Chapter Summaries

Huangfu Miaomiao searched a KTV through its ventilation ducts and discovered a large gathering of Players, including Tall Thin Woman and people discussing Starlight’s plans to kill Crow. After they spotted her, she fled through the ducts as they tore through the ceilings in pursuit, escaping the KTV into the glare of an approaching vehicle.

• Huangfu Miaomiao crawled through the KTV’s ventilation system but initially found only empty rooms and ordinary customers.
• Feng Ling and Li Qing watched Huangfu Miaomiao record several rooms filled with apparent Xenomorphs, and Feng Ling sent Xu Yiming to drive the Truck to the KTV.
• Huangfu Miaomiao overheard five Players discussing Crow, Fisherman, and Starlight, then recognized Tall Thin Woman among them.
• One of the Players spotted Huangfu Miaomiao, and the group attacked her while she fled through the ducts and more Players joined the hunt.
• Huangfu Miaomiao rushed through the KTV’s glass revolving door and into the light as a car horn blared beside her.

Feng Ling and Ye Zheng were surrounded by more than forty Players outside Haoge KTV, but the Players fled when they realized two Bosses were in the truck. Ye Zheng slaughtered most of them before Feng Ling stopped her and found two survivors to question.

• Huangfu Miaomiao reunited with Feng Ling inside Xu Yiming’s truck as more than forty Players surrounded it outside Haoge KTV.
• Feng Ling messaged Han Xu to keep the night Patrol Squad away, while Xu Yiming questioned why she was not requesting reinforcements.
• Creatures tore open the truck’s cargo compartment, revealing Feng Ling and Ye Zheng as two Bosses and sending the Players fleeing.
• Ye Zheng attacked the Players, and Feng Ling used her Mental Pressure to immobilize those who had survived her assault.
• Feng Ling stopped Ye Zheng from killing everyone and found a tall, thin woman shielding a young man in a headscarf; she left both alive for questioning.

Feng Ling and Ye Zheng attacked a Xenomorph base, but a long-haired Xenomorph escaped after its companion sacrificed herself to distract them. Feng Ling revealed she had Marked the escapee so they could use it to find another base.

• Feng Ling released her Mental Pressure and demanded that the Xenomorphs reveal the Maze entrance, but the Tall Thin Woman and the boy in the headscarf instead recognized and blamed Li Qing, the Labyrinth Administrator.
• The Tall Thin Woman attacked Li Qing as a diversion, allowing the boy to animate Xenomorph corpses with his hair and flee; Ye Zheng killed the woman after she warned him to run.
• Feng Ling cut down the animated Xenomorphs and, with Huangfu Miaomiao's grenade, destroyed the bodies and the Nematodes controlling them.
• Ye Zheng raged that Feng Ling had let the boy escape, while Feng Ling sent Han Xu photos of the aftermath and told Ye Zheng that the escapee could lead them to another base.
• Feng Ling revealed that she had Marked the fleeing Xenomorph, explaining that tracking it could yield another base rather than just one more Card.

Feng Ling chose Cards for another round of Nest Building while Han Xu arranged her a replacement Truck and lodging after the battle. As she prepared to leave, she unexpectedly recognized Feng Shao, a childhood companion from the Orphanage, among the Cleaners.

• Li Qing found no Eye of Horus but recommended several Cards, and Feng Ling took the Undead Raven and Undead Knight for Nest Building.
• Feng Ling invited Xu Yiming and Huangfu Miaomiao to choose Cards, then Han Xu arrived with the Surveillance Team and Cleaners to investigate and clear the scene.
• Feng Ling asked Han Xu for a mechanic, vehicle modifications, and a place to stay, and he arranged a replacement Truck with ventilation openings.
• Feng Ling warned Han Xu that staying in Guangshan City could bring trouble, while he worried about the ongoing threat from Monsters.
• As Feng Ling prepared to leave in the new Truck, she recognized Feng Shao among the Cleaners.

Feng Ling used Mother's Longing to track the fleeing Gu Worm Master and discovered it was escaping toward a safe residence. There, Fisherman reunited with Starlight, who warned him that Feng Ling had Marked him and urged him to flee.

• Feng Ling reunited with Feng Shao, exchanged numbers with him, and learned that he and Ling Feiran were together.
• Feng Ling used Mother's Longing from the truck to follow the Gu Worm Master's trail and wondered why the Tall Thin Woman had helped it escape.
• Fisherman destroyed a surveillance camera, reached an apartment, and broke down as he told Starlight that Madman, Sister Man, and the others were dead.
• Starlight told Fisherman that Feng Ling had Marked him and would find the safe residence soon.
• Fisherman demanded another Squirrel to seek revenge, but Starlight refused and told him to escape toward the Dock or log out.

