Recaps

Professor Li Yinhua completed his first twelve-hour test of World of Disorder, and the researchers planned further checks before allowing him to go home. At the game company, Director ordered Cui Yuan to remove popularity figures from the platform’s new game rankings to conceal the game’s abnormal numbers.

• Professor Li Yinhua woke after his first night in World of Disorder and answered the researchers’ questions before having his electrodes removed.
• A young man in black told Professor Li Yinhua to remain under observation for two more days and showed him normal health readings from the test.
• Professor Li Yinhua agreed to undergo random sensory stimuli during his next session and called home.
• Director showed Cui Yuan World of Disorder’s unusually high popularity despite its twentieth-place ranking.
• Director instructed Cui Yuan to remove popularity from the new game rankings for every game, and Cui Yuan agreed to begin the work.

Gray visited Ed at midnight to say he was leaving before expected because he feared heavy rain and his mobile fortress needed repairs. They exchanged tokens formalizing trade relations, and Gray revealed the Graycast Corridor was fighting demons and the Eternal Domain; after he departed, Ed sensed someone trying to break into his website.

• Gray told Ed he planned to leave that night because he expected heavy rain and his fortress was low on power.
• Ed gave Gray a World Tree model as a token to help Soul Returners recognize him and build trust.
• Gray gave Ed a badge establishing formal trade relations with the Graycast Corridor and said another merchant would inherit his route if he died.
• Gray told Ed the Graycast Corridor had fought demons and now faced the Eternal Domain, and said he expected to meet Ed again in two months.
• Gray's mobile fortress headed north, and Ed sensed someone was trying to break into his website.

Ed repelled waves of hackers probing the World of Disorder website and used the attackers’ signals to choose thirty new closed beta players. The hackers’ conference ended with every screen showing a pixelated tree and the message “Tree brother is watching you,” leaving the investigators debating what it meant.

• Ed defended the World of Disorder website from hackers and detected thirty attacking signal sources.
• Ed activated closed beta access for thirty people, bringing his player count close to Duolin’s expectations.
• A young man in black watched more than a dozen technical specialists try to infiltrate the website after they failed to extract useful data from the game package.
• The specialists’ signals disappeared, and their video windows displayed pixelated trees labeled with numbers and the message “[Tree brother is watching you].”
• The middle-aged man in black considered whether the message was a threat, while the young man suggested it might be a meme.

Ed improved his game while Gray’s mobile fortress traveled through the wilderness, unknowingly scouting new terrain for Ed. Gray encountered an armored knight bearing the Eternal Domain’s emblem, who blocked his route and attacked him.

• Ed reviewed player feedback and prepared emergency content improvements before thirty new players arrived at daybreak.
• Gray traveled through the rain in his mobile fortress, wrote a report about his trading trip, and tentatively named the settlement the Soul Returner Settlement.
• Gray’s fortress left the Tree Worship Church’s territory and entered the wasteland, revealing new scenery to Ed as the fog of war cleared.
• A knight on a horse confronted Gray’s approaching fortress and shouted for the monster to halt.
• The knight threw a spear at Gray, who recognized the Eternal Domain’s emblem on the knight’s armor and wondered why he had attacked.

Gray confronted a knight who mistook his mobile fortress for a demon-infested lair, then fought him in his mechanical body and armor. Despite Gray’s toughness, the knight’s skill and final blow sent him flying.

• Gray tried to negotiate with the knight, who demanded he leave the fortress so the knight could kill the monsters inside.
• Gray refused to surrender his fortress and revealed his brass-and-flesh mechanical body, then challenged the knight to a duel.
• Gray armed himself with half plate and metal gauntlets before leaving the fortress to face the knight.
• Gray and the knight fought fiercely, but the knight evaded Gray’s heavy blows and kept him at a distance with javelins.
• The knight struck Gray in the waist with a metal lance, sending him flying as brass shavings scattered.

Gray defeated the silver-armored knight with a hidden ballista after the knight pierced his heart, then repaired his body and discovered the armor contained nothing. The chapter left Gray confronting the empty suit of armor.

