Chapter Summaries

Ma Fuqing endured Qingmu’s rooftop illusion until a storm drove him to move, then fell into a filthy cage where his younger brother Ma Fuquan strangled him. Even after dying, Ma Fuqing watched as a headless woman approached and demanded her head back.

• Ma Fuqing refused to move despite the rising water and rain, but the storm eventually forced him to stand and leave the rooftop.
• Ma Fuqing stumbled down the dark stairs and fell onto scrap rebar, discovering an iron cage below.
• Ma Fuqing found Ma Fuquan inside the cage, and Ma Fuquan accused him of locking him up before strangling him to death.
• Ma Fuqing remained conscious after dying and watched a headless woman enter the cage and demand her head back.

Ma Fuqing relived his death as his wife and brother separated and buried his head and body, then crawled back to life only to be tortured by Yang Baoguo and forced to confess his crimes. After Yang smothered him with wet tissues, Qingmu appeared and said they would decide how Ma Fuqing should die.

• Ma Fuqing's headless wife sawed off his head while Ma Fuquan took his body to an abandoned fishpond and buried the head beneath a locust tree.
• After an unknown stretch of time, Ma Fuqing's rotting body crawled from the pond, dug up his head, and reattached it.
• Yang Baoguo and four men pinned Ma Fuqing down and used wet tissues to suffocate him until he confessed his suppliers, buyers, customers, women, hidden goods, and deals.
• Yang Baoguo covered Ma Fuqing's face with more wet tissues, killing him again.
• Qingmu approached Ma Fuqing's corpse and said they would discuss exactly how he should die.

Yao Jingjing returned to Cuanzhou to visit her hospitalized mother, whose family urged her to go on a blind date while she tried to arrange better treatment. A doctor told her they had found a bone marrow match, but her mother also had unexplained, potentially expanding brain damage that might affect the transplant.

• Yao Jingjing arrived in Cuanzhou before dawn and unknowingly drew the attention of two men who had followed her from the train station.
• Yao Jingjing visited her mother, who insisted that she go on a blind date and refused to let her father sell their house to pay for treatment.
• Yao Jingjing offered to take her mother to the Capital for another examination, but her mother focused on seeing her daughter married.
• A doctor told Yao Jingjing that her mother had a bone marrow match and that surgery and rehabilitation could cost around a million yuan.
• The doctor explained that Yao Jingjing's mother had fibrosis and necrosis in her cerebral cortex, and they did not know what caused it or whether it would affect the transplant.

Yao Jingjing chose to prioritize her mother’s bone marrow transplant and struggled to find the money, then went to a blind date where she thought she saw the man she had promised herself not to think about. In a nearby alley, Qingmu confronted Tang Eight Fingers and his men, telling them Ma Fuqing was dead before a vision of a speeding train bore down on Tang Eight Fingers.

• Yao Jingjing decided to pursue her mother’s bone marrow transplant first and planned to borrow money, seek an advance from work, and possibly sell the family apartment.
• Yao Jingjing’s mother urged her to attend a blind date, and Yao Jingjing reluctantly went to a café in the south of the city.
• When the man she was meant to meet failed to appear, Yao Jingjing thought she saw a trench-coated figure resembling the man from Spring City and tried to chase him.
• Tang Eight Fingers and his thugs waited in an alley to target a woman, but Tang Eight Fingers called off the plan when Ma Fuqing did not contact him.
• Qingmu appeared in the alley, told Tang Eight Fingers that Ma Fuqing was dead, and approached as Tang Eight Fingers saw a train rush toward him.

Yao Jingjing met her blind date, Xiang Feiyu, and his domineering mother, who treated the meeting like a marriage negotiation and insulted her. When Yao Jingjing tried to leave, Xiang Feiyu's mother revealed she knew Yao Jingjing's mother was ill and needed money.

• Yao Jingjing waited in the rain after her blind date was late, then saw Xiang Feiyu arrive with his mother.
• Xiang Feiyu's mother ordered coffee and judged Yao Jingjing, declaring she could become a daughter-in-law of the Xiang family.
• Xiang Feiyu said he liked Yao Jingjing, and his mother laid out conditions about premarital assets, children, surnames, and custody.
• Yao Jingjing challenged the woman's arrogance, but she insulted Yao Jingjing's job and tried to leave with Xiang Feiyu.
• Xiang Feiyu refused to leave without Yao Jingjing, and his mother offered gifts and a car before Yao Jingjing rejected the arrangement.
• As Yao Jingjing stood to leave, Xiang Feiyu's mother said she knew Yao Jingjing's mother was sick and that Yao Jingjing needed money.

