Recaps

Feng Ling and Huangfu Miaomiao listened as five Hunters introduced themselves and discussed their Cards, missions, and rankings. When Li Yu revealed he had received a Card from Feng Ling after the Tunnel rescue, Huangfu Miaomiao gasped, alerting the Hunters to their presence on the Truck.

• Feng Ling helped Huangfu Miaomiao recall the five Hunters' names as they gathered by the fireplace.
• Zhang Lu and Wang Xunmei explained why they did not want to sign contracts, while Lin Pengpeng and Li Yu described Star Hunter International's mission system and contracted Hunter rankings.
• Li Yu introduced Lu Boyi, whose Squid Card and ability to speak Lorias made him useful to the Rescue Foundation's mission.
• Wang Xunmei described her Ci Tie Card, and Li Yu revealed that he had received a Card from Feng Ling after the Tunnel rescue operation.
• Huangfu Miaomiao gasped, and the five Hunters rose and looked toward the top of the Truck.

Feng Ling secretly watched a group of Hunters discuss the contamination crisis and their hopes for the future. She learned that Pei Xianjue had been transferred to Guangnan City to lead construction of a Quarantine Zone.

• Huangfu Miaomiao hid in the truck after startling the Hunters, while Feng Ling summoned her Human-faced Crows to reveal themselves.
• Li Yu and the others recognized the Human-faced Crows and concluded Feng Ling could not be nearby because she was reportedly under observation in Qingjiang City.
• The Hunters discussed their plans to reach the Camp, Lu Boyi's family in evacuated Kosro City, and the threat contamination posed to neighboring countries.
• Feng Ling watched the young Hunters raise a toast to a better future and thought of others who had fought for hope or died in despair.
• Lin Pengpeng revealed that Pei Xianjue had been transferred to Guangnan City to lead the establishment of a Quarantine Zone.

Feng Ling listened as the five volunteers debated Pei Xianjue’s reputation and the Pei family’s motives, then shared why they had joined the Foundation’s operation. Lin Pengpeng praised Pei Xianjue’s ideals until Feng Ling laughed from atop the carriage, prompting Lin Pengpeng to confront whoever was there.

• Wang Xunmei listed the online controversies surrounding Pei Xianjue, and Lin Pengpeng defended her against the criticism.
• Lu Boyi argued that the Pei family’s collection of Cards and support for the Hunter Plan were also efforts to preserve their power, while acknowledging the plan’s benefits.
• Wang Xunmei, Lu Boyi, and Li Yu shared their personal reasons for joining the operation.
• Lin Pengpeng said she wanted to become stronger and quoted Pei Xianjue’s motto, “Burn yourself to light the world!”
• Feng Ling laughed from the carriage roof, and Lin Pengpeng stood up and demanded to know who had laughed.

Feng Ling was discovered hiding in the Hunters’ truck, but they refused to believe she was the famous Hunter Feng Ling. After she overwhelmed them with Mental Pressure, the group decided to continue toward Lorias while keeping her presence secret.

• The five Hunters found Feng Ling in their truck and questioned why she had secretly boarded it.
• Feng Ling explained that her body had temporarily shrunk because of her Card Ability, but the Hunters suspected she might be a Xenomorph and demanded proof of her identity.
• Feng Ling released Mental Pressure that left all five Hunters helpless, then demonstrated her power by summoning Human-faced Crows to snatch peanuts.
• The Hunters concluded that Feng Ling had a mental-type Card and warned her not to provoke the real Feng Ling, whom they still believed she was impersonating.
• Feng Ling returned to the truck bed, and Lu Boyi decided the group would continue to Lorias without reporting her to the Foundation.

The author reflected on losing the ability to write, struggling to finish earlier novels, and launching the current book in 2024 with the goals of rediscovering the desire to express herself and completing the story. She thanked her readers for their kindness and ended hopeful that she and her readers would do better in 2025.

• The author recalled starting a detective novel in late 2022, then struggling to write and taking eleven months to finish its 400,000 words.
• After finishing the detective novel, the author read and watched widely to seek inspiration, but she still could not write in 2024.
• The author left her quick-transmigration novel unfinished after completing only six of its planned stories.
• The author began drafting the current book in February 2024, revised it repeatedly, and released it in May with the goals of recovering her desire to express herself and finishing the story.
• The author thanked readers for their kind reviews and expressed hope that she and her readers would improve in 2025.

Feng Ling urged Ling Feiran to move with Feng Shao to Qingjiang City, but the couple argued over his job and their finances. Ling Feiran planned to ask Feng Ling to persuade Feng Shao, but Feng Ling entered the second line of defense and could no longer contact the outside world.

