Chapter Summaries

A boy woke badly dismembered in a forest of man-eating trees, discovered he could reconnect his body parts, and escaped the monsters. He reached a river but realized that one of his eyes was missing.

• The boy woke with his left arm severed and his lower body hanging from a tree, then watched two man-eating trees fight over his body parts.
• He crawled to retrieve his left arm and butt, then used his hands to regrow tissue and reconnect both parts.
• The boy fled the fighting trees through the forest, pushing aside weeds and branches as he ran toward a river.
• After reaching the river, the boy noticed blood on his arm, felt wounds on his left cheek, and realized his eye was missing.

After his memories merged, Ed Adrian discovered that a sapling had taken root in his left eye socket and that the world's Mana Tide had warped reality. He recovered, examined his system panel, and confronted the sentient Verdant Crown growing from his head, asking what it was.

• Ed Adrian examined his reflection and saw that a blue-green sapling had replaced his left eye and grown into a half-crown.
• Ed pieced together that chaotic mana had distorted the world's laws and transformed living things, and he realized his left arm could draw water from the soil.
• Ed rested by the river until his body recovered, then inspected his system panel and learned his attributes and innate abilities.
• Ed suspected the Verdant Crown was sentient and addressed it, prompting it to reveal itself and ask how he had noticed.
• Ed asked the Verdant Crown what it was.

Ed learned how his merged soul and the [Verdant Crown] had come together, named the crown Little Green, and set out to claim an abandoned floating castle as territory. After using Little Green’s power to cross a river on improvised stilts, he reached the castle’s broken steps but remained unable to reach its entrance.

• Ed recalled how the original owner escaped an organization’s experiments with the [Verdant Crown] and merged with another world’s remnant soul after being ambushed in the forest.
• Ed learned that the [Verdant Crown]’s abilities had changed after he sacrificed an eye, and he and the crown agreed to call it Little Green.
• Ed decided to seek ownership of the abandoned floating castle to activate [Otherworldly Half].
• Ed used Little Green’s ability to turn parts of his body into plants and made four-meter stilts, sacrificing two fingers that could regrow.
• Ed waded across the river and reached the castle’s shattered steps, but its entrance hung seven or eight meters above him.

Ed crossed into the decaying castle to find the object bearing its territorial pact, but had to evade an alchemical golem before reaching the hidden chamber. There, he found the pact and an unreadable piece of writing, and asked Little Green to translate it after placating the singed sapling.

• Ed crossed the castle’s distorted gravity rules and entered through its decayed wooden doors.
• Ed asked Little Green about ghosts, then fled an alchemical golem that chased him through the castle corridors.
• Ed led the golem into a wooden stick, causing it to collapse into scrap and its runes to go dark.
• Ed reached the secret chamber and lit a torch with his transformed left hand.
• Ed found a skeleton, the territorial pact, and a piece of animal hide with writing he could not read.
• Ed asked Little Green to translate the writing and tried to appease it after singeing its leaves.

Ed learned that Baron Tuer died after the world descended into chaos, claimed the barony’s secret contract vessel with one of Little Green’s leaves, and unlocked a way to summon souls from his home world. He returned to the internet and created a game listing for the otherworld, leaving his plan poised to attract players.

• Little Green read Baron Tuer’s final writings, which revealed his hatred of the mana tide, the kingdom, and the Tree Worship Church, and mentioned Keith and Holt.
• Ed learned that the current date was July 30, Kingdom Year 908, and claimed the barony’s secret contract vessel by pressing Little Green’s leaf into it.
• The contract established ownership under Ed Adrian and activated the Soul Webway, which could summon souls from another world into suitable bodies with their consent.
• Ed examined the barony’s map, then sent his consciousness back to his home world’s internet and found immersive games and brain-computer headsets had become common.
• Ed built a webpage for a fantasy post-apocalyptic game called “World of Disorder” and placed it on the world’s largest gaming platform.

After signing up for the closed beta of World of Disorder, Zhou Jue was selected as its first player. In the game world, Ed prepared a body for the summoned player and asked Little Green to help make it look human.

