Chapter Summaries

After learning that Dr. Joyce hid a clue to Melissa’s location in six coordinates, Xu Huo reasoned that she might be traveling underground in a cryo pod. He led his companions to search for her, but after two days they encountered players from the Sand Sea Safe Zone.

• Chang Shoujie decoded Dr. Joyce’s gene-code clue as six coordinates near Safe Zones and recalled the doctor’s plan to use a cryo pod for shelter.
• Xu Huo suspected Melissa had been placed in a cryo pod and buried underground, then bought a fast-moving pod to estimate her route.
• Xu Huo calculated that Melissa might be traveling from the third coordinate toward the fourth and marked a search area on Darkness Under the Lamp’s map.
• Xu Huo put Chang Shoujie in the Picture Frame, and he, Darkness Under the Lamp, Zeng Zhao, and the others teleported to search underground.
• After two days of searching without finding the pod, Xu Huo’s group encountered players from the Sand Sea Safe Zone, and both sides prepared to fight.

Xu Huo and his companions searched the desert for the hibernation pod containing Melissa, while worrying that other players might discover it first. At daybreak they found the damaged pod and opened it, revealing a small girl whose condition was uncertain.

• Xu Huo’s group regrouped after the sandstorm and learned that one Sand Sea player had escaped, while Zeng Zhao and the pink-haired player were missing.
• Chang Shoujie suggested searching farther back because the hibernation pod might have broken down, and the group continued looking without involving District 010.
• Xu Huo bought detection devices and distributed them to the group to expand the search.
• At daybreak, a detection device found an oval object buried deep under the sand, and the robots excavated the contaminated hibernation pod.
• Xu Huo opened the pod and found Melissa inside, wrapped in a transparent membrane, as the group wondered whether she was alive.

Xu Huo and the others revived Melissa from a hibernation pod and discovered that her unusual skeleton and slit pupils might be signs of Alien or degenerate ancestry. After feeding her, they watched her learn to say “Daddy” and begin exploring the desert in a protective suit.

• Xu Huo lifted Melissa from the pod, breaking the membrane around her and restarting her heartbeat.
• The group noticed Melissa’s unusual spinal bones and slit pupils, and found the name Melissa on her clothing label.
• Melissa bit at Juan Er, so Xu Huo fed her jerky and the group gave her milk and bread.
• Melissa learned to say “Daddy” and called each of the men her father until Xiao Hui used a sound-dampening item.
• The group dressed Melissa in a protective suit, and she crawled around the desert before imitating them and standing on two legs.

Xu Huo concluded that Melissa was unlikely to be the Lighthouse and proposed using her to accelerate conflict between District 010 and the Sand Sea Safe Zone. After learning more about her condition and showing her to Chang Shoujie, he prepared to take her to a Safe Zone and warn him about what lay ahead.

• Xu Huo argued that Melissa's defective genes and Dr. Joyce's choices made it unlikely she could serve as the Lighthouse, and suggested the Sand Sea Safe Zone might be connected to the mission.
• Xu Huo proposed speeding up a war between District 010 and the Sand Sea Safe Zone, while Brother Wu questioned how they could spread the news across scattered Safe Zones.
• Xu Huo rested with Melissa in the hotel, sent her blood to the Rose Villa, and showed her to Dr. Deng, who explained her degeneration and O9 gene.
• Xu Huo brought Chang Shoujie out, and Chang Shoujie embraced Melissa and promised to protect her as his child.
• Xu Huo said he would take Melissa to a Safe Zone and began to tell Chang Shoujie what he needed to know.

Xu Huo concluded that Melissa could not truly save District 010 and planned to find her a Safe Zone where she could be raised as an ordinary child. He and his companions reached Tomorrow Safe Zone and found it destroyed, leaving Xu Huo to discover the gravely wounded Fan Yunhong beneath the rubble.

• Xu Huo explained to Chang Shoujie why Melissa was unlikely to save District 010 and proposed raising her safely while pursuing a Gene Potion.
• Chang Shoujie recommended taking Melissa to Liao Xiaoyi’s Safe Zone, and Xu Huo agreed to seek help from her.
• Xu Huo learned that a coded message had come from Liao Xiaoyi’s Safe Zone and suspected the conflict there had already ended.
• Xu Huo put a Protective Suit on Melissa, gathered his companions, and led them to Tomorrow Safe Zone.
• Xu Huo and the others found Tomorrow Safe Zone in ruins, with Alien tracks, bodies, and no living ordinary residents.
• Xu Huo found Fan Yunhong trapped beneath collapsed houses with both legs severed and opened a Mental Portal beneath him after hearing him say he did not want to be alone.

