Chapter Summaries

Zhou Dai and Reinhardt approached Lada with the Radiant Goddess’s offer of cooperation, warning that the sea would become scorched earth in about twenty-five days. Lada accepted the deal, which promised Divine Authority and help against the Fire Worship Cult in exchange for handing over lost souls.

• Zhou Dai introduced herself to Lada, using Saintess Istil’s body, and explained that she had come to discuss cooperation.
• Reinhardt killed and devoured the former Eagle Knight to prevent him from overhearing their conversation.
• Zhou Dai offered Lada a Radiant Goddess Fragment and promised that she and Reinhardt would help conquer the remaining Player Islands.
• Zhou Dai warned that the sea would become scorched earth in less than a month and showed Lada a particle containing scenes of the prophecy.
• Zhou Dai demanded that Lada hand over the lost souls among her people in exchange for the Radiant Goddess’s power and help.
• Lada accepted the deal, prioritizing the fight against the Fire Worship Cult and its attempts to bring The Charred Tree into the world.

Yang Yi learned that the system had restored his Portal permissions and brought new Players to Moon Island after the Lost Ones Fleet suffered heavy losses. He encountered several strange newcomers at the Twin Observation Station, including a towering beastfolk woman, a Painter, and an imposing knight accompanied by a girl.

• Yang Yi discovered that his Portal access had been rejected, then received a message from the system and successfully connected to Moon Island.
• The system told Yang Yi it had brought new Players from the Mirror of Infinite Possibilities to replace lost combat strength, and Yang Yi urged it to recruit stronger fighters.
• Yang Yi reached the Twin Observation Station and found Augustus competing in strength with the five-meter-tall beastfolk Player Hu Hu.
• Yang Yi went upstairs, spotted a sickly young man painting outside Balie's room, and then saw Lada emerge with an armored knight and a girl sitting on the knight's shoulder.

Yang Yi visited Balie and learned that his soul was too damaged to heal, though he found him contentedly smithing in his current state. He met the painter Ma Hou, whose strange artwork affected his Sanity, and ended the chapter surprised by Ma Hou’s name and fondness for drinking.

• Bell introduced herself and her heavily armored knight, Galahad, to Yang Yi, who challenged Galahad to spar.
• Lada told Yang Yi that Balie’s soul was severely damaged and that she and Molly had only managed to preserve his dying obsession in a new body.
• Yang Yi examined Balie’s shattered soul and realized he had no way to restore it, then promised to forge him a smithing hammer.
• Balie reacted to Yang Yi by blocking his path to the furnace, and the painter Ma Hou explained that Balie had cursed Yang Yi for making him move.
• Yang Yi looked at Ma Hou’s unsettling painting, lost Sanity, and introduced himself before Ma Hou asked him to pose as a life model.
• Yang Yi questioned Ma Hou about his name and drinking, and Ma Hou eagerly asked whether Yang Yi enjoyed drinking too.

Yang Yi questioned the drunken painter Ma Hou about a blacksmith, but Ma Hou began experiencing a fiery vision and painted a scene of a black tree, burning figures, and a rift beneath the sea. Yang Yi stopped him before he died and found a figure resembling Heitanba in the painting; Lada and the Lost Ones Fleet arrived after the room was damaged.

• Yang Yi learned from Ma Hou that old Ba had understood some of his comments about a smithing hammer, though Ma Hou could not explain the blacksmith's needs.
• Ma Hou began to feel intense heat as burn marks appeared on him and his clothes, so Yang Yi switched to White Demon form and calmed him.
• Ma Hou used Yang Yi's paintbrush to depict a black tree, burning figures, scorched land, boiling seawater, and an enormous underwater rift.
• When Ma Hou's charred arm began to move again, Yang Yi seized it and knocked him unconscious, then photographed the painting and spotted a figure who might have been Heitanba.
• Lada and members of the Lost Ones Fleet arrived after the system reported damage to their base, and Lada prepared to clean the blackened room before Yang Yi stopped her.

