Chapter Summaries

Su Cheng destroyed the locust tree spirit by stabbing its underground taproot with the boning knife, then rescued Su Xiaoxiao, Su Zhou, Keke, and the unconscious Zhou Yang. She led the group toward the village as Mu Ling set the mountain ablaze, drawing the villagers away.

• Su Cheng used an explosive to expose the locust tree spirit’s red taproot and stabbed it with the boning knife, which devoured the taproot and completed the basic quest.
• Su Cheng found Su Xiaoxiao, Su Zhou, Keke, and Zhou Yang alive beneath the fallen branches, but Zhou Yang remained unconscious.
• Su Xiaoxiao explained that Zhou Yang had given her his protective talisman, and Su Cheng decided to get the group down the mountain and contact his third aunt.
• Su Cheng gathered supplies, had Mu Ling burn the withered tree, and led the group toward the village entrance.
• Mu Ling’s fire spread across the mountain, prompting the villagers to rush out and fight it while Su Cheng led the group back into the village.

Su Cheng and her companions were pursued by the hopping vampire An Jing had raised, and Su Cheng discovered An Jing had set a trap for them. An Jing restrained the vampire and offered to let them leave, but Su Cheng demanded that she kill her husband, the vampire.

• Su Cheng sensed danger in the deserted village and saw a hopping vampire approaching.
• Su Cheng and her companions fled as Mu Ling tried to restrain the vampire, but Su Cheng turned to fight when they could not outrun it.
• Su Cheng attacked the vampire, found that her weapons could not pierce its limbs, and ran toward An Jing's house while Mu Ling slowed its pursuit.
• The vampire killed Zhuangzi after Su Cheng overtook him, and An Jing appeared and restrained it with a blood-soaked rope.
• An Jing offered to let Su Cheng and the others leave, but Su Cheng demanded that she kill the vampire, which An Jing revealed was her husband.

Su Cheng escaped An Jing’s jiangshi and helped Third Aunt and Song Qingya destroy it, after which Third Aunt offered to take her as a disciple. The police arrested the villagers, Zhou Yang was expected to recover, and An Jing hinted that others might be carrying out similar crimes.

• Su Cheng and Mu Ling turned on An Jing, but An Jing broke the rope restraining her jiangshi and sent it after Su Cheng.
• Su Cheng fled toward the village entrance, where Third Aunt and Song Qingya helped trap the jiangshi; Third Aunt used Su Cheng’s jade pendant to weaken it and then destroyed it with blue flames.
• The jade pendant changed into a half-dragon pattern, and Third Aunt offered to make Su Cheng her disciple; Su Cheng accepted.
• Third Aunt treated Zhou Yang, and Su Xiaoxiao took him to an ambulance as police arrived to arrest the villagers and investigate their crimes.
• An Jing calmly told Su Cheng that she was not the only person doing such things before the police took her away.

Su Cheng became Third Aunt’s nominal disciple, learned basic cultivation, and awakened as a Celestial Master while Mu Ling evolved into a vengeful ghost. After helping Third Aunt send off the ghost children, Su Cheng completed the instance and prepared to return to her apartment, with Third Aunt quietly sending her to retrieve something before she left.

• Third Aunt gave Su Cheng an introductory cultivation manual and Song Qingya shared her notes, then taught Su Cheng how to meditate and absorb qi.
• Su Cheng obtained the Celestial Master class, while Song Qingya organized evidence from the Lin Family Village case for the association.
• Su Cheng discovered that Mu Ling had become a vengeful ghost with the new Ghost Mark skill, and Third Aunt explained how the villagers had raised the ghost children through an evil ritual.
• Su Cheng helped Third Aunt photograph and gather the tiny coffins as the ghost children passed on, and she realized she could see ghosts with her own eyes.
• The system announced that Su Cheng had completed all missions in the Coffin Keeper instance and would leave in ten minutes.
• Third Aunt walked Su Cheng back to the inn and, with two minutes remaining, sent her toward a secluded corner to retrieve something before she departed.