• Zhou Jue found the World of Disorder game page, read its promotional material, and registered for the closed beta.
• Zhou Jue selected “Other” on the alignment questionnaire and wrote that he wanted to be lawful while doing things that caused chaos.
• Zhou Jue shared the registration page to his gaming group and later spent the night farming gold.
• Ed learned that one person had signed up and shared the page, and Little Green identified that person as a player.
• Ed created a misshapen body as the player's vessel, and Little Green projected guide lines to show him how to improve it.

Zhou Jue’s gaming group debated whether World of Disorder was a scam, while he finished an exhausting night of grinding. In the castle hall, Ed prepared four soulless bodies but decided to delay summoning players into them.

• Members of Zhou Jue’s gaming group mocked or praised World of Disorder, and some chose to preregister.
• Inspired Moves Are Called Jing said they were willing to wait years for the game, prompting the group to go quiet.
• Zhou Jue finished five hours of grinding at an internet café and earned enough to cover three days of fees.
• Zhou Jue read the group’s messages and began replying to his online friends.
• Ed explained that the game terms granted him permission to transfer players’ souls into four prepared bodies.
• Ed told Little Green that the preparations were not sufficient and that he would wait before summoning anyone.

Ed fought off carnivorous sheep and collected one of their brains before traveling to Upperstream Village to find supplies for the incoming players. He learned that the village had no smithy and that the blacksmiths worked in Dragonborn Village, formerly known as Lower Reaches Village.

• Zhou Jue woke from a dream about World of Disorder's open beta and wondered why the developers were taking so long.
• Ed fought off a flock of carnivorous sheep with a wooden staff grown from his body, then collected a sheep's brain for a future soul summoning.
• Ed traveled toward one of the villages under his nominal control, hoping to find a smithy where he could prepare tools and clothes for incoming players.
• Ed reached Upperstream Village and asked an old man about the village and its blacksmith.
• The old man told Ed that Upperstream and Midstream had no smithies, and that the blacksmiths worked in Dragonborn Village, formerly called Lower Reaches Village.

Ed learned that the Tree Worship Church had given Upperstream Village and Midstream Village tree seeds to plant in their bodies so they could survive after the Mana Tide, and that the villagers used the seeds as currency. The chapter ended as a church tax collector arrived and Ed helped the old man pick three seeds from the tree growing on his back.

• Ed asked the old man to let him stay the night, and the old man invited him inside after explaining that Upperstream Village no longer used silver coins.
• The old man revealed a small tree rooted in his back, and Ed realized the tree had invaded his flesh and organs.
• The old man said Tree Worship Church clergy had planted trees in everyone over ten in Upperstream Village and Midstream Village, and that villagers had accepted them to survive a shortage of food without toxins.
• The old man explained that tree seeds served as currency, but hooves and clashing metal announced the arrival of the Tree Worship Church's tax collector.
• The old man lay facedown and asked Ed to pick three plump seeds from his back, and his body jerked as red liquid seeped from each broken branch.

Ed hid from the tax collector in an old man's hut, then learned why the man had lied to protect him. As Ed set off for Dragonborn Village, Little Green explained that three forces were balanced within Ed's body and asked him to stay in the sun because it was hungry.

• The tax collector took the old man's three tree seeds and searched for Ed, an apostate accused of stealing a sacred relic.
• The old man claimed Ed had headed toward Dragonborn Village, earning a promise of tax exemption while warning Ed that he was being hunted.
• Ed revealed his identity, and the old man explained he had lied because Ed was already traveling to Dragonborn Village.
• Ed told the old man that the Tree Worship Church had experimented on him before he escaped.
• Ed slept in the hut while Little Green kept watch, then left for Dragonborn Village the next morning.
• Little Green said Ed's predecessor, Ed's soul, and Little Green were held in a delicate balance, then asked Ed to stay in the sun so it could eat.

Ed returned to the old castle after shopping in Dragonborn Village and prepared to select testers for World of Disorder’s technical test. Meanwhile, Zhou Jue defended the vanished game link in a chat group until a notification announced that he had qualified for the test.