Xu Huo laid the dying Fan Yunhong to rest, then traveled with his companions to the Harvest Safe Zone, where he revealed little Melissa and learned that its Players had gone to aid the Radiant Safe Zone. He arrived as the Sand Sea Safe Zone prepared to destroy the city and began attacking its convoy and Players.

• Xu Huo gave Fan Yunhong two injections of Potion and let him see a world in the Spiritual World before Fan Yunhong died.
• Xu Huo and his companions reached the attacked Harvest Safe Zone and questioned a wounded Player about the missing Players.
• Xu Huo brought out little Melissa and Chang Shoujie, and Chang Shoujie urged the District 010 Players to reclaim land for the child.
• The wounded Player contacted Gan Feng and revealed that the Players had gone to rescue the Radiant Safe Zone from the Sand Sea Safe Zone.
• Xu Huo reached the Radiant Safe Zone, destroyed vehicles and a heavy weapon, and attacked the Sand Sea Players preparing to level the city.

Xu Huo and his allies coordinated against the Sand Sea players, killing many and helping turn the battle in Radiant Safe Zone. The chapter ended with Xu Huo blasting away a barrier trapping Liao Xiaoyi and several Safe Zone leaders, though their fate was not yet shown.

• Xu Huo used his spiritual interference to help Darkness Under the Lamp and the others defeat Sand Sea players, killing more than half of them before four fled toward the city.
• Xu Huo and his allies pursued the fleeing players into Radiant Safe Zone and cooperated to kill ten more opponents.
• A player in a blue tracksuit used Life and Death Together to pull Xu Huo toward him, but Xu Huo wounded him, escaped the item's pull, and killed him by trapping him in a collapsing building.
• Xu Huo found Liao Xiaoyi and several Safe Zone leaders trapped behind a defensive barrier that the others could not break.
• Xu Huo planted Little Mushroom Cloud in the ground and told everyone to run; the blast lifted the barrier off the ground, causing it to disappear.

After helping Radiant Safe Zone repel the Sand Sea Players, Xu Huo asked Liao Xiaoyi to take in Melissa, whose condition meant she could not fulfill District 010’s hopes of ending its curse. Liao Xiaoyi refused to deceive the district about the child, while Chang Shoujie warned that caring for her could eventually put her in danger.

• The Sand Sea Players withdrew after a fierce battle, and Liao Xiaoyi apologized to Xu Huo for their earlier conflict in Polar Safe Zone.
• Liao Xiaoyi explained that attacks and false alarms had drawn Players away from several Safe Zones, leaving them unable to send all their forces to help.
• Xu Huo brought Melissa and Chang Shoujie to a private meeting with Liao Xiaoyi and asked her to take responsibility for the child.
• Liao Xiaoyi recognized that Melissa could not break District 010’s curse and insisted that the district’s Players deserved to know the truth.
• Chang Shoujie warned that support for Melissa might fade and asked whether Liao Xiaoyi could guarantee the child would not be treated as food.
• Liao Xiaoyi said she could not sacrifice District 010’s hopes for Melissa alone and turned away from the request.

Xu Huo let Melissa spend time with the players of District 010 while he waited for her Dungeon to end. After Melissa suddenly struggled to breathe, Liao Xiaoyi revealed her condition and asked the people of District 010 to raise her, and they agreed.

• Liao Xiaoyi left to handle urgent matters, and Xu Huo let Melissa play with the resting players while leaving her future undecided.
• The players of District 010 delighted in Melissa, who learned to say “uncle” and “auntie” and called Juan Er “Daddy.”
• Darkness Under the Lamp and Xiao Hui reported that District 010 was divided over whether to attack Sand Sea Safe Zone, and Xu Huo chose to wait.
• Melissa collapsed while playing at dinner, and Xu Huo used a spatial barrier and removed her mask to help her breathe.
• Liao Xiaoyi explained Melissa’s identity and condition to the gathered people, who agreed that District 010 should raise her.

Liao Xiaoyi organized votes to decide whether District 010 would raise Melissa and which Safe Zone would care for her. After Melissa chose to go with Liao Xiaoyi, Xu Huo cleared the dungeon with an S rating and advanced from C-class to B-class Player.

• Liao Xiaoyi held an anonymous vote, and more than four-fifths of the players agreed to raise Melissa.
• The players chose the Tomorrow Safe Zone to care for Melissa, while Gan Feng and Juan Er proposed merging Safe Zones or reclaiming the Sand Sea Safe Zone.
• Xu Huo used candy to let Melissa choose between him and Liao Xiaoyi, and Melissa ran to him before settling into Liao Xiaoyi's arms.
• Xu Huo handed Melissa over to Liao Xiaoyi, and the game awarded him an S rating for clearing the dungeon.
• The game promoted Xu Huo from C-class to B-class Player and granted him an advancement gift pack; Xiao Hui also confirmed that he had cleared the dungeon.