• The silver-armored knight pierced Gray's chest with his lance, but Gray clamped onto the weapon and held the knight in place.
• Gray's armguard timer released a brass bird, and he told the knight that time was up.
• The knight looked toward Gray's mobile fortress, where a concealed crossbow fired a bolt that killed him and his horse.
• Gray removed his armor, made emergency repairs, and wound the spring powering his second heart.
• Gray opened the knight's visor and found nothing but darkness inside the armor.

Gray escaped after defeating a silver-armored knight that began resurrecting, while Ed watched the battle and gained the ability to partially transform his arm with red dragon scales. In the real world, World of Disorder’s trailer went viral despite Cui Yuan’s changes to the website’s popularity display.

• Gray discovered that the knight and its horse were empty suits of armor, then fled as they began to resurrect.
• The knight and horse fully recovered and continued west, while a World Tree ornament recorded the battle.
• Ed watched the footage at Shattered Castle, reasoned that the Eternal Domain used psionic energy, and unlocked a red-dragon arm transformation.
• Ed decided to edit the battle footage for an update, while Cui Yuan replaced the website’s popularity score with total views.
• The technical director told Cui Yuan that World of Disorder’s official trailer had gone viral, so the website changes were no longer working.

Cui Yuan and his colleagues watched World of Disorder’s new combat demo, which showed a silver-armored knight and a mechanical merchant fight before revealing an unexpected twist. The video left them blaming the game’s brilliance for their growing workload.

• Cui Yuan and his coworkers gathered in the director’s office to watch the World of Disorder combat demo.
• The video showed a silver-armored knight challenge a mechanical merchant, and viewers’ bullet comments argued over which fighter would win.
• The knight dominated the early fight, but the merchant defeated him with a sudden attack, prompting machine supporters to mock the knight’s fans.
• The knight revived after the merchant discovered his true body was unknown and his resurrection could not be stopped, so the merchant packed up and left.
• After the video ended, Cui Yuan told the director that World of Disorder was too good to blame anyone else for their workload.

Cui Yuan helped fix the game's surging view count with a quick webpage overlay, then watched the promotional video and liked a comment from a new beta player. In World of Disorder, thirty new players arrived as heavy rain covered the castle, and Ed announced updates that added social features, a bestiary, customizable panels, and changing weather.

• Cui Yuan's director asked the programmers to solve the game's rapidly climbing view count, and Cui Yuan fixed the ranking page by having a graphic designer add a layer over the count.
• Cui Yuan watched the promotional video on his subway ride home and liked [Lion Hidden in the Eyes]'s comment celebrating access to the closed beta.
• Heavy rain arrived in World of Disorder after Gray had escaped the rainfall zone, and thirty new players woke in the castle.
• Ed gave the newcomers his usual opening speech and told the players that weather changes would affect creatures.
• The players received an update adding in-game friends and communication, a website forum, a bestiary, customizable panels, and a richer weather system.

As rain made the wilderness more dangerous, [Zhongde] warned the new players about the forest and explained the Tree Worship Church’s crisis. Duolin recruited the Soul Returners for combat training ahead of an attack planned for the end of the month.

• [Zhongde] and other veterans gathered players to collect plants, but rain-fed weeds wrapped around their ankles and slowed them down.
• [Zhongde] sensed danger in the forest across the river and worried about the new players’ safety.
• Duolin announced that the church in White Wax Town had been corrupted and that apostates were conducting experiments and plotting against the church.
• [Zhongde] explained the previous week’s storyline and told the players that they were Elite Warriors rebuilding the Tree Worship Church and fighting traitors.
• Duolin invited the players to complete [newbie quests], learn Directed Alienation, and undergo combat training before the planned attack at the end of the month, and the players eagerly agreed.

Players accepted a quest to reclaim White Wax Town while Ed watched a silver-armored knight cross a flooded river and considered recruiting him. In the real world, researchers began testing how external stimuli affected Professor Li while he played, starting with a sudden blast of loud rock music.

• Zhongde and the other players accepted the quest to qualify for the combat squad within seventy-two in-game hours.
• Ed learned through his seeds that the silver-armored knight had reached the river between Dragonborn Village and Midstream Village.
• Ed watched the knight cross the flooded river on horseback without getting wet and considered approaching him to recruit him.
• In the hospital, the research team prepared to test external stimuli on Professor Li while monitoring his vital signs.
• The team played soothing music that abruptly switched to loud heavy metal punk rock.