Yao Jingjing learned that a million had been delivered to the hospital for her mother’s treatment by a man her parents mistook for her boyfriend. She reunited with Qingmu and, as he began asking about her mother’s nightmares, the reason for his visit remained unclear.

• Yao Jingjing returned to the ward after refusing to accept Mrs. Xiang’s marriage proposal on the spot, and her parents told her that her boyfriend had brought a million for her mother’s treatment.
• Yao Jingjing searched the hospital for the man, then ran into Qingmu as he returned to the ward.
• Yao Jingjing’s parents welcomed Qingmu warmly and assumed he was her boyfriend, embarrassing Yao Jingjing.
• Qingmu told Yao Jingjing that her mother’s condition was complicated and asked whether she had been having frequent nightmares.

Qingmu questioned Mrs. Yao about the nightmares she had during chemotherapy, and she described a strange encounter with her reflection. The story left off as she recalled the reflection changing its move and speaking to her.

• Mrs. Yao said her nightmares began around March, during her first round of chemotherapy, and stopped after she came to terms with her illness.
• Mrs. Yao mistook Qingmu’s questions about her nightmares for an opportunity to discuss his marriage to Yao Jingjing.
• After Yao Jingjing identified Qingmu as a psychologist, he asked Mrs. Yao to describe her nightmare in detail.
• Mrs. Yao recalled feeling followed and seeing her reflection move the same hand as she did instead of reversing sides.
• Mrs. Yao played rock, paper, scissors with her reflection, which eventually threw rock while her hand still showed scissors and called her stupid.

Qingmu learned that Mother Yao had experienced an invading consciousness that searched through her memories and appeared in dreams as her double, demanding that she confess a secret. Mother Yao’s dreams ended when their cat frightened the double away, leaving Qingmu wondering why the consciousness had wanted a confession and why it had stopped.

• Mother Yao described feeling accompanied by an unseen presence and dreaming in detail about memories from her life.
• She told Qingmu that her double appeared during chemotherapy, repeatedly threatened to kill her, and demanded that she confess something.
• Qingmu connected Mother Yao’s experience to Xia Wenyuan’s illness and reasoned that an invading consciousness had searched her memories.
• Mother Yao recalled that the double fled when their cat appeared, surprising Qingmu.

Qingmu learned that Mama Yao’s childhood cat had appeared in her dream and driven away the invading consciousness. He suspected the cat was tied to a protected memory and decided to enter Mama Yao’s dream, leaving the story with him trying to send Yao Jingjing and Papa Yao away.

• Mama Yao recalled that her grandmother’s cat had appeared in her dream, while Yao Jingjing and Papa Yao said they had never known the family to keep one.
• Qingmu reasoned that the cat could not be a mere dream copy because it had driven off the invading consciousness, and considered whether its consciousness had survived its death.
• Mama Yao recalled that her grandmother and the cat died on the same night while she was in high school, after she fell asleep beside them.
• Qingmu suspected a protected memory region connected to the cat held something the invading consciousness wanted, and decided to hypnotize Mama Yao and enter her dream.
• Qingmu told Yao Jingjing he was hungry and called her by name, startling and flustering her.

Qingmu hypnotized Mrs. Yao to guide her through a dream and uncover her memories of cats. The dream ended with Mrs. Yao pleading with her grandmother for a cat as mice swarmed around them.

• Qingmu sent Yao Jingjing and Mr. Yao downstairs, then drew the curtains and hypnotized Mrs. Yao.
• Qingmu watched Mrs. Yao dream of a hospital where doctors extracted her bone marrow and called a vertebra fresh.
• The dream shifted to Mrs. Yao’s home, where Yao Jingjing fed a memory-made version of Qingmu bone broth containing a vertebra.
• Qingmu guided Mrs. Yao’s dream to her childhood countryside home and suggested that mice were driving ants from their nest.
• As mice multiplied, Qingmu urged Mrs. Yao and her grandmother to call for a cat, and Mrs. Yao cried out that she wanted one.

Qingmu discovered that a powerful white cat was guarding an encrypted region of Mama Yao’s dream and protected her consciousness when their psychic powers collided. He left the cat’s secrets untouched, helped Mama Yao rest, and the chapter ended with Yao Jingjing and Papa Yao returning with food.