Feng Ling tracked the Gu Worm Master and found the Man in Wheelchair dead after he logged out, taking the Eye of Horus Card with him. She returned to the Truck with a note taunting her and called Han Xu to ask whether the Xenomorph had been caught.

• Feng Ling realized the Man in Wheelchair could see her from kilometers away, but chose to keep following the Gu Worm Master and asked Han Xu to track the Xenomorph.
• Feng Ling warned Han Xu that the Xenomorph carried the Gu Worm Master Card and could control living creatures with Horsehair Worms, so his Patrol Squad should keep its distance.
• Feng Ling entered the apartment and found the Man in Wheelchair dead, with no Card left behind because he had logged out.
• Feng Ling examined the man's wounds and concluded that creating the Eye of Horus required him to carve flesh from his own body.
• Feng Ling found a note reading “You lost,” returned to the Truck, and called Han Xu to ask whether the Xenomorph had been caught.

Feng Ling learned that the escaped Xenomorph had fled into a flooded, unfinished Subway Station and decided to go in after it. She also kept her true reason for letting it escape a secret from Ye Zheng, while resolving to catch it before it could cause harm.

• Ye Zheng angrily accused Feng Ling of letting the Xenomorph escape, and Feng Ling calmed her by explaining the circumstances and the operation's overall success.
• Feng Ling left Li Qing and Xu Yiming in the truck with Ye Zheng, then went with Huangfu Miaomiao to meet Han Xu.
• Feng Ling admitted privately to Huangfu Miaomiao that she had let the Xenomorph escape because she was focused on finding the Eye of Horus, and asked her to keep it secret from Ye Zheng.
• Huangfu Miaomiao warned that the Star Society might retaliate against Feng Ling, and Feng Ling said they needed to catch the escaped Xenomorph that night.
• Han Xu explained that a sniper had wounded the Xenomorph and it had fled into a flooded Subway Station, where bugs filled the water.
• Feng Ling entered the Subway Station to pursue the Xenomorph, and Han Xu tried to stop her because of the bugs in the water.

Feng Ling entered the flooded subway station with Huangfu Miaomiao to search for the Xenomorph, fighting off black Nematodes and using Grenades to flush out its hiding place. After a suspicious splash interrupted Feng Ling's call with Li Qing, Ye Zheng tried to rush in and attacked Huangfu Miaomiao when she blocked her.

• Feng Ling covered herself in White Scale Armor and entered the subway station with Huangfu Miaomiao despite Han Xu's warning.
• Black Nematodes swarmed toward Feng Ling and Huangfu Miaomiao in the standing water, but Feng Ling's armor protected her from them.
• Li Qing told Feng Ling that the Gu Worm Master Card could hatch a Bug King whose abilities depended on the Cards it had digested.
• Feng Ling threw two Grenades into the water, and a suspicious splash followed the second explosion as her phone went silent.
• Ye Zheng tried to leave the truck to help Feng Ling, but Huangfu Miaomiao and Xu Yiming blocked her.
• Ye Zheng seized Huangfu Miaomiao by the neck and lifted her into the air.

After Huangfu Miaomiao stopped Ye Zheng from rushing into the infested Subway Station, Xu Yiming sedated him. In the Tunnel, Feng Ling fought the Gu Worm Master's Bug King and pursued it toward the next station, sensing that its flight concealed a larger scheme.

• Ye Zheng accused Huangfu Miaomiao of protecting a Xenomorph and tried to leave, but she warned him that the Subway Station's bugs could parasitize him and help the Gu Worm Master control him.
• Xu Yiming pulled Huangfu Miaomiao away from Ye Zheng and injected him with a sedative while Li Qing tried to calm him.
• Feng Ling was dragged into the Tunnel's filthy water, escaped the Nematodes, and spotted the Gu Worm Master riding a massive Soft-bodied Crawler.
• The Gu Worm Master fled through the Tunnel on the Bug King and taunted Feng Ling, who pursued him using her Spikes and Fangs and Claws.
• Feng Ling severed part of the Bug King's body, which dissolved into Nematodes, then avoided them and continued after the fleeing creature toward the next Subway Station.

Feng Ling and Duan Fei fought the giant black bug outside Nanhai Temple Subway Station, but Feng Ling discovered the Xenomorph had escaped. She chased its Red Mist trail toward South Sea Wharf as Han Xu mobilized the Water Patrol and Cleaners.