Yang Yi discovered Ma Hou’s painting of a ritual on Burning Island and warned Player Island’s leaders that The Charred Tree might be about to enter the world. At the meeting, he learned more about the newly arrived players and began to suspect Bell might be the Crimson Witch.

• Yang Yi stopped Miss Hu from entering Ma Hou’s room, preserved the painting, and concluded it showed a ritual to summon The Charred Tree on Burning Island.
• Yang Yi asked Lada to notify her captain and bring the painting to a meeting, while Lada and Bell exchanged a tacit glance after he left.
• Galahad told Yang Yi that he was too weak, and Yang Yi later returned through the Portal to the Nightmare Star.
• Yang Yi convened Player Island’s leaders and top players, explained the danger shown in the painting, and warned that The Charred Tree’s arrival could destroy them.
• Ma Hou identified himself as the painter, and Shi Lei introduced him, Miss Hu Hu, Bell, and Galahad as members of his Fleet.
• Yang Yi noticed that Bell shared the Crimson Witch’s name and suspected her red hair and gender might indicate she was the Witch, despite her eyes not being red.

With the Collapse Clock worsening, Yang Yi and the other players planned a possible surprise assault on Burning Island using Moon Island as a mobile base, while preparing equipment and support for the battle. Yang Yi also considered Bell’s uncertain identity and sought to forge Old Man Ba’s Smithing Hammer before the fight.

• Yang Yi argued that the players might need to capture Burning Island before Miracle Island, and Shi Lei proposed using Moon Island’s teleportation to provide a secure rear base for a surprise attack.
• Daishi explained that Moon Island had enough Mad Laughter Points for only three teleports, so the group tentatively planned to attack on Saturday night after the islands rendezvoused and to finish within a day.
• The players assigned Yu Dawei and Zhang Zhi to develop a new Combat Robot called Terminator and prepare heat-resistant supplies, weapons, and potions for the operation.
• On the way to the Nightmare Star, Su Na, Istil, and Little Dara questioned whether Bell was the Crimson Witch, while Yang Yi said her combat strength would matter most.
• Yang Yi learned that Zhang Zhi would reveal Burning Island intelligence and exhibit a painting at a press conference, then went fishing and caught more than the Old Captain.
• Yang Yi recalled the Pure White Gate as a possible aid against Burning Island and messaged Banks to begin forging Old Man Ba’s Smithing Hammer.

Yang Yi forged the Inspiration Hammer using the skulls of himself and Banks, while Banks temporarily wore a fish head. After finishing the hammer, Yang Yi restored Banks with an improved face, and prepared to send the weapon to Balie.

• Banks returned from Garbage Island, and Yang Yi seized his head as material for a smithing hammer.
• Yang Yi threw his own skull into the furnace and forged the hammer while Banks went fishing with a fish head.
• Several women followed Banks to the port, saw his fish head, and secretly photographed him.
• Two days later, Yang Yi finished the Hero-level Inspiration Hammer, which could spark smithing ideas when it struck its wielder's head.
• Yang Yi made Banks a more attractive replacement head, and Banks celebrated his improved looks.

Yang Yi delivered a strange smithing hammer to Balie, then challenged Galahad to a brutal barehanded spar that ended with Galahad leaving before Yang Yi could use his full strength. Yang Yi accepted that he had lost and resolved to train until he could defeat Galahad.

• Yang Yi gave Balie the finished hammer, and Balie used its Pulse Impact to smash worms and speed up his smithing as he forged a giant shield.
• Yang Yi found Galahad sparring with Augustus and Miss Hu Hu, then joined the fight and was punched through the Observatory wall.
• Yang Yi and Galahad continued their fight on the Surface of Moon Island, trading powerful blows that carved craters into the terrain.
• Galahad told Yang Yi he was still nowhere near strong enough and left before Yang Yi could bring out his full strength.
• Yang Yi concluded that he had lost the spar and planned to train before challenging Galahad again.

