Chapter Summaries

Shadow explained how Doctors were grown in batches and how Lu Xiao’s arrival altered the plans, then began recounting the origins of the Dark Prison. He traced the first summonings of evil beings to the Salvation Society and the creation of the Anomaly Supervision Bureau, leaving the wider story of the Outsiders unfinished.

• Shadow told Lu Xiao that Lu Xi grew several Doctor bodies at once and selected the most perfect one, and said Lu Xiao’s appearance had changed several plans for the better.
• Shadow explained that the Dark Prison held former ordinary people, while its deepest reaches contained beings called Outsiders who were not native to their world.
• Shadow instructed Lu Xi to back up her data while he prepared to take her home, then began telling Lu Xiao how the Dark Prison came to be.
• Shadow said that after Japan began discharging nuclear wastewater, coastal residents developed physical mutations, and some began worshipping evil beings after being abandoned by their government.
• Shadow told Lu Xiao that these worshippers formed the Salvation Society and summoned weak beings called servitors, whose attacks led to the creation of the Anomaly Supervision Bureau.

Shadow told Lu Xiao how the Anomaly Supervision Bureau formed and how the Apotheosis plan created human gods to fight invading deities. He revealed that all the successful Apotheosis Ascenders died during the century-long war, which began the Calamity Era.

• Shadow explained that the organization’s meteorite weapons were made from a deity’s corpse and gradually transformed their users into monsters.
• Shadow recounted how his squad encountered Niclade and how Cthulhu’s planned descent was thwarted after another evil god wounded him.
• Shadow explained that invading deities’ kin descended and fought the Western Church, while Doctor Li’s Apotheosis plan produced human gods, including Chen Fei.
• Shadow said Dark Prison’s intelligent creatures were failed Apotheosis Ascenders, while other creatures arose from nuclear contamination or assimilation by outsiders.
• Shadow revealed that all successful Apotheosis Ascenders died in a war lasting over a hundred years, during which humans learned to use contained anomalies to harm and kill deities.

Shadow told Lu Xiao how humanity’s victory over the gods’ kin gave way to a civil war among apotheosized humans, before the evil gods descended again. He described Chief Bai Xuedong’s Prison and New World plans, then suggested Lu Xiao might be connected to gaps in his memories; Lu Xi interrupted to report an incoming communication for Mr. Liu Guang.

• Shadow explained that apotheosized humans lost their humanity and turned on one another before the evil gods returned.
• Shadow said Chief Bai Xuedong proposed the Prison Plan, assigning the maddened Zhang Chu to build and guard the Prison Gate with Thunder Magic.
• Shadow revealed that Doctor Li created Creators to make a New World, which became the world where Shadow and other Pioneers arrived with newly born humans.
• Shadow said his memories had gaps and suggested they were connected to Lu Xiao.
• Lu Xi told Mr. Liu Guang that someone was trying to communicate with him.

Shadow revealed that the He Shang outside was a replica and awakened his original student from the Land of Slumber. He Shang reunited with Shadow and Lu Xiao, then agreed to undertake a mission for humanity.

• Liu Guang identified himself to the people outside as the ninth seat of the Saints-War, but learned they had not left the shelter to meet him.
• Shadow showed Lu Xiao the real He Shang in a nutrient tank and explained that He Shang's replica had gone mad after discovering the secrets and seeing another version of himself.
• Shadow explained that the Land of Slumber held the last batch of candidates for godhood, whom he planned to awaken later, and shattered He Shang's tank to wake him first.
• He Shang revived, recognized Shadow as his teacher, and solemnly called Lu Xiao his uncle, while Shadow stopped Lu Xiao from offering He Shang his own heart.
• After Lu Xi reported that the backup would finish in a minute and that nobody outside had contacted Shadow, Shadow asked He Shang to take on a mission, and He Shang agreed without hesitation.

Shadow took the system’s true body from the Highest Office and revealed that it contained Doctor Li’s complete brain. He returned the Omniscient Mirror to Lu Xiao, then set course to see Bai Suoyi, while Lu Xiao finally got the chance to fly the plane.

• Lu Xi’s backup finished as Shadow recovered the system’s true body, which he said would leave the local system as a subsystem.
• Shadow told Lu Xiao that Doctor Li’s complete brain was inside the system’s true body.
• He Shang returned wearing an ill-fitting suit, and Shadow promised to have a tailored one made for him.
• Shadow gave Lu Xiao back the Omniscient Mirror, then took it away again when Lu Xiao asked how many people he needed to sacrifice for an answer.
• Shadow headed toward Bai Suoyi, and after Lu Xiao repeatedly asked to fly, he handed over the pilot’s seat.
• Lu Xiao switched off autopilot and began flying the plane.