• Feng Ling warned Han Xu that the Xenomorph was heading toward the subway station, and he said Duan Fei and the Special Forces were guarding it.
• Feng Ling chased the black bug through the station but could not catch it before it reached the exit, where Duan Fei attacked it with a flamethrower.
• When the bug pinned Duan Fei, Feng Ling pulled him free and attacked the creature with her Fangs and Claws, Bone Blades, and Spikes until it collapsed.
• Feng Ling burned the Nematodes and searched the charred bug but found no sign of the Gu Worm Master.
• Feng Ling followed the Red Mist trail and realized the Xenomorph had escaped toward South Sea Wharf, then borrowed a Patrol Car to pursue it.
• Duan Fei called Han Xu, who ordered him to follow and said he would alert the Water Patrol; Duan Fei also reminded him to call the Cleaners.

Feng Ling pursued the Xenomorph to the dock and stopped its escape by transforming underwater and crushing its Yacht. After rescuing three people and collecting the Xenomorph’s Cards, she returned to her companions and proposed searching for the Maze the next day.

• Feng Ling realized the Xenomorph had used the Bug King as a distraction to escape to the dock, and she chased it there.
• Feng Ling leaped into the river in her Second Form and crushed the Xenomorph’s Yacht, then brought three unconscious people ashore.
• Feng Ling collected the two Cards that separated from the Xenomorph’s body, while Han Xu’s teams treated the survivors and cleaned the area.
• Feng Ling returned to the Truck and explained that her Second Form worked best in water; Xu Yiming said they had stopped Ye Zheng from entering the Subway Station.
• Feng Ling told her companions to have Little Skeleton search for the Maze and to contact the Crow the next day about finding its entrance.

Feng Ling and the others reviewed her fight with the Xenomorph and discussed how Star Society was spreading Maze pollution. Ye Zheng revealed that organizations around the world knew about the threat but lacked a way to control its spread.

• Feng Ling recounted swimming after a Yacht, killing the Xenomorph aboard, and taking its Cards, which she planned to show Li Qing.
• Li Qing explained that Players could leave only by paying a Points penalty and losing their stored items, and he compared the process to paying to exit a Gold Mine.
• Li Qing said Star Society sought to spread Contaminants by opening Mazes, and he reported that 27 Mazes had been conquered while 41 Administrators had been killed, leaving 53 safe Mazes.
• Xu Yiming worried that Star Society might soon pollute every Maze, but Li Qing said Administrators were hiding and Maze clues were becoming harder to find.
• Ye Zheng said the Abomination Research Institute and World Defense Organization knew about Maze pollution, but they had no way to control its spread.

Feng Ling learned why her Mental Pressure had failed against a larger Xenomorph, then arranged a dinner with Feifei while Ye Zheng asked to be sedated to escape her self-hatred. The group searched for the Maze entrance all day without success, and Feng Ling left them to continue searching at dusk as she went to dinner.

• Ye Zheng explained that Mental Pressure weakened against larger targets and advised Feng Ling to use her Second Form.
• Feifei invited Feng Ling to dinner, and Feng Ling agreed while Huangfu Miaomiao stayed behind to search for the Maze entrance.
• Ye Zheng asked Feng Ling to inject her with a sedative, explaining that staying awake made her hate herself when no Xenomorphs were present.
• Feng Ling, Huangfu Miaomiao, and Li Qing searched suspected Maze locations throughout the day but found no entrance.
• At dusk, Feng Ling handed Huangfu Miaomiao the birdcage containing the Crow and left for dinner.

Feng Ling visited Feng Shao and Ling Feiran for a meal, sharing childhood memories with her old friends. Their conversation ended when Feng Shao told her that Mother Feng had died a year earlier.

• Feng Ling left her companions to visit Feng Shao and Ling Feiran, telling Li Qing to call if they found the Maze entrance.
• Feng Shao welcomed Feng Ling to the apartment he shared with Ling Feiran, and the three reunited over dinner.
• Feng Shao told Feng Ling that a video of her fighting Xenomorphs had spread online and that she had killed forty-six the previous night.
• Feng Ling, Feng Shao, and Ling Feiran reminisced about their childhood at the orphanage and Mother Feng's punishments.
• Feng Shao told Feng Ling that Mother Feng had passed away a year earlier.

Feng Ling reunited with Ling Feiran and Feng Shao over dinner, learned about their plans to build a stable life together, and reflected on the warmth they had shared as children. As Feng Ling prepared to leave, Ling Feiran asked whether Feng Ling’s own dream had come true.

• Ling Feiran and Feng Shao told Feng Ling that Mother Feng had died after a long illness and the Orphanage’s closure.
• Feng Ling asked how Ling Feiran and Feng Shao had become a couple, and they explained their marriage plans and discussed which city would be safest to live in.
• Feng Shao defended his Cleaner job while Ling Feiran worried about its risks, and the three friends shared a lively meal that lasted until midnight.
• Feng Ling helped Ling Feiran put the drunk Feng Shao to bed, and Ling Feiran described her dream of having a happy home and family.
• Feng Ling said goodbye and entered the elevator, where Ling Feiran asked whether Feng Ling’s own dream had come true.

