Chapter Summaries

Su Cheng entered the special instance Train of Terror, where she had to reach the final station and could pursue two additional quests. While inspecting the carriage and its passengers, she noticed a suspicious foul odor near the restroom and began investigating its source.

• Su Cheng prepared her supplies, messaged Yan Yu about the Gene Lock, and entered a special instance through the elevator.
• Su Cheng woke on a train and received the main quest to disembark at the final station, along with the side quests Old Case Reenacted and The Extra One.
• Su Cheng inspected the passengers and found that the door to the next carriage was locked.
• Su Cheng questioned a white-haired old woman, who claimed the train would reach its final station in about ten minutes.
• Su Cheng noticed a rotten odor near the restroom, entered it, and used her enhanced senses to distinguish the smell inside from the one outside.

Su Cheng found a bracelet marked Mu Ling in the restroom, then witnessed a passenger's headless corpse after the train passed through a tunnel. The middle-aged man warned that a ghost would kill again in the next tunnel and questioned the passengers' memories, while the woman in the red dress silently mouthed a question to Su Cheng.

• Su Cheng found and cleaned a dusty wooden bracelet carved with the name Mu Ling in the restroom.
• When the train passed through a tunnel and the lights went out, a passenger was killed, and Su Cheng discovered his headless body in the aisle.
• The wife said her husband had gone to get hot water and returned in a panic before collapsing when the lights came back on.
• Su Cheng realized the train was looping along the same track, and the middle-aged man predicted another ghost attack in the next tunnel.
• The middle-aged man asked the passengers why they were on the train and whether it had an attendant, unsettling them as they struggled to remember.
• The woman in the red dress caught Su Cheng watching her and mouthed, "Am I pretty?"

Su Cheng watched the ghost kill the bald man in the tunnel, then questioned the withdrawn young man and suspected he was connected to the ghost. The woman in red brought out talismans and Soul-Suppressing Nails, but the middle-aged man tried to stop her and demanded to know her name; she identified herself as Xunfang.

• The passengers split into groups, while the girl wearing headphones tried to bring the young man near the restroom to safety and was stopped by a middle-aged woman.
• As the train entered a tunnel, the Soul-Pointing Needle indicated the woman in red and the bald man, and the bald man was found cut in half when the lights returned.
• Su Cheng warned the young man that a female ghost might target him, and his sharp reaction convinced her that he was connected to the side quest.
• The woman in red told the passengers that the ghost had targeted her first and revealed talisman papers and Soul-Suppressing Nails that could supposedly destroy it.
• The middle-aged man abruptly opposed placing the talismans, drawing the passengers' suspicion, then asked the woman in red for her name.
• The woman in red calmly introduced herself as Xunfang.

Xunfang accused Chen Renping of being linked to the ghosts from a train massacre, turning the passengers against him, while Su Cheng investigated the young man and questioned Chen about Mu Ling. When the train entered another tunnel, Su Cheng was pulled into Mu Ling’s memory of the massacre three years earlier.

• Xunfang identified Chen Renping as the former security inspector from a train massacre and suggested he was protecting the ghosts, prompting the passengers to shun him.
• Su Cheng refused Xunfang’s talisman and suspected she was deliberately provoking Chen Renping, while watching the young man react to passengers searching the luggage rack.
• Su Cheng touched a black suitcase, and the young man angrily claimed it as his own and warned her to stay away from him and his things.
• Su Cheng sat beside Chen Renping and showed him a bracelet engraved with Mu Ling’s name; he recognized it but was interrupted when the train entered a tunnel.
• The lights went out, and Su Cheng was drawn into Mu Ling’s memory, where a masked man began killing passengers with a blade.

Su Cheng learned that Chen Renping had falsely identified a scapegoat in the murders three years earlier, then Xunfang and the young man trapped her in the restroom as the train entered another tunnel. The chapter left Su Cheng isolated with the lights out and a possible ghost nearby.

• Su Cheng realized the needle could point toward a ghost beside her and found three passengers dead with their throats cut.
• Chen Renping confessed that he had accepted a million to identify Lin Jie in court, though he suspected the man was a scapegoat.
• Su Cheng questioned the passengers about the deaths, and they described a sudden, intense cold before Xunfang screamed from the restroom.
• Xunfang rushed past Su Cheng, and the young man shoved Su Cheng into the restroom and held the door shut.
• Chen Renping confronted Xunfang, who accused him and Su Cheng of being accomplices, as the train entered a tunnel and the lights went out.