• Qingmu found an encrypted region in Mama Yao’s dream and saw a white cat emerge within an immense psychic space.
• Qingmu and the white cat combined their powers to shield Mama Yao from the shock of their collision, then faced each other until the cat relaxed.
• The white cat meowed at Qingmu and disappeared into the darkness, and Qingmu chose not to force open the encrypted memories.
• Qingmu withdrew from the dream, reassured Mama Yao, and helped her fall asleep after she woke exhausted.
• Yao Jingjing and Papa Yao returned with takeaway dishes and a pot of slow-simmered soup, which Papa Yao proudly showed Mama Yao.

Qingmu learned that Mama Yao’s illness involved the same unusual brain changes as Xia Wenyuan’s and questioned whether they were connected to the invading consciousness and her childhood cat. Before leaving, he offered to help arrange Mama Yao’s operation in Wuzhong, giving Yao Jingjing hope they would meet again soon.

• Qingmu recalled seeing Yao Jingjing’s blind date and discovered that Mama Yao had unusual brain changes similar to Xia Wenyuan’s.
• Mama Yao described her childhood white cat and grandmother, revealing that her family had once used the surname Cuan.
• Qingmu told Yao Jingjing he had come to see her and dismissed her promise to repay the money he had brought.
• Yao Jingjing asked whether they would meet again, and Qingmu offered to help arrange Mama Yao’s operation at a hospital in Wuzhong.
• Qingmu promised they would meet again soon, then thought of the white cat.

Qingmu, Shi Dazhuang, and Yu Meiren dealt with the frail stray cat Yu Meiren had adopted and returned to Wuzhong after Shi Dazhuang handed the police Qingmu’s recording of Ma Fuqing’s confession. On the flight, Qingmu encountered a familiar plump woman who proudly pointed out that first-class boarding passes looked just like economy ones.

• Yu Meiren adopted a weak stray yellow cat, and Qingmu warned Shi Dazhuang that it might not survive long.
• Shi Dazhuang and Qingmu arranged pet transport for the cat because they could not take it on their flight to Wuzhong.
• Yu Meiren asked Qingmu whether he would marry Yao Jingjing, and Shi Dazhuang teased him for being a block of wood.
• Qingmu played Shi Dazhuang a recording of Ma Fuqing confessing to crimes, and Shi Dazhuang praised him for providing evidence against the gang.
• Shi Dazhuang gave the recording to the Spring City police, who folded the case into a major provincial drug operation.
• Qingmu boarded the flight to Wuzhong and saw a familiar plump woman in first class, who waved her boarding pass and declared that it was the same as an economy one.

After returning to Wuzhong, Qingmu visited Mei Yiqiu’s laboratory after Mei Ziqing reported that the professor had become suspicious and was forcing his staff to learn the Lester Signature. Mei Yiqiu let Qingmu enter without requiring him to learn it, leaving the cause of the professor’s behavior unexplained.

• Qingmu returned to Wuzhong and spent his quiet days at the counseling office with Boss Coal while Bi Shenghua handled the bar’s renovation.
• Qingmu decided to visit Mei Yiqiu, but Mei Ziqing called to say the professor had locked himself in his lab, refused to sleep, and demanded that staff learn the Lester Signature.
• Qingmu went to the laboratory and found researchers protesting Mei Yiqiu’s demand to learn the Thought Matrix Cipher.
• Mei Ziqing explained that the Lester Signature was a difficult, brain-wave-based cipher that required advanced mathematical skill and strong mental control.
• When Qingmu turned to leave rather than attempt to learn it, Mei Yiqiu opened the door and told him he could come in.

Mei Yiqiu questioned Qingmu about entering dreams and the consciousness entities within them, then warned that humanity faced an unprecedented catastrophe. He told Qingmu that Mr. Lester had died and handed him a metal eye mask.

• Mei Ziqing entered Mei Yiqiu's smoky workroom, and Qingmu discussed the three million he had earned and given to another woman.
• Mei Yiqiu asked Qingmu whether he could enter dreams, see their primary consciousness entities, and encounter multiple consciousness entities in one person's dream.
• Qingmu recalled the shadow in Xia Wenyuan's dream, the intruder Mama Yao had mentioned, and the white cat, then said he had never encountered two consciousness entities in a dream.
• Mei Yiqiu said humanity faced an unprecedented catastrophe and told Qingmu that Mr. Lester had died.
• Mei Yiqiu handed Qingmu a metal eye mask and told him to put it on.

