne’s self-portrait move on her phone screen, confirming that Rosanne’s paintings could affect reality.
• Jenna told Rosanne about a dream in which Rosanne protected the neighborhood, and Rosanne said her father and his colleagues had been true guardians.
• Jenna asked whether Rosanne had ever painted about protection, and Rosanne replied that she had not and that she had failed.

Jenna learned about the monsters attacking the Spirit World Community from Rosanne, while Franca and Lumian discussed Ludwig’s new abilities and prepared Franca for her interview. Franca was chosen by Huang Beibei as the most conservative applicant, leaving her poised to join Intis Group.

• Jenna ignored Rosanne’s message, then watched Rosanne repel creatures at the barrier and heard her name and describe several kinds of monsters.
• Franca asked Ludwig what abilities he gained from eating the Sleepless Rat, and he said he could see and sense danger in darkness and had gained spirituality and strength.
• Lumian asked Ludwig whether he wanted to leave the dream, and Ludwig admitted he liked its food, cartoons, and the way Lumian treated him.
• Franca worried about her interview, and Lumian comforted her by recalling how Aurora used to reassure him.
• Franca attended the Intis Group interview as Luo Fu and answered the interviewers’ questions without using Fascination.
• Huang Beibei selected Luo Fu as the most conservative applicant.

Anthony used hypnosis to learn about Intis Group’s administration department, while Lumian and Franca secured jobs there with different terms. Jenna decided to postpone searching Rosanne’s apartment, hoping to preserve the goodness still left in her.

• Anthony bumped into Zhang Qing, then hypnotized him by offering bottled coffee and drew out complaints about President Huang and the administration department’s new hire.
• Anthony declined to exchange WeChat details with Zhang Qing to avoid tying too many leads to Intis Group, then signaled Franca and separated from the others until the next day.
• Franca told Lumian that Bernadette might be able to enter the dream and help them, and Lumian later learned he had been hired as a security guard for 3,500 during probation and 4,500 afterward.
• Franca received an offer for 6,000 during probation and 7,000 afterward, but the job required a daily dress code of blouses, skirt suits, stockings, and high heels; she decided to take it rather than let Jenna face President Huang.
• Jenna chose not to search Rosanne’s apartment yet, fearing she might provoke Rosanne and damage the protective side of her personality.

Jenna discovered that Rosanne’s supernatural self-portrait kept returning to her phone after deletion, and she warned Lumian and Franca that investigating Rosanne might worsen her corruption. Lumian used a program supplied by Stiano to erase the image, while Franca realized that supernatural abilities could make digital threats especially dangerous in Dream City.

• Jenna found Rosanne’s self-portrait back in her photo album after deleting it twice and told Lumian and Franca what had happened.
• Jenna explained her concerns that Rosanne’s protective actions reflected both her humanity and Mr. Fool’s influence, and that provoking her could deepen her corruption.
• Franca warned Lumian not to enter the image and confront Rosanne directly, then suggested asking Stiano for help with the phone virus.
• Lumian sent Stiano a screenshot, received an Information Shredder program, and used it to permanently remove the portrait from Jenna’s phone.
• Franca speculated that supernatural images could spread through the internet and wondered whether Witches or high-ranking Mystery Pryers could control computer and phone viruses.

Franca joined Intis Group, and she and Jenna used their lottery winnings to repay their loans while discussing how to wake Mr. Fool. As they watched Rosanne in the dream, a giant owl-like creature appeared above them after they woke to a danger premonition.

• Lumian warned Franca and Jenna that Rosanne might investigate the missing photograph and urged them to stay alert.
• Franca told Jenna she had been hired by Intis Group and agreed to buy work clothes with her.
• Jenna persuaded Franca to pay off their small loans, and Franca transferred money to repay their teammates as well.
• Franca and Jenna discussed their failed attempts to wake Mr. Fool and considered having one person tell Zhou Mingrui the truth.
• Jenna and Franca watched Rosanne drive back invaders at the barrier, then woke to a foul stench and a pair of eyes beneath the ceiling.

Franca and Jenna fought off Rosanne’s probe but could not find her, while Rosanne remained in their dream and went to work as usual. Lumian received their report, urged further investigation, and then discovered that Green had recognized him as the Divine Child.

