Chapter Summaries

Feng Ling entered the amniotic-fluid lake to suppress the creatures beneath it while Ye Zheng was ambushed by Drunkard. With Cow Knife and the Human-faced Crows helping her counter the archer, Ye Zheng waited for a chance to close in as Drunkard left Meteor and summoned a giant skeleton.

• Feng Ling identified the lake as amniotic fluid and submerged herself to suppress what was moving beneath it.
• Drunkard shot Ye Zheng with a bone arrow, and Ye Zheng pulled it free despite the spreading death energy.
• The Green Weasel urged Ye Zheng to wait for low tide and use Third Child to block Drunkard's line of sight.
• Cow Knife charged toward Drunkard, dodged his arrow, and helped the Human-faced Crows swarm between him and Ye Zheng.
• Drunkard told Meteor he would not run away again, then left the Hive's core and summoned a giant skeleton that blasted the Human-faced Crows away.

Drunkard unleashed Styx Reverse Flow, reviving the dead as Mummies and trapping Ye Zheng in a desperate fight. Ye Zheng destroyed the spell with Angel’s Wrath, but Cow Knife struck down Drunkard as he tried to kill her.

• Drunkard used Ye Zheng’s shell to break her Mental Pressure, then fell into the lake as the explosion destroyed her skeleton monster.
• Drunkard broke her bow and arrow and activated Styx Reverse Flow, raising the dead Contaminants and bones as Mummies.
• Ye Zheng sent Green Weasel away with Third Child, ordered Cow Knife to hide underwater, and charged Drunkard through the Mummies.
• Ye Zheng invoked Seraph and unleashed Angel’s Wrath, destroying Drunkard’s black death energy, skeleton monster, and most of the Mummies.
• Drunkard approached the helpless Ye Zheng, but Cow Knife leaped from the water and tore open his throat.

Feng Ling reached the Hive’s core and found Meteor near death in Huangfu Miaomiao’s body, but Meteor had set a trap to kill her. As Meteor revived the Short-legged Sheep, Feng Ling lay decapitated and realized this was not how she was supposed to die.

• Feng Ling crossed the Hive’s underwater core, felt an unsettling sense of coming home, and resisted the Hive’s urge to advance.
• Feng Ling followed the Hive Remains upward and found Meteor dying in Huangfu Miaomiao’s body, with both feet severed to prevent the Demon Contract from making her switch bodies.
• Meteor admitted Drunkard had cut off Huangfu Miaomiao’s feet, then threatened to kill Miaomiao with a dagger.
• Feng Ling attacked Meteor’s wrist, but Meteor used a Demon Claw to rip out Feng Ling’s organs and cut off her head.
• Meteor dragged out the Short-legged Sheep and injected it with a Recovery Potion while Feng Ling watched, thinking that this was not how she died.

Feng Ling died in the Hive Remains after attempting to digest the God of Spring and Life, while Meteor tried to recover from the battle and prepare for the final step of her plan. The Mother Nest energy in Feng Ling’s corpse awakened the Contaminants, and Short-legged Sheep suddenly died, leaving Meteor surrounded by signs that events were spiraling out of control.

• Feng Ling’s consciousness faded as her body fell into the lake, and the game system recorded that she had digested the God of Spring and Life and become Root of All Things · Mother Nest.
• Meteor treated Short-legged Sheep’s wounds and reviewed her plan, noting that Drunkard was offline and Cang Wu was still online.
• Wind and rain swept through the Hive Remains as Meteor suspected the labyrinth was reacting to Feng Ling’s death.
• Meteor realized that Feng Ling’s blood had awakened the Contaminants in the lake, then discovered that Short-legged Sheep had stopped breathing and a Card had separated from its body.
• Meteor feared Short-legged Sheep might have escaped by logging off, then resolved to leave the Maze as thunder, rain, and rampaging Contaminants intensified.

Pei Xianjue witnessed the Hive Labyrinth spill into the real world as its Contaminants fled, while the game announced that Huangfu Miaomiao had reached the top of the rankings and settled the Points. Huangfu Miaomiao realized Feng Ling might have died and that the fleeing creatures were heading to protect the Life Source Pillar.

• Pei Xianjue saw the Contaminants pour out of the Hive Labyrinth as the labyrinth space overlapped with the real world and the Snow Mountain vanished.
• Pei Xianjue suspected the Short-legged Sheep had died, returned to the Teleportation Array, and pulled Huangfu Miaomiao from the Crystal Coffin.
• Huangfu Miaomiao received a system message announcing that she had reached the top of the rankings and that Points settlement was complete.
• Pei Xianjue urged Huangfu Miaomiao to help find Feng Ling, and Huangfu Miaomiao realized the settlement might mean Feng Ling had died.
• Huangfu Miaomiao told Pei Xianjue that Kite and Cat Spider were rushing to protect the Life Source Pillar so the Mother Nest could revive.

