Chapter Summaries

Xu Huo investigated whether the group’s symptoms came from infection or poisoning and concluded that the holographic glasses could misidentify people as Aliens. After studying a map of Clown City, he focused on a canyon where cleanup missions often ended.

• Xu Huo reasoned that unprocessed food from the cleanup zone had poisoned Jin Dong, Fish Ball, Snowy, and Ice Cream, and that high temperatures worsened the symptoms.
• Xu Huo noted that Numbers One and Two remained well after receiving Alien blood, while the holographic glasses had marked Master Tu and another man as infected when their wounds were exposed.
• Xu Huo cut his own hand and showed Zhuo Wangsun that the wound healed, though the glasses still displayed him as a thermal image.
• Xu Huo argued that the glasses used crude criteria and that people identified as Aliens might recover with an Antidote.
• Master Tu produced an old map of Clown City, and Xu Huo pointed to a canyon while asking whether cleanup missions always ended there.

Xu Huo uncovered that two groups who each believed the other were Aliens came from different parts of the cleanup zone, suggesting there were two Clown Cities. The chapter left the groups confronting the truth that their maps and holographic glasses identified different cities.

• Zhuo Wangsun argued against killing people merely because they might be infected, while the other Players insisted on eliminating suspected Aliens.
• Xu Huo removed a Player’s holographic glasses, and Zhuo Wangsun saw that the man no longer appeared to be an Alien.
• Master Tu identified the group’s blue-and-black glasses as different from Clown City’s red-and-black model, but both groups insisted their own glasses were genuine.
• Xu Huo asked Sister Shan where her group had come from, and she said they had crossed the canyon from the east, where she believed Clown City lay.
• Xu Huo showed the map and explained that he had set out from a city deep in the cleanup zone; he and Zhuo Wangsun concluded that there were two Clown Cities.

Xu Huo uncovered that the two groups in the canyon each mistook the other for aliens because their holographic glasses displayed different colors. He concluded that two places called Clown City existed, leaving both sides to confront the truth that their maps and histories contradicted each other.

• Zhuo Wangsun challenged the Players who wanted to kill anyone they suspected of infection, while Xu Huo realized they were mistaking his group for aliens.
• Xu Huo removed a Player’s holographic glasses, and Master Tu identified them as a different model from the red-and-black glasses used in his Clown City.
• Sister Shan’s group claimed they had come from the east side of the canyon, where they believed Clown City stood, while Master Tu said that area was a restricted cleansing zone.
• Xu Huo showed the groups a map and explained that he had traveled from the supposedly destroyed Clown City, which lay deep in the cleansing zone.
• Xu Huo and Zhuo Wangsun concluded that two Clown Cities existed and that each group’s differently colored glasses made them see the other as aliens.

Xu Huo and Zhuo Wangsun crossed into the Blue side’s territory while their unexpected arrival made them reality-show favorites. Zhuo Wangsun cleared the instance by planting the battle flag, while Xu Huo continued toward the opposing Clown City.

• The hosts showcased popular Warriors and announced that Warrior No. 227 would face another Alien tide after a viewer’s request.
• Xu Huo and Zhuo Wangsun appeared in the Blue side’s canyon, surprising the hosts and becoming new favorites after viewers backed them.
• Xu Huo said he had completed the first two tasks and wondered how to finish the Third Task.
• Zhuo Wangsun planted the Clown City flag in the dirt and cleared the instance.
• Zhuo Wangsun followed Xu Huo and asked whether he intended to fight his way to the other Clown City.

Xu Huo and Zhuo Wangsun completed the first two tasks and cleared the E-class instance after planting Clown City's flag in the Blue side's position. Their surprise appearance drew huge attention in Clown City's reality-show broadcast, and Xu Huo continued toward the enemy camp as Zhuo Wangsun wondered if he meant to reach the other Clown City.

• Clown City's host promoted Warrior No. 67 and Warrior No. 227, while viewers bet on contestants and made requests for their performances.
• The broadcast shifted to the canyon battle, where Xu Huo and Zhuo Wangsun appeared unexpectedly in the Blue side's position and became popular dark-horse contestants.
• Xu Huo and Zhuo Wangsun discussed how to complete the Third Task, and Zhuo Wangsun planted Clown City's flag in the soil.
• Zhuo Wangsun realized the instance had been cleared, while Xu Huo continued onward and left him wondering if he planned to reach the other Clown City.