• Ed entered Dragonborn Village, bought supplies, and learned from the innkeeper about the dragon’s blessing, the village’s trades, and the failed attempts to claim Baron Tuer’s old castle.
• Ed returned to the old castle on August 2, year 908, and asked Little Green how many valid preregistration questionnaires they had received.
• Little Green told Ed that 272 people had filled out questionnaires and explained that site admins had removed their ranking link after it was reported as a bug.
• Ed ordered Little Green to restore the link and decided to choose several lucky applicants for the technical test.
• Zhou Jue defended the game’s missing link in a gaming group, then received a notification that A Zhongde Dried Meat Wholesale had qualified for the World of Disorder technical test.

Zhou Jue and several other players gained closed-beta access to World of Disorder, while Ed prepared an introductory speech for the test. At eight o’clock, Ed opened the soul-built webway and began linking the first four players to the game.

• Zhou Jue captured his access confirmation and taunted the gaming group, where A Pot of Pothos and Inspired Moves Are Called Jing also revealed they had test access.
• Brother Kong Is Benevolent and Righteous reported that the game’s official website and ranking link were back, but Yu Yun, using the ID Chief Shit Appraisal Master, still refused to trust the game.
• Do Some Farm Work apologized to the players with test access and asked them not to attack him in the game, prompting Yu Yun to accuse him of making peace with the designer.
• Zhou Jue returned to his empty dorm room and wondered whether his secondhand gaming helmet could run the test, which was due to begin at eight.
• Ed asked Dora A Green for help with his opening speech, and Little Green supplied an occult teleprompter.
• At eight, Ed saw that the four selected players had put on their helmets and opened the soul-built webway, announcing, “Link start!”

Zhou Jue woke inside World of Disorder as a Soul Returner and discovered the game’s NPCs could respond intelligently to the players. After Ed Adrian finished explaining the world and left them without explicit instructions, the four players chose to gather tools and explore beyond the castle, while Ed followed with a burlap sack.

• Zhou Jue realized he could not feel or control his real-world body and saw the stitched humanoid player [Do Some Farm Work] beside him.
• Player [Zhongde] punched [Do Some Farm Work], but they stopped fighting when they realized they were in the opening cutscene.
• Ed Adrian responded to the players’ surprise and explained that they were ancient souls reborn as Soul Returners in a world ravaged by mana.
• Ed declared that he would restore the world’s order and asked whether the players wanted adjustments to their new bodies; they declined.
• After Ed left without giving them quests, [Good Times Don't Last] suggested chopping wood, and the four players collected axes and spears before heading out of the castle.
• Ed followed the players with a burlap sack.

Ed’s plan guided four players through the beginner quest, but their first challenge was navigating the castle stairs amid chaotic gravity. The players figured out how to descend safely, while Ed kept up his NPC act by claiming he had not explained it because they had not asked.

• Ed used Little Green’s leaves to track the four players as they prepared to leave the castle.
• Zhongde jumped first and tumbled down the steps as the chaotic force fields changed the direction of gravity.
• Good Times Don’t Last realized that walking down the steps normally let the force fields carry him safely to the ground.
• Howling Pothos and Do Some Farm Work followed, and Zhongde worked out that his backward fall had caused his rough descent.
• Good Times Don’t Last asked Ed why he had not explained the stairs, and Ed answered, “You didn’t ask.”

[Good Times Don't Last] died after attacking a Deadwood Vine, and Ed explained the monster while gathering the player’s scattered remains. Back in the real world, Jing Ming recovered from the experience and re-entered the game, where he found his revival only 32% complete.

• [Good Times Don't Last] asked Ed whether the players should log and hunt, and Ed praised their wisdom without giving direct instructions.
• [Good Times Don't Last] took an iron axe from [Zhongde] and attacked a withered tree, which revealed itself as a Deadwood Vine.
• The Deadwood Vine bound and dismembered [Good Times Don't Last] while Ed explained how the monster hunted and fed.
• Ed collected [Good Times Don't Last]'s scattered character pieces as the other three players reacted to the man-eating tree.
• Jing Ming woke in his bedroom, remembered his first death in the game, and put his helmet back on.
• Jing Ming saw that [Good Times Don't Last] was reviving at 32% progress and complained that it was taking too long.