• Feng Ling called Ling Feiran and urged her to decide quickly about moving, offering to help pay for a car and their expenses.
• Ling Feiran told Feng Shao she wanted them to move and urged him to quit his Cleaner job, but he resisted because of their rent, finances, and his work.
• Feng Shao received an assignment and left before finishing dinner, while Ling Feiran put away the empty suitcase and decided to ask Feng Ling for help the next day.
• Feng Ling followed the five-person team into the second line of defense, where Huangfu Miaomiao's phone watch could not reach the outside world.

Wang Xunmei and the Hunters crossed the final checkpoint and entered the dangerous land beyond their country, following a military-marked detour toward Gowei City. They drove through an abandoned town where Feng Ling sensed the nearby Contaminants and went back to sleep.

• Wang Xunmei showed the military their documents and received a revised route that avoided a monster capable of creating swamps.
• Wang Xunmei and Zhang Lu led the trucks through the checkpoints, where the soldiers saluted them as they left their country.
• Wang Xunmei and the others followed the damaged road toward Gowei City and identified an unprotected, apparently abandoned town along the way.
• Wang Xunmei drove cautiously through the deserted town while Zhang Lu and Li Yu worried about what might be hiding there.
• Feng Ling used Third Perspective to survey the nearby Contaminants, called them weak, and went back to sleep.

The Hunters cleared a road obstruction, fought off Werewolves, and survived an attack by Strange Birds. After escaping into the Truck, the five celebrated their teamwork while Feng Ling watched from the roof.

• Wang Xunmei, Zhang Lu, Li Yu, and Lin Pengpeng got out to move a fallen billboard while Lu Boyi stayed in the Truck.
• Feng Ling sensed approaching Contaminants, and seven Werewolves rushed the group as they cleared the road.
• Lin Pengpeng and Wang Xunmei fought the Werewolves, Zhang Lu joined in, and Li Yu healed Wang Xunmei after she was bitten.
• More than a dozen Strange Birds attacked from above, and one seized Lin Pengpeng before Lu Boyi used a Flashbang to drive them off.
• The Hunters crowded into the cab, praised one another, and began discussing a team name as Feng Ling listened from the Truck's roof.

After escaping the Werewolves and Strange Birds with Woman Heads, Feng Ling received a keychain made from a miniature copy of one of her Scales. The Hunters encountered signs of a gigantic swamp creature before reaching a fortified small town, where they stopped for the night and heard a lively Tavern.

• Li Yu gave Feng Ling a keychain he called Feng Ling's Blessing, and she recognized its pendant as a miniature version of one of her Scales.
• Flocks of Strange Birds with Woman Heads returned to feed on the Werewolf corpses while the Hunters drove away.
• Lin Pengpeng, Lu Boyi, and Wang Xunmei discussed the local Maze and spotted hardened mud and tracks that suggested a huge swamp creature had crossed the road.
• The group met a Patrol Car from the Lorias Military Region and agreed to rest at a nearby camp rather than risk traveling after dark.
• The Truck reached a fenced small town with a busy Tavern, and Wang Xunmei invited Lin Pengpeng to go inside for food after cheers and applause erupted there.

Feng Ling learned that a group of Gene Infected planned to enter the Maze and asked Lu Boyi how they would cross the Swampland, revealing that she wanted to enter it too. The chapter ended with the Hunters questioning her reasons.

• Wang Xunmei, Zhang Lu, Feng Ling, and their companions settled in town, where Li Yu shared supplies and a Salmon Pie given to them by the locals.
• The group ate the pie together, and Lu Boyi announced that he would stay in Gowei City to search for his grandparents.
• Lu Boyi explained that a Swamp Zone protected the town from Maze creatures and pollution but made large-scale attacks on the Maze difficult.
• Feng Ling asked Lu Boyi how the Gene Infected planned to cross the Swampland to enter the Maze.
• Feng Ling admitted she wanted to enter the Maze, and Li Yu asked what she hoped to find there.

Feng Ling insisted on joining the Infected’s mission into the Maze, despite the Hunters’ warnings and General Andre’s refusal. After she urged Lu Boyi to explain that she could fight and only needed to cross the Swampland, the General replied, leaving Feng Ling waiting for a translation.

• Feng Ling agreed to volunteer for the support operation and asked Lu Boyi to find out its Action Plan.
• Wang Xunmei, Lin Pengpeng, Li Yu, and Zhang Lu tried to dissuade Feng Ling, and Lin Pengpeng suspected Feng Ling’s Corruption Value was out of control.
• Li Yu offered Feng Ling a metal Flood Dragon Serpent scale pendant for protection, but she refused it.
• Lu Boyi returned with General Andre, who welcomed Feng Ling and then refused to let her join the mission because it was expected to be deadly.
• Feng Ling asked Lu Boyi to tell General Andre that she was strong and wanted to learn how to cross the Swampland, then anxiously awaited his response.

