Chapter Summaries

After clearing the Little Red Riding Hood game for the 1,000th time, Zheng Xun fell into darkness and woke at the starting point with nine unfamiliar players. He greeted them as newcomers after realizing he had finally encountered other living people.

• Zheng Xun chose his inflatable hammer and endured Little Red Riding Hood’s unskippable introduction before setting off through the instance.
• Zheng Xun defeated the street and stairwell monsters, collected the clues, and entered Grandmother’s Cottage.
• Zheng Xun identified and defeated the wolf and grandmother, then shoved his hammer into Little Red Riding Hood’s mouth to clear the game.
• Zheng Xun lost his footing on the path through darkness, fell, and woke at the respawn point.
• Zheng Xun encountered nine strangers, and a tracksuit-clad girl told him they were players.

Zheng Xun reunited with Little Red Riding Hood and learned that his district’s survival depended on a deadly instance. Calmly ignoring the other players’ fear, he volunteered to draw the difficulty and pulled three S balls, revealing the instance was 3S-level.

• Zheng Xun met the nine other players and pointed out Little Red Riding Hood when she appeared behind them.
• Xu Li explained that the worldwide livestream showed District 1089’s players, and that failure in the district’s life-or-death instance would erase everyone in the district.
• Zheng Xun ignored the group’s despair, asked Xu Li about her wristband, and told her not to worry about missing Little Red Riding Hood’s instructions because he already knew them.
• The players gathered around a lottery machine to draw the instance difficulty, and Zheng Xun volunteered because he said he was lucky.
• Zheng Xun tore the machine’s noisy wire, turned its handle, and drew three S balls, setting the instance difficulty at 3S.

Zheng Xun entered the 3S instance at Happiness Residential Complex with nine other players and chose a pink inflatable hammer, while his calm familiarity with Little Red Riding Hood puzzled the group. When a Human-Faced Wolf Spider ambushed him and Zhong Yu, Zheng Xun killed it with a swift hammer strike, drawing a surge of attention to the supposedly inexperienced player.

• The players chose weapons and introduced themselves, and Zheng Xun ended up with the pink inflatable hammer while Zhong Yu wondered if he was a White Tower NPC.
• Little Red Riding Hood led the group into Happiness Residential Complex, where Zheng Xun walked beside her and asked her questions as the others kept their distance.
• Zheng Xun chatted with Zhong Yu as they passed an intersection, unaware to the others but alert to a shifting stack of delivery boxes.
• A Human-Faced Wolf Spider attacked from above, and Zheng Xun shoved Zhong Yu aside before switching his hammer into chopping mode and killing the creature.
• The livestream audience and online posts celebrated Zheng Xun as a war god, while Zhong Yu complained that Zheng Xun had slapped him.

Zheng Xun continued through the Little Red Riding Hood instance, impressing the other players and livestream viewers with his calm, precise combat despite insisting he was a newbie. As the group approached the next intersection, a major guild invited him to join.

• The Wang brothers praised Zheng Xun and asked if the group could survive, but he said their chances were doubtful and made clear he would not protect them.
• As Little Red Riding Hood sang a grim nursery rhyme, Zheng Xun recalled that the instance's greatest dangers included an untouchable hanging woman and twists involving the grandmothers and the girl's identity.
• Xu Li approached Zheng Xun and admitted she was afraid of spiders; he told her to lower her head and look for a purple flower.
• A human-faced wolf spider attacked while Xu Li bent down, and Zheng Xun killed it with a clean hammer strike.
• Top White Tower guild members watching the livestream recognized Zheng Xun's combat skill and composure, and the Singing Sparrow Guild invited him to join with a silver contract.

Zheng Xun continued through the dungeon while Singing Sparrow Guild tried to recruit him, though he barely understood what a guild was. After observing his combat instincts and ability to sense danger, Vice President Xiao Jun decided to go to District 1089 and meet him as soon as he emerged.

• Zheng Xun argued with Zhong Yu about slapping him, then accidentally smacked him again while apologizing.
• Meng Chuang killed a human-faced wolf spider with his scythe and taunted Zheng Xun, increasing tensions among the survivors.
• The players split into opposing camps, and the younger Wang brother showed Zheng Xun Singing Sparrow Guild's pinned silver-contract offer.
• Zheng Xun asked what a guild was, leaving the younger Wang brother to explain guilds and their benefits.
• Xiao Jun watched Zheng Xun gather a clue from a bun shop owner and ordered his assistants to travel to District 1089 to meet him after the dungeon.

