Chapter Summaries

Xu Huo joined Yi Mao’s team for Clown City’s Alien cleanup mission and learned about the city’s layered structure and social system on the way to the protective wall. After the team passed through the checkpoint and received a sparse map for its large assigned zone, they prepared to enter the cleanup area.

• Yi Mao gave the team pocket-sized bombs and medical kits, recruited Yue Weiping and Liang Song, and led everyone toward the protective wall.
• Xu Huo observed Clown City’s layered buildings as the group discussed the danger of the mission and the reward for capturing an Alien alive.
• The team members introduced themselves, Xu Huo chose the nickname Lao Wu, and he noticed that their carried items were unusually low-level.
• Yi Mao and Zhuo Wangsun explained Clown City’s social benefits and status system as the group traveled.
• At the protective wall, the team passed an electronic checkpoint and received a map for its larger-than-usual cleanup zone.
• Xu Huo saw that the map lacked useful details about Alien activity and supplies, while Kang Yongjie criticized the careless arrangements.

Xu Huo and the others came under fire from an unseen sniper in the Gobi Area, and a sandstorm scattered their group. Xu Huo destroyed the invisible weapon and rejoined Yi Mao’s group, who shared a map of the Swamp Zone while warning him not to betray them.

• Zhuo Wangsun urged the group to split up after sniper shots struck near them, but Wan Xiao objected to leaving the non-Players behind.
• Siming realized the shots appeared to come from above, and another burst of gunfire killed one of Yi Mao’s companions as the survivors scattered.
• Kang Yongjie and Hao Mei tried to seize Yi Mao, but Liang Song used a Skateboard item to carry them away before they changed course and pursued Zhuo Wangsun’s group.
• Xu Huo suspected an invisible device was tracking them, caught it with a line, and used a Defense Artifact to survive its electrical explosion.
• Xu Huo caught up with Yi Mao’s group after the sandstorm and received a map of the Swamp Zone from Yi Mao.
• Liang Song allowed Xu Huo to travel with them but warned him against betraying the group again.

Xu Huo traveled with Yi Mao and the others through the Gobi Area into the Swamp Zone, where he questioned Clown City’s rules for fighting Aliens. After the group killed a human-shaped target, Xu Huo challenged whether it was truly an Alien, leaving the others wary of his intentions.

• Xu Huo and the group crossed into the Swamp Zone, where Yi Mao warned them to avoid waterlogged ground and explained that aircraft could provoke Alien attacks.
• Xu Huo noticed Clown City’s restrictions on vehicles and powerful weapons made the cleanup mission seem suspicious, while he kept the Stones he had collected secret.
• After their Protective Suits became muddy, Xu Huo changed into a better suit he said Zhuo Wangsun had sold him.
• Liang Song spotted a human-shaped heat signature behind a dead tree and shot the target, which the group identified as an Alien.
• Xu Huo examined the corpse with his gun, but Yue Weiping stopped him and warned that Alien fluids could spread infection and that removing his holo-glasses could damage his eyes.
• Xu Huo asked how the group could be sure they had killed an Alien rather than a person.

Xu Huo captured a mud-covered figure that the others believed was an alien and found it behaved like a person despite signs of infection. After giving it food, water, and a Potion, he saw it become less frenzied, leaving its true condition uncertain.

• Yue Weiping and Liang Song warned Xu Huo about alien pathogens and the danger of removing the protective glasses, but Xu Huo argued that examining a corpse should be relatively safe away from the wall's lights.
• A bullet struck metal near Xu Huo, and a mud-covered figure sprang from the swamp and attacked Yi Mao before lunging at Xu Huo.
• Xu Huo restrained the figure with Strings, removed his shattered glasses without injury, and gave the struggling creature jerky and water.
• Xu Huo washed mud from the figure and noticed reddish-black patches on its skin, while Yi Mao and the others backed away in fear of infection.
• Xu Huo gave the figure a Potion, then used the Strings to pull it upright as its ensuing struggle seemed less frenzied.

Xu Huo captured a mud-covered attacker and tested whether it was an alien or a human infected by a pathogen. The figure wrote on the ground, leaving Yue Weiping and the others stunned by its apparent ability to communicate.

• Xu Huo reasoned that removing the glasses might not harm their eyes, then pretended to be shot when a bullet struck his glasses.
• Yi Mao, Liang Song, and Yue Weiping fought off a mud-covered attacker, which Xu Huo caught with his Strings.
• Xu Huo removed his glasses, fed the figure, and washed mud from its skin, revealing reddish-black spots that suggested pathogen infection.
• Xu Huo gave the figure a Potion, then restrained it when it became confused again.
• The figure wrote on the ground, prompting Yue Weiping to marvel that an alien could write.