Xu Huo, Zhuo Wangsun, and Xin Hui discussed the truth about Clown City and crossed the river after the Alien tide receded. As they prepared to split up, two heavily armored Aliens attacked them, forcing the three to fight together.

• Xin Hui thanked Xu Huo for saving her and learned from Zhuo Wangsun that Clown City had deceived its Players.
• Xu Huo guessed that Clown City's two halves might be competing, while Xin Hui suggested the Sub-district could be used for human experiments.
• The three shared their professions, and Xin Hui revealed she was a surveyor with long-range items and explosives.
• After the Alien tide passed, Xin Hui ate fungus from the river and Zhuo Wangsun found that the water was clean.
• Xin Hui refused to hide her augmented-reality glasses and said she wanted to hunt Aliens for money, so the three prepared to split up.
• Two large Aliens ambushed them; Zhuo Wangsun fired, Xu Huo slashed with Sword Qi, and Xin Hui's adhesive bomb wounded one Alien without killing it.

After escaping a group of aliens, Xu Huo, Zhuo Wangsun, and Xin Hui took refuge at the edge of the fungus-covered forest called the Fungi Sea. The aliens would not enter the fog, but the trio still had to find a safe place to spend the night.

• Xu Huo wounded an alien, and its cries alerted others as Zhuo Wangsun and Xin Hui helped him escape.
• The trio ran into the dense, foggy forest, where the pursuing aliens stopped at the edge.
• Xu Huo found fungal threads covering the forest floor, and Xin Hui identified the area as the Fungi Sea on her map.
• Xin Hui used Zhuo Wangsun's navigation device to set their direction, and the three followed the forest's edge while avoiding the fungi.

Xu Huo and Zhuo Wangsun followed Xin Hui through the foggy forest and discovered a dangerous mushroom cavern beneath its mycelium. After escaping the forest’s spreading green mist, Xu Huo set out to intercept Xin Hui, leaving Zhuo Wangsun wondering how strong he really was.

• Xu Huo explained why he suspected Xin Hui and used the Friendly Handkerchief to track her through the foggy forest.
• Zhuo Wangsun fell through a mycelium membrane into a cavern, and Xu Huo used fire to help him escape the sticky fungal cocoon.
• Xu Huo realized the mycelium figures were herding them deeper into the forest and led Zhuo Wangsun toward its edge instead of continuing to search for Xin Hui.
• The mycelium spread across the ground as green mist rose inside the forest, so Xu Huo and Zhuo Wangsun escaped into the open.
• After Xin Hui moved beyond the tracking item's range, Xu Huo hurried ahead to intercept her and easily defeated Aliens along the way.
• Zhuo Wangsun watched Xu Huo fight and asked whether he was really a D-class player.

Xu Huo, Zhuo Wangsun, Er Gou, and Siming investigated a cave beneath the Mist Forest after suspecting it might be the Dungeon’s designated flag-planting site. Xu Huo entered first and found colorful, mold-like growths lining the underground passage.

• Xu Huo and Zhuo Wangsun met Er Gou and Siming near the Mist Forest, where the two explained that Clown City seemed to have trapped them and they had not found the mission’s designated site.
• Er Gou suggested that a cave they had discovered might be the flag-planting spot, and Xu Huo agreed to investigate it with the others.
• Xu Huo reasoned that shifting fungus beneath the forest could explain why the trees’ growth patterns seemed to change direction.
• The four returned to the Mist Forest and uncovered the cave entrance beneath a patch of white mushrooms.
• Xu Huo climbed into the cave first and saw colorful, fuzzy growths shining along the passage.

Xu Huo and the others explored a vast underground fungal maze, debating the risks and possible purpose of its fungi. After descending along suspended paths, Xu Huo stopped the group and said they needed to find another route.

• Zhuo Wangsun tried to collect a fungus, but the female Player and Siming warned that the fungi could spread and cause trouble if carried away.
• Xu Huo led the group through the glowing passage into an enormous maze filled with fungi and hanging strands of mycelium.
• The female Player found an old water bottle, and the group discussed why people had built paths through the underground world.
• Xu Huo speculated that the fungal nest might extend beneath Clown City and that bodies from the Clean-up mission could be feeding the fungi.
• The four Players descended the suspended paths, but Xu Huo stopped them after a hundred meters and said they needed another way.