Professor Li tested how real-world sounds and stimuli affected [Evergreen Tree] in World of Disorder, while investigating the game's underlying technology. A forced logout left [Dawn Ah] and [Backstabbing Expert] holding his avatar in the rain, where a knight in horse armor approached them.

• Professor Li played loud music and recordings of familiar voices, but his vital signs showed no reaction.
• [Evergreen Tree] told [Dawn Ah] and [Backstabbing Expert] that he was studying the game's fundamental components and hoped they might contribute to the field.
• [Evergreen Tree] received repeated warnings about real-world stimulation and chose not to log out.
• After a final warning triggered a forced logout countdown, [Evergreen Tree] collapsed and [Dawn Ah] and [Backstabbing Expert] caught him.
• A silver-armored knight tapped [Dawn Ah] on the shoulder and asked what trouble the civilians had encountered.

[Dawn Ah] and [Backstabbing Expert] encountered a silver-armored knight who helped their unconscious mentor and asked to be led to their village. After Ed offered a special quest for bringing him to the settlement, the players accepted and shared his arrival on the forum, drawing others’ attention to the knight.

• The silver-armored knight helped [Dawn Ah] and [Backstabbing Expert] by putting their unconscious mentor, [Evergreen Tree], on his horse and asking where their village was.
• Ed issued a special quest rewarding the players for leading the knight to the settlement, and [Dawn Ah] and [Backstabbing Expert] accepted it.
• [Dawn Ah] posted a picture of the knight on the official forum, calling it an overwhelming sight.
• [Epic-Level Giant] saw the post while fishing, recognized the knight from the promotional video, and discussed the forum with another player.
• More players learned where the knight was, and [Howling Pothos] replied that [Dawn Ah] was leading him toward the old castle where the Guide wanted to meet him.

Ed reassured Kaping that the villagers of Upperstream Village would have work and explained that he and Duolin were investigating their physical deformities. He said he hoped to treat them and eventually have Upperstream Village and Midstream Village farm for him.

• Players near the castle debated the silver-armored knight’s combat ability and resurrection, noting that player deaths could cost more than their starting funds.
• Kaping asked a player to take him to Bishop Adrian, and Ed wondered why the village chief wanted to see him.
• Kaping told Ed that the villagers felt uneasy accepting free houses and labor from the Elite Warriors without being able to help in return.
• Ed told Kaping that the villagers’ bodies were too weak for demanding tasks and that he and Duolin were investigating their deformities.
• Ed said he hoped to treat the villagers and that, if the plan succeeded, people from Upperstream Village and Midstream Village would farm for him.

Ed urged Kaping to encourage the villagers to farm and promised to cure their mutations in exchange for payment. In the real world, Professor Li’s pain-stimulus test forced him out of the game, raising concerns about the game’s ability to sense players’ bodies, and he later reconnected to find himself hanging over a horse.

• Ed told Kaping that farming could help the villagers eat well and live longer, while warning that those who wanted an effortless life could leave.
• Kaping considered Ed’s rise and decided it might be time to discuss the villagers’ situation with them.
• Professor Li reported that pain forced him to log out, while auditory stimuli left him able to choose whether to continue playing.
• Professor Li pointed out that his helmet had no microphone, prompting the men in black to question how the game detected outside stimuli.
• A young man recommended canceling network tests because disconnecting the game could leave Professor Li unable to wake, but Professor Li chose to continue researching the game’s plants.
• Evergreen Tree reconnected and was helped down from a horse by Dawn Ah and Backstabbing Expert.

Ed met Xilǐ'er, a knight serving Duke Frostblade, who had come west to seek help against a demonic invasion. Ed agreed to send fifty soldiers, then began to suspect that Xilǐ'er might be living in the past.

