Chapter Summaries

Ding Dan confronted Lu Xiao with the claim that he could never replace the original vegetable farmer, triggering Lu Xiao’s confusion and despair. As the bedchamber began to collapse, Calamity carried the self-wounding, rotting Lu Xiao away.

• Twelve Deity-level demons surrounded Lu Xiao and Calamity in the bedchamber.
• Ding Dan approached Lu Xiao and told him he could never become the original vegetable farmer because he could not bring himself to uproot even weeds.
• Calamity transformed into his transparent, multicolored true body and warned Ding Dan to stop provoking Lu Xiao.
• Lu Xiao began rotting, repeated his anguished questions, and stabbed himself with Confusion as the room shook and cracked.
• Calamity hoisted Lu Xiao onto his back and turned to leave.

Calamity fled the Holy City with Lu Xiao and decided to take him to the Thicket to seek help from Mr. Prison Doctor. In Kyoto, Gambler arrived to investigate the epidemic, leaving the Warden with little confidence but no one else to turn to.

• Calamity escaped the collapsing palace with Lu Xiao and reflected that Hell no longer felt like a place for them.
• Lu Xiao deliriously asked whether the feather had reached Mr. Prison Doctor, so Calamity flew toward the Thicket to seek his help.
• Gambler arrived in Kyoto by fighter jet and narrowly avoided being hit by the city's air-defense missiles.
• The Warden told Gambler that Lu Xiao had asked him to find the source of Kyoto's epidemic, which might be a deity wielding the relevant Authority.
• Gambler drew the ace of spades, dismissed the Warden, and set off to investigate while the Warden lamented that fewer people remained to help.

Gambler followed his card divination into the sewer and confronted the Prison Doctor, whom he suspected might be behind the plague. Lu Xiao appeared and questioned the Prison Doctor, who explained that an infected Sacrificial One had reported an attacker in the sewer.

• Gambler followed a rat through the sewer and encountered the Prison Doctor, who mistook him for the one spreading the plague.
• Gambler wondered whether the Prison Doctor had caused the plague, while the Prison Doctor threatened him and claimed his deity friend would arrive.
• Gambler tricked the Prison Doctor into turning around, revealing Lu Xiao beside him.
• Lu Xiao confronted the Prison Doctor and asked why he was in the sewer.
• The Prison Doctor said an infected Sacrificial One had told him someone in the sewer had ambushed him.

The Gambler used an illusion to test the Prison Doctor, then revealed that Lu Xiao had hired him to investigate the epidemic. After comparing their clues, they decided the source might still be hiding in the sewers, and the Gambler began a card reading.

• The Prison Doctor realized the apparent Lu Xiao was an illusion when he noticed the figure lacked the scent of apotheosis.
• The Gambler apologized and introduced himself as Phantom God, explaining that his ability created illusions and that Lu Xiao had commissioned him.
• The Prison Doctor and the Gambler exchanged information about the infected Sacrificial One and the rat the Gambler had followed into the sewers.
• The Gambler argued that the Deity responsible for the epidemic might have stayed in the same place, and the Prison Doctor agreed to keep searching.
• The Gambler offered to use divination, and the Prison Doctor drew a card from his deck.

Prison Doctor and Gambler used divination cards that seemed to foretell death, but Gambler rigged the reading to produce an ace of hearts and persuaded Prison Doctor to continue into the darkness. As they searched for the source of the epidemic, Prison Doctor recalled his past as a human doctor and began telling Gambler about medieval Europe.

• Prison Doctor drew two spades from Gambler's deck, and Gambler said they foretold death.
• Prison Doctor found that the entire deck contained only spades, while Gambler saw the symbols twist into the word “die.”
• Gambler secretly added an ace of hearts, drew it, discarded the spade-filled deck, and told Prison Doctor the result promised good luck.
• Gambler led the way into the darkness, and Prison Doctor followed to search for the source of the epidemic.
• Prison Doctor remembered treating patients as a human during an epidemic and recalled telling an Evil God that he had no regrets.
• Prison Doctor asked Gambler whether he knew the history of medieval Europe, and Gambler replied that he had never been to school.

Prison Doctor was separated from Gambler in the sewers and encountered a rat-like figure surrounded by swarming, virus-carrying rats. As the rats attacked, Prison Doctor realized the figure was a deity who had lost control.