Yang Yi and Su Na investigated Terminator robots whose designs had warped amid the collapse of reason, while preparations continued for the attack on Burning Island. Yang Yi then departed alone for the Warm Winter Sea, leaving Steam Island’s forces to coordinate with Moon Island and opening a route to the Boiling Sea in progress.

• Su Na inspected and dismantled the oddly altered Terminator robots, found that their performance remained consistent, and ordered production to continue despite the collapse of reason.
• Su Na urged Yang Yi to visit Miskatonic University soon because the Fragment of Truth and increasingly unreliable potions threatened their plans for the deep sea.
• Yang Yi planned to attack Burning Island after preparations were complete and commissioned Su Na, Istil, and Little Dara to build a long-range Portal beneath the Twin Observation Station.
• Yang Yi told Mars to cooperate with Steam Island and Moon Island in the campaign against Burning Island.
• Yang Yi activated the Falling Star Skill, and five hours later the Nightmare Star began flying toward the distant ice field.

Yang Yi and his companions reached the Great Ice Field’s buried Pure White Gate and found Little The Charred Tree growing out of control amid rising temperatures. Yang Yi killed the Fire Worship Cult followers and chopped down the tree, leaving it wilted as the surrounding area rapidly froze again.

• Yang Yi and his companions raced across the Great Ice Field in the Nightmare Star’s mechanical Long-Legged Sardine form, correcting their course toward the abandoned settlement.
• Yang Yi burrowed through the ice to the underground passage, where melting walls and rising heat signaled that Little The Charred Tree had escaped its ice prison.
• Yang Yi reached No. 0 Excavation Site and found Little The Charred Tree rooted into the Pure White Gate, with Fire Worship Cult lunatics feeding it fuel.
• Yang Yi used the Abyssal One-enhanced Flintlock to kill more than three hundred Fire Worship Cult lunatics, then attacked Little The Charred Tree in White Demon form.
• Yang Yi chopped off the tree’s branches and dug out its roots, causing it to wilt as the temperature plunged and the Pure White Gate absorbed the heat.

Yang Yi and Su Na entered the Pure White Gate to investigate the Fire Worship Cult believers and found the Ice Nest Lord beyond it. They planted Little The Charred Tree at the breach and began preparing a pair of Transdimensional Twin Teleportation Arrays, expected to take five days to complete.

• Su Na gathered the cooled Black Tree Branches while planning to transplant Little The Charred Tree to the Laboratory.
• Yang Yi and Su Na uprooted Little The Charred Tree and entered the Pure White Gate, leaving the others outside as the temperature fell.
• Beyond the gate, Yang Yi destroyed frozen beings trying to escape, while Su Na saw the Ice Nest Lord for the first time.
• Yang Yi planted Little The Charred Tree at the breach to raise the temperature and keep the Extreme Cold from leaking out.
• Su Na began setting up the Magic Array, and Yang Yi coordinated with Istil and the others to draw the matching array in sync.

Yang Yi kept Su Na safe and supplied while she drew a Magic Array, and learned that the Burning Island operation would begin in four days. As strange dreams spread among players, preparations continued on Moon Island and for the coming battle.

• Yang Yi kept Little The Charred Tree alive by feeding it fuel, using its heat to protect himself and Su Na while he cleared nearby Ice Eggs.
• Over two days, Yang Yi checked on the Moon Island modifications and contacted Istil, Zhang Zhi, and Shen Guanquan as Twisted Warships were converted into gun emplacements.
• Yang Yi read reports of players sharing nightmares about a dark cavern and realized their dream-consciousnesses had been waking inside his stomach on Dream Island.
• Yang Yi told Su Na that Shen Guanquan and Daishi had set the Burning Island operation for ten on Saturday night, four days later, with the group teleporting to the Boiling Sea.
• Su Na estimated she would finish the Magic Array in two days, while players prepared heat-resistant gear, Maniacal Laugh Masks, and white Bodysuits for the battle.