• The silver-armored knight tried to leave, but [Backstabbing Expert] stopped him by claiming Baron Adrian had invited him to the castle.
• The knight agreed to meet the baron, and [Dawn Ah] updated his forum post warning players about the knight's aristocratic attitude.
• At the Shattered Castle, Ed met Xilǐ'er, who said he served Duke Frostblade and had come to seek reinforcements against a large-scale demonic invasion.
• Ed promised to send fifty soldiers, and Xilǐ'er showed his disappointment at the small force.
• Ed noticed Xilǐ'er treated spring sowing and autumn harvest as ordinary concepts and wondered whether the knight was living in the past.

Ed realized Xilǐ'er might lose his memories whenever he resurrected, but Seraphina killed the knight before Ed could recruit him. As Xilǐ'er's armor and spear began to re-form, Ed and Seraphina suspected an Amber Dragon was involved, though Seraphina said the knight's powers belonged to many kinds of creatures.

• Ed deduced that Xilǐ'er's resurrections might erase his memories of everything after a fixed point in time.
• Seraphina entered the castle, and Xilǐ'er attacked her after mistaking her dragon features for those of a monster.
• Seraphina caught Xilǐ'er's spear, melted it, and killed him with dragon breath before Ed could try to recruit him.
• Ed found Xilǐ'er's armor empty, while Seraphina identified a familiar scent as amber and both suspected an Amber Dragon connection.
• Xilǐ'er's armor, spear, and horse began to re-form, and Seraphina explained that several creatures could wield similar powers.

Ed and Seraphina investigated Xilǐ'er’s strange powers and repeated resurrection, then Ed devised a mirror test to make the knight confront what he had become. Xilǐ'er removed his helmet in front of a mirror, but the chapter ended before he saw his reflection.

• Seraphina explained that Xilǐ'er could project killing intent, a skill used by humans before the Demonic Tide, and Ed shared his theory about the knight.
• Xilǐ'er revived and charged at Ed, but Seraphina caught his lance and punched through his armor, killing him again.
• Ed asked whether Xilǐ'er knew he was no longer human, then told Seraphina about the mirror test.
• After reviving, Xilǐ'er heard a voice claim he had promised to remove his helmet in exchange for borrowed troops.
• Xilǐ'er agreed to keep his word, removed his helmet, and looked toward the mirror.

Ed and Seraphina helped Xilǐ'er recognize that he was a living suit of armor rather than the knight he remembered. Xilǐ'er explained how he gained life and why his memories became confused, leaving Ed with a clearer account of his past.

• Xilǐ'er looked in a mirror, saw no head above his neck, and collapsed in terror when he realized his body was armor.
• Ed and Seraphina watched as Xilǐ'er's cries shifted into fragments of memories about Duke Frostblade and a campaign against the Graycast Corridor.
• Xilǐ'er recovered, asked Ed for the date, and said that the real knight had died more than two hundred years earlier after encountering an Amber Dragon.
• Xilǐ'er explained that the Amber Dragon had frozen the knight in amber until his soul died, and that a Twin King’s blessing later gave life to the armor and horse.
• Xilǐ'er told Ed that severe damage made his memories hazy after revival, while recognizing himself—often by looking in a mirror—restored what he had forgotten.

Ed offered Xilǐ'er a temporary position training his soldiers and fighting for the Tree Worship Church while promising to preserve his ties to the Eternal Domain and return him when it was safe. Xilǐ'er gave no verbal answer, leaving Ed waiting as armor clattered.

• Ed realized Xilǐ'er had recovered his memories and planned to build friendly relations with the Eternal Domain through him.
• Ed warned Xilǐ'er that traveling back to the Eternal Domain alone would likely get him killed and leave him vulnerable to losing his memories again.
• Xilǐ'er admitted he had no good solution for reaching home safely.
• Ed proposed that Xilǐ'er stay temporarily to train his soldiers and fight in battles he could survive.
• Ed promised Xilǐ'er had not surrendered to the Tree Worship Church, would receive benefits matching those in the Eternal Domain, and would return when the journey became safe.
• Xilǐ'er responded only with the clatter of his armor.

Ed welcomed Xilǐ'er into his barony and assigned [Zhong Lele] to negotiate the knight’s compensation and living arrangements. After Seraphina asked Ed to teach her economics, he asked whether Xilǐ'er's abilities could be replicated.