Feng Ling decided to join the Logistics Team so she could enter the Maze, while Wang Xunmei chose to stay in Lorias and help. After the group agreed to deliver supplies to Gowei City and investigate Feng Ling’s identity discreetly, they feared others might target her if they learned her Corruption Value was out of control.

• Lu Boyi explained that General Andre had mistaken the group’s questions for a promise to help Lorias and had invited them to face the crisis together.
• Lin Pengpeng and Li Yu said their contracts required them to return home, while Lin Pengpeng argued that Lorias’s Swampland threat could eventually affect their country.
• Wang Xunmei decided to stay with Feng Ling, hoping to strengthen her high-tier Card by entering the Maze, despite the danger and the lack of Cards from ordinary Contaminants there.
• Lu Boyi told Feng Ling that they would go to Gowei City, where the Tidal Wave Operation’s contact point was located, and Feng Ling asked him to help her join the Logistics Team.
• After Feng Ling left to write Ye Zheng a letter, the others suspected she was the real Feng Ling and agreed to keep her identity secret in case anyone tried to take her Cards.

Feng Ling and the Hunters delivered supplies to Gowei City, where Feng Ling learned that Li Yu had struggled to digest her high-level Card and received Maze volunteer armbands. The Hunters prepared to leave for the Maze before the Tidal Wave Squad arrived.

• The Hunters delivered their supplies to the Foundation branch in Gowei City, and Lin Pengpeng and the others used a satellite phone to contact people back home.
• Feng Ling spotted the Tidal Wave Squad’s Blue Dots in the building and teased Li Yu after he said his improved ability let him reverse his luck.
• Li Yu admitted that digesting Feng Ling’s high-level Card had improved his ability only slightly, and Feng Ling explained that he had indigestion because the Card was above his level.
• Lu Boyi brought back Maze volunteer armbands, and Feng Ling took two, planning to bring one to Huangfu Miaomiao.
• After military trucks passed the building, Feng Ling asked whether the Hunters could leave, and Lu Boyi said volunteers could head to the Maze and await instructions before the Tidal Wave Squad arrived.

Feng Ling and Huangfu Miaomiao joined the volunteers bound for the Maze, while Lu Boyi and the others rode along to see them off. As they reached the military defenses around the Maze, they learned that the Infected were being sent into the dried swamp ahead.

• Feng Ling climbed onto a Military Truck without luggage, and Wang Xunmei followed with her backpack as residents cheered the volunteers onward.
• Huangfu Miaomiao worried about translation and contacting Qingjiang, so Feng Ling gave her an armband to wear as a mask.
• Lu Boyi, Lin Pengpeng, Li Yu, and Zhang Lu joined Feng Ling and Huangfu Miaomiao on the truck to see them to the Maze entrance.
• Lu Boyi explained that Lorias's military was bombarding the Swamp Zone to create a passage, but Monsters might flee outward if the Maze were attacked.
• The truck reached a vast Containment Net and a heavily armed military staging area, where a squad of about twenty Infected entered the dried Swampland.

Feng Ling waited with the Lorias Hunters for Tidal Wave Squad to arrive, eager to enter the Maze. When the foreign squad’s negotiations collapsed and the operation was postponed, the angry Hunters resolved to enter alone, prompting Lu Boyi to condemn their reckless pride.

• Lu Boyi explained that the Infected had entered the Maze to clear the swamp and prepare a path for the Hunters who followed.
• Feng Ling waited with Lu Boyi, Lin Pengpeng, Li Yu, Zhang Lu, Wang Xunmei, and Huangfu Miaomiao while they looked for Tidal Wave Squad.
• The military crowd erupted in anger after learning the operation had been postponed because negotiations with Tidal Wave Squad had failed.
• Lu Boyi told Feng Ling that the Lorias Hunters planned to enter the Maze alone, and he angrily warned that they were risking their lives out of pride.
• Feng Ling asked Lu Boyi why Hunters should not risk their lives fighting Xenomorphs and the Maze.

Feng Ling and the other Hunters waited for Tidal Wave Squad after negotiations secured the squad’s return to the Maze and its claim to the Card from War God Sventovit. As the group waited, a swarm of Syrin Birds poured out of the Maze.