He Xing Luo learned that Number 77 expected to log off and received an Ancient Sea Hydra card as a farewell gift, but Number 77 remained trapped. Meanwhile, Huangfu Miaomiao and Pei Xianjue found that the Hive Labyrinth had merged with the real world and feared Qingjiang City was under threat.

• He Xing Luo went to the Research Institute laboratory after Number 77 demanded to see her.
• Number 77 gave He Xing Luo an Ancient Sea Hydra card, which could let her living-puppet body regenerate, and said it was finally able to log off.
• Number 77 failed to leave the game and broke down in sorrow.
• Huangfu Miaomiao found that her exclusive reward message was gray and unusable, while Meteor remained first in the Points rankings.
• Pei Xianjue showed Huangfu Miaomiao that the Saint Imis Mountain Range had disappeared and the Hive Labyrinth had merged with the real world.
• Huangfu Miaomiao and Pei Xianjue decided to find Zhengzheng and the Daoist Master, then return to protect Qingjiang City's Life Source Pillar, but they could not call Qingjiang during the Pollution Spread.

After Feng Ling’s main body died, the Mother Nest Creations went out of control, and Pei Xianjue and the others rushed to coordinate defenses and protect the Nest Body in Qingjiang. At an emergency meeting, officials raised destroying the Nest Body as a last resort, leaving Pei Xianjue alarmed.

• Green Weasel explained that Feng Ling’s death had activated the Nest Body and drawn the Hive Labyrinth into the real world, while uncontrolled Contaminants spread across the continent and beyond.
• Pei Xianjue called Su Yuqing, learned that Hive Ecopark was already under alert, and promised to send reinforcements as the Nest Body continued to pulse.
• Ye Zheng estimated that they might need to hold the situation for at least a week, while Pei Xianjue arranged support and awaited satellite tracking of the Contaminants.
• At the emergency conference, Mei Junyu ordered personnel sent to Qingjiang and Observers assigned to monitor the Nest Body.
• An elderly official proposed adding destruction of the Nest Body to the emergency plan as a final measure, and Pei Xianjue and many attendees reacted with alarm.

Pei Xianjue struggled with the choice between protecting Feng Ling and preventing the Contaminants from reaching Qingjiang, while Huangfu Miaomiao urged her to act. Pei Xianjue decided to seek help from the Lorias Ministry of Foreign Affairs, as the Nest Body in Qingjiang continued to grow and damage the surrounding area.

• Pei Xianjue learned that Contaminants were approaching from overseas and feared they would reach Qingjiang before Feng Ling recovered.
• Pei Xianjue told Huangfu Miaomiao that the Supervision Bureau might destroy the Nest Body to prevent contamination, even though Feng Ling would die with it.
• Huangfu Miaomiao accused Pei Xianjue of failing to use her power to help Feng Ling and left to find Zhengzheng.
• Pei Xianjue stopped Huangfu Miaomiao and called the Lorias Ministry of Foreign Affairs, declaring that they would try to overcome nature.
• In Qingjiang City's Hive Ecopark, the Nest Body expanded and cracked the ground, while sewage flooded the area after underground pipes ruptured.

Ye Zheng and Zhou Diao discovered that poisoned sewage was rotting the Nest Body, putting Feng Ling’s recovery at risk. As reinforcements arrived, the teams prepared to treat the Nest Body and search for the Xenomorph responsible.

• Ye Zheng arrived with a support squad from the Quarantine Zone and found that the Nest Body had turned black and smelled rotten.
• Green Weasel showed Ye Zheng that the Nest Body could heal its damaged surface, and suggested Meteor had prepared poison to restrain the Mother Nest.
• Zhou Diao and Lin Pengpeng found poisoned water in the underground parking lot, and Ye Zheng called for detoxification support and a search for the Xenomorph.
• A member of Lin Pengpeng’s squad offered to detoxify the Nest Body, while Zhou Diao called for a pump and more support.
• Xu Yiming arrived with reinforcements, and Hunters from Star Hunter International came after Pei Xianjue posted a call online.
• Zhou Diao organized those with healing or detoxification abilities, while Lin Pengpeng led the others in a thorough search.

At Hive Ecopark, Zhou Diao and the others struggled to keep the Nest Body detoxified while searching for the poison source. Ling Feiran arrived at dawn and proposed using Mental Pressure to flush out the hidden Xenomorph.