Yi Mao's group continued their clearing mission with Jin Dong, whom Xu Huo had persuaded them not to abandon. When hostile players attacked in the Swamp Zone, Xu Huo killed several of them and took their Skateboards, leaving the group equipped to cross the swamp.

• Xu Huo convinced Liang Song and the others to bring Jin Dong along, and Jin Dong warned them that a jungle beyond the Swamp Zone was full of mutated species.
• The group was attacked by players on Skateboards, who demanded their food and water and targeted Jin Dong for a bounty.
• Xu Huo killed several attackers with Kite String and Plant's Lament, while the surviving players fled and left their Skateboards behind.
• Xu Huo handed Jin Dong a Skateboard and explained that becoming a Player did not guarantee strength.

Yi Mao's group continued their clearing mission despite Jin Dong's transformation, and Xu Huo persuaded them to bring him along. When hostile Players attacked in the Swamp Zone, Xu Huo killed or drove them off and collected their Skateboards, leaving the group equipped to cross the swamp.

• Liang Song and the others agreed to continue the mission and take Jin Dong with them after Xu Huo argued against abandoning him.
• Jin Dong warned the group that the jungle beyond the Swamp Zone contained dangerous areas teeming with mutated species.
• Skateboard-riding Players ambushed the group and demanded their food and water, while one tried to kill Jin Dong for a bounty.
• Xu Huo killed three attackers, used Plant's Lament to knock two more from their Skateboards, and scared the rest into fleeing.
• The group gathered five Skateboards to cross the Swamp Zone, and Xu Huo told Jin Dong that becoming a Player did not guarantee strength.

Xu Huo and the soldiers set out to find supplies, but toxic air and a swarm of Aliens trapped them on a mountain path. Xu Huo triggered a landslide to cover their escape, only to discover that more Aliens were swarming out below.

• Xu Huo said he had no food or water, and Liang Song's group decided they would have to take supplies from others rather than reveal that cleanup supplies were dangerous.
• The group climbed a steep mountain path, where Yi Mao and Wan Xiao began struggling to breathe and reported a bitter taste in the air.
• Wan Xiao spotted Aliens crawling up the slope, and the group fought while trying to retreat along the dangerous path.
• An Alien scratched Yue Weiping, and he drank Xu Huo's Antidote before offering to hold off the attackers.
• Yi Mao and Wan Xiao charged toward the Aliens, so Xu Huo knocked them out, assembled an energy cannon, and triggered a landslide that buried some of the creatures.
• Xu Huo warned Liang Song's group that more Aliens had emerged from below as he ran to catch up with them.

Xu Huo and the others set out to find supplies, but they were ambushed by Aliens on a dangerous mountain path. After Yue Weiping was poisoned and Yi Mao and Wan Xiao lost control, Xu Huo used an energy cannon to bury the attackers in a rockslide.

• Liang Song said the group needed to take food and water from others, while Yi Mao objected to hiding the danger posed by contaminated cleanup supplies.
• Xu Huo led the group along a steep shortcut, where Yi Mao and Wan Xiao began gasping and behaving as if they were drunk.
• Aliens hidden in the grass charged the group, forcing them to retreat along the narrow path as their ammunition ran out.
• Yue Weiping was slashed by an Alien while saving Yi Mao, and Xu Huo gave him an antidote.
• Yi Mao and Wan Xiao charged the Aliens, so Xu Huo knocked them out and handed them to Liang Song.
• Xu Huo assembled an energy cannon and triggered a rockslide that buried the pursuing Aliens.

Xu Huo continued into the cleanup zone despite the danger, while Yi Mao, Wan Xiao, Liang Song, and Yue Weiping turned back. He and Jin Dong reached a newly formed Stone Forest Maze, where Xu Huo killed a mutated giant bat and encountered an Alien.

• Xu Huo and the others suspected that contaminated food, water, or unusual odors could cause infection and violent behavior, and Liang Song urged the group to turn back.
• Wan Xiao and Yue Weiping agreed to return with Liang Song and Yi Mao, but Xu Huo chose to continue because Players could not leave the dungeon before it ended.
• Xu Huo gave the departing group Antidotes, while Jin Dong stayed with him and denied deliberately leading the others into danger.
• Xu Huo and Jin Dong found widening ground fissures, dead trees, and a vast Stone Forest Maze absent from Clown City's maps.
• Xu Huo entered the maze, cut a mutated giant bat in half, then kicked apart a rock and revealed an Alien hiding behind it.