After returning from a special instance, Su Cheng registered for the Apartment Joint Competition and spent the next two days preparing. The chapter left her stocked with supplies and awaiting the competition.

• Su Cheng returned to her apartment, received meal vouchers and a supermarket shopping voucher, and learned that its medical pod could heal nearly all injuries.
• The system announced that registration had opened for a dangerous competition, and Su Cheng tore up her ticket to enter.
• Su Cheng learned that Yan Yu and Xu Shaowei had also registered, though Xu Shaowei could not be assigned to the same instance as them.
• Su Cheng memorized her celestial-master book and practiced its movement techniques, unlocking Fire-Attracting Art and Soul Summoning at a 30% success rate.
• On the night before the competition, Su Cheng bought two Smoke Grenades, two Miniature Bombs, and a Universal Identity Kit.

Su Cheng entered the Golden Leaf Hospital competition instance, where the task was left blank and the hospital’s emphasis on pregnancy and childbirth seemed suspicious. She posed as six months pregnant to obtain a red inpatient wristband and was directed to the fourth-floor ward.

• Su Cheng chose the golden door and arrived at Golden Leaf Hospital, one of 9,990 registered competitors in the Zone E x Street Competition.
• After learning that the hospital closed at 19:00, Su Cheng questioned Nurse Tao Yue'er and noticed the nurse repeatedly urging her to register for obstetrics and gynecology.
• Su Cheng observed that every woman in the registration line was pregnant and that women at least six months along received red inpatient wristbands.
• Su Cheng claimed to be six months pregnant, obtained a red wristband, and was instructed to go to the inpatient ward on the fourth floor.
• Su Cheng found a family of three waiting by the elevators.

Su Cheng entered Golden Leaf Hospital’s obstetrics ward, where she discovered a nighttime rule enforced by monstrous nurses. When contestants arrived after seven, she claimed the two women were pregnant, persuading the monsters to let them pass.

• Su Cheng noticed a red scarf and blood-red eyes hiding in the elevator’s air vent as she rode up with Li Li, her mother-in-law, and her husband.
• Nurse Liu assigned Su Cheng and Li Li a room, warned them not to leave at night, and the family members hurried away before seven.
• Li Li told Su Cheng that her due date was the following week, then fell asleep before the clock reached seven.
• After the clock paused at 19:00, Su Cheng went to the corridor and found two monstrous nurses attacking three newly arrived contestants.
• Su Cheng said the two surviving women, Liu Yue and Mo Yiyi, were pregnant, and the nurses reluctantly cleared the way to their rooms.

After surviving the hospital’s nighttime massacre, Su Cheng teamed up with Mo Yiyi and Liu Yue and learned that sleeping patients were safe from the monsters making rounds. At dawn, they split up to search for information, but Nurse Liu stopped them as they left the ward.

• Mo Yiyi told Su Cheng that the hospital staff had turned into monsters and killed contestants throughout the building.
• Su Cheng deduced that after 7 p.m. only patients in inpatient beds were spared, then teamed up with Mo Yiyi and Liu Yue, who shared their abilities.
• A monster nurse entered the ward and watched Su Cheng for a minute but did not attack because she kept her eyes closed; Su Cheng concluded that the monsters could not attack sleeping patients.
• Su Cheng, Mo Yiyi, and Liu Yue stayed awake through the hourly rounds, then planned to search separately for information and meet again before noon.
• Nurse Liu stopped the three as they left, questioned Mo Yiyi and Liu Yue about their missing wristbands, and Su Cheng claimed they were emergency admissions.

Su Cheng investigated the maternity ward’s strange treatment of pregnant women and received a nutritious meal that appeared to her as warm raw meat despite smelling like roast chicken. After giving the meal to Li Li, who ate it greedily and called it pig’s trotters, Su Cheng suspected the food helped the babies grow and headed to see the doctor.