• Lin Pengpeng organized staggered searches while Zhou Diao guarded the building and healing specialists treated the Nest Body.
• Ye Zheng warned Zhou Diao to preserve the healers’ strength because the poison source remained unknown and the Nest Body could be poisoned again.
• The Nest Body’s Feather Silk blackened again, forcing the exhausted team to alternate detoxification shifts through the night as their supplies ran out.
• Ling Feiran arrived with believers from New Paradise, collected toxins in the basement, and learned that the poison source had not been found.
• Ling Feiran suggested leaving team members with Mental Pressure in different zones to frighten the concealed Xenomorph into revealing itself.

Ling Feiran helped the team discover that a giant Leech hiding in a puddle had poisoned the Nest Body, but it escaped by melting into water. As the team searched Qingjiang City's waterways, Ye Zheng learned that explosives might be detonated in the city before Feng Ling could emerge, while Su Yuqing suggested they could delay the detonation.

• Ling Feiran absorbed toxin from the Nest Body, sensed an enemy hiding in a puddle, and told Zhou Diao to test it with Mental Pressure.
• Zhou Diao's Mental Pressure forced a giant Leech out of the water, but it sprayed corrosive black water before melting away through the floor.
• Ling Feiran warned the team that the Leech could hide in water and stayed behind with her believers while Zhou Diao and Lin Pengpeng organized a search of the Eco-Park's waterways.
• Ye Zheng watched the Eco-Park's search efforts as Su Yuqing told her explosives had been moved to a warehouse and might be detonated in Qingjiang City after a Ring Conference vote.
• Ye Zheng said Feng Ling needed seven days to emerge from the Nest Body, but Su Yuqing said the detonation could be delayed because its final execution was in their hands.

Cang Wu’s attempt to poison the Nest Body in Qingjiang City was discovered, and he was driven from the ecopark by Ling Feiran and the Guardians. Exhausted and trapped by a team of Inspectors and hunters, he told Meteor that they had lost before leaping from a building.

• Cang Wu poisoned the Nest Body while evading its Guardians, but Ling Feiran arrived and forced him to retreat through the underground pipes.
• Cang Wu hid in an evacuated residence to recover, then discovered a group of elite-level pursuers had tracked him to the building.
• A Frost Hunter sealed the building’s lower floors with ice while Tiger’s Mental Pressure drove Cang Wu toward the top floor.
• Cang Wu saw Inspectors and hunters surrounding the building, messaged Meteor that they had lost and that the whole world was helping Feng Ling, then jumped from the balcony.

Meteor accepted that she had lost and decided to find Huangfu Miaomiao to swap bodies. Meanwhile, Lorias and Ingland sent Infected reinforcements to Hive Ecopark as Qingjiang City awaited the Ring Conference vote on detonating the Nest Body, where Feng Ling suddenly spoke up and demanded to know what they planned to blow up.

• Meteor read the messages declaring defeat, then decided that her next step was to find Huangfu Miaomiao and swap bodies.
• Tiger arrived in Qingjiang City with a team of Infected from Lorias, strengthening security around Hive Ecopark.
• Leland and Tidal Wave Squad arrived from Ingland, and Leland publicly announced his support for Feng Ling before placing roses atop the food beside the Nest Body.
• Ye Zheng worried that the Ring Conference might vote to detonate the Nest Body, while Su Yuqing reassured her that they would avoid it unless there was no other choice.
• Feng Ling spoke from inside the Nest Body, demanded to know what they meant to detonate, and accused Su Yuqing of taking her earlier joke seriously.

Feng Ling awakened but remained inside the Nest Body, where she revealed she could not control the Hive Contaminants directly. She offered to guide the defenders with the Eye of Horus and restored their stamina before the midnight patrols began.

• Feng Ling refused to leave the Nest Body, and Ye Zheng learned she could not control the approaching Contaminants.
• Feng Ling offered to use the Eye of Horus to guide the patrols, easing Ye Zheng's concern about threats arriving by river and sky.
• Su Yuqing brought the Observer to examine Feng Ling, while Feng Ling demanded they not blow her up.
• Kite and Third Child arrived with Cow Knife, and the returning Contaminants drove Ye Zheng and Green Weasel away from the building.
• Feng Ling gathered the patrol team at midnight, gave them a stamina-restoring buff, and sent them off for what she called carnival night.

Pei Xianjue found her voice carrying weight at the Ring Conference and a Pei Clan dinner, then returned to discover Huangfu Miaomiao missing. Three hours earlier, Meteor had arrived and begun negotiating the return of their bodies, leaving Huangfu facing an unknown condition.

• Mei Junyu defended Feng Ling at the Ring Conference, and Pei Xianjue realized she no longer needed to defer automatically to authority.
• Pei Xianjue briefed Pei Clan elders and relatives, who listened closely as she explained the meeting’s political undercurrents.
• When Pei Xianjue returned to the Quarantine Zone, she found Huangfu Miaomiao gone and asked Baozi to check security footage and departing trains.
• Meteor arrived at Huangfu Miaomiao’s room and explained that Huangfu would have to lead the consciousness exchange to restore their bodies.
• Huangfu Miaomiao refused to agree to any condition before hearing it, and Meteor reminded her that she believed Meteor was already dead.