Su Cheng survived a confrontation between Mu Ling and the red-mist ghost, then exposed He Lie’s suitcase of dismembered remains and subdued him. She confronted Xunfang over the talismans, accusing her of attracting ghosts and causing earlier deaths.

• Mu Ling fought the red-mist ghost in the restroom, and Su Cheng helped her by throwing a dagger before both ghosts vanished.
• Su Cheng attacked He Lie for setting her up, then cut open his suitcase and discovered a dismembered corpse inside.
• He Lie fought back with a Boning Knife, but Su Cheng wounded him, confiscated the weapon, and learned his name.
• Su Cheng questioned He Lie about the corpse, but he refused to answer, so she turned her attention to Xunfang.
• Su Cheng accused Xunfang of giving passengers Ghost-Attracting Talismans and secretly sticking one on her back.

Su Cheng rejected Xunfang’s attempt to manipulate her, then followed her and Chen Renping through a door into a strange monochrome carriage. After the carriage’s many eyes nearly drove her to gouge out her own eyes, Su Cheng forced them to stop and escaped into the ordinary train.

• Su Cheng confronted Xunfang, who claimed He Lie was the unsolved killer and tried to cast doubt on Chen Renping, but Su Cheng did not believe her.
• Xunfang fled through a locked door, Chen Renping followed her, and Su Cheng slipped through before it closed.
• Su Cheng entered a monochrome carriage whose walls and floor seemed strangely alive, then found eyes emerging from the roots covering the walls.
• The eyes’ clicking overwhelmed Su Cheng and made her eyes blink uncontrollably, while she fought the urge to gouge them out.
• Su Cheng shouted at the eyes to stop, picked up her dagger, and ran through a door into a carriage filled with familiar train sounds.

Su Cheng and Chen Renping organized passengers to ambush the masked murderer on the train, and Su Cheng killed him after discovering Xunfang was inside his body. As the scene turned gray, Su Cheng continued stabbing the dead man, repeating that he had ruined her.

• Su Cheng reunited with Chen Renping in the train carriage and learned the train would enter the tunnel in three minutes.
• Su Cheng and Chen Renping recruited eight passengers to smash the rear carriage lights and prepare for a coordinated attack.
• The masked murderer shot passengers and tried to turn them against one another, while Su Cheng recognized Xunfang’s familiar manipulation tactics.
• Chen Renping called the masked murderer Xunfang, provoking him to fire toward Chen Renping and giving Su Cheng an opening to attack.
• Su Cheng and Chen Renping fought the murderer; after he said he had killed Chen Renping once, Su Cheng stabbed him in the neck and heart until he stopped moving.
• The surroundings turned gray as Su Cheng kept stabbing the dead man and repeated, “You ruined me.”

Su Cheng escaped Mu Ling’s possession, recovered Xunfang’s ghost-harming weapons, and watched the passenger ghosts devour Lin Jie. She returned to the train carriage after completing “Old Case Reenacted,” leaving He Lie and the remaining quest “The Extra One” as her next concern.

• Su Cheng regained her identity after Chen Renping stopped her from killing herself, and she realized Mu Ling had possessed her.
• Su Cheng found soul-suppressing nails and a hammer in Xunfang’s bag, then understood why the ghosts had feared Xunfang.
• The passenger ghosts dragged Lin Jie’s soul from his corpse and tore it apart while Su Cheng and Chen Renping watched.
• Chen Renping directed Su Cheng to the exit, and she left the instance, completing the side quest “Old Case Reenacted.”
• Su Cheng returned to the train carriage, where she learned only about two minutes had passed, and focused on He Lie as the remaining quest’s central figure.

Su Cheng used Qu Yutong’s reconstructed corpse and Soul-Suppressing Nails to seal the vengeful ghost, ending the attack on the train. The ghosts explained their actions as the train arrived, and Su Cheng left carrying the only other survivor.

• Qu Yutong attacked the passengers, and Su Cheng struggled to fend off her red threads and vines.
• Mu Ling and the other passenger ghosts arrived and fought Qu Yutong while Su Cheng found both halves of Qu Yutong’s corpse in the suitcases.
• Su Cheng joined the corpse’s halves and drove Soul-Suppressing Nails into its brow, hands, feet, and heart, trapping Qu Yutong inside the blood-red suitcase.
• The Twin Fish Jade Pendant emerged from the suitcase, and Su Cheng completed the side quest “The Extra One.”
• Chen Renping explained that the passenger ghosts had been waiting for revenge and that Qu Yutong’s resentment had corrupted them; he and the others stayed behind to guard the suitcase.
• The train announced its arrival, and Su Cheng carried the fainted headphone girl toward the open doors as the only two living survivors.

