Chapter Summaries

Bai Xingguang arrived at the Star Society’s hotel suite after losing both legs, where the General and Messenger discussed the Hidden Boss and the unstable Bishop. Messenger went to locate Witch, but a girl attacked him from his shadow, mistaking him for Meteor.

• The General had Messenger feed Bishop fresh leaves to calm him while Messenger explained that Witch had taken Meteor’s body to retrieve the Crystal Coffin.
• The General questioned Bai Xingguang about the Hidden Boss’s attack, and Bai Xingguang said it had repeatedly asked who sent Squirrel and where the Star Society was.
• Bishop warned that the Hidden Boss had marked Bai Xingguang, then demanded that Messenger kill it and threatened to be reborn in the people around him.
• Messenger left to find a quiet place and track Dove Bell, which was tied to Meteor’s body, while Witch was with Meteor.
• On the rooftop, a Ghost Claw struck Messenger and cut his cheek before a girl emerged from the shadows and addressed him as Meteor.

Meteor ambushed Messenger but discovered that he had advanced to the Completed Form and could overpower her. Trapped and injured, she claimed she could teach Bishop how to log out, leaving Messenger to decide whether to keep her alive.

• Meteor's first attack on Messenger failed, so she vanished into the shadows and ambushed him inside the elevator, tearing open his chest and sending the elevator car crashing underground.
• Messenger survived the fall, revealed that he had advanced to the Completed Form, and used his strengthened Mental Pressure to knock Meteor out of Ghost Shadow Form.
• Meteor fell onto the wrecked elevator and was pinned by metal as Messenger healed from his wounds.
• Bishop demanded that Messenger kill Meteor, but Meteor claimed that she knew how to help Bishop log out and return home.
• Meteor asked Messenger to help her up and treat her in exchange for explaining how to log out, while Messenger warned her not to trick him.

Meteor revealed that the Hidden Boss was the Abyss resurrected in a human body, then escaped the Messenger using the Golden Cicada. Later, Feng Ling lowered her Corruption Value only slightly and refused to delete her Abyss Card, prompting Ye Zheng to seek sedatives as a precaution.

• Meteor explained that the Bishop could log off only if his Maze was breached, then claimed the Abyss was still alive in another form.
• Meteor revealed that the Hidden Boss was the Abyss resurrected inside a human body and admitted she had anonymously posted false information about it.
• Meteor escaped using the Golden Cicada, leaving the Messenger with a decoy skin and taunting him about missing his chance to kill the Abyss.
• The Messenger identified Meteor's use of the Golden Cicada and Gargoyle Card, while the general complained about the damage and the Bishop's crying.
• Ye Zheng brought Feng Ling to an Idol to reduce her Corruption Value, but Feng Ling's draw lowered it only to 30%.
• Feng Ling refused to delete her Abyss Card, so Ye Zheng decided to contact the Supervision Bureau for sedatives.

Feng Ling and Ye Zheng discussed managing Feng Ling’s Corruption Value before traveling to Yilanka to contact the Supervision Bureau. During the flight, Feng Ling reviewed her battle against the Abyss Boss and explained how a Player helped her solve the Maze’s mechanics.

• Ye Zheng urged Feng Ling to lower her Corruption Value and keep Sedatives ready before taking another Card, and Feng Ling agreed to travel to Yilanka to contact the Supervision Bureau.
• Feng Ling and Ye Zheng flew toward Yilanka on the Great Kite, leaving Human-faced Crows to watch Gun and Ball.
• Ye Zheng noticed Feng Ling had only two eggs left, and Feng Ling explained that some had broken during her fight with the Abyss.
• Ye Zheng scolded Feng Ling for entering the Maze alone, then asked her how the Abyss Boss compared with an ordinary Labyrinth Boss.
• Feng Ling explained that the Abyss Boss was powerful but manageable, and said a Player had helped her discover that flowers and glutinous rice could suppress its berserk state.

Feng Ling, Ye Zheng, and Li Qing discussed Star Society’s weakening influence and the possibility of ending the game, then continued toward Yilanka. Meanwhile, the exhausted Huangfu Miaomiao was being dragged toward a Teleportation Array when the Old Witch saw another message from Messenger urging her to return.

• Li Qing told Feng Ling and Ye Zheng that an escaped assassin had targeted Star Society, and that Players blamed the society for angering Feng Ling and charging Maze ticket fees.
• Li Qing explained that breaching another Abyss Labyrinth could undermine Paradise, while Ye Zheng questioned whether the game could be destroyed entirely and Feng Ling suggested shutting it down from outside.
• Kite carried Feng Ling, Ye Zheng, and Li Qing onward as other groups continued their separate journeys.
• Huangfu Miaomiao collapsed from exhaustion while the Old Witch and three bald men walked toward a Teleportation Array.
• The Old Witch complained about Meteor’s exhausted body and their broken vehicle, then noticed that Messenger was urging her to return again.