• Feng Ling and Lu Boyi argued over the cost of sending young people to war, while Lin Pengpeng insisted everyone had a duty to help protect Lorias.
• Wang Xunmei decided to enter the Maze with Feng Ling as unrest spread among Hunters and Soldiers over Tidal Wave Squad’s canceled operation.
• Defense Minister Sergei offered to extend the Kesnorite Tungsten Mine rights by five years, and the foreign delegation secured Tidal Wave Squad’s claim to the Card from War God Sventovit.
• The news that Tidal Wave Squad would arrive in an hour eased the front-line crowd’s anger, and Feng Ling reluctantly waited outside the Maze.
• A Syrin Bird flew out of the Maze and was shot by a sniper, then a vast swarm of Syrin Birds emerged.

Humanity fought off a flock of Syrin Birds before facing a charging herd of giant Moose, with Feng Ling helping turn the battle around. Just as Lu Boyi began to hope they could win, cannon fire struck the Maze entrance and more Monsters emerged.

• Feng Ling used Mental Pressure while the army drove off most of the Syrin Birds.
• A herd of giant Moose charged from the Maze, crushing the front line of armored vehicles and killing Soldiers.
• Wang Xunmei pulled Lu Boyi out of the path of a falling jeep, and Li Yu brought him to a truck where he helped tend the wounded.
• Li Yu treated Lin Pengpeng, who praised Feng Ling's powerful Mental Pressure as the Hunters and Soldiers began defeating the Moose.
• A cannon shell struck the swamp at the Maze entrance, and Lu Boyi ran to warn that the cannons must not fire.

Feng Ling watched the army’s shelling reveal Leshy, a named Forest Demon that seemed able to control and revive Contaminants. After stopping a charging Moose with her Mental Pressure, she was pierced by its antler but remained conscious and pulled herself free.

• Feng Ling and Huangfu Miaomiao discussed the army’s shelling and the danger of widening the maze entrance.
• The smoke cleared, revealing the Forest Demon · Leshy emerging from the maze.
• Huangfu Miaomiao photographed Leshy so she could ask Li Qing about the unusual named creature.
• A dead Moose revived and charged at Feng Ling, who stopped it with her maximum Mental Pressure but could not halt its momentum.
• The Moose’s antler pierced Feng Ling’s chest, and Li Yu rushed to help before Feng Ling gripped the antlers and began pulling herself free.

Feng Ling advanced on the Forest Demon, killing the Moose and fending off its attacks as other Hunters joined her. Just as she reached the monster, it pinned her feet with thorn-covered tendrils and revealed its writhing, earthworm-like tongue.

• Feng Ling killed the immobilized Moose by driving its broken antler into its eye, then decided to attack the Forest Demon without waiting for the Tidal Wave Squad.
• Huangfu Miaomiao could not contact the Daoist, while Lu Boyi, Wang Xunmei, Zhang Lu, and Lin Pengpeng reacted to Feng Ling's advance; Wang Xunmei, Zhang Lu, and Lin Pengpeng joined her.
• General Sergei learned from drone footage that Feng Ling was a volunteer Hunter from a neighboring country and discussed recruiting Hunters for Lorias.
• Feng Ling dodged the revived Moose's charge, cut its neck with her Bone Blade, and brought down the Syrin Birds with Mental Pressure as she closed in on the Forest Demon.
• The Forest Demon pierced Feng Ling's feet with thorn-covered tendrils that absorbed her blood, then revealed its beard was a mass of writhing, earthworm-like tendrils.

Feng Ling killed the Forest Demon and absorbed its energy, then the Hunters’ camp was attacked by Syrin Birds that carried Li Yu into the Maze. Lin Pengpeng, Wang Xunmei, and Zhang Lu rushed in after him, and Feng Ling prepared to follow after Huangfu Miaomiao announced that Li Qing had replied.

• Feng Ling endured the Forest Demon’s attacks, broke through its thorns, and drained its energy until it withered and died.
• The Forest Demon shed a Card, which Feng Ling collected using Wang Xunmei’s phone and told her not to turn in.
• Syrin Birds descended to feed on corpses and attacked the wounded, carrying Li Yu away despite the Hunters’ efforts to stop them.
• Lin Pengpeng, Wang Xunmei, and Zhang Lu entered the Maze to rescue Li Yu, and Feng Ling decided to follow them.
• Huangfu Miaomiao told Feng Ling that the Taoist priest had replied.

Feng Ling and Huangfu Miaomiao entered the Lorias Maze after a Syrin Bird abducted Li Yu and two injured people. Feng Ling led Lin Pengpeng, Wang Xunmei, and Zhang Lu onward by following Moose hoofprints, promising to try to save their companion if they found him.