Bell created a Brain-Eating Demon from a Player and placed him among a team, while an expanding Black Blocks appeared at sea and forced nearby islands to retreat. Galahad failed to withstand the Black Blocks, and Yang Yi learned that Steam Island might need to move.

• Bell told her newly created offspring to master his body and impersonate the Player whose form he had taken, while she assured Lada that her children would not harm other Players.
• Bell's offspring joined her at a tavern, where Miss Hu Hu watched Bell before leaving in disguise.
• An enormous Black Blocks surfaced in the Sea of Miracles, swallowed part of Green Island, and prompted nearby Player Islands to retreat.
• Bell contacted Galahad, who entered the Black Blocks but emerged badly distorted and said he could not handle its danger.
• Cui Xiya entered the Pure White Gate and told Yang Yi that a huge Black Blocks had appeared and Steam Island might have to move.

Yang Yi traveled to Moon Island after learning that Balie had forged a great shield for him. He found the shield in the Twin Observation Station’s basement and inspected it, while Three Eyes had reacted strangely to the nearby Black Blocks.

• Yang Yi learned from Zhang Zhi that the Black Blocks had swallowed part of Green Island, then received Little Dara’s message that Balie had delivered a shield for him.
• Yang Yi returned to the Pure White Gate, left Su Na near Little The Charred Tree, and opened a portal to Moon Island.
• Yang Yi used Three Eyes to examine the Black Blocks, which trembled briefly before his eye retracted beneath his eyepatch.
• Yang Yi saw the defenses and field hospital prepared around the Great Rift and reached the Twin Observation Station, where he encountered Galahad.
• Yang Yi followed deep grooves in the station’s floor to the basement, found Little Dara and Istil beside a Twin Teleportation Array, and tried to lift Balie’s massive black shield.

Yang Yi received the Master-level shield Immovable from Balie and discovered its unmatched defensive abilities. He found Balie apparently dead, but Ma Hou explained that the worms covering him had simply gone dormant, and Yang Yi later showed off the shield aboard the Nightmare Star.

• Yang Yi admired Immovable's ability to draw in and block every attack, then strapped the massive shield to his back.
• Yang Yi learned from Little Dara that Balie had left the shield without saying anything and went upstairs to thank him.
• Yang Yi found Balie motionless in his room, but Ma Hou stopped him from entering and explained that Balie's worms had fallen dormant.
• Yang Yi threatened Ma Hou into sending him the painting of Balie, then returned to the Nightmare Star carrying Immovable.
• Yang Yi shared the shield's information with the fleet, and Cui Xiya and Cui Bisi came out to inspect it.

Yang Yi and Su Na completed the teleportation array linking the Nightmare Star to Moon Island, while Yang Yi checked his growing abilities. After returning to the deck, Yang Yi learned that Cui Xiya had obtained a small Hero-level shield made by Balie.

• Yang Yi tested the miraculous shield’s protection against the cold, then trained with it and gained one Strength point.
• Yang Yi reviewed his attributes and discovered that he had acquired the Dream Master [All] Extraordinary Path after devouring Dream Island.
• Su Na completed the Twin Teleportation Array, which required substantial Mana to activate and Abyss Soul Stones to keep it running.
• Yang Yi thanked the exhausted Su Na, and they left the Pure White Gate for the Nightmare Star.
• Cui Xiya showed Yang Yi a shield resembling Immovable, and Cui Bisi explained that it was a small Hero-level prototype Balie had made.

Yang Yi and the players completed their preparations and began the Burning Island operation by teleporting Moon Island to the Boiling Sea. They arrived near the blazing tree on the Scorched Continent, with the battle about to begin.