• Nurse Liu stopped Su Cheng from leaving the ward, and Su Cheng later visited Li Li, who told her she taught at Golden Leaf High School.
• Su Cheng noticed that women carrying multiples stayed in VIP rooms and wondered why the hospital treated pregnant patients so leniently.
• The nurses gave Su Cheng a large meal that looked like raw meat to her, while Li Li eagerly ate her own portion.
• Su Cheng offered her meal to Li Li, who devoured it and identified it as pig’s trotters; Su Cheng suspected the food appeared differently to each person.
• Nurse Liu collected the empty boxes and urged Su Cheng to eat so her baby would grow, prompting Su Cheng to question whether the patients were truly pregnant.
• Su Cheng went to the nurses’ station to ask to see the doctor, and the nurse turned her head in stiff, jerky movements.

Su Cheng investigated the hospital, learned that nutritional meals could cause pregnancy, and found Yan Yu working in the cafeteria. The chapter left Su Cheng facing questions about Yan Yu and the meat-filled meals as a cafeteria worker watched them closely.

• Su Cheng received an ultrasound form from Doctor Wu and noticed that Doctor Wu kept a locked cabinet in her office.
• Su Cheng saw Li Li's mother-in-law force her to drink medicinal soup and noticed murderous intent in Li Li's eyes.
• Su Cheng questioned a female ghost in the elevator, who said nutritional meals tasted good and made bellies grow with babies.
• Su Cheng reached the lobby, avoided a smiling volunteer, and sensed that the new guards, cleaners, and volunteers had no souls.
• Su Cheng entered the cafeteria and discovered Yan Yu working there; another cafeteria worker warned Yan Yu not to chat during work.

Su Cheng rescued Yan Yu from the cafeteria after realizing nutritious meals clouded contestants’ minds and could cause a strange pregnancy. An ultrasound revealed a round object in Yan Yu’s uterus, and the doctor urged her to keep eating the meals so she could give birth sooner.

• Su Cheng persuaded Yan Yu to leave the cafeteria by threatening to complain to Auntie Zhang, and Yan Yu packed a meal before they left.
• Su Cheng told Yan Yu that the nutritious meal looked like raw meat to her through her Yin-Yang Eyes, and Yan Yu realized the food had been clouding her thoughts.
• Su Cheng left the meal for the female ghost in the elevator, which ate it and then panicked at a familiar scent.
• Su Cheng took Yan Yu to the second floor for an ultrasound, saying the meals might have made her pregnant with something other than a fetus.
• The doctor scanned Yan Yu and found a small round object in her uterus, then encouraged her to eat more nutritious meals so she could give birth sooner.

Su Cheng investigated Doctor Wu’s office and discovered that the hospital’s nutritious meals accelerated pregnancies while causing abnormal growth in ordinary patients. She triggered a quest about a forgotten surgery and then recognized Yang Ze in a newly occupied ward room.

• Yan Yu learned she would give birth in three to five days, and Su Cheng took her to register before returning to the inpatient ward.
• The elevator ghost warned Su Cheng to beware of the operating room, and Su Cheng asked Yan Yu to distract Doctor Wu while she investigated the doctor’s office.
• Su Cheng compared ultrasound images and concluded that the nutritious meals caused abnormal growth in ordinary people and sped up fetal development in pregnant women.
• Su Cheng found Doctor Wu’s diary, medicine, and records about Ai Xiang’s fatal premature labor, then triggered the random quest “The Forgotten Surgery.”
• Su Cheng returned to the ward corridor and saw Yang Ze sitting blankly in one of the newly occupied rooms.

Su Cheng discovered that the nutritious meals drove contestants into a ravenous frenzy and helped Yan Yu resist the craving. She then left the ward to find Mo Yiyi and Liu Yue, whom she spotted in the cafeteria with a familiar young man.