• Gambler noticed the drainage water rushing faster and sprinted away, leaving Prison Doctor behind in the sewer maze.
• Prison Doctor became lost at a three-way junction, felt a burning sensation in his lungs, and prepared for an attack.
• A contorted figure made from rotting rat corpses emerged and blocked two passages; Prison Doctor recognized him as the likely source they were seeking and called him Mr. Rat.
• Prison Doctor injected himself with his antibiotic, easing the burning in his lungs as the figure approached.
• Rats covered the ceiling and surged through the junction, but Prison Doctor's mask resisted their attacks.
• Prison Doctor watched the rat-like figure remain still and realized the deity had gone mad and lost control.

The Gambler used a believable illusion of Lu Xiao to draw Liuguang’s rats away from the Prison Doctor and attack the plague source. The Prison Doctor remained unaware that the illusion was the Gambler’s Lie ability, while the Gambler recognized Liuguang as a contaminated Sacrificial One tied to C03’s fall.

• The Prison Doctor struggled against the rats that covered and wounded him, unable to affect them with his aura or kill them quickly enough.
• The Gambler created an illusion of Lu Xiao, whom the Prison Doctor recognized and believed had come to help.
• Liuguang redirected the rats toward the apparent Lu Xiao, freeing the Prison Doctor from most of them.
• The illusion of Lu Xiao stood unharmed among the rats, slapped Liuguang, and identified him as the source of the plague.
• The Gambler’s Lie ability made the illusion’s attack physically harm the real rats, while the Prison Doctor mistook it for a Deity’s power.
• The Gambler recalled that Liuguang was a contaminated Sacrificial One whose identity had been recorded after the incident involving C03.

Gambler realized that Liuguang had likely absorbed an Authority along with its madness, and his divination showed a narrow path to saving Prison Doctor. As Liuguang unleashed destructive viral spores, Prison Doctor and Gambler were both attacked, while Gambler endured the pain and tried to hold on.

• Gambler inferred that Liuguang had forcibly integrated an Authority and inherited its original owner's madness.
• Gambler drew the ace of hearts in his second divination and decided he could not abandon Prison Doctor, who was helping stabilize Kyoto's epidemic.
• Liuguang roared, released corrosive mucus and viral spores, and killed nearby rats with the spores.
• Liuguang took Prison Doctor's antibiotics, then the spores infected Prison Doctor through his open wounds and left him unable to remember what had happened.
• The spores attached to Gambler's eyes and burrowed inward, causing bloody tears and intense pain, but he resisted with his extraordinary mental fortitude.

Gambler embraced his delusion and became Niclade, warping the virus to heal Prison Doctor and confronting Liuguang. Liuguang’s Double Authority disrupted Niclade’s thoughts, leaving him unable to use his power as Liuguang struck him into a wall.

• Gambler released his mad idea, convinced himself he was Cthulhu’s servant, and transformed into Niclade.
• Niclade warped the virus, which began repairing Prison Doctor’s injuries, then asked him what had happened.
• Niclade warped his vision so Liuguang looked normal and invited him to join the Saints.
• Liuguang spat acidic, virus-filled slime at Niclade, while Niclade repeatedly lost the thoughts needed to warp reality.
• Liuguang struck Niclade, sending him crashing into a wall and leaving it cracked.

The Prison Doctor helped Gambler subdue Liuguang, but mistook Gambler’s identity and exposed the lie he had used to fool himself. After bringing the unconscious Liuguang to the Warden, Gambler claimed the mission had been easy, and the Prison Doctor prepared to reveal the truth.

• Nick Lade repeatedly asked whether his thoughts had been stolen, while the Prison Doctor arranged his thoughts to resist the ability.
• The Prison Doctor injected Nick Lade with antibiotics and struck Liuguang with a syringe of concentrated anesthetic, incapacitating him.
• Nick Lade healed his body and asked the Prison Doctor what had happened, but the Prison Doctor insisted he was Phantom God and that Niclade was dead.
• The Prison Doctor’s words made Gambler remember that he was Nick Lade, codename Gambler, and his self-deception ability stopped working.
• Gambler brought the unconscious Liuguang to the Warden and boasted that the task had been simple.
• The Warden questioned the Prison Doctor, who apologized to Gambler and said he would expose his lie.