Xu Huo inspected his upgraded abilities and new rewards, testing the A-class item Harmonious Atmosphere and learning how it sealed nearby items. He then opened his new rain-summoning umbrella, leaving the Radiant Safe Zone’s players staring at rain falling from a clear sky.

• Xu Huo reviewed his upgraded abilities, Super Focus and Memory Flashback, and found they offered more flexible ways to interfere with others.
• Xu Huo tested Harmonious Atmosphere and discovered that it sealed items within its range, including his own.
• Xu Huo inspected his other rewards and put away the risky Gene Potions after reading their possible Aftereffects.
• Xu Huo examined his B-level advancement package, including an expanded Storage Compartment, upgraded library access, and an A-class umbrella called Umbrella Guarantees Rain.
• Xu Huo opened the umbrella at the window, causing rain to fall over the Radiant Safe Zone, then waved to the players who had rushed outside.

Xu Huo examined the rewards and learned how instruments differed from ordinary items, while the group saw a spacetime instrument deployed over several streets. He also reviewed a Player status suspension certificate and Stellar Pharmaceutical Group’s restricted store, including its medicines and experimental drugs.

• Juan Er envied Xu Huo’s powerful rewards, and Darkness Under the Lamp told him to ask Melissa about Xu Huo.
• A glass-like dome covered the Small Building and nearby streets, and Brother Wu identified it as a spacetime instrument.
• Xu Huo considered the strengths and limitations of instruments, including his Glass Room and the S-class Jammer Black Dove K27.
• Xu Huo inspected the Disease Aggravation One-Time Item and the Player Status Suspension Certificate.
• Xu Huo opened the Stellar Pharmaceutical Group store channel and reviewed its limited products, treatments, and experimental drugs.

Xu Huo went to the Sand Sea Safe Zone to search for Aliens and find a way to free Players trapped in Dungeons, but found no trace of them. His arrival interrupted a dispute over who would lead the Safe Zone, where he heard accusations that Brother Xia had killed Old Boss Yang.

• Xu Huo told Darkness Under the Lamp and the others he planned to search the Sand Sea Safe Zone for Aliens and look for a way to get trapped Players out.
• Liao Xiaoyi and the others planned to retake the Safe Zone at a small cost or destroy it if necessary.
• Xu Huo teleported into the Player Tower, evaded the Players who noticed him, and searched the underground rooms and nearby buildings for Aliens without finding any.
• Xu Huo returned to a meeting where Zhang Kai accused Brother Xia of seeking power and having a role in Old Boss Yang's death.
• As Brother Xia tried to arrange defenses, someone at the head of the table asked whether he had killed Old Boss Yang.

Xu Huo confronted Brother Xia and the Sand Sea Safe Zone Players over Old Boss Yang’s death, then fought them while another Player attacked the city. He uncovered a clue that the Safe Zone was raising Aliens and seized the Player who seemed to know about it.

• Xu Huo disabled the meeting attendees’ artifacts and demanded to hear how Old Boss Yang died, so Brother Xia explained the deaths in the desert and the suspicion surrounding him.
• Two Players attacked Xu Huo, but one was impaled; Brother Xia and the others fled outside, where Xu Huo trapped and fought them.
• Brother Xia summoned more Players, and Xu Huo revealed he had reinforcements when a nearby building exploded and fighting spread through the city.
• Xu Huo asked where the Sand Sea Safe Zone was raising Aliens, then used his Mental Portal to pull an uneasy Player toward him.
• The Player attacked Xu Huo with artifacts, but a spiraling staircase launched him into the air as Xu Huo pursued him through the Book Tower.

Xu Huo questioned a Sand Sea Player about the numbered Aliens, then killed him when he tried to attack. The Player’s investigation notebook pointed Xu Huo toward Stellar Pharmaceutical Group and abandoned Sub-districts, and Xu Huo went to check on a relocated Alien.

• Xu Huo used his Abilities to trap and interrogate a Super Evolver from Sand Sea about the numbered Aliens first seen in District 010.
• The Player claimed he wanted to leave the Sand Sea Safe Zone, but attacked Xu Huo with a needle Artifact and died after Xu Huo’s defenses stopped it.
• Xu Huo found the Player’s notebook, which documented extensive efforts to trace the Aliens and listed several Stellar Pharmaceutical Group Laboratories.
• Xu Huo considered whether Stellar Pharmaceutical Group could conduct experiments in abandoned Sub-districts that ordinary players could not reach.
• Xu Huo went to the southeastern corner of the city and found that the relocated Alien was still alive.

