Chapter Summaries

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.

Dark Archmage shared detailed intelligence about White Wax Town after reaching it, while Professor Li Yinhua warned officials that players might soon fight a realistic battle. Ed read the report and had already issued a special quest to gather information about the town.

• Dark Archmage told the group chat that he had reached White Wax Town and answered questions about his journey and lodging.
• Professor Li Yinhua told a hospital official that players were expected to launch a small-scale battle by the end of the month and voiced concern about the game's realism.
• Dark Archmage posted a report describing White Wax Town's route, buildings, currency, residents, and suspicious features.
• Players flooded the post with comments about the town and the quest to capture its church.
• Ed read Dark Archmage's report, having already issued him a special intelligence-gathering quest.

Ed’s intelligence-gathering quest earned her a 5% share of the base rewards, while the Church in White Wax Town learned that a healthy outsider had arrived and suspected she was an investigator. Yiden ordered the clerics to capture her, but their raid on her inn room found it empty and likely alerted her to their presence.

• Ed reviewed her quest checkpoints and concluded that limited-time testing was inconvenient.
• The innkeeper told a cleric about the outsider, then begged to see his missing daughter; the cleric claimed she had been sent away for training and had the innkeeper restrained.
• Yiden heard the report and ordered the clerics to arrest the outsider, releasing her if she belonged to the province but bringing her to him if she was from the Holy City.
• Five clerics crept into the inn and kicked down the door to room three, but found only an empty room.
• The lead cleric realized the noisy raid had likely warned the outsider and that he had botched the capture.

Yiden punished a cleric for exposing the search for a woman, then surgically transformed him into the innkeeper so he could spy on the inn. In the church’s dungeon, imprisoned children listened to Tiya tell stories about the inn until the trapdoor opened and they feared another of them would be taken for experiments.

• Yiden beat the middle-aged cleric for drawing attention to the church’s search and ordered him to pose as the innkeeper.
• Yiden surgically altered the cleric’s face and body to match the innkeeper, then told him to stake out the inn.
• The disguised cleric asked what to do with the bound innkeeper, and Yiden ordered him to grant the man’s wish to find his daughter.
• In the church dungeon, Tiya continued telling Number Four and the other imprisoned children a story about her family’s inn and its guests from Golden City.
• The trapdoor creaked open, silencing the children as they waited to see which prisoner would be taken away.

Tiya's father was thrown into the underground prison, where he reunited with his daughter and the other experimental subjects. As the youths asked about the outside world and Ed Adrian, they debated whether he was alive and whether he might return to save them.

• The cleric threw Tiya's still-living father into the cavern, where the bound man crawled toward Tiya's voice.
• The youths tore away the ivy holding him, and Tiya's father touched her face before discovering she had lost an arm and fainting.
• The youths broke down crying, then asked Tiya's father about the outside world, but he had no news to share.
• Tiya asked whether her father had heard of Ed Adrian, the only experimental subject who had escaped, and he said he had not.
• The experimental subjects hoped Ed was dead or would stay away, while one child wondered whether he would return to save them.

Tiya told her blind, injured father how Number Three escaped the priests’ experiments, while he hesitated to tell the children that a strange woman had arrived in town. After a game update excited players and added more fish, Duolin announced a trial for Soul Returners who wanted to join the combat formation.

• Tiya explained that Number Three broke his bones to squeeze through a ventilation opening in his cell, which the priests later sealed.
• The children recalled that the priests stopped taking them for experiments for a long time after Number Three escaped, while Tiya’s father fell asleep without telling them about the strange woman in town.
• Odin Game Company announced changes to World of Disorder, including flexible testing hours, playtime reminders, and more fish in rivers.
• Zhongde teased Epic-Level Giant about his repeated failure to catch fish, and Epic-Level Giant returned to the river to fish.
• Players discovered Duolin standing on a newly built platform and recognized that it activated the long-term quest for his trial.
• Duolin announced that Soul Returners skilled in Directed Alienation could try to withstand three of his moves during scheduled daily trials to qualify for the combat formation.