Xu Huo and the other Players followed a waving, human-shaped fungus through the cavern, where mycelium nearly trapped Siming. They discovered the fungi were learning to imitate people, but the group was left unsure how far that imitation could go.

• Xu Huo led Zhuo Wangsun, Siming, and the female Player after a waving figure and through a hidden passage into another cavern.
• Mycelium trapped Siming and began spreading from his suit, but Cleaning Agent freed him before it could engulf him.
• Siming shot the waving figure, and the mycelium swallowed it; Xu Huo later cut apart another hollow imitation.
• The group burned through a mycelium passage and found a human-shaped copy of Siming wrapped in the wall.
• Xu Huo cut off the copy's head, and Zhuo Wangsun and the female Player realized the fungi were becoming better at imitating people.

Xu Huo and the others searched the underground fungus nest for an exit and found humanlike growths before Xin Hui rejoined them. When the mycelium began raining poisonous Black Liquid, the group scattered, and Xin Hui encountered Xu Huo in a clean cave.

• Xu Huo led Siming, Zhuo Wangsun, and the female Player through the caves as they searched for a way out.
• The group found nests filled with lifelike, mycelium-wrapped bodies, and Xu Huo discovered they were solid inside.
• Xin Hui emerged from a side tunnel and reunited with Zhuo Wangsun and the others.
• Xu Huo proposed burning the underground nest, but the group continued searching for an exit before deciding what to do.
• The mycelium contracted and began dripping poisonous Black Liquid, forcing the five to flee and become separated.
• Xin Hui escaped into a clean cave, where she turned and found Xu Huo standing behind her.

Xu Huo and the others found their route back blocked by mycelium and searched for another way out of the Misty Forest. Xin Hui then discovered an exit, and Xu Huo revealed he had been following her.

• Siming urged the group to abandon the level, while Zhuo Wangsun pointed out that their way back was blocked and questioned whether they could escape.
• Zhuo Wangsun realized Siming and the female player had not killed enough blue-team soldiers to clear the level, while Xu Huo could leave at any time.
• Xu Huo agreed to look for an exit and considered burning through the fungus if they could not find one.
• Xin Hui found the right way out, and Xu Huo told her she was lucky to have found it.
• Xin Hui backed away and asked Xu Huo whether he had been following her.

Xu Huo learned from Xin Hui that Clown City deliberately prolonged the Cleansing Zone’s fungal crisis and manipulated its deadly battle for broadcast profits. As they set out toward Sunrise Clown City, its host Lang Lang discussed the contestants and planned to welcome the eventual champion with the Chief Political Officer.

• Xin Hui told Xu Huo that Clown City’s leaders had used Potions to mutate the fungus and turned the Cleansing Zone battle into a profit-making game.
• Xu Huo questioned Xin Hui’s motives for killing other warriors, then offered to travel with her to Clown City.
• Xin Hui explained that they would have to cross the Cleansing Zone to reach Sunrise Clown City, and Xu Huo said they would talk after he planted a flag atop its walls.
• Lang Lang reviewed the White Hot Battle rankings and learned that contestant 227 was outside the monitoring range while 254 and 249 had disappeared near the Mist Forest Area.
• Lang Lang ordered a formal dress for the champion’s arrival and planned to welcome the winner alongside the Chief Political Officer.

Xu Huo and Xin Hui crossed a miasma zone toward Sunrise Clown City, where gunmen ambushed the returning soldiers. After Xu Huo captured one of the gunmen, he triggered an extra mission tied to the fungal nest and decided to take the man into the city for questioning.

• Xu Huo and Xin Hui traveled toward Sunrise Clown City, discussing the True Man game's rankings and how audience betting interfered with contestants.
• Xin Hui gave Xu Huo fungus to repel the snakes and insects in the miasma zone, and they hurried through after Xu Huo found a tracker on an Alien.
• As they reached the defensive wall, gunmen attacked the returning soldiers; Xin Hui and a burly man escaped into lifts while the others were shot.
• Xu Huo found and captured a gunman who tried to kill himself with a poisonous mushroom, then received an extra mission called The Fate of a Spore.
• Xu Huo carried the gunman toward Clown City and asked what he was trying to do with the fungal nest.