The Witch left Huangfu Miaomiao with three bald men and went to meet a helicopter, while the men stopped to rest and learned that the Hidden Boss had attacked the Stadium gathering site. Huangfu Miaomiao realized her rope had fallen loose but hesitated to escape, fearing the Dove Bell would let the Star Society find her again.

• The Witch ordered the three bald men to keep taking Huangfu Miaomiao toward the Teleportation Array, then left after checking the helicopter pickup location on her Virtual Screen.
• The bald men stopped at an overturned Truck, rummaged through its scattered supplies, and settled down to eat and rest.
• One bald man read on the Forum that the Hidden Boss had killed over a hundred people at the Stadium after the Star Society sent Squirrel to ambush it; the men learned Black Panther was dead and Red Demon was offline.
• Huangfu Miaomiao woke enough to worry that Feng Ling would search for her at the Underworld Labyrinth, then noticed the rope had fallen away from the man assigned to hold it.
• Huangfu Miaomiao considered using her Cards to outrun the bald men but doubted she could escape the Star Society while carrying the Dove Bell.

Huangfu Miaomiao escaped her captors by using her Assassin Card and a Flashbang, but a Wild Boss emerged from the river and attacked the bald men. She reached the riverbank as the monster killed one pursuer and struck the others with its black water.

• Huangfu Miaomiao used the hot meal container to distract the bald men, then ran from them with her Assassin Card’s speed trait.
• Her speed faded as the bald men closed in, and she fell into a river while trying to escape.
• Huangfu Miaomiao dropped a Flashbang into the river, blinding the bald men and giving herself a moment to reach the opposite bank.
• A monster rose from the river, and Huangfu Miaomiao fled as it crushed one bald man and sprayed black water over the other two.
• One bald man tried to log out while the other choked on the corrosive black water.

Huangfu Miaomiao survived the Fish Monster’s attack by using White Priest to silence it, then bound it with Gleipnir’s Binding. She discovered the monster was the Blind Man in the Parking Lot, who remembered Feng Ling, and tried to persuade him to help her escape Paradise.

• The Fish Monster ate the three bald men and absorbed the Cards inside them, causing its Corruption Value to soar and driving it into a frenzy.
• Huangfu Miaomiao used White Priest twice on the Fish Monster, then found Gleipnir’s Binding and confirmed with All-Seeing Eye that the monster was silenced.
• Huangfu Miaomiao tied Gleipnir’s Binding around the Fish Monster, and it stopped attacking after the Silenced state ended.
• The Fish Monster sobbed and called for Feng Ling, so Huangfu Miaomiao probed its memories and recognized it as the Blind Man in the Parking Lot who had taught her to drive.
• Huangfu Miaomiao told the Blind Man that she had once been Feng Ling’s assistant and urged him to help her escape Paradise so they could see Feng Ling.

Huangfu Miaomiao discovered that the Fish Monster was Fang Ye, whose memories had returned despite his pretending otherwise, and promised to help him escape Paradise. As they headed for the Quarantine Zone, Fang Ye weakened from thirst, and Huangfu Miaomiao left him briefly to search nearby houses for water.

• The Fish Monster transformed into a mutated man who asked why Feng Ling had not saved him.
• Fang Ye remembered his past as a human, his time with Feng Ling and White Cat, and how he had ended up in Paradise.
• Fang Ye said he and White Cat were people without names, while Huangfu Miaomiao promised to help him escape and recover his identity.
• Huangfu Miaomiao led Fang Ye toward the Quarantine Zone, planning to follow the coast to Molian River Bridge.
• Fang Ye grew weak and dehydrated as they traveled, so Huangfu Miaomiao went to nearby houses to find water.

Huangfu Miaomiao searched for water to keep Fang Ye’s Fish Monster alive as they traveled toward the sea. When Players attacked the Fish Monster and hunted Huangfu for a bounty, she abandoned her chance to escape and returned to help it.

• Huangfu Miaomiao found clean water and used Meteor’s Card Deck and Gleipnir’s Binding to quiet the Fish Monster and give it water.
• Huangfu Miaomiao led the Fish Monster toward the sea, then searched an abandoned Vacation Villa and found a Swimming Pool.
• Players arrived looking for Huangfu Miaomiao, whose capture alive carried a three-thousand-Point bounty, and attacked the Fish Monster.
• Huangfu Miaomiao started to flee but turned back after hearing the Fish Monster roar.
• Huangfu Miaomiao threw her last Flashbang at the four Players, then grabbed the Fish Monster’s rope and urged it to escape with her.

