Chapter Summaries

Xu Huo discovered that several Aliens could be stored in World in the Painting and negotiated with Pink Hat to disguise one as an experimental subject. He returned to the hotel carrying her and told the others that she was his clearance condition.

• Xu Huo removed a chip from an Alien, sent samples to Dr. Deng, and found that multiple Aliens could be stored in World in the Painting.
• Xu Huo summoned Pink Hat and bargained with her, agreeing to pay her 1.1 million White Cash for help.
• Pink Hat suggested disguise devices, and Xu Huo used them to conceal her appearance before heading to the hotel.
• A Player pursuing Xu Huo saw an Alien foot and changed direction to chase him.
• At the hotel, the pink-haired woman and Juan Er noticed the figure under Xu Huo's tablecloth, and Xu Huo said she was his clearance condition.

Xu Huo discussed the newborn from District 010 and a tracking chip with Chang Shoujie, arguing that they needed to find the child and investigate Dr. Joyce’s clues. Chang Shoujie recognized the chip’s code as one linked to repeated Alien outbreaks, while Xu Huo left the newborn’s existence exposed in hopes that someone would bring him more information.

• Xu Huo revealed to Chang Shoujie that the newborn was real but was not the child he had pretended to find.
• Xu Huo showed Chang Shoujie a damaged tracking chip and the code CKX8911, which he had recovered from an Alien.
• Chang Shoujie recognized the code as one found on Aliens during multiple outbreaks and explained that earlier attempts to analyze similar chips had failed.
• Xu Huo and Chang Shoujie considered why the newborn had remained hidden and whether District 010 could produce more children.
• Xu Huo argued that Dr. Joyce’s clues and the child’s uncertain survival made finding the newborn essential, while Chang Shoujie doubted Xu Huo’s motives.
• Xu Huo said he had publicized the newborn’s existence as a precaution so that someone might bring him a useful clue.

Xu Huo persuaded Chang Shoujie to help search for newborn Melissa and bring District 010 players into the effort, while he investigated the opposing faction and Dr. Joyce’s work. Dr. Deng confirmed the genetic samples came from human children, leaving Xu Huo to consider whether the regressed children were Dr. Joyce’s results.

• Xu Huo convinced Chang Shoujie to seek refuge in the Polar Safe Zone and help gather players, while claiming Dr. Joyce’s former colleague could help them.
• Little Pink Hat questioned why Chang Shoujie believed Xu Huo, and Xu Huo explained that Chang Shoujie wanted to take a chance on the clues about the newborn.
• Xu Huo spotted a hostile player watching the hotel and wondered what the Black Faction’s clearance task was and why Melissa needed to be taken home.
• Xu Huo tested the unconscious Alien in the Safe Zone, then contacted Dr. Deng to ask about the samples and Dr. Joyce’s Potion.
• Dr. Deng said the samples were human children and asked whether the regressed children were Dr. Joyce’s results.

Xu Huo gathered a group to take the newborn to the Polar Safe Zone while Dr. Deng investigated another sample. Chang Shoujie persuaded Fu Yi to rally players from other Safe Zones, and the group set out after the Polar Safe Zone was warned of their arrival.

• Xu Huo asked Dr. Deng to test a different sample, then prepared to leave with Pink Hat concealed in an Artifact alongside Chang Shoujie.
• Xu Huo invited the others to travel with him, and Juan Er, Darkness Under the Lamp, and the pink-haired man agreed to join.
• At the Safe Zone, Chang Shoujie convinced Fu Yi that the child was real and argued that the players should act against the growing Sand Sea Safe Zone.
• Fu Yi agreed to notify the other Safe Zones, then assembled a small group to accompany Xu Huo.
• Xu Huo had Fu Yi warn the Polar Safe Zone that the Newborn was coming, and then set out with the group.

Xu Huo brought the little Pink Hat to Polar Safe Zone and demanded that its people find the survivors of CK12 Safe Zone so he could locate Dr. Joyce. When Mr. Yuan hesitated, Xu Huo announced he would let other Safe Zones compete to take the child, leaving Polar Safe Zone facing a tense standoff.

• Xu Huo showed the little Pink Hat to Fei Xian and the Polar Safe Zone players, then brought her into the city.
• Darkness Under the Lamp questioned Xu Huo about his plan, but he avoided explaining his purpose.
• Chang Shoujie recognized Mr. Yuan when he arrived, and Mr. Yuan asked what it would take for Xu Huo to hand over the child.
• Xu Huo demanded that Polar Safe Zone find the players who escaped CK12 Safe Zone so he could find Dr. Joyce.
• Chang Shoujie revealed that they had already spread news of the newborn, and Xu Huo said he would offer her to anyone who brought him a CK12 survivor or information about Dr. Joyce.
• Mr. Yuan de-escalated the standoff and asked Xu Huo to keep his word.