Huangfu Miaomiao worried about Feng Ling and argued with Li Qing while the group searched for a Maze entrance. Feng Ling rejoined them, and they found a sign that the Crow’s Maze could be opened at the intersection.

• Li Qing urged the group to leave the rooftop and search another location, while Huangfu Miaomiao argued that they should contact Feng Ling because she had been gone for hours.
• Huangfu Miaomiao grew resentful of Li Qing, then ran into Feng Ling, who had returned after meeting an old friend.
• Feng Ling reassured Huangfu Miaomiao that she and Xu Yiming could fight Xenomorphs with their new Cards and said Li Qing did not need to be protected.
• Feng Ling joined Li Qing, Huangfu Miaomiao, and Xu Yiming as they continued searching the intersection, rooftop, and back alley for the Maze entrance.
• When Feng Ling led the group to the intersection, a golden exclamation mark appeared above the Crow’s head.

Feng Ling’s group prepared to enter the Maze on Pedestrian Street, bringing the Crow and Xu Yiming along. The authorities evacuated a three-kilometer radius with an enormous public show of force, leaving Feng Ling worried that the spectacle made her a conspicuous target.

• Huangfu Miaomiao’s exclamation mark above the Crow vanished at 12:20 a.m., and Feng Ling’s group concluded the Maze’s entrance window had closed.
• Feng Ling planned to enter the Maze the following night with the Crow, and Li Qing reminded her that they could make repeated attempts if needed.
• Feng Ling decided to notify Han Xu and evacuate the area; Xu Yiming agreed to join the expedition and train in the Maze.
• Feng Ling called Han Xu the next morning, and the authorities deployed the military to evacuate residents within three kilometers of Pedestrian Street.
• The evacuation drew media, drones, and crowds, and Han Xu joked that Feng Ling would receive a grand funeral if she died.

Feng Ling and Ye Zheng discussed the morale campaign around the Maze expedition as the team prepared to enter, while Xu Yiming returned with the Truck and supplies. Feng Ling explained that she had turned off her phone and planned to delay interviews until she looked prettier, leaving Xu Yiming startled when he learned she meant her human-and-snake appearance.

• Feng Ling asked why Ye Zheng showed no reaction to Han Xu's threat, and Ye Zheng explained that public morale and belief in victory were part of the Inspectors' training and the authorities' publicity efforts.
• Ye Zheng thought about how the Hunter Alliance Plan treated Inspectors and Hunters as valuable resources and wondered whether Feng Ling's Maze expedition also served as a display of international influence.
• Xu Yiming returned with the Truck after workers cleared the Pedestrian Street entrance, and Feng Ling suggested the group sleep before entering the Maze.
• Xu Yiming told Feng Ling that Hunters had heard about the expedition and asked to join, while Feng Ling said she had turned off her network to avoid interview and endorsement requests.
• Feng Ling said she would consider interviews only after she became prettier, then explained that she disliked the appearance of her human upper body and striped snake lower body.

Feng Ling and her companions began the Labyrinth Trial, only to find the entrance area swarming with Humanoid Rats despite its supposed safety. With the Safe Zone nowhere in sight and the Truck under attack, Feng Ling decided they would stay put until dawn.

• Han Xu told Feng Ling that the nearby residents had been evacuated, while several minor incidents unfolded as they waited for midnight.
• Huangfu Miaomiao accepted the Maze trial after the Crow displayed its golden exclamation mark, and dense fog spread through the street.
• Feng Ling killed the first Humanoid Rats that attacked, but more gathered around the Truck.
• Li Qing said the Maze entrance should be the safest area outside the Safe Zone, while Huangfu Miaomiao could see no nearby glowing Safe Zone prompt.
• Feng Ling chose to wait for dawn before moving the Truck, and Ye Zheng rose to go outside and kill the attackers.

Feng Ling's group stayed beside the truck while waves of eyeless Rat Monsters attacked, and they took turns fighting as exhaustion set in. Feng Ling took over the watch from a tired Ye Zheng as the night continued.

• Ye Zheng and the familiars killed the Rat Monsters attacking the truck, while Li Qing admitted he could not identify them and Feng Ling called them Big Rats.
• Li Qing divined that the group should stay put, and Feng Ling agreed to wait until dawn rather than search for the Safe Zone in the fog.
• Feng Ling, Ye Zheng, Huangfu Miaomiao, and Xu Yiming left the truck to keep watch as the Cat Spider and Cat Owl helped kill Rat Monsters under emergency lamps.
• Huangfu Miaomiao and Xu Yiming returned to the truck to rest, and the familiars grew reluctant to fight as the attacks continued.
• Feng Ling called the exhausted Ye Zheng back to rest and took over watching for Rat Monsters.