Zheng Xun split from Meng Chuang’s group and entered the apartment building alone, leaving the others downstairs while Little Red Riding Hood chose to follow him. Outside the instance, Xiao Jun arrived to recruit Zheng Xun, with Songbird promising him a [Silver+] contract if he survived the district server’s life-or-death battle.

• Zheng Xun examined the family photo and gave an evasive answer about Grandmother’s affection for Little Red Riding Hood.
• Meng Chuang chose Unit One and led several players inside, while Little Red Riding Hood stayed with Zheng Xun’s group.
• Zheng Xun ordered the others to remain downstairs and persuaded Zhong Yu and Xu Li to stay behind before heading upstairs alone.
• Xiao Jun arrived at the White Tower entrance in District 1089 and confirmed that Songbird would offer Zheng Xun a [Silver+] contract if he survived.

Songbird offered Zheng Xun a rare [Silver+] contract, drawing attention from rival guilds as he escorted Little Red Riding Hood to her grandmother’s home. The chapter ended with a second grandmother speaking from inside the house, startling Zheng Xun and the livestream viewers.

• Songbird offered Zheng Xun a [Silver+] contract, prompting other guilds to pursue him and viewers to speculate about his value.
• Zheng Xun left Xu Li, Zhong Yu, and the others behind and continued with Little Red Riding Hood while the livestream followed him.
• Meng Chuang led his group into the hallway, where the Hanged Woman attacked and eliminated the younger Wang brother and two other players.
• The older Wang brother called for help as Xu Li and the others watched the bloody footage, and Chen Zicheng reassured Xu Li that Zheng Xun might survive.
• Zheng Xun reached the fourth floor, knocked politely, and entered the grandmother’s home with Little Red Riding Hood.
• After a second elderly voice answered from inside, Zheng Xun and the viewers realized there were two grandmothers.

Zheng Xun defeated the wolf, Grandma, and Little Red Riding Hood, then reunited with the surviving players as the SSS-rank instance ended. During the reward settlement, he received an inflatable hammer, two rare skill cards, and Sister Red as a contracted subordinate.

• Zheng Xun identified the fake grandma as the wolf by striking Little Red Riding Hood and killed it, revealing her vicious father.
• Zheng Xun exposed the real Grandma as dead and defeated her after she attacked him, while Little Red Riding Hood transformed into a monster.
• Meng Chuang arrived on the fourth floor, and Little Red Riding Hood attacked him before collapsing; the instance then ended.
• Zheng Xun reunited with Xu Li, Zhong Yu, Chen Zicheng, and Gu Yuanheng as the surviving players gathered for reward settlement.
• Zheng Xun opened his large reward box and found his inflatable hammer, a Resurrection Card, and a Time Stop Card.
• Sister Red emerged from the box, and Gu Yuanheng explained that she was Zheng Xun's contracted NPC subordinate.

After surviving the SSS-rank instance, Zheng Xun left the White Tower and was recruited by Singing Sparrow. He learned the guild wanted him to lead a team into Huaiyin No. 4 Middle School because the president’s younger sister was trapped in its side quest.

• Zheng Xun said goodbye to the survivors and discovered Little Red Riding Hood and the inflatable hammer became data particles and entered his body as he left the tower.
• Reporters crowded Zheng Xun outside the White Tower, and Singing Sparrow’s bodyguards took him to meet vice president Xiao Jun.
• Xiao Jun offered Zheng Xun a generous contract and asked him to join Singing Sparrow.
• Zheng Xun questioned why the guild wanted him to enter Huaiyin No. 4 Middle School so soon, given that its previous side quest had traumatized the guild’s second team.
• Xiao Jun revealed that Singing Sparrow’s president’s younger sister was trapped in the side quest and might still be alive.

Zheng Xun agreed to help Songbird clear the Huaiyin Instance without joining the guild, and negotiated for Songbird members to follow his orders. As he fell asleep in the van, he dreamed he was outside Huaiyin No. 4 Middle School with Little Red Riding Hood and saw his player wristband list him as level 99.

• Zheng Xun refused to join Songbird but agreed to help clear the Huaiyin Instance in exchange for conditions tied to his performance.
• Zheng Xun persuaded Xiao Jun to let him lead Songbird members for a few days, and Cheng Jie went to buy him a player wristband and a Newcomer's Guide.
• Su Hairong questioned whether Songbird could trust Zheng Xun, whose background had no records, but Xiao Jun said they had to rely on him.
• Cheng Jie returned with the items and found Zheng Xun asleep in the van, while Xiao Jun told him to treat Zheng Xun as one of Songbird's people.
• Zheng Xun dreamed he stood outside Huaiyin No. 4 Middle School with Little Red Riding Hood, and his wristband displayed his name and level 99.