Shadow sensed danger aboard the plane, then used his Instigation ability to make Lu Xiao stabilize it after a bird strike disabled both engines. The three escaped into the desert before the plane crashed, while Shadow suspected the Prison Wardens had caused the incident.

• Shadow sensed danger as Lu Xiao pushed the plane's throttle to maximum, and a bird strike set one engine on fire.
• Lu Xiao attempted to fly through the emergency but stalled the plane, and the second engine failed as they plunged toward the ground.
• Shadow gave Lu Xiao one of his fingers and used Instigation to make him regain control of the plane.
• Lu Xiao's maneuvers stabilized the plane long enough for Shadow, Lu Xiao, and He Shang to jump out above the desert.
• The plane crashed and exploded, and Shadow told Lu Xiao not to fly again.

Shadow, Lu Xiao, and He Shang encountered Lucilla, the Third Seat-Pride, after arriving in her territory. Shadow bribed her with a finger to help his student join the Saints as the Tenth Seat, but Lucilla used her ability on him.

• Lu Xiao realized he had left his eye and heart behind just as Shadow sensed an approaching Anomaly.
• Lucilla arrived amid a swarm of bats and greeted Shadow, whom she called Mr. War.
• Lucilla lunged at He Shang, but Shadow stopped her and explained that this He Shang was not the one who had humiliated her.
• Shadow offered Lucilla one of his fingers, and she accepted the bribe to hear his request that his student join the Saints as the Tenth Seat.
• Lucilla realized Shadow had become a god and asked whether he planned to challenge Gambler for the First Seat; Shadow denied wanting the position.
• Shadow felt a surge of restlessness and recognized that Lucilla had used her ability on him.

Shadow tried to secure Lucilla’s cooperation in bringing He Shang into the Saints, offering her divine flesh and promising not to challenge Gambler for leadership. Lucilla accepted his reason for wanting He Shang and hinted that she expected help with her own Deification Ritual.

• Shadow reassured Lucilla that he would not compete with Gambler for the Saints’ chief position, while Lu Xiao introduced himself and asked if he could lick her.
• When Lucilla threatened Lu Xiao, Shadow gave him another finger and sent him to guard He Shang.
• Lucilla ate Shadow’s divine flesh, then asked why he wanted He Shang to join the Saints.
• Shadow said he wanted to initiate a Deification Ritual for his student, and Lucilla warned him not to lie to her.
• Lucilla said her own Deification Ritual had reached a critical step, so Shadow directed her toward the plane wreckage and activated Incitement.

Shadow and Lucilla formed a partnership as the Saints claimed responsibility for stealing the System Core, naming Gambler as their new First Seat and revealing War as a Deity. Antie’s warning and Cass’s resignation left the Highest Office facing a possible internal reform.

• Lucilla agreed to a partnership with Shadow, while the Highest Office announced that the System Core had been stolen and suspected the Saints.
• Gambler released a video claiming responsibility for the incident, introduced War as the Saints’ Ninth Seat, and revealed that War was a Deity.
• Antie left the Highest Office after killing his country’s representative and warning the organization about its authority.
• Mr. Cass concluded that the Pioneers might reform the Prison Wardens by abolishing the Highest Office, then resigned and returned to his country.

Gambler confronted the Pope about his forsaken faith and took the Holy Relic Scepter, while the Pope's original body remained committed to completing his Deification Ritual. Gambler destroyed the Black Joker and drew a Colorful Joker, declaring that he was placing his bets.

• Gambler questioned the Pope about his plans with War and threatened to wager their lives after the Pope resisted his control.
• Gambler asked whether the Pope would choose faith again, but the Pope defended his betrayal and declared that Cthulhu would return to consume them all.
• Gambler ordered the Pope to leave the Scepter behind, and the Pope tossed it down before vanishing.
• The Pope's original body appeared, collected the Scepter, and told Gambler that he would become a god without needing Gambler to stake everything on him.
• Gambler tore up the Black Joker, declared that he had never lost, and drew a Colorful Joker.

Shadow, Lu Xiao, and He Shang escaped after the plane exploded, and Shadow explained that He Shang might absorb the Divinity in his Clone to prepare for the Deification Ritual. Shadow learned that Lu Xiao’s ritual began with killing a true Deity alone and eating Them whole, then asked whether Lu Xiao had chosen a target.