Xu Huo gathered players from District 010’s Safe Zones and showed them Pink Hat from a distance, hoping to find CK12 players who could explain how she was born. The crowd questioned her humanity and future, and Mr. Yuan urged anyone connected to CK12 to come forward.

• After negotiations with Mr. Yuan’s group soured, Xu Huo sealed off the floor and prepared to wait for players from CK12 and other factions to approach.
• Players from nearly half of District 010’s Safe Zones arrived, and Xu Huo let them see Pink Hat from a distance without bringing her into the conference room.
• The gathered players saw signs of Alien traits on Pink Hat and argued over whether she was human, whether she could survive, and what her birth meant for District 010.
• Mr. Yuan asked anyone from CK12 or connected to its players to step forward and share what they knew.

Xu Huo used little Pink Hat to force the District 010 Players to discuss the child’s fate, while they debated whether she was real and how to recover her. Chang Shoujie confirmed that the child belonged to District 010, and the chapter ended with Xu Huo asking him whether his claim from the previous night was true.

• A short Player accused Xu Huo of inventing the child and demanded proof, but Xu Huo threatened to kill her unless the District 010 Players answered him within an hour.
• The Players returned to their meeting room, where Liao Xiaoyi pressed Liu Chen about his ties to CK12 and Lu He raised Dr. Joyce’s connection to Chang Shoujie.
• Mr. Yuan revealed that Chang Shoujie was in the building, and Gao Dawei brought him to the window to speak with the Players.
• Liao Xiaoyi reproached Chang Shoujie over the deaths caused by his past actions, while another older Player defended his sacrifices for District 010.
• When asked whether little Pink Hat was from District 010, Chang Shoujie firmly confirmed that she was.
• After a prop blocked the buildings from view and sound, Xu Huo asked Chang Shoujie whether what he had said the previous night was true.

Xu Huo read Dr. Joyce’s files and learned that Sample 93’s mutation might suppress Black Thorn Disease, while Dr. Deng identified a dangerous hereditary defect in the sample under investigation. The chapter left Xu Huo questioning how an Alien carrying that defect had survived for two years and whether its creator had somehow edited its genes.

• Xu Huo restrained Chang Shoujie and left Darkness Under the Lamp to watch the little Pink Hat.
• The little Pink Hat shared Lollipops with Darkness Under the Lamp while Xu Huo checked Dr. Joyce’s files in the shelter.
• Xu Huo learned that Dr. Joyce had used artificial wombs to create human-Alien hybrids and that Sample 93’s mutation might suppress Black Thorn Disease.
• Dr. Deng told Xu Huo that the sample had a powerful hereditary disease-causing gene that could make its carriers die from infections.
• Xu Huo noted that the Alien carrying the gene had survived for two years, and Dr. Deng questioned whether anyone could have edited its genes.

Xu Huo discussed Sample 93 and a possible treatment for Black Thorn Disease with Dr. Deng, then faced growing pressure from District 010 over the child. The Sand Sea Safe Zone attacked the Polar Safe Zone, and Xu Huo escaped into an abandoned building with help from a young Player.

• Xu Huo showed Dr. Deng documents about Sample 93 and offered him Dr. Joyce's remains to help develop a Gene Potion for Black Thorn Disease.
• Darkness Under the Lamp told Xu Huo that District 010 had found only one living CK12 Player, while Chang Shoujie asked where the child was.
• A Sand Sea Safe Zone Player attacked the Polar Safe Zone with explosive items, forcing Players to scatter and search for Xu Huo's group.
• Liao Xiaoyi heard Chang Shoujie warn that Xu Zhi might have the Newborn and led Players after Xu Huo.
• Xu Huo shook off most of his pursuers and entered an abandoned building, where the young Player beckoned him over.

Xu Huo joined the chaotic fight over a box believed to contain a newborn, while players from District 010, the Sand Sea Safe Zone, and other districts battled across the city. The box changed hands repeatedly, and the attackers’ attempts to destroy it continued.

• The younger and middle-aged players asked Xu Huo about the newborn, and he said he did not know who had it.
• Xu Huo followed a pink-haired player through the city and found Juan Er under attack by three players.
• Xu Huo called for Juan Er to give him the baby, and Juan Er threw him a large box that drew the attackers’ attention.
• Players fought over the box until someone used “Idol drama essential skill,” making everyone stumble and drop their belongings.
• The box turned into a stone slab in one player’s hands, then flew toward an Outer District player who tried to smash it.
• Other players shielded the box and drove off the attacker, but new assailants soon sent it into the air while fighting off those who tried to seize it.

Xu Huo defeated two Black Faction players in The Wandering Melissa Dungeon and learned their clear condition was to kill newborn Melissa. He then confronted a Sand Sea player about Dr. Joyce, who told him to go to CK12 for answers.