• Li Qing explained that Cards left behind after the Labyrinth Master died could be claimed by Maze creatures, and warned Feng Ling not to digest the Witch Doctor Card.
• Li Qing advised Feng Ling and Huangfu Miaomiao to consult someone familiar with Slavic mythology before entering the Maze to help them find the Idol.
• Lu Boyi reported that a Syrin Bird had taken Li Yu and two injured people, then discovered Feng Ling and Huangfu Miaomiao had entered the Maze.
• Feng Ling told Lin Pengpeng, Wang Xunmei, and Zhang Lu that they should turn back, but promised to try to save their companion if she encountered him.
• Feng Ling followed Moose hoofprints through the muddy Maze, and Lin Pengpeng decided to go with her.

The Tidal Wave Squad arrived and interrogated Lu Boyi about the two unexpected people in the convoy, suspecting Feng Ling of being a Xenomorph. Lu Boyi realized Feng Ling’s Corruption Value might be out of control and feared a clash between her and the squad.

• The military detained Lu Boyi while it regrouped after the battle, and the Tidal Wave Squad arrived at the command post.
• The squad’s blond captain and cloaked teammate questioned Lu Boyi about the two people added to the shipment’s transport group.
• The teammates said they detected a lingering Xenomorph aura and suspected Feng Ling, who had grown from a child into an adult during the battle, was a Xenomorph.
• Lu Boyi defended Feng Ling’s unusual transformation as a special Card Ability but withheld her identity.
• The blond captain and his teammate left to investigate Feng Ling, while Lu Boyi worried that her Corruption Value had changed and prayed she would find the Idol safely.

Feng Ling led Lin Pengpeng, Wang Xunmei, Zhang Lu, and Huangfu Miaomiao through the Maze while trying to reach Li Yu, whose position was moving farther away. After repeatedly finding their routes swallowed by swamps, Feng Ling headed toward a nest of more than thirty Contaminants in hopes they might reveal a passable path.

• Feng Ling used a rope to swing across a swamp, told the others that Li Yu was alive and about three kilometers away, and helped the group cross.
• Wang Xunmei showed Feng Ling an eerie edited video about her, and Feng Ling joked that she would silence anyone who revealed her whereabouts.
• Huangfu Miaomiao failed to swing across the swamp, so Feng Ling carried her over with her Fangs and Claws before leading everyone onward.
• Feng Ling and the others spent most of the day searching for a route, but the paths repeatedly disappeared into swamps as Li Yu's Blue Dot moved farther away.
• Feng Ling spotted a nest of more than thirty Contaminants and decided to investigate, hoping they knew where a passable path was.

Feng Ling and her group encountered curious Rusalkas in a swampland Maze and followed their gestures along a winding river, hoping the mermaids would lead them to Li Yu or the correct path. As they grew frustrated with the endless waterways, six enormous Blue Dots appeared in Feng Ling’s Third Perspective.

• Feng Ling led the group through the swamp to a lake where they spotted a Mermaid hiding among the cattails.
• Lin Pengpeng identified the mermaids as Rusalkas and described legends about their behavior, while Zhang Lu worried they might lure him into the water.
• More Rusalkas appeared and gestured toward a direction, so Feng Ling decided to follow them through the reeds and into a river channel.
• Feng Ling’s group traveled through the winding river for over ten minutes without finding anything unusual, and Feng Ling grew impatient.
• Feng Ling saw six very large Blue Dots appear in Third Perspective.

Feng Ling realized the mermaids had lured the group to a lake, where she began transforming to attack them. A Water Monster ambushed Huangfu Miaomiao, but the Flood Dragon Serpent disrupted the fight, throwing mermaids onto shore for Huangfu to kill and dragging the Water Monster out of the lake.

• Feng Ling spotted Tidal Wave Squad flying north in a straight line while her group continued following the mermaids through the swamp.
• The mermaids led Feng Ling's group to a circular lake, and Feng Ling noticed they had vanished underwater and told Lin Pengpeng to move away.
• Feng Ling entered the water and began transforming into her Second Form, while Huangfu Miaomiao reached the island and found human belongings instead of treasure.
• The island turned out to be a Water Monster, which swallowed Huangfu Miaomiao into the lake; she shifted into Ghost Shadow Form and saw bones and mermaids on the lakebed.
• The Flood Dragon Serpent struck the Water Monster and hurled Huangfu Miaomiao and four mermaids onto shore, where Huangfu killed a mermaid for a 30-point reward.
• The Flood Dragon Serpent overwhelmed the Water Monster, tore it apart, dragged it ashore, and slapped its mouth.