• Shadow led Lu Xiao and He Shang away from the area and said the Clone’s filtered Divinity might help He Shang prepare for his Deification Ritual.
• Shadow explained that Deification Rituals required reaching King-level and generally depended on a person’s Trait.
• Lu Xiao revealed that the Omniscient Mirror had told him to kill a true Deity alone and eat Them whole as the first step of his ritual.
• Shadow considered whether Lu Xiao’s unknown Trait involved eating and reflected on how Lu Xiao had changed the paths of others.
• Shadow asked Lu Xiao whether he had chosen a Deity to kill.

Lu Xiao learned that the Corrupted Creator had created their world and was being kept as a contingency to replace him when the world faced destruction. Shadow revealed that Doctor Li had prepared measures to control the Creator and that other Creators were imprisoned in the Dark Prison.

• Lu Xiao asked Shadow whether eating the Corrupted Creator could complete his deification ritual, and Shadow advised him to wait until he became a god because the Creator was especially powerful in his own world.
• Shadow explained that whoever ate the Corrupted Creator would take his place as the world's Creator, and that the plan was for the replacement to lead the world into destruction.
• Lu Xiao asked why the Corrupted Creator did not resist or escape, and Shadow said the Creator had lost hope, might be making secret arrangements, and would be stopped from leaving by Serial Number 02-Angel.
• Lu Xiao realized Doctor Li had created the Corrupted Creator and likely arranged Angel to keep him in check.
• Shadow revealed that there had been multiple Creators, with the least corrupted one kept in the Containment Facility and the others imprisoned in the Dark Prison.

Shadow explained that the Prison Wardens were preserving humanity through repeated evacuation and Cage Plans, then brought Lu Xiao and He Shang into the Dark Prison. Driver arrived to collect them and was startled to recognize Shadow as a Deity.

• Shadow told Lu Xiao that the Creators were being kept as livestock for Zhang Chu and that the Prison Wardens guarded the prison.
• Shadow opened a passage to the Dark Prison by bribing and psychologically influencing himself, and Lu Xiao and He Shang followed him through.
• Shadow explained that the Prison Wardens planned to send Pioneers and high-quality humans to a New World while those left behind carried out another Cage Plan.
• Shadow told Lu Xiao that the plan might fail and that he did not know how many times it could succeed.
• Driver arrived in an aircraft to pick them up, recognized Shadow's aura, and realized he was a Deity.
• Driver apologized to Shadow and asked why he had come to the Dark Prison.

Shadow brought Lu Xiao to meet Bai Suoyi, who had been awakened again by Lu Xiao’s blood and recognized him as Serial Number 292-Lost Person. The reunion ended with Bai Suoyi and Shadow exchanging a punch and a joke, while Driver and He Shang waited together by C02’s Gate.

• Shadow explained to Driver how Lu Xiao had taken over the plane, and Driver dismissed his own role in Lu Xiao’s account as a dream.
• Driver told Lu Xiao that Director had advanced technology while Lu Xiao slept, then teleported with Shadow, Lu Xiao, and He Shang to a Gate.
• Shadow told He Shang to stay with Driver, and the two clasped hands after deciding they were comrades from C03 Containment Facility.
• Shadow led Lu Xiao through the ruins to a deep pit and called out to Old Bai.
• Bai Suoyi appeared, recognized Lu Xiao as Serial Number 292-Lost Person, and saluted him.
• Bai Suoyi punched at Shadow, who blocked him and tossed him a newly regrown finger; Bai Suoyi joked that he did not accept bribes.

Bai Suoyi explained that he had been gravely wounded while dealing with a person who went mad after awakening, and Shadow described humanity and conviction as anchors against divinity-induced madness. Lu Xiao, Shadow, and Bai Suoyi descended into the ruins of the Anomaly Supervision Bureau’s Initial Base and reached a decaying laboratory.

• Bai Suoyi told Lu Xiao that a person he awakened in the Land of Slumber went mad and attacked him, leaving him near death; the Director rescued him and lost an arm.
• Shadow explained that shaken convictions and lost humanity could lead people with divinity toward madness, contrasting Niclade and Adam with the still-sane soldier Dart.
• Lu Xiao reflected on humanity through the Prison Doctor and Ivan before Bai Suoyi led him and Shadow into the pit.
• Lu Xiao recognized the vast underground ruins as the Bureau’s base, and Shadow confirmed it was the Anomaly Supervision Bureau’s Initial Base.
• After walking for roughly two hours through the ruins, the three reached a laboratory surrounded by rotting flesh and unsettling sounds of breathing.