Qingmu watched Evans Lester’s VR warning and realized it described the parasitic consciousness he had encountered in Xia Wenyuan. He told Mei Yiqiu what had happened, and they discussed how impossible it was to identify everyone who had been invaded.

• Mei Yiqiu showed Qingmu HW’s VR headset and explained why he had chosen it over a Japanese model.
• Qingmu used the headset to watch Evans Lester explain that an invading consciousness had threatened him and leave humanity a warning through the Thought Matrix Cipher.
• Qingmu recognized Lester’s account as matching Xia Wenyuan’s condition and told Mei Yiqiu what he knew about the invading consciousness.
• Mei Yiqiu regretted not introducing Qingmu to Lester sooner, while Mei Ziqing asked how humanity could find the aliens.
• Mei Yiqiu explained that the invaders were difficult to detect and that neither checking everyone’s dreams nor requiring everyone to pass the Lester Signature was practical.
• Qingmu asked how many people had passed the Lester Signature.

Mei Yiqiu, Qingmu, and Mei Ziqing discussed the spread of consciousness invaders and the difficulty of identifying them, while arranging medical care for Yao Jingjing's mother. They concluded that prominent people might already be compromised and that no one could be trusted.

• Mei Yiqiu explained that fewer than a hundred people had passed verification with the difficult Lester Signature and that governments refused to organize a response.
• Qingmu connected Xia Wenyuan's brain lesions to the shadow in his dreams and described Yao Jingjing's mother's similar condition.
• Mei Yiqiu arranged a hospital bed and specialist consultation for Yao Jingjing's mother, and told Qingmu to contact the Xia Family about bringing her to Wuzhong.
• Mei Ziqing contacted Dr. Smith at Hopkins Medical Center to request Lester's death report and records.
• Mei Yiqiu theorized that invaders targeted influential people and that brain lesions might result from strong resistance, though Qingmu questioned whether a consciousness entity could cause physical damage.
• Mei Yiqiu warned that powerful figures might already be occupied and said Situ had been right that they could not trust anyone.

Qingmu learned that the vanished undersea ruins, phantom islands, and research vessel had been discussed at the Copenhagen conference, while the identity of the mysterious Situ remained uncertain. He ended by deciding to meet Xia Wenyuan, bring Mama Yao to Wuzhong, and hurry home to feed Boss Coal.

• Mei Yiqiu described the brilliant scientist Situ he had known, while Mei Ziqing recalled a handsome young man named Situ she had met in Copenhagen.
• Mei Ziqing told Qingmu that the undersea ruins, phantom islands, and a research vessel carrying dozens of researchers had disappeared.
• Mei Yiqiu told Mei Ziqing to let a beautiful woman and her child meet him if they returned, and said everyone could stop worrying about the Lester Signature.
• Qingmu reflected on the threat of alien life and organized his plans into three conclusions: arrange a meeting with Xia Wenyuan, bring Mama Yao to Wuzhong, and feed Boss Coal.

Qingmu returned to Ruhua Bar and discovered that the orange kitten he had forgotten to tell Bi Shenghua about had arrived. He brought the kitten home to meet Boss Coal, and the chapter ended with the cat eyeing their dinner while the crow guarded his food.

• Qingmu visited Ruhua Bar, where Bi Shenghua showed him the kitten that had been delivered to her care.
• Qingmu took the kitten home, and Boss Coal panicked when it tried to paw at his feathers.
• Qingmu left the crow alone with the kitten, and they made a mess of the room before he returned.
• Qingmu fed the kitten and Boss Coal, and the kitten drank from the crow’s cup.
• The kitten watched Qingmu and Boss Coal eat, so Boss Coal spread a wing to protect his food.

Qingmu temporarily kept a sickly ginger kitten, whose affectionate behavior exasperated Boss Coal but gradually softened him. Two days later, Yu Meiren returned to collect the kitten, and Hu Xing took Qingmu, the girl, and the cat along to meet Xia Tian.

• Boss Coal tried to stop the ginger kitten from stealing his food, but eventually fed it a piece of meat.
• Qingmu said the kitten would stay at his place until its owner came for it, and Boss Coal was relieved it was only temporary.
• Bi Shenghua prepared a makeshift litter box and separate sofa beds, but the kitten kept following Boss Coal until he spent the night on his perch.
• Two days later, Hu Xing arrived with Yu Meiren, the kitten's owner, and Boss Coal thanked Hu Xing for rescuing him from the cat.
• Hu Xing said she was taking Qingmu and Yu Meiren to meet Xia Tian, and agreed to bring the kitten and Boss Coal along too.