• Su Cheng and Yan Yu deduced that contestants who had survived the first night had triggered the monsters’ killing mechanisms after eating the nutritious meals, and that something in their bellies had kept the monsters from killing them.
• When the new meals arrived, Yan Yu succumbed to the meat’s aroma, so Su Cheng restrained and sedated her, then took both meals to Li Li, who eagerly ate them.
• Su Cheng and Yan Yu obtained examination forms to leave the ward, but a nurse noticed that the system showed no form for bed 29.
• Su Cheng and Yan Yu went to the cafeteria, where Su Cheng found Mo Yiyi and Liu Yue with a young man she recognized as someone the Toward the Moon Society had robbed.

Su Cheng teamed up with Song Yichi after learning about his medical knowledge and discovered that the growth in Yan Yu’s abdomen was a living placenta caused by the nutritious meals. They entered the outpatient consultation room together to find surgical instruments and pursue Song Yichi’s mission, where Doctor Li demanded that Yan Yu approach alone.

• Su Cheng traded information with Song Yichi, learned how instance missions worked, and agreed to team up with him.
• Song Yichi examined Yan Yu’s and Li Li’s ultrasound reports and identified the abnormal growths as placentas.
• Yan Yu asked Song Yichi to remove the growth, and he offered to lead the group to surgical instruments in the outpatient consultation room, where he also had a mission.
• Mo Yiyi and Liu Yue chose to search for random missions while Su Cheng, Yan Yu, and Song Yichi went to the consultation room.
• Yan Yu’s name appeared on the queue display, but Su Cheng pushed the door open and insisted that all three enter together.
• Doctor Li ordered Yan Yu to approach her desk and told the others to wait outside.

Su Cheng, Yan Yu, and Song Yichi fought Doctor Li, a ghost who unleashed hundreds of fetal corpses and trapped Su Cheng in an illusion of her mother’s womb. Su Cheng destroyed Doctor Li and the fetal corpses, and the three were left searching for a way out of the procedure room.

• Doctor Li tried to force Yan Yu to keep the thing in her belly, but Su Cheng protected Yan Yu and the three drew their weapons when Doctor Li threatened them.
• Doctor Li summoned over a hundred fetal corpses from jars, and the creatures attacked while Su Cheng burned them and Yan Yu and Song Yichi fought back.
• Doctor Li transformed the room and trapped Su Cheng in an illusion of her mother’s womb, but Su Cheng escaped and attacked Doctor Li with her boning knife and cinnabar dagger.
• Su Cheng drained Doctor Li’s resentment and destroyed her, weakening the fetal corpses so the three could eliminate them all.
• The room returned to normal, and Song Yichi identified the procedure room door as sensor-operated after Su Cheng noticed it had no handle.

After Yan Yu’s operation, Su Cheng and her companions were drawn into a supernatural operating room, where a female ghost forced them into a horrifying illusion. Su Cheng broke the illusion and fought the ghost, but it escaped with Li Li’s placenta, leaving Li Li dead and Doctor Wu and the nurse as empty skins.

• Yan Yu told Su Cheng that the operation had unlocked her First-Stage Gene Lock, a Mental Barrier, while Song Yichi kept the strange placenta to analyze.
• Su Cheng, Yan Yu, Mo Yiyi, and Liu Yue found Li Li being rushed into premature labor and followed Doctor Wu and a nurse into a dark operating room.
• A female ghost possessed Doctor Wu and trapped Su Cheng and the others in an illusion where Yan Yu was operated on and a fetus bore Mo Yiyi and Liu Yue’s fused faces.
• Su Cheng used the Fire-Attracting Art to shatter the illusion, then drove the ghost out of Doctor Wu with her golden shield and attacked it with blue flames.
• The female ghost escaped through the back door with Li Li’s placenta, while Li Li died and Doctor Wu and the nurse collapsed as empty skins.

After the operating-room battle, Su Cheng summoned the elevator ghost and learned she was Ai Xiang, whose tragic death had completed the Forgotten Surgery quest. Ai Xiang left Su Cheng her pharmaceutical-factory badge and went to search for her babies, while Su Cheng planned to return to Li Li’s room to find a clue to Golden Leaf High School.