Huangfu Miaomiao and the Fish Monster fled from pursuing Players, but a wrong turn trapped them on a cliff above the sea. The Fish Monster sacrificed itself to save her, leaving Huangfu Miaomiao stranded atop its body in the water.

• Huangfu Miaomiao realized she had taken the wrong road and led the Fish Monster through the vegetation toward the coast.
• The Fish Monster questioned its strength and worth, while Huangfu Miaomiao cried about missing Feng Ling and her companions.
• The four Players caught up and wounded the Fish Monster with arrows, driving Huangfu Miaomiao and it toward a cliff.
• With nowhere left to run, the Fish Monster launched itself and Huangfu Miaomiao off the cliff into the sea.
• The Fish Monster brought Huangfu Miaomiao to the surface, told her it had finally become a hero by saving her, and fell silent.

In Yilanka, the Messenger and the General discussed Meteor, Huangfu Miaomiao, and how to deal with the Hidden Boss, while the Bishop demanded that they form a team to kill it. The General then received word that the Hidden Boss had arrived outside the quarantine zone.

• The Messenger revoked the bounty on Huangfu Miaomiao after sensing that her body had drifted out to sea, and he and the General discussed Meteor’s likely search for Cards to counter him.
• The Witch told the Messenger and the General that the Bishop wanted to see them, and they went upstairs to his heavily guarded room.
• The Bishop ordered the Messenger to investigate the Hidden Boss and worried that Squirrel’s ambush might not have increased its Corruption Value.
• After the Bishop angrily demanded a suppression squad, the General received a call and learned that the Hidden Boss was outside the quarantine zone.

Bishop ordered his group to find a way to kill the Hidden Boss, whom they suspected was Abyss, despite her Life Source Pillars allowing her to revive. Outside Yilanka’s isolation zone, Feng Ling called Su Yuqing while Kite drifted past a Drone warning her to leave the country’s airspace.

• Witch, Messenger, and the general discussed the old campaign against Abyss and learned that destroying her Life Source Pillars was necessary to prevent her revival.
• Messenger proposed investigating the Hive Ecopark in Qingjiang City, where Life Source Pillars might be located, but the general warned that guards, Inspectors, and a Player-detecting device would make infiltration difficult.
• Bishop promised his family’s support and unlimited living Points to anyone who helped him safely go offline, then ordered Messenger to make arrangements.
• Feng Ling and Kite drifted along the edge of Yilanka’s isolation zone as a Drone warned her to leave its airspace.
• Feng Ling reached Su Yuqing by phone and told him that Yilanka’s Drone was trying to drive her away.

Feng Ling’s unexpected flight into Yilanka drew the attention of its military, prompting Su Yuqing and the Embassy to seek a peaceful way to handle the situation. She displayed her country’s flag to deter the Drones while waiting near the border, still intent on pursuing the Star Society.

• Su Yuqing told Feng Ling that Drone footage of her and the Contaminants had made international news, and asked why she had entered Yilanka.
• Feng Ling explained that she had tracked Xenomorphs to the border and suspected a core member of the Star Society was in Yilanka.
• Su Yuqing reported Feng Ling’s situation to his superiors, and the Embassy began negotiating with the Yilanka Military while urging her to avoid conflict.
• Su Yuqing advised Feng Ling to display her country’s flag, so Ye Zheng and Li Qing used Ye Zheng’s tablet to show an image of it.
• Feng Ling mounted Great Kite with the tablet and flew toward the Drones, which kept their distance as she checked the news on her phone.

Feng Ling learned that Yilanka had denied her passage despite suspicions that its royal family was connected to the Star Society, and Su Yuqing proposed that she feign a Corruption Value crisis to enter the country. Feng Ling agreed to pursue the Star Society’s captured Administrators so she could save Miaomiao, and asked the Supervision Bureau for bombs.

• Feng Ling read hostile Yilanka news reports and found Chinese commenters mocking Yilanka rather than defending it.
• Su Yuqing told Feng Ling that negotiations had failed and Yilanka refused to let her enter or accept outside help against the Xenomorphs.
• Feng Ling shared the Star Society’s approximate location, and technicians identified it as General Singel’s Mansion, linking the Star Society to Yilanka’s royal family.
• Su Yuqing suggested that Feng Ling pretend her Corruption Value had gone out of control so a supposed apprehension team could secretly support her entry.
• Feng Ling said she wanted the Administrators held by the Star Society so she could rescue Miaomiao, then asked Su Yuqing for bombs.

