Chapter Summaries

Zheng Xun persuaded Xiaoyin to let him enter the hidden side route, where he and Tao Xueji fought its boss together. They defeated the monster, clearing the way to resolve the mystery of the girl trapped in the corridor.

• Zheng Xun ordered Little Red Riding Hood to restrain Liang Queyin and told Xiaoyin he knew she was the hidden boss and had tried to protect players.
• Zheng Xun asked Xiaoyin to let him enter the hidden side route and promised he could save the girl trapped in the corridor; Xiaoyin opened the way.
• Zheng Xun entered the disorienting corridor with Xiao Wu and began fighting the hidden boss with his inflatable hammer.
• The boss attacked Xiao Wu, who revealed himself as Tao Xueji and used the Juque Sword to drive it away.
• Zheng Xun and Tao Xueji split the fight between them, then Zheng Xun shoved his hammer into the enraged boss's mouth and triggered an explosion that ended the battle.

After clearing the hidden route and rescuing Tao Xueqing, Zheng Xun said goodbye to Xiaoyin as the game faded, then returned to the White Tower with the Tao siblings. His reward included a strange copy of Xiaoyin that became his subordinate, and Zheng Xun collapsed asleep after storing it and his other prizes.

• Zheng Xun freed Tao Xueji from beneath stone slabs, and Tao Xueqing emerged safely from behind a fallen painting.
• Zheng Xun and Little Red Riding Hood finished off Liang Queyin, and Xiaoyin thanked Zheng Xun before disappearing as the game ended.
• Tao Xueji, Tao Xueqing, and Zheng Xun returned to the White Tower, where Zheng Xun collapsed from exhaustion.
• Zheng Xun opened his reward box and found potions, shields, unusual items, and a portrait of Li Yueying.
• A multicolored creature burst from the portrait, identified itself as Xiaoyin, and became Zheng Xun's subordinate.
• Zheng Xun stored Xiaoyin and the rest of his rewards in his bracelet, then fell asleep.

Zheng Xun woke after sleeping for a day and a night, accepted Songbird’s reward for clearing the Locust Sound instance, and refused to join the guild. He began discussing his condition with Xiao Jun, but Cheng Jie objected when he heard what Zheng Xun wanted.

• Tao Xueqing told Zheng Xun that he had slept for a day and a night after passing out at the White Tower.
• Zheng Xun confirmed he would not join Songbird, despite Tao Xueqing offering him a vice president’s position.
• Cheng Jie, Xiao Jun, and Tao Xueji visited Zheng Xun, and Xiao Jun gave him a folder containing compensation and game items.
• Zheng Xun signed for the reward and began discussing his condition with Xiao Jun.
• Ten minutes later, Cheng Jie shouted that Songbird would not agree to Zheng Xun’s condition.

Zheng Xun asked Songbird to guarantee his application to start an independent guild, and Songbird agreed after preparing the paperwork. Xiao Jun then asked Zheng Xun to sign a loan contract with Songbird and attend its press conference.

• Zheng Xun asked Songbird to act as guarantor so he could start his own guild, and Xiao Jun said the guild needed time to consider the request.
• Zheng Xun spent the night in the consultation room while Tao Xueqing visited and Cheng Jie kept him company.
• Su Hairong took Zheng Xun to Xiao Jun, who said Songbird had agreed to guarantee his application and handed him the proposed operating plan.
• Xiao Jun warned Zheng Xun that Songbird would not run the new guild and that he would need investors and sponsors to keep it operating.
• Zheng Xun accepted the proposal and asked Xiao Jun to state Songbird's conditions, prompting Xiao Jun to request a loan contract and Zheng Xun's attendance at the next day's press conference.

At Songbird’s press conference, Zheng Xun answered reporters’ questions about his dungeon run and future. He announced that he would establish the Xunhui Guild, which would loan him to the Singing Sparrow Guild for three A-plus dungeons over one year.

• White Tower Forum users speculated about whether Songbird would announce Zheng Xun as a member.
• Songbird held a press conference attended by Tao Xueji, Xiao Jun, Zheng Xun, Su Hairong, and Cheng Jie.
• Zheng Xun told reporters that survival mattered more than rewards and gave evasive answers about his dungeon run.
• Xiao Jun announced that Zheng Xun would make a joint statement about his future.
• Zheng Xun announced that he would establish the Xunhui Guild and loan himself to the Singing Sparrow Guild for three A-plus dungeons over one year.