• Xu Huo used his Spiritual World to capture two Outer District Players who had attacked the box, then defeated and poisoned them in the library.
• Xu Huo questioned the two players and learned they were Black Faction members whose goal was to kill Melissa because of her defective gene.
• Xu Huo learned that one person from the Sand Sea Safe Zone had once been a CK12 player, then headed to confront the Sand Sea group.
• Xu Huo and Darkness Under the Lamp stopped a wounded Sand Sea player as he tried to retreat, and Xu Huo asked where Dr. Joyce was.
• The Sand Sea player said Dr. Joyce was dead and told Xu Huo to go to CK12 to find out who killed him.

Xu Huo and the other players fought over a newborn as Sand Sea players tried to escape with her. After a pink-haired person seized the child and threatened the pursuers, Xu Huo exposed and defeated a player who had lied about being Black Faction.

• Xu Huo learned that the CK12 Safe Zone players believed Dr. Joyce's experiment had failed and fled when a Sand Sea player carrying a bundle called for a retreat.
• Liao Xiaoyi and the District 010 players pursued the Sand Sea group, but the bundle exploded and several players were wounded or killed.
• Players attacked Xu Huo for the newborn, forcing him to hand the child to Darkness Under the Lamp, who dropped her while fleeing.
• A pink-haired person caught the child and threatened to snap her neck, prompting District 010 players to shield the building while others tried to break through.
• Xu Huo separated two Outer District Players from the crowd, identified himself as Black Faction, and exposed the man who falsely claimed the same faction.
• The disguised player attacked Xu Huo with blades, but Xu Huo's equipment pierced his arm and Holder's Death struck him unconscious.

Xu Huo investigated whether the White Faction could take Melissa home while the players fought over the newborn called the little Pink Hat. The newborn’s Alien-like appearance made the factions disagree over her fate, and she was struck by a rebounding beam as District 010 players tried to protect her.

• Xu Huo questioned Zeng Zhao about the CK12 Safe Zone and whether its players had taken Melissa away, but they had no firm clues about the newborn experiments or her whereabouts.
• Liu Chen, Lu He, and Ban Yan tried to seize the little Pink Hat from the pink-haired man, who hurled her into the crowd; a young player and his middle-aged companion eventually snatched her.
• The young player opened the bundle, saw the newborn’s Alien-like face, and threw her away when she lunged at him.
• The little Pink Hat ran on all fours, prompting District 010 players to see hope in her, Sand Sea players to want her alive, and many mission players to view her as a threat.
• A middle-aged player fired an umbrella-rib-shaped item at the little Pink Hat, and she dug underground to escape; District 010 players knocked the item down, but its rebounding beams pierced her back.

Xu Huo killed the middle-aged Outer District Player after he killed the newborn, then confronted the pink-haired man who had seized Pink Hat again. The District 010 players saw the pink-haired man holding what appeared to be the newborn’s corpse and erupted in anger.

• The middle-aged man killed the newborn, but the dungeon did not register a failure, revealing that the child was not Melissa.
• The middle-aged man tried to escape, but Xu Huo trapped him underground and killed him with a series of prepared attacks.
• While Xu Huo fought the middle-aged man, the pink-haired man seized Pink Hat again and took her to the rooftop.
• Xu Huo appeared beside the pink-haired man as the District 010 players watched him raise the corpse and grew enraged.

Xu Huo rescued the supposedly dead child from Pink Hair and revealed that she was not Melissa, then used the search for Melissa to expose CK12 players in the Sand Sea Safe Zone. As District 010’s players attacked the Sand Sea group, Xu Huo took Chang Shoujie and arranged to capture Pink Hair before leaving the city.

• Pink Hair set the child’s corpse on fire and threw her off the rooftop, but Xu Huo pulled her back and heard her move beneath the fireproof cloth.
• Xu Huo told the District 010 players that the child was not Melissa and revealed that he had lured CK12 players out by using her as bait.
• Liao Xiaoyi led District 010’s players in attacking the Sand Sea Safe Zone players while Xu Huo went to the bunker and took Chang Shoujie with him.
• As Xu Huo left the city, he asked Darkness Under the Lamp and the others to take Pink Hair along, and Juan Er used a bed Artifact to restrain him.

Xu Huo and the others took Pink Hair out of the Polar Safe Zone after Juan Er trapped him on a bed, and Pink Hair demanded that Xu Huo really have Melissa. The group rested outside the city, where Xiao Hui revealed that he had been waiting for Melissa before Xu Huo asked whether Pink Hair had once left the Polar Safe Zone.