Xu Huo and Zhuo Wangsun searched for a way through the stone forest while discussing clues that suggested the cleanup mission was not what it seemed. They suspected the glasses and strange environmental effects might be connected to the Dungeon, and continued toward the Sub-district while trying to avoid Kang Yongjie.

• Xu Huo drove off a mutated Alien, but Kang Yongjie killed it with a bomb before Xu Huo could capture it.
• Xu Huo reunited with Kang Yongjie, Hao Mei, and Zhuo Wangsun, and learned that Er Gou and Siming had been separated during the Alien horde’s attack.
• The group discovered that the stone forest’s paths looped back, and Xu Huo and Zhuo Wangsun set off together to find a way through.
• Zhuo Wangsun warned Xu Huo that Kang Yongjie had tracked him with a special prop and had killed their hostage; he suspected Kang Yongjie was a Cannibal Player.
• Xu Huo and Zhuo Wangsun discussed the strange mission objectives, outdated map, unusual gunfire, and unknown element in the soil, which could affect people’s behavior.
• Xu Huo suggested that the glasses might make their surroundings appear differently, and Zhuo Wangsun agreed to leave the stone forest before Kang Yongjie caught up.

Xu Huo and his companions killed Kang Yongjie and Hao Mei, then continued through the stone forest while investigating its contaminated water and worsening heat. The chapter ended with them wondering whether the toxic environment could also threaten Clown City.

• Xu Huo used Counting Grid to trap Kang Yongjie and killed him and Hao Mei with help from Jin Dong and Zhuo Wangsun.
• The group took supplies from the pair and found a small pool that was already contaminated.
• Xu Huo sprinkled Clown City’s powder into the water, then led the group onward through the stone forest.
• As night fell, the temperature kept rising, and Zhuo Wangsun and Jin Dong suspected the heat might be forcing soldiers to remove their Protective Suits.
• Xu Huo questioned whether the toxic air could reach Clown City, while the group remained uncertain about what was causing the danger.

Xu Huo and Zhuo Wangsun encountered a sudden Alien attack in the Stone Forest Maze and discovered that the area’s air or soil could trigger rapid transformation. After soldiers cleared the horde, they met Gao Peng and Cen Lu, who said they had survived in the cleanup zone for nearly half a year.

• Xu Huo’s group pressed onward through the heat and gathered more than a dozen exhausted soldiers before a horde of split-headed Aliens attacked.
• Xu Huo pulled Zhuo Wangsun out of danger and saw that Jin Dong had transformed into an Alien; Jin Dong lunged at them and was killed.
• Xu Huo noticed that injured soldiers were rapidly developing Alien symptoms, suggesting that the Stone Forest’s air or soil could cause transformation.
• Gao Peng, Cen Lu, and other soldiers killed the Aliens and the transforming soldiers, then burned the bodies.
• Gao Peng introduced himself and Cen Lu as soldiers from Batch 809 and welcomed Xu Huo’s group to the cleanup zone.

Xu Huo and Zhuo Wangsun went with Gao Peng and Cen Lu to the remnants’ stronghold in an abandoned city, where they encountered hostility toward Players. Xu Huo suspected Gao Peng had another reason for bringing them there and considered what might have caused Jin Dong to become an Alien.

• Gao Peng and Cen Lu took Xu Huo and Zhuo Wangsun by dune buggy through the dunes to an abandoned city that had once been part of Clown City.
• Gao Peng and Cen Lu explained that the remnants had established a stronghold in a Commercial Building and avoided disturbing Aliens hiding in a fissure beneath the city.
• The stronghold’s fighters greeted Gao Peng’s group, but Lao Wu and others showed open hostility toward Xu Huo and Zhuo Wangsun because they were Players.
• Gao Peng brought Xu Huo and Zhuo Wangsun to the thirtieth floor, where they met Master Tu and his trained assistants, who were also unfriendly.
• Xu Huo and Zhuo Wangsun discussed why Gao Peng had invited them and whether the air was safe; Xu Huo found no signs of infection and suspected food or water might have affected the people who became Aliens.

Xu Huo investigated the A-grade item sewn into Hugo's severed hand and discovered that the Life Core could destroy vast quantities of metal across a city. After paying to clean the contaminated item, he left the Laboratory and headed toward the rift in the city center.