Lu Xiao, Shadow, and Bai Suoyi explored a sealed underground facility to retrieve an item and meet someone. After Shadow used his ability to calm the approaching figure, he welcomed him back as Dr. Shuns.

• Shadow explained that they had left something behind when they were weaker and led Lu Xiao and Bai Suoyi to retrieve it.
• Bai Suoyi opened a sealed chamber and activated a crystal sphere that revealed Lu Xiao's mental power was white.
• The group followed the crystal's light for about an hour until a crazed figure approached them.
• Shadow used his Bribery ability to calm the figure after it touched his thrown coat.
• Shadow identified the figure as Dr. Shuns and welcomed him back.

Lu Xiao, Shadow, and Bai Suoyi subdued the maddened Cass Shuns and returned to find Driver and He Shang becoming sworn brothers. Shadow gave Driver a severed finger to let the Transforming Vehicle teleport to the Present World, and the vehicle vanished after Driver tried again.

• Cass Shuns briefly regained clarity before his madness returned, so Lu Xiao knocked him unconscious to keep him calm.
• Lu Xiao and the others returned to the Transforming Vehicle and found Driver and He Shang pledging to become sworn brothers.
• Shadow approved of their bond because it would help strengthen He Shang's humanity, and Driver declared the front passenger seat reserved for his second brother.
• When Driver asked how they would return, Shadow gave him a severed finger and urged him to try teleporting the vehicle to the Present World.
• Driver tried again, and the Transforming Vehicle flickered before vanishing.

Shadow realized he had to use Bribery on the Transforming Vehicle rather than Driver, allowing the group to teleport back to the C03 Containment Facility. There, Shadow instructed Doctor to use C03’s system main body, but Doctor suddenly fell back into madness.

• Shadow recognized that teleportation belonged to the Transforming Vehicle, then used Bribery on it and returned the group to C03.
• Driver and He Shang carried the unconscious Shuns into the Containment Facility, where the Director greeted Bai Suoyi as his father.
• Bai Suoyi explained to Lu Xiao that he had taken the Director in as an orphan and accepted being called Dad.
• The Director led the group to Doctor’s office, where Shadow told Doctor to use the system’s main body in C03’s server room and promised to help raise his clearance.
• Doctor’s eyes turned bloodshot and his expression twisted as he fell into madness again.

The Director arranged a Group Dreamscape to enter Shuns's consciousness and help restore his sanity, while he became convinced that He Shang was a successful genetic clone. Shadow, Lu Xiao, Bai Suoyi, and Driver entered Shuns's dream, where Bai Suoyi recognized that the laboratory was not the one used for the experiment.

• The Director prepared Little Black's Containment Room and proposed using its dream-weaving ability to enter Shuns's consciousness and stop his experiment.
• Shadow led Lu Xiao, Bai Suoyi, and Driver into the Group Dreamscape after Driver insisted on joining them.
• The Director concluded that He Shang was a genetic clone and asked him to cooperate in an experiment, which He Shang eventually accepted.
• Lu Xiao and the others awoke in a bright laboratory, and a researcher hurried them toward an imminent experiment.
• Shadow realized they were in Dr. Shuns's dream, but Bai Suoyi said the laboratory was not the one used for the experiment.

Shadow and Bai Suoyi recognized the Initial Base laboratory, where Doctor Li planned to begin the Apotheosis Plan despite the risks and asked whether they were prepared to sacrifice themselves. They visited Chen Fei and Zhang Chu in Nutrient Tanks, learned how both had been gravely injured, and heard that the origin of Chen Fei’s mechanical heart remained unknown.

• Shadow and Bai Suoyi recognized the laboratory as part of the Initial Base, while Doctor Li told Shuns that less than six months remained and the experiment could not wait.
• Doctor Li asked Lu Xiao and the others if they were prepared to sacrifice themselves, and Bai Suoyi requested ten minutes to see Chen Fei and Zhang Chu.
• Shadow and Bai Suoyi led Lu Xiao and Driver to Chen Fei and Zhang Chu, who were submerged in Nutrient Tanks with severe injuries.
• Bai Suoyi explained that a Kin had torn out Chen Fei’s heart and that Zhang Chu had been injured after returning to retrieve Chen Fei’s body.
• Bai Suoyi said that Zhang Chu’s Flying Sword had plunged into his own head and that both he and Liu Guang remembered nothing after being ambushed.
• Bai Suoyi revealed that Doctor Li had transplanted Serial Number 05 into Chen Fei, but they did not know where the heart had come from.