After announcing that he would start Xunhui, Zheng Xun stayed at Singing Sparrow and mined in remote White Tower instances to earn money for a guild property. He met Huo Ziyan again in the desert mining instance after Cheng Jie warned him that Huo Ziyan had a bad reputation at Azure Mist.

• Zheng Xun mined material instances to raise money for a home and Xunhui’s guild address while keeping away from reporters.
• Cheng Jie found Zheng Xun sorting ore in his room and helped clean the dirt from it.
• Zheng Xun told Cheng Jie that he had met Huo Ziyan, who had recognized him and shared his mined ore.
• Cheng Jie explained that Huo Ziyan had fallen from Azure Mist’s first team to its third team and was considered a disaster by other guilds.
• Zheng Xun returned to the remote desert mining instance the next day, where Huo Ziyan greeted him again.

Zheng Xun and Huo Ziyan quietly mined together while Huo Ziyan struggled with his place in Azure Mist. After Huo Ziyan left the dungeon following a guild summons, Zheng Xun followed him back, where the third team's captain confronted him over skipping training.

• Huo Ziyan repeatedly left the ore he mined for Zheng Xun, and Zheng Xun accepted it while offering to help him if needed.
• Huo Ziyan told Zheng Xun that Azure Mist had given him an ultimatum because no team wanted to take him on loan.
• Huo Ziyan said he might have to leave Azure Mist, and Zheng Xun bluntly advised him to find another path.
• After a guild message summoned Huo Ziyan away, Zheng Xun followed him through the portal, hoping to retrieve the ore Huo Ziyan had forgotten to leave.
• When Huo Ziyan returned to Azure Mist, the third team's captain berated him for skipping training.

Huo Ziyan was berated by Azure Mist leaders over his time in a materials instance, while Meng Yijia used the confrontation to remind him of the incident that ruined his standing in the guild. After Huo Ziyan revealed Zheng Xun had accompanied him, Zheng Xun appeared through the teleportation portal and called him out to play.

• Captain Liu and the third team's vice captain scolded Huo Ziyan for sneaking out to play, but Huo Ziyan argued that he had followed the rules and used his personal time as he wished.
• Meng Yijia recalled how Huo Ziyan had been blamed for abandoning him during the Seventh Hospital instance, a story that led to Huo Ziyan's fall from the first team and his impending expulsion from Azure Mist.
• Xu Guan questioned Huo Ziyan about the ore he had brought back from the materials instance and asked who had gone there with him.
• Huo Ziyan admitted that Zheng Xun had accompanied him, prompting Meng Yijia to criticize the connection.
• Zheng Xun suddenly appeared through the teleportation portal and waved to Huo Ziyan, inviting him to come out and play.

Zheng Xun tried to rent Huo Ziyan from Azure Mist, but Xu Guan refused to release him. After Xiao Jun explained the obstacles, he sent Zheng Xun a map of Azure Mist-marked dungeons, which Cheng Jie urged him to rob.

• Zheng Xun entered Azure Mist and insisted on hearing why its leaders had summoned Huo Ziyan, then said he wanted to rent him.
• Xu Guan refused Zheng Xun's request, arguing that the captain had the authority to block the rental.
• Zheng Xun returned to Songbird and called Xiao Jun, who explained that Xu Guan could prevent other guilds from intervening.
• Xiao Jun declined to act on Songbird's behalf but sent Zheng Xun a map of dungeons marked with Azure Mist's emblem.
• Cheng Jie recognized the map and urged Zheng Xun to rob the marked dungeons.

Cheng Jie gave Zheng Xun Azure Mist’s marked-dungeon map, and the two planned to poach its dungeons. After Huo Ziyan was berated by Azure Mist’s leaders, Zheng Xun sent him cryptic warnings before Azure Mist woke to news that Zheng Xun had raided its base.

• Xiao Jun sent Zheng Xun a cropped map showing Azure Mist’s marked dungeons, and Cheng Jie explained that poaching them would violate guild etiquette.
• Zheng Xun agreed to loot Azure Mist’s dungeons, and he and Cheng Jie eagerly discussed which one to target first.
• Meng Yijia and Xu Guan were relieved that Zheng Xun had left without an agreement, while Huo Ziyan endured more than an hour of criticism from Azure Mist’s leaders.
• Huo Ziyan exchanged messages with his younger sister, then received a late-night message from Zheng Xun warning him to prepare for slander and abuse.
• Huo Ziyan woke after a restless night to hear his roommate shouting that Zheng Xun had raided Azure Mist’s base.