• Juan Er trapped Pink Hair beside him on a bed, and Xu Huo helped carry them beyond the Polar Safe Zone while Pink Hair fought off pursuers.
• After Juan Er's Ability wore off, Pink Hair threatened Xu Huo, who warned him that the group could overwhelm him and refused to hand Melissa over.
• Juan Er pressed Pink Hair about his grudge against District 010, and Xu Huo said Pink Hair believed Juan Er had sullied his honor.
• The young player introduced himself as Radiant Messenger, and Darkness Under the Lamp nicknamed him Xiao Hui.
• Xiao Hui said he had been waiting for Melissa in the Dungeon, and Xu Huo asked whether Pink Hair had once left the Polar Safe Zone.

Xu Huo’s group agreed to seek help from District 010’s Players to find Melissa and considered making her return a unifying event for the Sub-district. Chang Shoujie led them to two possible locations, then recognized the number Xu Huo had found and asked whether it came from the CK12 Laboratory.

• Xiao Hui told Xu Huo that Chang Shoujie had disappeared after he left and might have warned the Sand Sea Safe Zone.
• Xu Huo proposed checking a new lead and asking District 010’s Players to help find Melissa, while the group discussed returning her as a way to unite the Sub-district.
• Xu Huo released Chang Shoujie, who named a long-buried Safe Zone and a forest as possible locations connected to Melissa.
• The group found no useful openings in the buried Safe Zone, and Chang Shoujie explained that it had once hosted Alien experiments.
• Chang Shoujie asked Xu Huo whether the number he had shown him came from the CK12 Laboratory, startling everyone.

Xu Huo pressured Chang Shoujie for the truth about Dr. Joyce’s locator and Melissa, revealing that Dr. Joyce’s Potion could relieve Black Thorn Disease. The pink-haired man vowed to remain in District 010 until he had killed its people, while Xu Huo’s companions agreed to help him finish his search before clearing the Dungeon.

• Chang Shoujie accused Xu Huo of baiting him with the Alien’s number and offered to reveal where live specimens could be found if Xu Huo told him whether he had found Melissa.
• Xu Huo showed Chang Shoujie the used Potion and explained that Dr. Joyce had given it to him, and that it had briefly eased the suffering of a boy dying from Black Thorn Disease.
• Xu Huo argued that Dr. Joyce had been District 010’s best hope for a cure and suggested that Melissa’s genetic defect might be tied to the District’s troubles.
• Xu Huo contrasted Chang Shoujie’s desire to save District 010 with the pink-haired man’s determination to destroy it.
• The pink-haired man promised to stay in District 010 and kill its people, while Darkness Under the Lamp and the others reacted with alarm.
• Xiao Hui rejected Chang Shoujie’s attempt to divide the group and said they would help Xu Huo find the Alien before clearing the Dungeon.

Xu Huo pressured Chang Shoujie into revealing that a living Alien with an identification number was held at the Sand Sea Safe Zone, though the others doubted the claim and feared the dangers there. A robot found numbered chips that supported Chang Shoujie's account, and he explained why District 010 had marked Aliens with those numbers.

• Xu Huo gave Chang Shoujie ten minutes to reconsider, while Xiao Hui threatened him and clashed with the pink-haired man after dodging a thrown knife.
• Xu Huo asked Chang Shoujie if he had made up his mind, and Chang Shoujie said he could reveal the living Alien's location.
• Chang Shoujie identified the Sand Sea Safe Zone as the Alien's hiding place and admitted he hoped the group would help weaken the Cannibal Players there.
• Juan Er, Zeng Zhao, and Darkness Under the Lamp questioned whether they should trust Chang Shoujie or risk going to the Sand Sea Center.
• Xu Huo's robot brought back numbered chips whose CKW markings supported Chang Shoujie's claim.
• Chang Shoujie explained that District 010 had used the numbers to trace Alien origins and preserve knowledge after its research and history were lost.

Xu Huo showed Chang Shoujie the alien linked to Dr. Joyce and learned that its disease-causing gene might encode a clue. They decoded part of Dr. Joyce’s message and watched a video identifying Sample 93 as a nearly successful embryo with a harmful mutation.

• Chang Shoujie urged Xu Huo to work with District 010 players and head to the Sand Sea Safe Zone, but Xu Huo took him into the car without answering.
• Xu Huo showed Chang Shoujie the sleeping alien and explained that Dr. Joyce’s locator had pointed to it.
• Dr. Deng identified the alien as Sample 93 and revealed that its R-5FH gene could help control Black Thorn Disease; he also said Dr. Joyce had contracted the disease before his death.
• Chang Shoujie recognized the gene code as part of a code system he and Dr. Joyce had devised, and Xu Huo waited with him for the terminal analysis to finish.
• Xu Huo opened Dr. Joyce’s video, which identified Sample 93 as the embryo closest to success but said its R-5FH mutation caused disease and had no suitable treatment.