Xu Huo returned to the ruined Player Building and devised a plan to use a shared flag to unite District 010’s players and help Outer District players clear the Dungeon. He prepared a dramatic rainstorm and sent Darkness Under the Lamp to replace the Sand Sea Safe Zone’s flag, setting the stage for a contest over its meaning.

• Xu Huo found the Sand Sea and District 010 players fighting alongside unaffiliated Outer District players, turning the conflict into a three-way brawl.
• Xu Huo told Darkness Under the Lamp that lighting the Lighthouse required a symbol, and Liao Xiaoyi recalled a shared flag from the CK Safe Zones.
• Xu Huo ordered Gan Feng to retrieve the flags in the Radiant Safe Zone storeroom and suggested planting them around the Sand Sea Safe Zone to unite District 010’s players.
• Xu Huo opened Umbrella Guarantees Rain, then told Darkness Under the Lamp to replace the alliance flag on the city’s tallest building and announce that District 010 had retaken the Sand Sea Center and found a way to clear the Dungeon.
• Xu Huo explained that the flag could be switched back and forth, since the struggle over it would give weight to what it represented.

Xu Huo persuaded the pink-haired man to redirect his anger from District 010 toward the Game Government, while Darkness Under the Lamp prepared to use the flag to clear the Dungeon. The pink-haired man chose to let District 010 survive so its people could eventually make the Game Government pay.

• Liao Xiaoyi agreed to use the flag in the plan to reclaim the Sand Sea Safe Zone, then left with Gan Feng and the others.
• Xu Huo told Darkness Under the Lamp to distribute the flag and arranged to wait before making the rain stop.
• Xu Huo found the pink-haired man resting after he had blown up buildings and asked whether District 010 players had killed his girlfriend; the man said they had not.
• Xu Huo urged the pink-haired man to imagine a world without the Game and suggested he make the Game Government pay instead of dying in District 010.
• The pink-haired man decided that District 010's people had to live so their hatred could become a weapon against the Game Government.

Xu Huo used rain and a masked appearance to help District 010 gain the upper hand in the battle for the Sand Sea Safe Zone, while making the opposing players believe District 010 had an A-class player. Just as District 010 neared victory, the flag atop the tallest building was broken, and the Sand Sea side rallied again by claiming the masked figure was a fraud.

• Darkness Under the Lamp and Juan Er raised District 010's flag on the tallest building and announced that District 010 had taken the Sand Sea Safe Zone.
• Players from both sides converged on the building and fought over flags planted across the city.
• When an item-wielded sandstorm swept away most of the flags, Xu Huo made it rain and briefly appeared beside District 010's surviving flag in a black cloak and mask.
• Xu Huo drove back players who tried to reach the roof, leading many to suspect District 010 had an A-class player.
• Liao Xiaoyi's side offered to forgive Sand Sea players who stopped fighting for the Cannibal Players, and some began to abandon the battle.
• A Sand Sea player claimed responsibility for snapping District 010's flag and urged the others to keep fighting, insisting Xu Huo was only an Outer District Player posing as an A-class player.

Xu Huo and District 010’s players reclaimed the Sand Sea Safe Zone, and Liao Xiaoyi raised the district’s flag over Sand Sea Center. As the players celebrated, Xu Huo watched Chang Shoujie entrust Melissa’s future protection to Gao Dawei.

• The pink-haired man deliberately cut down District 010’s flag, but Brother Wu decided not to provoke him and had Juan Er put it back up.
• Xu Huo made a larger flag and sent Brother Wu and Big Back Head to find Liao Xiaoyi and raise it on the tallest building.
• Liao Xiaoyi planted the flag on the rooftop and announced that District 010 had retaken the Sand Sea Safe Zone, prompting cheers across the area.
• Darkness Under the Lamp, Juan Er, and the others returned to meet Xu Huo and stayed for a celebratory feast.
• Chang Shoujie told Melissa that District 010’s future rested with her and introduced Gao Dawei as the person who would protect her.
• Xu Huo watched Chang Shoujie, Melissa, and Gao Dawei together and felt as if he were witnessing fate.

After District 010 defeated the Sand Sea Safe Zone, Xu Huo unexpectedly saw a possible future in which the city had been rebuilt and its people celebrated. The pink-haired man recognized signs of Xu Huo’s evolution, though Xu Huo remained unsure what he had experienced.

• District 010’s people celebrated their victory while former Sand Sea Players debated whether to stay, and imprisoned ordinary people hoped for rescue.
• Xu Huo saw Time Rays and watched a vision of District 010 transformed into a thriving city before the scene vanished.
• District 010 hosted a banquet for Xu Huo and his companions, thanking them and looking forward to rebuilding.
• Xu Huo poured tea for the pink-haired man, who said he had recognized Xu Huo’s evolution; Xu Huo wondered whether he had glimpsed the city’s future.