In desperate circumstances, people with nowhere left to turn are forcibly dragged into a strange game where life and death are at stake.
One bizarre stage after another opens. Survival rules are written in black and white: clear rules hide traps, unspoken laws claim lives, and anyone who breaks the rules is killed on the spot.
Lin Yan, unemployed, in debt, and out of options, is drawn into the game by accident. He has no godlike powers, only a keen eye and a flawless memory.
The old Huai'an mansion, a sinister hospital, a funeral home in the dead of night, a forbidden ancient village... Dangerous locations steeped in the eerie mysteries of Chinese folk traditions appear one after another.
The players around him all have their own agendas, and suspicion and betrayal are commonplace. Vengeful spirits lurk in the shadows, burdened with all the suffering of the world. No ghost is born evil; all that remains are ancient grievances with nowhere to go.
Following the rules is the bare minimum for survival. Searching for the truth is tantamount to courting death.
When one rule after another stops working, and the source of all the strange phenomena finally comes to light, Lin Yan learns that this endless game of survival was never meant to select the strongest. It has been waiting for a new, eternally sleepless Night Watcher.
Should he break free of the cage and return to the world of the living, or remain behind in the darkness to guard the dead? The choice ahead may come down to a single thought.
Don't read it, everyone. The protagonist has a serious heart.