Doctor arrived to help restore Liuguang's sanity and revealed that the orphanage where Liuguang grew up had secretly raised gene-replicated children using genes from Old World Elites. The documents exposed links between the children and the Prison Wardens, but Doctor and Warden were left puzzled by Nini's adoption.

• Warden told Gambler they would discuss his difficult process later and focused on the unconscious Liuguang, while Doctor arrived to investigate.
• Doctor and Little Black brought everyone into the Dreamscape World, where Doctor restrained Liuguang and asked whether he knew Shadow was dead.
• Doctor showed Liuguang the orphanage approval documents, and Warden admitted that he had submitted the application and served as its first director.
• Doctor explained that Liuguang and the other children at the orphanage were gene replicas, likely created from Old World Elites, and showed that Liuguang's cohort later joined the Prison Wardens.
• Doctor told Warden that the children's adoptive parents had ties to the Prison Wardens except for Nini's ordinary family, and Warden could not explain why she was different.

The Warden revealed that Shadow had brought Liu Ni back from Mount Kunlun and that she had been raised alongside Dante and Bai Ning, leading the Doctor to suspect she was Liuguang’s daughter. The Doctor chose not to tell Liuguang, who learned that Shadow had died for Lu Xiao’s Deification Ritual and condemned his sacrifice before the Gambler called Shadow a cultist.

• The Warden told the Doctor that Shadow had directed the children’s group and personally cared for the child later adopted as Nini.
• The Warden explained that Shadow had brought Liu Ni, Dante, and Dan Guofeng from Mount Kunlun before the Spark Plan, and that Chief Bai had named Liu Ni.
• The Doctor realized Liu Ni might be Liuguang’s daughter and understood that the child had Shadow’s genes, but he chose not to reveal the truth to Liuguang.
• Liuguang asked how Shadow had died, and the Warden said it had been for Lu Xiao’s Deification Ritual.
• Liuguang denounced Shadow’s sacrifice as foolish, and the Gambler said Shadow had been a cultist as the Saints’ Ninth Seat-War.

Doctor explained that Cage caused severe genetic collapse and that Nini was suffering from it after using two doses. Liuguang then began recounting how he entered the Dark Prison to gain strength and seek revenge.

• Doctor explained that Cage overstimulated the body, consumed the user's life, and ultimately destroyed their underlying genes.
• Prison Doctor confirmed that Nini was undergoing genetic collapse and said he could not treat it unless he achieved godhood.
• Prison Doctor told Liuguang that Nini's two doses made her genetic collapse and pain progress faster, though shock or numbness could eventually prevent her from feeling it.
• Doctor asked Liuguang what had happened to him, and Liuguang agreed to explain.
• Liuguang said he had entered the Dark Prison through the Gate at C03 Base to mutate, grow stronger, and take revenge on two people.

Liuguang recounted how he grew stronger in the Dark Prison under Dart’s care and learned that Dart’s condition had worsened from consuming contaminated flesh. The Doctor asked how Liuguang became a deity and spread disease in Kyoto, while the Warden and Prison Doctor discussed containing the outbreak by isolating and treating infected patients.

• Liuguang said he entered the Dark Prison, ate its creatures, and grew stronger after Dart fed him flesh from Higher Beings.
• Liuguang explained that Dart warned him to digest the contaminated flesh and described how Dart increasingly lost consciousness and wandered along the dam.
• The Gambler accused Liuguang of deceiving Dart, and the Doctor explained that Dart likely understood why Liuguang had come to the Dark Prison.
• The Doctor asked Liuguang how he became a deity and spread disease in Kyoto, but Liuguang fell silent.
• The Warden asked the Prison Doctor whether Kyoto’s disease could be contained, and the Prison Doctor recommended isolating infected patients and treating them one by one.

The Warden struggled with whether to divert scarce resources toward developing a specific medication, but the Prison Doctor accepted his decision and urged him to trust the Medical Workers. Liuguang then explained how his Theft trait led him to investigate Kyoto’s epidemic, where he found the virus’s source and stopped it from spreading by stealing its thought.