• Ed promised Xilǐ'er a home in the barony and asked who could help settle his compensation.
• [Zhong Lele] offered her experience negotiating compensation, and Ed entrusted her with arranging Xilǐ'er's terms and lodging.
• [Zhong Lele] accepted a special quest and led Xilǐ'er to a study to negotiate an agreement within a day.
• Seraphina told Ed she wanted to study his economic methods, and Ed asked if Xilǐ'er's abilities could be reproduced or imitated.

Ed learned that Xilǐ'er’s resurrection had a hidden cost and could eventually run out, then heard from Seraphina that he might imitate it by modifying rules through his territory. After Seraphina left him with the lesson unfinished, Ed learned that Little Green had eaten the Territory Secret Pact and was still analyzing it.

• Seraphina explained that Xilǐ'er's resurrection consumed iron, and she gathered the filings left behind from his repeated deaths.
• Seraphina said Ed could create a limited version of resurrection by modifying rules, but stopped before explaining how.
• Seraphina left for the bank, pleased to have made Ed wait for the rest of the lesson.
• Ed asked Little Green what had happened to the Territory Secret Pact, and Little Green said it had eaten the pact and was still analyzing it.
• Ed checked his players' battle preparations and predicted that Little Green would get another meal within a week.

Ed reviewed Xilǐ'er’s employment terms and questioned the allowances before agreeing to trade the meal allowance for repair materials. Meanwhile, [Great Wei Boxing Champion] took [Lion Hidden in the Eyes] on a commission, where the newbie asked how to become a Dragonborn.

• [Zhong Lele] brought Xilǐ'er out of the study and gave Ed the proposed contract, written in Ed’s native language.
• Ed read the salary and battle fees, then balked at the extra allowances for housing, commuting, meals, and the horse.
• Xilǐ'er asked to exchange the meal allowance for four or five iron balls a month so he and Radish could repair their bodies, and Ed accepted the request.
• [Pond Fish and Old Abyss] hired [Great Wei Boxing Champion] to capture living creatures for a closed beta activation code, and he brought [Lion Hidden in the Eyes] along to teach him tactical coordination.
• [Lion Hidden in the Eyes] asked how to become a Dragonborn, and [Great Wei Boxing Champion] suggested asking Seraphina.
• [Lion Hidden in the Eyes] said Seraphina had directed him to the village chief of Dragonborn Village.

[Great Wei Boxing Champion] advised [Lion Hidden in the Eyes] on pursuing Dragonborn abilities, while an official encyclopedia update and [Zhong Lele]’s video introduced players to Xilǐ'er and his story. The chapter ended with players satisfied by the knight’s appearance, combat scenes, and revelations about his past and connection to Gray.

• [Great Wei Boxing Champion] told [Lion Hidden in the Eyes] to wait until level one to improve his [Animal Compatibility] and suggested taking a delivery quest to Dragonborn Village.
• The official website updated its NPC encyclopedia with Xilǐ'er's affiliations, abilities, resurrection process, and warnings about his armor, horse Radish, and Gray.
• Players debated Xilǐ'er's appearance and strength, compared him with Ed and Gray, and questioned why he belonged to their faction.
• [Zhong Lele] uploaded footage of the day's events, showing Xilǐ'er in action and Seraphina defeating him in several ways.
• [Zhong Lele]’s recording captured Xilǐ'er's monologue, explaining his journey west, his unusual body, and his conflict with Gray.

Ed reviewed Duolin’s revised plan to attack White Wax Town and discussed the wider world’s known powers, while players shared reaction images and chatted about the game. The chapter ended with Dark Archmage revealing he was already in White Wax Town.

• Players circulated a collection of reaction images made from in-game NPCs, and Ed featured the thread before inviting Duolin to the castle.
• Ed asked Duolin about Xilǐ'er and the powers beyond their region, learning that Duolin knew little about the Eternal Domain but had heard of several distant factions.
• Duolin presented the second version of his White Wax Town attack plan, and Ed suggested assigning one task to Xilǐ'er to strengthen the main battlefield.
• Duolin asked whether scouts should watch White Wax Town, but Ed said he had already sent someone.
• Players discussed the lack of a mobile app and joked about the developers entering the social media market before Dark Archmage said he was in White Wax Town.