Zheng Xun deliberately opened an Azure Mist marked dungeon while livestreaming, provoking the guild and attracting attention from other top guilds. As Azure Mist gathered to respond, Cheng Jie watched the stream and pointed out that Zheng Xun was not a member of Songbird.

• Zheng Xun started a livestream outside Azure Mist's marked White Tower No. 3 and dismissed the guild emblem as a kid's doodle before entering.
• Viewers warned Zheng Xun that opening the marked dungeon could anger Azure Mist, but he acted as though he could not read their comments.
• Azure Mist's members assembled in the monitoring room and recognized that Zheng Xun was deliberately provoking them.
• Li Shaoan posted an image of the opened dungeon in the top-twenty guild chat, prompting other guild members to share the livestream and discuss Zheng Xun.
• Cheng Jie clarified that Zheng Xun was not part of Songbird, sent him a yacht in the livestream, and tagged Xu Guan and Meng Yijia after pointing out Azure Mist's claim to the dungeon.

Cheng Jie and Zheng Xun provoked Azure Mist while Xu Guan ordered the guild not to retaliate. Zheng Xun entered the S-rank dungeon Alice's Horror Corridor and announced he would clear it in thirty minutes.

• Cheng Jie told Tao Xueqing that Zheng Xun knew what he was doing and that Azure Mist would not act against him.
• Xu Guan silenced Azure Mist's angry members and forbade them from confronting Zheng Xun, while Meng Yijia warned them about the livestream audience.
• Huo Ziyan realized Zheng Xun was deliberately provoking the guild and wondered whether he would escape the consequences.
• Zheng Xun entered the White Tower after repeatedly practicing the S-rank dungeon and discovering he could open a combination lock by smashing its box.
• Zheng Xun entered Alice's Horror Corridor, drew an S-rank result from the lottery machine, and told the viewers he would finish in thirty minutes.

Zheng Xun planned to clear the S-rank Alice dungeon in thirty minutes by using unconventional methods instead of solving its puzzles. He sent Little Red Riding Hood and Xiaoyin to guard the side entrances, then entered the middle corridor and smashed the first lockbox with an inflatable hammer.

• Zheng Xun announced that he would clear the S-rank dungeon in thirty minutes, surprising the livestream audience and rival guilds.
• Zheng Xun explained that the Alice dungeon required players to enter three paths, solve puzzles, and evade Painting Corpses, but he intended to avoid the usual process.
• Zheng Xun summoned Little Red Riding Hood and Xiaoyin, assigning them to guard the left and right entrances until he blew his whistle.
• Zheng Xun entered the middle corridor and reached a lockbox without examining the paintings for its code.
• Zheng Xun declared that players could get the key without solving the puzzle and struck the lockbox with an inflatable hammer.

Zheng Xun survived Alice’s instance by smashing through boxes and doors while Painting Corpse chased him, then used a whistle to summon Little Red Riding Hood and Xiaoyin. After they met up, the three reached the final door as Little Red Riding Hood played “Für Elise.”

• Zheng Xun smashed a lockbox, took its key, and fled Painting Corpse through the maze.
• Zheng Xun repeatedly broke boxes and doors to escape the monster, enduring fifteen minutes of pursuit.
• At the fifteen-minute mark, Zheng Xun blew his whistle and listened for his subordinates.
• Little Red Riding Hood smashed through doors with her basket, while Xiaoyin crashed through doors and walls to reach Zheng Xun.
• Zheng Xun met up with Little Red Riding Hood and Xiaoyin at the final door and asked Little Red Riding Hood to play “Für Elise.”

Zheng Xun cleared Azure Mist’s Alice Instance in thirty minutes and left the guild shaken by his strength. He contacted Xu Guan to ask about renting Huo Ziyan, then threatened to crack open Xu Guan’s Instance 547 if he refused.

• Zheng Xun claimed the Portable Door, Bottomless Water Bottle, and Downgrade Card, then left the White Tower after clearing the Alice Instance.
• He Yuxing at Eternal Guild said he wanted to recruit Zheng Xun, while his teammates warned against taking extreme measures.
• Azure Mist members complained about Zheng Xun until Xu Guan rebuked them and ordered them back to training and reviewing the replay.
• Cheng Jie drove Zheng Xun away from the White Tower, and Zheng Xun later got Xu Guan’s contact information from Xiao Jun.
• Xu Guan accepted Zheng Xun’s friend request, and Zheng Xun asked to rent Huo Ziyan before threatening to crack open Xu Guan’s Instance 547 if he refused.