After completing the special instance, Su Cheng brought Mu Ling with her under a contract and returned to her apartment, where she rested, replenished her routine, and arranged to meet Yan Yu the next day. She went to bed but still suffered a nightmare about the eye-covered train carriage.

• Su Cheng collected items from the instance, then confirmed a contract that let Mu Ling accompany her for a monthly fee of 500 points.
• Su Cheng returned to the medical pod, where Lin Deng treated her and gave her calming pills for possible psychological aftereffects.
• Su Cheng returned to her apartment, received a meal voucher and a Street Competition ticket, and reviewed her supplies.
• Su Cheng agreed to meet Yan Yu the next day, and Yan Yu said he would introduce her to a friend who had completed a special instance.
• Su Cheng collected and enjoyed a roast chicken meal, checked the residents' chats, and took a calming pill before bed.
• Su Cheng dreamed that her eyes had been torn out and that she was bleeding in the dark.

Su Cheng stocked up on supplies, obtained an access card, and left the apartment complex by bicycle to meet Yan Yu. As they headed toward An Tavern and the central district, Yan Yu invited her to compare Gene Lock experiences with Xu Shaowei.

• Su Cheng upgraded her supermarket membership, bought supplements, nutrient solutions, smart bags, and a language translator, and obtained an access card and bicycle key.
• Su Cheng asked Tang Su about the book’s Eris symbol, and Tang Su described Eris as a vessel for an ancient evil god.
• Su Cheng merged the new smart bags with her existing bag, rode through the apartment complex’s exit, and messaged Yan Yu from outside the main gate.
• Yan Yu arrived by car, and Su Cheng loaded her bicycle into the trunk before they set off for An Tavern to meet Xu Shaowei.
• Su Cheng told Yan Yu she had unlocked her Gene Lock, and Yan Yu said Xu Shaowei had unlocked his in his last instance and offered to show Su Cheng the central district.

Su Cheng toured the Central Circle with Yan Yu and Xu Shaowei, learning about its shops, points, and competitions before witnessing a confrontation with the Toward the Moon Society. At a warehouse market, she found epidemic-prevention supplies and began negotiating with the seller.

• Yan Yu brought Su Cheng to a tavern, where they met Xu Shaowei and compared their Gene Lock abilities and experiences triggering them.
• Yan Yu and Xu Shaowei showed Su Cheng around the Central Circle and explained that points were used for purchases and trades.
• The three shared their instance histories and learned that completing a first special instance granted a street-level competition ticket.
• They saw Toward the Moon Society members flee an alley after an unknown boy fought them, and Su Cheng judged the boy formidable.
• At the warehouse market, Su Cheng found a stall selling epidemic-prevention supplies and asked the bald seller what he wanted in exchange.

Su Cheng entered the Plague instance, where she recognized the danger of the Black Death and took precautions to protect herself from fleas and infection. After preparing a disinfected shelter, she discovered that Mu Ling had followed her into the instance.

• Su Cheng traded food and nutrient solutions for protective suits, disinfectant, alcohol, and masks, then spent time with Yan Yu and Xu Shaowei before returning to her apartment to recover.
• After preparing supplies, Su Cheng entered a new instance and found two kneeling figures dressed as plague doctors.
• Su Cheng recognized the plague doctors as a warning of the Black Death and learned that she had to survive five days to earn 400 points and return to the apartment.
• Su Cheng ran into the woods, put on a protective suit, cleared and disinfected a patch of ground, and sprayed herself with mosquito repellent.
• Mu Ling spoke through a wooden bead bracelet on Su Cheng's wrist and asked whether the train journey had also been an instance.

Su Cheng used her contract with Mu Ling to explore a plague-stricken village, where two beak-masked doctors tried bloodletting to treat an infected woman. Mu Ling returned with eggs and liquor, then retreated into the wooden bead to recover because the instance had too little qi.

• Su Cheng learned she could release Mu Ling from the wooden bead and examined Mu Ling's remnant-soul abilities and status.
• Su Cheng used Shared Senses to follow the two beak-masked doctors as they entered a village filled with sick people, corpses, and filth.
• The doctors cut an infected woman's limbs to bleed out supposed toxins while Mu Ling judged their treatment useless and surveyed the village.
• Mu Ling found food in a rat-infested cellar, but Su Cheng rejected the potatoes and wheat as unsafe; Mu Ling instead collected fifteen eggs and several bottles of liquor.
• Mu Ling returned to Su Cheng, complained that the area lacked qi, and went back into the wooden bead to rest; Su Cheng sprayed the eggs and liquor with alcohol.