• Xu Huo avoided eating the food with Gao Peng and Cen Lu's group, then stayed awake with Zhuo Wangsun until dawn.
• When Gao Peng and Cen Lu led the young people toward the city center, Xu Huo flew off alone and found a medical Laboratory.
• Xu Huo removed a black sphere from Hugo's severed hand and identified it as the A-grade Life Core, an item capable of destroying metal objects across a city.
• Xu Huo paid for system cleaning and used a cleaning kit to contain the bacteria on Hugo's severed hand and clean the sealed box.
• Xu Huo left the Laboratory in broad daylight and walked toward the rift in the city center.

Xu Huo discovered a community of rational Aliens living beneath the city and learned that they had survived underground for more than ten years. The chapter ended with him questioning why they had not left and how many outsiders they had asked for help.

• Xu Huo followed two children into the sewers and found an underground settlement of Aliens.
• The Aliens feared Xu Huo, but he shared food and water with the children and showed them footage of the outside world.
• A woman showed Xu Huo a notebook explaining that the community had retained its humanity, avoided eating people, and hoped he would take children to Clown City for a cure.
• The woman said people above ground treated the Aliens like livestock and ate uninfected newcomers, and Xu Huo asked why the community had not left on its own.

Xu Huo found a hidden underground community of Aliens who had lived in the cleanup zone for more than ten years. After learning they wanted him to take their children to Clown City, he challenged the woman who led him there, suspecting the community had another reason for staying underground.

• Xu Huo followed the children through the sewers and discovered Aliens living in caves along a fissure beneath the city.
• He gave the hungry children bread and water, then showed them footage of the outside world on his Communicator.
• A woman used a notebook to explain that the Aliens had kept their humanity, were not contagious, and wanted Xu Huo to take one or two children to Clown City for a cure.
• The woman said surface dwellers treated the Aliens like livestock and begged Xu Huo to take a child away.
• Xu Huo questioned why the Aliens had not left on their own and suggested their reason for hiding underground went beyond fear of the surface warriors.

Xu Huo used the Life Core to break into the commercial building, killed the shaved-head man, and forced Master Tu’s group to cooperate. After learning that Master Tu had collected samples and data on the Cleansing Zone, Xu Huo began investigating the source of the land’s mutation.

• Xu Huo took Gao Peng’s head and Protective Suit, then brought Fish Ball and Snow Cake to the site’s locked gates.
• Xu Huo used the Life Core to crumble the gate and part of the building, killing several people inside.
• Xu Huo set the site’s supplies alight, killed the shaved-head man, and ordered the survivors to bring everyone downstairs.
• Master Tu brought his group down, and Xu Huo arranged for Zhuo Wangsun’s release while declaring that he needed to borrow the site.
• Xu Huo examined Master Tu’s collected samples and data, learning that Alien blood showed signs of infection but the available equipment could not identify the pathogen.

Xu Huo used the Life Core to breach the commercial building and force Master Tu’s group to cooperate. After learning that Master Tu had collected samples from the Cleansing Zone, Xu Huo began investigating whether Alien blood showed signs of infection.

• Xu Huo brought Fish Ball and Snow Cake to the commercial building, where he used the Life Core to destroy the metal entrance and part of the structure.
• Xu Huo set fire to supplies in the lobby, killed the shaved-head man, and ordered the remaining group to gather.
• Master Tu brought his people down, and Xu Huo said he wanted to use the base and have them help him; Zhuo Wangsun was released.
• Xu Huo examined boxes of collected blood, water, and plants that Master Tu had gathered to study the Cleansing Zone.
• Xu Huo asked whether Alien blood differed from human blood, and Master Tu said their limited equipment could only show signs of infection.

Xu Huo investigated why people in Clown City were being labeled as Aliens and found evidence that the holographic glasses used crude criteria, while Antidotes could restore those who had lost their minds. After studying an old city map, he questioned the purpose of the endless cleanup mission and learned that Clown City offered strong incentives to attract outsiders.

• Xu Huo reasoned that contaminated food and the high-temperature zone could cause poisoning and madness, while small amounts of Alien blood did not infect people.
• Xu Huo cut his hand to test the holographic glasses, and the glasses still labeled him an Alien despite his uninjured palm.
• Xu Huo examined Master Tu’s old map and learned that the cleanup mission ended at a long canyon, with a second phase that had never begun.
• Xu Huo concluded that the glasses might be monitored and questioned why Clown City sent people into an apparently pointless cleanup mission.
• Master Tu told Xu Huo that Clown City offered housing, financial support, and other benefits to outsiders who settled there, especially players and large families.