• The Warden said he could not spare resources for a specific medication, and the Prison Doctor understood his choice despite disagreeing as a doctor.
• Liuguang described gaining the Theft trait and learning to steal not only objects but other people’s thoughts.
• Liuguang explained that he returned to the Present World through a hole in the Dark Prison and traveled to Kyoto during the outbreak.
• Liuguang found a dazed, sentient rat-like life-form releasing virus spores, but became severely infected before he could stop it.
• Liuguang saved himself by stealing the creature’s thought of spreading the virus, which caused it to stop releasing the spores.

Liuguang recounted how he stole a virus-spreading Deity’s Authority in Kyoto and lost control, while Doctor and Warden considered whether the encounter had been arranged through an unlikely series of coincidences. The chapter ended with Doctor identifying the timing, Liuguang’s theft ability, Dart’s support, and Liuguang’s compassion as factors behind what happened.

• Liuguang said he repeatedly stole the infected Deity’s thoughts, then decided to steal its ability to spread the virus and succeeded.
• Gambler realized Liuguang had taken the Deity’s Authority, including its madness, and understood why Liuguang had lost control.
• Liuguang told Doctor he feared the encounter had been too coincidental, and Gambler mocked his suspicion that he was like a novel’s protagonist.
• Warden joined Doctor and agreed the chain of coincidences seemed unlikely.
• Doctor pointed out that the Deity began spreading the virus at that moment, Liuguang happened to have theft, Dart helped him reach King-level, and Liuguang’s concern for Kyoto’s infected led him to investigate.

Liuguang faced judgment for his actions and chose death over imprisonment, asking Doctor to spare Nini from being used for research. Doctor agreed and snapped his fingers to empty Liuguang’s mind, then Warden prepared to take him as a new “toy.”

• After considering Liuguang’s history and Shadow’s influence, Doctor released him and offered him imprisonment in the Mind Prison or death.
• Liuguang chose death and asked Doctor to spare Nini from research, offering his own body instead.
• Doctor agreed to protect Nini and revealed that he had a plan to restore her.
• Liuguang asked Doctor to kill him, and Doctor snapped his fingers, leaving Liuguang vacant and motionless.
• Doctor prompted Warden, who gleefully treated Liuguang as a new toy.

Li Changqing devoured Liuguang, while Doctor discussed Prison Doctor’s path to godhood and asked Warden for help. Prison Doctor then appeared on a crowded street, where he examined a woman and seized a man calling the police.

• Li Changqing mocked Liuguang, swallowed half his head, and taunted Gambler by calling him Nicole.
• Doctor explained that he had only ever given Liuguang one real choice, then said he had a rough idea about Prison Doctor attaining godhood.
• Doctor asked Warden for a favor, and Prison Doctor awoke on a busy street surrounded by curious pedestrians.
• Prison Doctor lifted a woman and tested her blood, but found no illness in her body before letting her flee.
• Prison Doctor turned toward a man calling the police, picked him up, and held him like a chick.

Prison Doctor began exploring the disease-free world Doctor created to complete his Deification Ritual, while Doctor explained how the ritual would unfold. Warden secretly stole Gambler’s beer, and Gambler concluded that something was haunting the rooftop.

• Prison Doctor examined a frightened man and ignored people attacking him until police arrived and took him away.
• Doctor told Warden and Gambler that he had created a world without disease for Prison Doctor and expected him to complete his Deification Ritual there.
• Doctor explained that he had planted terminally ill patients throughout the world for Prison Doctor to treat.
• Warden secretly took Gambler’s half-finished beer and denied knowing where it went.
• Doctor revealed that Prison Doctor would be brought to a terminally ill police chief, while Gambler blamed the missing beer on a haunting.

The Prison Doctor surrendered to the police, who surrounded him and sent a negotiator to question him. As he explained how he had arrived, he realized he had lost his memories of the world and his companions, leaving the negotiator asking what he meant by having once been human.

• The Warden silently decided that Li Changqing would keep track of the Gambler’s insult.
• The Prison Doctor raised his hands as police arrived, and armed officers surrounded him without firing.
• The Prison Doctor resisted the urge to examine the officers while they prepared to take him in for questioning.
• The negotiator asked the Prison Doctor who he was and why he was there, and the Prison Doctor said he had once been human and had awakened in the area after falling asleep.
• After learning he was in Luofu District, the Prison Doctor realized he could remember neither the world nor his companions.
• The negotiator asked what the Prison Doctor meant when he said he had once been human.