Xu Guan refused to let Zheng Xun rent Huo Ziyan or take Azure Mist's district 547 dungeon, while Zheng Xun explained his plan to build a one-person guild. Xiao Jun offered him a path to the upcoming All-Star Tournament through the General Association, in exchange for two more dungeon runs for Singing Sparrow.

• Xu Guan rejected Zheng Xun's request to rent Huo Ziyan and give up the district 547 dungeon, and Zheng Xun answered with a smile emoji.
• Zheng Xun told Xiao Jun he wanted to start a one-person guild so he could enter multiplayer dungeons and competitions such as the All-Star Tournament.
• Xiao Jun explained that Zheng Xun could seek a General Association position and use its unfilled tournament spot, but he needed a recommendation.
• Zheng Xun agreed to add two dungeon runs for Singing Sparrow to their rental contract in exchange for Xiao Jun's recommendation.

Xu Guan gathered Azure Mist's first team to announce their sudden entry into dungeon 547, while the team debated Zheng Xun's motives and Huo Ziyan's situation. As Azure Mist prepared to enter the White Tower, Zheng Xun arrived with an embedded reporter ID and announced he was there to accompany the team.

• Xu Guan ordered Azure Mist's first team to enter dungeon 547 at White Tower No. 6 the next morning, despite Wang Shutong's concerns about rushing their preparations.
• Luo Mingxuan suggested that Azure Mist may have offended Zheng Xun and then joked that Zheng Xun should join the first team, while Meng Yijia listened and left in anger.
• Xu Guan led the first team into the White Tower as their livestream drew two million viewers and fans argued about Zheng Xun.
• Zheng Xun entered the White Tower carrying an embedded reporter ID and a camera bearing the general association's emblem, saying he was there to accompany the team.

Zheng Xun became the General Association’s accompanying reporter and joined Azure Mist’s Tower 6 instance in District 547, drawing a huge livestream audience. After interviewing the team, he started the instance alongside them.

• Zheng Xun’s fans clashed with Azure Mist’s fans in the livestream comments until moderators muted several viewers.
• Wang Shutong explained the accompanying reporter role, and Xiao Jun arranged for Zheng Xun to receive a General Association ID and filming equipment.
• Zheng Xun chose to enter District 547’s instance despite not having time to simulate it beforehand.
• Zheng Xun’s livestream rapidly attracted hundreds of thousands of viewers as he introduced himself and interviewed Azure Mist’s team.
• Xu Guan questioned whether Zheng Xun was provoking them, and Zheng Xun answered seriously before punching the start button to begin the instance.

Azure Mist entered a deserted amusement park after drawing an SS-rank instance, while Zheng Xun joked through its frightening obstacles. As Yin Lexin was about to be bitten by a corpse monster in the Hanging Corpse Forest, Zheng Xun kicked him out of its reach.

• Meng Yijia drew an SS-rank instance, and Xu Guan assigned the team their roles before they entered the park.
• Zheng Xun mocked the park’s creepy attractions as the team made its way toward the Hanging Corpse Forest.
• Xu Guan led Azure Mist into the forest, where the hanging corpses attacked and the team fought their way through.
• Xu Guan found a shortcut through the forest, and the others followed while Yin Lexin lagged behind fighting monsters.
• A corpse monster lunged at Yin Lexin, and Zheng Xun kicked him three meters away from its bite.

After the team escaped the Hanging Corpse Forest, they entered the ruined amusement park and learned about the deadly incident that had caused it to close. When Meng Yijia vanished near the brightly lit operations room, Zheng Xun opened a hidden door into the ground and went to look for him.

• Zheng Xun kicked Yin Lexin out of the Hanging Corpse Forest, then teased him as the group continued into the park.
• Wang Shutong found a newspaper describing a knife attack at the amusement park and the death of a ten-year-old girl.
• Zheng Xun warned Luo Mingxuan that the operations room's bright lights could distract them from a threat in the darkness.
• Meng Yijia disappeared while walking beside Yin Lexin, and his livestream feed went black.
• Xu Guan hesitated over whether to search for Meng Yijia, while Luo Mingxuan volunteered to take responsibility for the risk.
• Zheng Xun opened his Portable Door in the ground, prepared to descend with the Teacher's Pointer, and announced that he was going to find Vice Captain Meng.