Feng Ling and her companions considered ways to cross Yilanka’s military quarantine without fighting, then received a mysterious note that might reveal the Administrator’s location. They were left unsure whether the clue was genuine or a trap.

• Feng Ling told Ye Zheng and Li Qing about Su Yuqing’s plan, and Ye Zheng objected to forcing a way through the military line.
• Feng Ling and her companions discussed using the Human-faced Crows to monitor the Xenomorphs, but worried that the birds could be detected and lost.
• Feng Ling proposed hatching a Giant Devouring Earthworm to tunnel beneath part of the Military Restricted Zone, and Ye Zheng and Li Qing agreed it was worth trying.
• A frightened Human-faced Crow delivered Feng Ling a note showing a rough layout of the General’s Mansion and an exclamation mark beside one room.
• Li Qing suggested the marked room might contain the Administrator, while Ye Zheng warned that the note could be a trap.

Feng Ling and her companions hunted through the woods, where she killed a powerful Tiger Contaminant and discovered that Meteor had been following them in Miaomiao's body. Meteor proposed cooperating to kill the Messenger and offered to use her concealment ability to get them into the General's Mansion.

• Feng Ling dismissed the note as a trap and sent the Little Third Children into the forest to flush out prey.
• The Cat Spider and Human-faced Crows hunted the fleeing animals, and Feng Ling killed a massive Tiger Contaminant with her Steel Blade Tentacles.
• Feng Ling noticed an unusual Red Dot and exposed Meteor, who had been hiding nearby in Miaomiao's body.
• Meteor said she wanted to kill the Messenger and knew where the Labyrinth Administrator was being held in the General's Mansion.
• Meteor offered to get Feng Ling's group into the mansion unseen, and Li Qing identified her Gargoyle and Witch cards, including the Witch's Blessing ability.

Feng Ling tested Meteor’s concealment Blessing and learned how its cognitive limits worked. After the test, she used the dead tiger to incubate the Great Earthworm and prepared to name the new creature.

• Feng Ling questioned Meteor about the Star Society, and Meteor explained its origins and its experienced founding members.
• Meteor used her Blessing to conceal Feng Ling, but Feng Ling’s voice broke the effect and revealed its limitations.
• Feng Ling and Ye Zheng concluded that concealment could help them travel unseen but would fail if Feng Ling spoke or attacked.
• Feng Ling incubated the Great Earthworm inside the dead tiger, producing a striped, tiger-headed creature with a retractable body.
• Feng Ling rubbed the creature’s head and invited the others to help give it a name.

Feng Ling named the newly hatched Contaminant Tiger Worm and fed it so it could dig a tunnel beneath the Military Restricted Zone. As she and the others headed toward the Containment Net to keep the Star Society from suspecting her plans, Feng Ling questioned Meteor about why she had not tried to impersonate Little Skeleton and kill her.

• Ye Zheng recoiled from the tiger-headed Contaminant, and Feng Ling named it Tiger Worm.
• Cat Spider and the Human-faced Crows fed Tiger Worm, which rapidly ate meat and soil and expelled dry, brick-shaped droppings.
• Meteor told Feng Ling that she had crossed the restricted zone through the Quarantine Zone and explained that Star Society's Messenger could escape using a costly Teleportation Array.
• Feng Ling decided to have Tiger Worm dig while she walked toward the Containment Net, making the Star Society think she remained trapped outside the Military Restricted Zone.
• Feng Ling noted that Meteor kept her distance and asked why she had not pretended to be Little Skeleton to lower Feng Ling's guard and steal her Hidden Boss Card.

Feng Ling prepared a campsite and posted taunting updates to provoke the Star Society into lowering its guard, while arranging photographs for a Nine-Grid. As Li Qing worried about Feng Ling’s mark on Meteor and his own uncertain future, Ye Zheng suggested boiling skulls to improve the photos.

• Feng Ling ordered Third Child and Cat Spider to destroy and scrap nearby Drones, then had Li Qing set up a tent and Ye Zheng gather firewood.
• Feng Ling posted three provocative updates aimed at Yilanka’s embassy, the National Xenomorph Safety Supervision Bureau, and the Star Society, adding photographs of the Drone wreckage and her companions.
• Feng Ling and Ye Zheng staged a smoky, eerie photograph, then planned to wait for the Armadillos before completing the Nine-Grid without revealing Feng Ling’s Second Form.
• Feng Ling warned Meteor not to sneak off and left to photograph animal carcasses, while Li Qing realized Feng Ling had secretly placed a Mark on Meteor.
• Li Qing worried that Meteor might become Feng Ling’s next target and questioned whether staying with her would bring him closer to his dream.
• Ye Zheng suggested putting skulls in the pot to make better photographs, leaving Li Qing stunned.