• Su Na rested after completing the Twin Teleportation Array, while Yang Yi moved the Life Furnace into her room.
• Yang Yi assigned Cui Xiya to oversee White Shard distribution, directed Xiaoji to transport the shards, and excavated more from the Pure White Gate.
• Cui Bisi announced the White Shards’ properties, and Zhang Zhi and Shen Guanquan worked on adapting weapons to use them.
• Players gathered on Moon Island for the operation, where Daishi and the command team coordinated preparations and communications.
• Daishi teleported Moon Island to the Boiling Sea, where the players saw a vast blazing tree beyond the fiery, churning waters.

After the system assigned players the task of eliminating the Fire-Worshippers and cooling Burning Island, Yang Yi left Moon Island to scout the threat. He discovered the cult repeatedly sacrificing themselves to cast “Burn with Me!” around the Giant Black Embers as Moon Island advanced toward the island.

• Zhang Zhi reported that White Shards had cooled Moon Island and that operations were proceeding smoothly despite a few fires and injuries.
• The system ordered players to eliminate all Fire-Worshippers, interrupt their ritual, and lower Burning Island’s temperature, including the Giant Black Embers, below 1000°C.
• Zhang Zhi reported that the Giant Black Embers lay eight hundred kilometers away amid extreme heat and Floating Balloon Jellyfish, and Moon Island began flying toward it.
• Yang Yi told Su Na and the others to stay on Moon Island, then went outside and switched to White Demon Form when the heat stirred the power within him.
• Using Dream Vision and long-distance vision, Yang Yi saw Fire-Worshippers repeatedly burn themselves to ashes while chanting “Burn with Me!” and sent the images to Zhang Zhi.
• Moon Island accelerated toward Burning Island, blasting apart Floating Balloon Jellyfish, while players used Fire Resistance Potions and protective equipment as temperatures rose.

Yang Yi and Moon Island's leaders prepared to stop the Fire Worship Cult from bringing the Scorched God into the world, while the cult advanced its ritual beneath the Black Tree. The chapter left Moon Island organizing its defenses as the first enemy forces approached.

• Heitanba and the Fire Worship Cult believers survived Yang Yi's long-range attack, then identified Moon Island as the invaders trying to stop their world's ascension and flew toward it.
• Yang Yi reported that nearly two hundred thousand powerful believers were gathering around the Black Tree, whose flames strengthened them and helped draw the Scorched God closer.
• Zhang Zhi and the other leaders planned to advance toward the Black Embers and protect the Fear Descends Cannon, while Yu Dawei left to prepare the Iron Will for battle.
• Lada warned the players to prepare their white clothes for Sunday, when Moon Island's capabilities would increase even though the Moon Festival gates would remain closed.
• Yang Yi confiscated Ma Hou's painting of the Black Tree at the front-line bunker and sent him inside, stopping him from continuing a dangerous work.

Moon Island’s sudden transformation caused the Fire Worship Cult’s attack to collapse into bizarre battles as the transformed Players overwhelmed the cultists. Yang Yi watched as the island’s defenders nearly wiped out the Elders, leaving Moon Island shining over the battlefield.

• Moon Island’s yellow light appeared, and its increased speed and strange laughter accompanied the arrival of Madmen across the island.
• The Fire Worship Cult Believers attacked Moon Island, but its facilities and bunkers returned fire.
• Ma Dabao used his supposed Pokémon to freeze and defeat Fire Worship Cult Elders, while Wang Chong turned a chase against his pursuers.
• Augustus and Hu Hu wrestled for Players and cultists as Hong Yanyan served the Elders icy drinks that knocked them out.
• Yang Yi realized that Players with low Sanity had undergone Madmen Transformation, while the Iron Brothers and Ma Hou helped eliminate the cultists.
• Moon Island’s defenders nearly wiped out the Fire Worship Cult Elders with almost no losses, and Moon Island shone over the battlefield.