Su Cheng spent the night in a mountain clearing, then gave the plague-stricken villagers instructions for limiting the disease before leaving to avoid further danger. She followed a stream through the forest, gathered unfamiliar berries, and continued onward without finding food to hunt.

• Su Cheng camped overnight in a clearing, burned weeds, and considered how she might safely collect supplies from an infected village.
• At dawn, two plague doctors brought surviving villagers to the clearing, and the villagers begged to meet the supposed divine messenger.
• Su Cheng told the villagers to isolate the sick, burn plague victims’ bodies, bathe, clean their surroundings, and control rats, then left without offering to treat them.
• Su Cheng decided to leave the mountain after realizing her reputation as a divine messenger could attract more villagers.
• Su Cheng followed a stream, missed a hare with her thrown dagger, collected unfamiliar red berries, and continued downstream.

Su Cheng met Lu Heng, a Survival Apartment resident who was treating the plague in Bru Village with medicine made from plants. After discovering a group of sick travelers heading there in search of a rumored divine envoy, Su Cheng hurried to warn Lu Heng.

• Su Cheng met Lu Heng in the mountains and learned that he had spent four days in the instance and was staying in a village where the plague was under control.
• Su Cheng sent Mu Ling to follow Lu Heng and saw him transform gathered plants into medicine and treat villagers in Bru Village.
• Su Cheng observed that Lu Heng was trusted by the villagers, who used protective measures and cared for the sick in a quarantine zone.
• Su Cheng heard a group of sick travelers discussing their plan to reach Bru Village and seek its rumored divine envoy.
• Worried the travelers might disrupt the village and Lu Heng's efforts, Su Cheng ran toward Bru Village to find him first.

Su Cheng warned Lu Heng that eighteen infected people were approaching Bru Village and agreed to help him handle them without bloodshed. She posed as a divine envoy with Mu Ling’s help, convincing the group to submit, and the chapter ended with Lu Heng planning to shelter them outside the village despite having little medicine.

• Su Cheng reached Bru Village and warned Lu Heng that eighteen armed infected people were heading there because they sought the divine envoy.
• Su Cheng agreed to help Lu Heng, asked him to keep the villagers indoors, and borrowed the sprayer and his cross necklace.
• Su Cheng met the approaching group and claimed to be God’s divine envoy, but Danlise and Danny remained doubtful.
• Mu Ling appeared as a mist-shrouded figure in a white robe, and Danlise, Danny, and the others knelt in belief.
• Su Cheng sprayed the group with diluted disinfectant as holy water, then Lu Heng said he would keep them outside the village because his medicine could save only some mildly ill people.
• Lu Heng asked whether Su Cheng’s illusion came from her class, and Su Cheng asked what his class was.

Su Cheng learned that Lu Heng’s profession as a pharmaceutical manufacturer gave him experience for curing villagers, and traded his medicine-making for a favor. After Lu Heng prepared medicines from her herbs, Su Cheng moved into a village house and was welcomed as a divine envoy.

• Su Cheng waited at Lu Heng’s house while he reassured the villagers, then asked him how he had obtained his profession.
• Lu Heng said his pharmacist background and saving someone with herbs had triggered his profession, which gained experience when he treated sick villagers.
• Su Cheng traded a favor—looking after recovered villagers for twenty-four hours after Lu Heng left the instance—in exchange for medicine made from her gathered herbs.
• Lu Heng transformed the herbs into tablets, pills, and syringes of medicine, including antibiotics and a hallucinogen.
• Su Cheng moved into a house the villagers prepared and accepted their offerings as they treated her as a divine envoy.

Su Cheng traded supplies with the villagers, settled into her temporary house, and spent the night thinking about how to obtain a class. The next morning, she found a plague-infected man dead from a possible gunshot wound on the mountain and warned the village chief to evacuate, claiming she had foreseen a massacre.

• Su Cheng traded food and supplies with villagers, disinfected her house, and rested for the night.
• Su Cheng considered how classes were obtained, then woke early and went to the mountain to gather herbs and practice archery.
• Su Cheng found a plague-infected man dead behind a tree with a chest wound that might have been caused by a gunshot.
• Su Cheng continued gathering herbs and practicing before returning to the village and getting her protective suit sprayed with disinfectant.
• Su Cheng told the village chief to move the village, falsely claiming she had foreseen a murderer arriving to kill the villagers.