• Su Cheng and Yan Yu recovered from the female ghost’s attack, and the four survivors received the main quest, Her Child.
• Su Cheng summoned the elevator ghost, Ai Xiang, and witnessed the memories of her husband and mother-in-law accusing her of infidelity before she lost her twins and died.
• Su Cheng gave Qi to Ai Xiang, restoring her memories and completing the Forgotten Surgery quest.
• Ai Xiang asked Su Cheng to help find her babies, gave her a Golden Leaf Pharmaceutical Factory employee badge, and left to search for them.
• The badge unlocked a pending quest connected to Golden Leaf Pharmaceutical Factory, and Su Cheng headed toward Li Li’s room to look for an item related to Golden Leaf High School.

Su Cheng found Liu Huizi’s photograph and medical report in Nurse Liu’s locker, then recovered Li Li’s work ID and activated a quest at Golden Leaf High School. She rescued Mo Yiyi and Liu Yue from monsters, and the three hid in Doctor Li’s consultation room after learning a nurse had tried to force the women to eat nutritious meals.

• Su Cheng found Liu Huizi’s photograph in Nurse Liu’s locker and triggered the random quest “Huizi’s Life.”
• Su Cheng discovered Wang Ye’s report indicating azoospermia and suspected Liu Huizi’s history might connect to the main quest “Her Child.”
• Su Cheng waited until after 19:00, searched Li Li’s suitcase, and found her work ID, activating the pending quest “Our Teacher” at Golden Leaf High School.
• Su Cheng joined Mo Yiyi and Liu Yue as they killed two monsters, then led them down the stairwell while eight reinforcements arrived upstairs.
• Su Cheng brought Mo Yiyi and Liu Yue safely to Doctor Li’s consultation room, where Mo Yiyi explained that a nurse had insisted they eat nutritious meals.

Su Cheng learned that Liu Huizi was keeping Ai Xiang’s stillborn baby on the hospital’s top floor, and she led a group there to investigate the main quest. They reached the tenth floor, where the darkness swallowed their flashlight beams and Ai Xiang disappeared.

• Mo Yiyi told Su Cheng that patients who escaped or broke hospital rules were placed on the hospital-wide wanted list, and Su Cheng realized she was likely listed too.
• Ai Xiang told Su Cheng she had found her baby on the top floor, prompting Su Cheng to suspect Liu Huizi had taken the stillborn child and that the hospital’s strange placenta was connected to Liu Huizi’s obsession with having a child.
• Su Cheng gathered Yan Yu, Song Yichi, Mo Yiyi, and Liu Yue; Song Yichi reported that the nutritious meals lacked an active substance found in placental tissue, while Yan Yu described the pipe that supplied the meals.
• The group climbed the stairwell, passed a locked gate with Su Cheng’s Omnipotent Key, and learned from Su Cheng that the upper floors belonged to Liu Huizi’s vengeful-ghost domain.
• At the tenth floor, the darkness extinguished their flashlight beams, Su Cheng’s night vision failed, and Ai Xiang vanished, so Su Cheng told everyone to hold hands and keep moving.

Su Cheng rescued her companions from the Red Resentment on the ninth floor while Mu Ling fought Liu Huizi, and the group decided some of them should not continue upward. The chapter ended with Mo Yiyi asking whether they would be safe remaining on the ninth floor.

• Su Cheng escaped an illusion of Yan Yu and a dangerous red room with Mu Ling's help, discovering that Mu Ling had advanced to a Vengeful Ghost.
• Mu Ling sensed a terrifying presence above and confronted Liu Huizi while Su Cheng entered the operating rooms to rescue the others.
• Su Cheng removed Red Resentment from Song Yichi, Yan Yu, Mo Yiyi, and Liu Yue, waking them from their delusions and stopping their self-harm.
• Su Cheng advised the injured Mo Yiyi and Liu Yue not to continue upward, and Mo Yiyi asked whether they would be safe staying on the ninth floor.