Meteor asked Huangfu Miaomiao to read her memories so she could pass on her game Keys before dying. After Miaomiao remembered them, she revealed that Meteor had briefly activated the game settlement system when she killed Feng Ling.

• Meteor offered Huangfu Miaomiao her game Keys and asked her to remember them before Meteor died.
• Meteor asked Miaomiao to investigate Short-legged Sheep after going offline, but said the choice would be Miaomiao’s.
• Miaomiao held Meteor’s hand and saw memories of the Incubation Center, the Players’ deaths and betrayals, and Meteor’s lost friends.
• Meteor warned Miaomiao to keep the Keys secret because they could help her team earn Tickets and preserve their chance to enter Upper City.
• Miaomiao told Meteor that she had succeeded once: killing Feng Ling briefly activated the game settlement system, but Meteor missed her chance to go offline because she had not switched bodies with Miaomiao.

Meteor and Huangfu Miaomiao swapped bodies, and Meteor prepared to leave after warning Miaomiao to return to the real world. As Miaomiao escorted her away, she realized that helping Meteor meant she had already betrayed Feng Ling and could no longer go back.

• Huangfu Miaomiao admitted she sympathized with Meteor and promised to keep the Keys secret, then offered to help her obtain genetic repair surgery.
• Meteor guided Huangfu Miaomiao through activating God's Return, and they exchanged bodies.
• Huangfu Miaomiao checked her restored body and used Restorative on her damaged feet while Meteor urged her to log off soon.
• Huangfu Miaomiao used the Gargoyle's concealment skill to escort Meteor from the Quarantine Zone to Mogu Country across the Molian River.
• Huangfu Miaomiao asked Meteor whether she was a traitor, and Meteor said she could not judge her choices.
• Huangfu Miaomiao broke down, realizing that helping Meteor meant she had betrayed Feng Ling and could not go back.

After emerging from the Nest Body with a stronger presence and new abilities, Feng Ling flew off with Ye Zheng and Cow Knife to search for Huangfu Miaomiao, whose trail led to an overseas tourist attraction. Green Weasel brought news from Daoist Master that Miaomiao had just logged off, leaving Feng Ling and Ye Zheng without a clear way to find her.

• Feng Ling emerged from the Nest Body after nine days, and Zhou Diao and Lin Pengpeng welcomed her as she showed off her new aura and ankle-length hair.
• Feng Ling declined a celebration and left on Kite with Ye Zheng and Cow Knife to search for the remaining Contaminants and Huangfu Miaomiao.
• Feng Ling explained that Pei Xianjue had found surveillance footage showing Huangfu Miaomiao with Meteor at an overseas scenic area, and she planned to search nearby.
• Green Weasel showed Feng Ling a message from Daoist Master that Huangfu Miaomiao had just logged off.

Feng Ling learned that the game system could rebuild the Hive Labyrinth and asked Meteor how to end the game. She proposed swapping bodies with Meteor to reach the Players’ side and shut down the system, leaving Ye Zheng eager to try the plan.

• Feng Ling pressed Meteor for a way to stop the game, and Meteor said the control system was in Upper City, which neither of them could reach without trusting each other.
• Feng Ling ordered Meteor to devise a mutually trustworthy way to shut down the game and threatened to torture her if she failed.
• Cow Knife, Kite, and the Human-faced Crows returned to Qingjiang, while Ye Zheng entered the Grove and found Feng Ling with Meteor.
• Feng Ling told Ye Zheng that the system might rebuild the Hive Labyrinth near either the Abyss Boss or the Mother Nest’s Life Source Pillar, and Green Weasel confirmed the announcement.
• Feng Ling proposed swapping bodies with Meteor to reach the Players’ side and shut down the game system, and Ye Zheng agreed that the plan could work.

Ye Zheng chose to take Meteor’s place in the Player’s world, but Feng Ling secretly exchanged bodies with Meteor and killed Ye Zheng before dying herself. Reborn as a Player in Meteor’s body, Feng Ling logged out to enter the Xenomorph world, leaving Ye Zheng her final message.

• Ye Zheng took the Demon King card and set Feng Ling as its Reincarnation Vessel while struggling through the card’s painful digestion.
• Feng Ling stabbed Ye Zheng, and Meteor caught Green Weasel as the body exchange began.
• Meteor realized the Fate Spindle had shown her killing Ye Zheng because she was no longer Feng Ling.
• Feng Ling awoke in Meteor’s body, confirmed her identity to Green Weasel, and recorded a final message for Ye Zheng.
• Feng Ling told Green Weasel to handle the cleanup and logged out to travel to the Xenomorph world.