• Franca and Jenna destroyed Mo'erna, then split up to search for Rosanne and defend the barrier from invaders.
• Franca found Rosanne missing and suspected she had escaped through a painting of a bridge, while Jenna repelled the monsters until dawn.
• Franca and Jenna realized they had not been expelled from the dream, and Franca sent Lumian a report using WeChat.
• Lumian read Franca’s messages, replied with instructions to continue probing, and deleted their chat history with the Information Shredder.
• Green tested Lumian’s fighting skills at the Security Department, then told him he had recognized him as the Divine Child.

Lumian began his new job as a security guard at Intis Group, where he used Fascination to stop two employees from posting photos and video of him. Zhou Mingrui noticed Lumian and then grew suspicious that Rosanne might have become a Painter.

• Green praised Lumian's fighting skills and told Xu Xinyang to familiarize him with the security department's procedures.
• Xu Xinyang assigned Lumian to guard the building's main entrance, where Lumian stopped two employees from filming him and used Fascination to make them delete their recordings.
• Zhou Mingrui saw Lumian in his security uniform and wondered whether the young man had come to investigate him, but decided to observe before quitting or moving.
• Zhou Mingrui noticed Painter imagery and an empty Painter beverage bottle at Rosanne's desk, then asked her about Lumian.
• Rosanne told Zhou Mingrui that the new guard was named Li Ming, was twenty-two, and already had a seven-year-old child; Zhou Mingrui left suspecting Rosanne might be a Painter.

Lumian and the others continued investigating the Intis Group and Zhou Mingrui while preparing to approach Rosanne in the dream. Rosanne revealed that a mysterious voice had asked her to give Zhou Mingrui an Instigator beverage, leaving the witches uncertain whether he had drunk it.

• Lumian finished his first day guarding the Intis Group entrance, told Franca he would stay away from Xinhong Community overnight, and warned her to delete their chat history with the Information Shredder.
• Franca and Jenna prepared Franca’s clothes for her new job and discussed President Huang’s romantic scandals and the Intis Group’s problems.
• That night, Franca and Jenna encountered Rosanne at the barrier in the frozen dream space, and Franca claimed they had come from the future to protect a Savior from disguised monsters.
• Rosanne guessed that the Savior was Zhou Mingrui and said a voice had told her to give him an Instigator beverage in exchange for a Painter beverage.
• Rosanne said she did not know whether Zhou Mingrui had drunk it, and Jenna asked how many times Rosanne had received such beverages.

Jenna and Franca learned how Rosanne’s drinks and Shaman powers connected her to the monsters threatening Dechuang Garden, but Rosanne’s corrupted personality turned on Jenna. Franca revealed that she had already returned to Room 1502 and subdued Rosanne’s body, then called Anthony for help.

• Jenna questioned Rosanne about the Shaman drink, learning that its territory-based powers helped her guard a barrier while making her mind a target for invading monsters.
• Rosanne described drinking Reporter and hearing a voice that fueled her hatred and desire to reshape the world, then blamed herself for creating stronger monsters.
• As Jenna comforted Rosanne, a monstrous flower painted on Rosanne’s chest enveloped Jenna, and Rosanne revealed that she had been deceiving her.
• Franca had already left the illusory space and stabbed the sleeping Rosanne with the Chilling Blade, while her apparent presence there had been created by Jenna’s Mirror Magic.
• Franca called Anthony to treat Rosanne’s corruption, then bound her with spider silk and used her lengthening hair to stiffen her body.

Anthony treated Rosanne’s corruption-related mental problems, and she woke feeling like herself again. Rosanne then revealed that a voice had urged her to help fund a hotel tied to Anderson Hood, while the dangerous painting remained unresolved.

• Jenna told Franca that Rosanne’s Shaman powers had attracted invading creatures, and Anthony arrived to treat her.
• Ludwig ate Rosanne’s paintings, while Anthony used a candle and Hydrosol to treat Rosanne’s Mental Body.
• Rosanne woke with her personality restored and told Franca and Jenna that a voice had urged her to help open a guesthouse hotel.
• Rosanne said Anderson owned the hotel, and Franca and Jenna recognized his name on the Colorful Painting Hotel’s shareholder listing.
• Rosanne explained that the remaining painting had appeared after she drank the Reporter potion and could not be photographed or discarded, and Franca asked to take it for them to deal with in daylight.