Zheng Xun discovered that he had reached level 99 and found a private dungeon simulation function on his wristband. He began simulating Huaiyin No. 4 Middle School, where a security guard mistook him for a new hire and claimed he could not see Sister Hong.

• Zheng Xun checked his status and learned that grinding the beginner stage 1,000 times had brought him to level 99.
• Zheng Xun discovered a hidden wristband function that let him safely simulate a dungeon up to 1,000 times and chose Huaiyin No. 4 Middle School.
• Zheng Xun started the simulation, entered the gloomy school with Sister Hong, and began looking for clues.
• A stuttering security guard appeared and mistook Zheng Xun for a new security guard named Little Zheng.
• Zheng Xun introduced Sister Hong as his little sister, but the guard turned pale and said he could see nobody beside Zheng Xun.

Zheng Xun investigated Huaiyin No. 4 Middle School in his simulation, learned about recent disappearances and deaths, and discovered that Li Yuechu had poured a gruesome red liquid into a mug for him. Outside the simulation, Songbird planned to present Zheng Xun as a likely recruit while waiting for him to clear the dungeon.

• Zheng Xun teased Li Yuechu by pretending only he could see Little Red Riding Hood, then followed him into the security office.
• Zheng Xun studied the duty roster, learned Security Guard Feng had been his predecessor, and heard that guards had fled or died because the school was haunted.
• On the vehicle carrying the Songbird group to the airport, Xiao Jun told Su Hairong to announce that Songbird was negotiating Zheng Xun's contract and to keep him close until he cleared the Huaiyin dungeon.
• Zheng Xun woke in the vehicle and remembered Li Yuechu's account of three recent deaths at the school: a teacher surnamed Xu, Security Guard Feng, and a second-year student surnamed Liang.
• Li Yuechu poured a cloudy red liquid containing chunks of flesh into an enamel mug and urged Zheng Xun to drink.

Zheng Xun traveled with Songbird toward District 068, where he planned to settle temporarily and join Cheng Jie in the Locust Sound instance. He watched a recording of Songbird's second team's previous run and learned that a teammate had triggered a 3S-difficulty nightmare side quest.

• Zheng Xun left the simulation, asked Xiao Jun for the Locust Sound recording, and browsed forum discussions about joining Songbird.
• Zheng Xun arrived at the airport with Songbird and teased Cheng Jie while deciding to share a room with him.
• Xiao Jun told Zheng Xun that Cheng Jie would accompany him into Locust Sound while Su Hairong was away on another instance.
• Zheng Xun boarded Songbird's private plane and watched the recording of Tao Xueqing's team's last Locust Sound run.
• Zheng Xun saw that Tao Xueqing's team had triggered a 3S-difficulty nightmare side quest.

Zheng Xun learned how Captain Xiao Tao sacrificed herself to save Xiao Jun in Huaiyin’s hidden corridor and agreed to return to the instance with Mingque. After sleeping for a day and night, he woke at the guild and ordered Cheng Jie to get everyone ready to enter.

• Zheng Xun watched the Huaiyin replay and saw Tao Xueqing, Xiao Jun, and three teammates fall into a hidden corridor where its boss killed the three teammates.
• Xiao Jun told Zheng Xun that Tao Xueqing used a teleportation card to send him out, while she remained trapped in the instance.
• Xiao Jun explained that he planned to reenter Huaiyin with Cheng Jie to find Xueqing, while Su Hairong stayed behind to help run the guild.
• Zheng Xun asked whether failed instances could be entered again and how they could recover the bodies, and Xiao Jun said hidden routes took longer to reset and that they had prepared an item.
• Zheng Xun agreed to the plan, slept for a day and a night, then woke at the Mingque Guild and pulled off Cheng Jie's blanket, ordering him to wake everyone for the instance.

Zheng Xun led Songbird’s second team into the Huaiyin No. 4 Middle School dungeon, hoping to trigger its hidden 3S side quest. After quickly defeating the bosses, he decided the run was no good and pushed his four teammates off the rooftop just as the final boss appeared.

• Zheng Xun arrived at the White Tower with Xiao Jun, Cheng Jie, Xiao Wu, and Li Shuang, then insisted he might enter the dungeon alone.
• Zheng Xun agreed to bring the team and drew an A-rank run after Xiao Jun argued that the others might help trigger the hidden side quest.
• Zheng Xun led the team through the dungeon without speaking to NPCs and killed the first two bosses almost instantly.
• Zheng Xun reached the rooftop with the unharmed team and said the run was no good as the final boss appeared.
• Zheng Xun pushed Xiao Jun, Cheng Jie, Xiao Wu, and Li Shuang off the rooftop.