Ed resurrected [Good Times Don't Last] by rejoining his severed body parts, and the four players worked together to defeat the Deadwood Vine. After the fight, [Howling Pothos] noticed a sense of growth despite there being no experience bar, while Ed considered how to measure player experience.

• Ed pieced [Good Times Don't Last] back together, restoring him through the soul webway.
• [Zhongde], [Howling Pothos], and [Good Times Don't Last] agreed on a strategy for fighting the Deadwood Vine, with [Zhongde] drawing its attacks.
• The four players followed the plan and severed the Deadwood Vine’s branches, defeating it.
• [Zhongde] took his severed arm to Ed, who healed it while the players discussed their sense of growth and the missing experience bar.
• Ed collected the Deadwood Vine fragments and considered how to track experience without creating problems with leveling.

Ed explained that monsters did not drop currency and showed the players how deadwood vine fragments could grant living things their abilities. When [Good Times Don't Last] tried to control a fragment, it rooted in his palm, fed on him, and slapped his face before Ed cut off his wrist to free him.

• [Good Times Don't Last] asked Ed why monsters did not drop loot, and Ed explained that the souls were famed for disregarding money.
• [Howling Pothos] reassured [Good Times Don't Last] that monsters could provide useful materials instead of currency, and the players gathered the deadwood vine remains.
• Ed demonstrated how he absorbed a deadwood vine fragment and briefly transformed his fingers into barbed tendrils, then explained the risks of using living things’ abilities.
• [Good Times Don't Last] tried to influence a deadwood vine fragment, but it rooted in his palm, drained him, and struck him twice in the face.
• Ed severed [Good Times Don't Last]’s wrist to remove the vine and warned the players that using such abilities required a clear advantage.

Ed watched the four players spend their first day gathering wood and fighting Deadwood Vines, then explained to Little Green that he had chosen them for their unusual questionnaire answers. After the players logged out, they woke in their ordinary lives and faced very different consequences.

• [Good Times Don't Last], [Do Some Farm Work], [Zhongde], and [Howling Pothos] discussed willpower and supernatural rules before hunting more Deadwood Vines.
• The four players chopped trees and gathered enough wood for a raft, then realized they had spent twelve hours immersed in the game without knowing how to build it.
• [Zhongde] and the others returned to the castle and logged out, while Ed explained to Little Green how the players' questionnaire answers had influenced his choices.
• The four woke in different places and returned to their real-world identities, where one worried about work, one felt part of his soul remained in the game, one saw 99 unread messages, and one faced angry parents.

After repairing the players’ bodies, Ed planned tasks to help them explore and survive, then discovered that collecting plant samples could strengthen him through Little Green. Meanwhile, Chang Nie decided to pursue a new professional gaming career through World of Disorder and created a group chat for the four testers.

• Ed repaired the four players’ bodies and planned for them to build a raft and find food the next day.
• Ed noticed that his status panel listed Deadwood Vine under genes collected and learned that Little Green could grow stronger from plant samples.
• Ed asked Little Green to keep watch while he began writing a game encyclopedia and preparing a surprise for the players.
• Chang Nie decided to treat World of Disorder as a new job and created a group chat for the four closed-beta players.
• Ji He ignored a stream of messages from his friend, who tried to guess whether Ji He was playing the game.

Chang Nie explored World of Disorder’s official website while waiting for the next test and discovered that its map reflected the players’ recent actions and its bestiary recorded creatures they had encountered. He found no further usable information, as the remaining bestiary entries were hidden behind silhouettes and garbled text.

• Ji He saw his friend’s messages and told him he had played a fully immersive game, though his friend doubted him.
• Chang Nie decided to study World of Disorder’s official website while waiting for the evening test.
• Chang Nie found new Map and Bestiary sections that had appeared after testing began.
• Chang Nie saw that the map showed the players’ woodpile and the marked locations of the Deadwood Vines they had killed.
• Chang Nie read entries for Tree, Deadwood Vine, and Vine Sheep, then found the remaining bestiary entries obscured.