Xu Huo brought the silent soldier 179 into Clown City after completing the Sweeping Zone mission and uncovered his plan to spread fungal contamination. He left 179 under guard while questioning whether the attack targeted Clown City's officials or aimed to expose the True Man game.

• Xu Huo refused to let the women take the injured 179 away and accepted an invitation to enter Clown City.
• A middle-aged official offered Xu Huo housing and benefits, invited him to a victory banquet, and explained that Clown City used its residents as game characters.
• Xu Huo sent the women into the bathroom, then stopped 179 from eating a hollow energy candy containing mycelium.
• Xu Huo deduced that 179 and Xin Hui planned to use fungal spores to attack Clown City's officials during the victory banquet.
• Xu Huo asked 179 whether the plot was meant to create chaos or expose the True Man game.

Xu Huo deduced that 179’s group had an insider and argued that overthrowing Clown City’s government was their best chance against the True Man game. After restraining 179 and keeping people locked in the bathroom, Xu Huo caught an intruder who tried to shoot him during the night.

• Xu Huo deduced from 179’s reaction that the group had an insider and said exposing the True Man game would not be enough to change Clown City.
• Xu Huo threatened the people pounding on the bathroom door, telling them to stay inside until morning.
• Xu Huo tied 179 to a chair with Kite String, said he might reveal what he knew, and went to sleep.
• At three in the morning, an intruder entered and shot at the blankets covering Xu Huo.
• 179 warned the intruder that Xu Huo was alive, but Xu Huo dropped from the ceiling, grabbed the attacker, and disarmed him.

Xu Huo agreed to keep Lang Lang's group's secret and release 179 in exchange for Lang Lang accompanying him after their mission. While accompanying her to the banquet venue, Xu Huo secretly examined the building and tested whether his Life Core could affect its metal, leaving the banquet about to begin.

• Lang Lang asked Xu Huo to release her friend 179 and stay out of Clown City's internal affairs, while 179 and the others prepared to die rather than betray their cause.
• Xu Huo agreed to keep their secret and help them if Lang Lang would come with him when their business was done.
• Xu Huo released 179 and gave him a Self-Healing Agent, then accompanied Lang Lang to the True Man game's banquet venue as her temporary bodyguard.
• Lang Lang explained that the banquet was being held in the show's skyscraper, and her assistant announced that the Chief Political Officer and guests from other sub-districts would attend.
• Xu Huo found the venue's floor plans, identified the skyscraper as a strategic building at the heart of Sunrise Clown City, and used his Life Core to test its metal walls.
• Xu Huo left the storage room and surveyed the venue as the banquet was about to begin, noting that few players were nearby.

Xu Huo found Lang Lang under guard as Clown City prepared for a victory banquet at the Sky Building. The hall was sealed against anyone leaving, and the Chief Political Officer arrived as guests filled the building.

• Two Players said the Chief Political Officer had assigned them to protect Lang Lang from someone following her.
• Xu Huo said he had come to ask Lang Lang about details, and she left the lounge with him for the banquet hall.
• Two checkpoints at the hall entrance allowed people in but prevented them from leaving.
• Senior Clown City officials and their families arrived at the Sky Building as night fell and the banquet hall grew crowded.
• The Chief Political Office's car arrived at the building.

Xin Hui’s group’s attempt to seize the Chief Political Officer ended with the banquet guests trapped between the players and a deadly ray barrier. Lang Lang revealed that she had infected the Chief Political Officer with a fungus, leaving him facing an infection Clown City could not treat.

• The Chief Political Officer exposed the fungal fluid in the wine, injected himself with antibodies, and ordered the players to kill everyone in the banquet hall.
• Several people used Micro Bombs to blast open the exits, but invisible rays and gunfire killed the fleeing officials and staff.
• Xu Huo watched as the survivors were left trapped inside a building enclosed by rays, and he identified Yuan Cun as a likely powerful player carrying a Space Artifact.
• Lang Lang told the Chief Political Officer that she had infected herself to test what he would do, then revealed she had infected him as well.
• Lang Lang explained that the fungus would take three months to cause symptoms and that Clown City had no treatment.