After deliberately failing the Locust Sound instance to keep its entrance open, Zheng Xun reentered alone with Little Red Riding Hood to seek the 3S side quest. As Huo Ziyan secretly watched his livestream, Zheng Xun tried to speed through Old Li’s dialogue by asking whether knocking him out would skip it.

• Zheng Xun explained that the group had to fail the instance so they could enter again, then gave Cheng Jie the gold-coin reward.
• Zheng Xun reentered the instance alone with Little Red Riding Hood while the others stayed behind.
• Huo Ziyan secretly watched Zheng Xun’s livestream until two Azure Mist teammates mocked them both and left.
• Zheng Xun spoke with Old Li and asked whether knocking him out would let them skip the dialogue.

Zheng Xun captured Xiaoyin and hurried upstairs, while viewers and Songbird members debated whether he could solve puzzles as well as fight. The chapter ended with Cheng Jie reacting in shock as Zheng Xun appeared to force the boss to jump off a building.

• Zheng Xun knocked Old Li unconscious, then sent Little Red Riding Hood after Xiaoyin and captured her.
• Zheng Xun asked Xiaoyin how to unlock the 3S side quest, then spared her and told her to follow him upstairs.
• Viewers debated Zheng Xun’s puzzle-solving ability, and Xiao Wu argued that he made careful judgments in Little Red Riding Hood’s instance.
• Xiao Wu admitted he had studied Zheng Xun’s livestream replays, and Cheng Jie learned that Xiao Wu was a second-team substitute.
• Cheng Jie turned back to the livestream and saw Zheng Xun apparently forcing the boss to jump off the building.

Zheng Xun tried to uncover the truth behind Liang Queyin’s haunting by talking to her instead of fighting, but Xiaoyin’s reaction unsettled the encounter. After Liang Queyin tried to jump from the rooftop, Zheng Xun saved her and then entered the dungeon again, wondering why Xiaoyin had acted so emotionally.

• Zheng Xun sent Little Red Riding Hood into the utility room to kill the murderous teacher, then took her to the final stage.
• Zheng Xun put away his hammer and asked Liang Queyin if she had been wronged, prompting her to explain her history and accuse Li Yuechu of colluding with the security guard surnamed Feng.
• Xiaoyin called Liang Queyin a liar, then repeated her usual claim that Liang Queyin was the resentful soul haunting Huaiyin No. 4 Middle School.
• Liang Queyin tried to jump from the rooftop, but Zheng Xun grabbed her and pulled her back before jumping off the building himself.
• Zheng Xun returned to Xiao Jun and Cheng Jie, gave Cheng Jie another bag of gold coins, and prepared to enter the dungeon again while thinking about Xiaoyin’s unusual emotions.

Zheng Xun repeatedly ran the White Tower dungeon to trigger its hidden side quest, but an unknown force kept preventing it from appearing. After fifty-six failed attempts, he agreed to bring one teammate along on each future run, warning them that he could not guarantee their safety.

• Zheng Xun explained that the hidden side quest was difficult to trigger and that the rooftop tile that led to it seemed random.
• Zheng Xun began repeatedly clearing the dungeon alone, while Xiao Jun and the others stayed nearby to support him.
• After fifty-six runs without finding the hidden boss, Zheng Xun grew frustrated and sat among the gold coins he had earned.
• Zheng Xun told Xiao Jun and the others that some force was stopping him, and said he had tried interacting with the dungeon's NPCs without success.
• Zheng Xun proposed bringing one teammate into each subsequent run and warned that he could not protect them from the hidden boss.

Zheng Xun and Xiao Jun uncovered the truth behind the school’s tragedies and returned to the instance for one final confrontation. At the rooftop door, Zheng Xun asked Xiao Wu’s permission to reveal Xiao Wu’s identity because it was the only way to save someone.

• Zheng Xun guided Li Shuang, Cheng Jie, and Xiao Jun through separate instance runs, then Xiao Jun showed the group evidence identifying Xiaoyin as Li Yueying.
• Xiao Jun revealed that Teacher Xu had been falsely accused and that Liang Queyin had twisted the truth about Security Guard Feng’s crime against Li Yueying.
• The group concluded that Li Yuechu had avenged his sister, while Teacher Xu had become another victim of the tragedy.
• Zheng Xun and Xiao Wu entered the instance, and Xiao Wu told Old Li that he did not need to feel guilty anymore.
• Zheng Xun ignored Xiaoyin, defeated the first two bosses, and asked Xiao Wu whether that was their real name.
• Xiao Wu agreed to let Zheng Xun reveal their identity so he could save her.