Jenna took the anomalous painting to the Star Dream General Store, but the trip became a deadly ordeal as the painting trapped her in a vision of falling to her death. Sunlight broke the vision and she reached the store, only to see the driver put on a crystal monocle.

• Franca advised Jenna to ask the Star Dream General Store owner to buy the painting or accept it on consignment, with contacting Stiano or leaving it at Police Headquarters as backup plans.
• Franca and Jenna spoke with Rosanne in the strange space and learned more about Zhou Mingrui and the Intis Group, then prepared for the day's danger.
• After the morning rush hour, Jenna took the painting by car to the Star Dream General Store to avoid exposing more people to its anomaly.
• Jenna experienced a drowning attack and became trapped in a vision where Rosanne and a bewitching version of herself waited across a bridge that broke beneath her.
• A ray of sunlight shattered the vision, and Jenna found herself at the Star Dream General Store, where the driver asked her to leave a good review and revealed a crystal monocle.

Jenna escaped the Cliff Painting’s lethal influence with Amon’s help and sold it to the Star Dream General Store for thirty thousand. At the Technology Building, Lumian tested what Security Director Green knew about the Divine Child and began transforming his appearance.

• Amon drove Jenna to the Star Dream General Store after helping her escape the Cliff Painting’s hallucination.
• The shopkeeper bought the painting from Jenna for thirty thousand, and Jenna realized the transaction might follow Dream City’s rules of equivalent exchange.
• Franca arrived at the Technology Building in disguise while Lumian watched the surveillance feeds and recognized her.
• Green warned Lumian to be careful of Huang Tao, explaining that he had betrayed Mother and was no longer her child.
• Lumian reasoned that changes in reality could affect the dream and tested whether Green knew the Divine Child’s identity by asking why he was male.
• Lumian told Green that he thought Mother had revealed his true identity, then began changing his hair and facial features.

Lumian began his new job in security and made contact with director Green, while Franca started work in Administration and encountered Zhou Mingrui after clearing away Rosanne’s drawings. The chapter ended with Lumian checking his empty chat with Anderson Hood.

• Green praised Lumian’s background and added him on WeChat before posting pictures of his children.
• Franca met deputy supervisor Zhang Qing, who introduced her to the Administration Department and assigned her a desk near Rosanne’s.
• Franca noticed drawings at Rosanne’s desk and threw them away, then told Zhou Mingrui that Rosanne had asked her to do it.
• Zhou Mingrui asked Franca about her new job and whether Rosanne had referred her, and Franca said she had earned the position herself.
• Lumian opened his conversation with Anderson Hood during a restroom break and found only their initial greeting.

Lumian continued testing the dream’s dangers and received Franca’s warning about the Painter Pathway after Jenna narrowly escaped being trapped. Franca treated Rosanne’s renewed corruption, while Lumian learned that two security guards injured by lightning were recovering at Mushu Hospital.

• Lumian reviewed the team’s action outline and watched a hooded figure from Aurora Company drop and conceal a pile of objects on the surveillance feeds.
• Franca found Rosanne sketching a sinister self-portrait, burned the drawing with her abilities, and warned Rosanne that her corruption could return.
• Franca read Jenna’s account of the danger at the Star Dream General Store and forwarded Lumian a warning about the Painter Pathway’s power to prevent people from leaving the dream.
• Lumian deleted Franca and Jenna’s messages with the Information Shredder and warned Anthony about the danger.
• Xu Xinyang told Lumian that Old Wang and Old Ding were out of danger after being struck by lightning and were recovering at Mushu Hospital.

Lumian visited Mushu Hospital with Xu Xinyang and the security team, while Franca learned that Rosanne had arranged a dinner with Zhou Mingrui. The chapter ended with Lumian seeing the heavily bandaged patients and thinking of Mummy and the Mother Tree of Desire.

• Lumian agreed to investigate Mushu Hospital during the day and arranged to meet Anderson Hood at an art studio the following evening.
• Rosanne invited Franca to dinner with Zhou Mingrui, who agreed to meet them the next day.
• Xu Xinyang took Lumian, Old Xia, and Young Zhao to visit the injured Old Wang and Old Ding at Mushu Hospital.
• Xu Xinyang assured the patients’ family members that the company would cover compensation, medical expenses, and wages during recovery.
• Lumian saw Old Wang and Old Ding wrapped in bandages and thought of Mummy and the Mother Tree of Desire.