Chapter Summaries

Feng Ling waited outside the shifting sandstorm, determined to capture the Messenger and the other Xenomorphs after they escaped her. After spending a sleepless night preparing, she entered the storm again at dawn, but the rising heat soon slowed her progress and began to overwhelm her companions.

• Feng Ling realized the moving sandstorm protected the Xenomorphs and decided to hold its perimeter until the Messenger recovered.
• Feng Ling led the Tiger Head Worm and the diminished Human-faced Crows to shelter in a rock burrow, where she killed mutated Sand Rats to replenish them.
• Feng Ling spent the night tracking the Xenomorphs with Third Perspective and resolved to enter the sandstorm again without changing course.
• Feng Ling rode the Tiger Head Worm into the desert at dawn, but the scorching heat forced her to continue on foot as the Human-faced Crows began to falter.

Feng Ling crossed the scorching desert and rescued a Camel Caravan from a swarm of Scorpions. After accepting the caravan’s supplies and a white camel, she realized the food had made her feel full and suspected the travelers were not ordinary humans.

• Feng Ling sent Third Child back to the rat hole, left Big Worm beneath the sand, and continued alone through the desert heat.
• Feng Ling spotted a Camel Caravan whose riders appeared as Red Dots in Third Perspective.
• Scorpions attacked the caravan, and Feng Ling killed them before they could kill more people and camels.
• The caravan’s Leader offered Feng Ling food, clothing, a curved blade, and a white camel after she asked for a phone.
• Feng Ling accepted the supplies and decided to escort the caravan a limited distance while keeping the Xenomorphs within range.
• After eating the caravan’s jerky and flatbread, Feng Ling felt unusually full and suspected the travelers were not ordinary humans.

Feng Ling reached an Oasis, recovered her stamina and reduced her Corruption Value at a Labyrinth Divine Statue, then reunited with Meteor. Meteor explained that the Maze was hidden in the Lut Desert and revealed that Momo had guarded the Teleportation Array and grown stronger after being fed Cards.

• Feng Ling donned a traditional outfit that eased the heat, then followed the Camel Caravan to an Oasis in the desert.
• Feng Ling found a Labyrinth Divine Statue in the Oasis lake and used the Killer Bee and Centipede Cards to lower her Corruption Value to 28%.
• Feng Ling encountered Meteor trading Desert Scorpions and assumed she could leave the Maze to alert Ye Zheng and the Daoist priest.
• Meteor explained that Players needed a Language Scroll to communicate with the Oasis's NPCs, then used one to tell Feng Ling the Administrator had died half a year earlier and the Messenger had hidden the Maze's Teleportation Array in the Lut Desert.
• Feng Ling admitted she had failed to kill the Messenger, and Meteor identified Momo as the monster who had rescued him and said the Messenger had strengthened Momo by feeding him Cards.

Feng Ling and Meteor prepared to escort the Camel Caravan through the Sandstorm, discussing the Maze’s plot mission and stealing cooling clothes. As they traveled together, Feng Ling explained her past wariness of Huangfu Miaomiao and confessed that she wanted to suffer a harmless setback to become more humble.

• Meteor explained that the caravan had to reach the next plot trigger point without anyone being hurt, and that NPCs would lead them to the Stone Gate mechanism.
• Meteor stole a headscarf for Feng Ling, then assigned Feng Ling to guard the front of the caravan while she watched the middle and rear.
• Meteor told Feng Ling not to use pets or her Second Form so the ordinary human NPCs would not panic and scatter.
• Feng Ling explained that insecurity and her Corruption Value had made her suspicious of Huangfu Miaomiao in the past, and said that gaining power had improved her temper.
• Meteor warned that Feng Ling's arrogance could get her tripped up, and Feng Ling eagerly admitted she hoped for a survivable setback because her enemies had all been too weak to humble her.

Feng Ling and Meteor escorted the Camel Caravan through the desert while Meteor warned her about the Maze and its unknown Boss. Scorpions repeatedly disrupted the caravan, and a merchant died after trying to fight one.

• Feng Ling challenged Meteor’s warning that her strength came from the game, while Meteor described the former Hive as gentle and nearly defenseless.
• Meteor explained that no one in the Star Society had completed the Maze’s storyline, so they had never seen its Boss, and warned that Messenger might use it against Feng Ling.
• The Camel Caravan set out with eighty camels and forty merchants, and Feng Ling and Meteor repeatedly stopped to clear Scorpion Monsters from its path.
• As Scorpions attacked both ends of the caravan, Feng Ling rushed between them to protect the camels and merchants.
• A merchant jumped down to fight a Scorpion, but it stabbed him with its tail, and Feng Ling arrived too late to save him.

After the escort quest failed and a merchant died, Meteor slaughtered the caravan to force the Maze to restart the quest, while Feng Ling refused to kill people. As they rode back toward the Oasis, Feng Ling explained why she was determined to live peacefully, and Meteor promised to handle the killing herself if the quest failed again.

• Meteor found that the quest had failed after a merchant died, then knocked away the merchants' gratitude-reward box and attacked them with Demon Claw.
• Meteor explained that killing the caravan would make the Maze regenerate the quest NPCs, and she pursued and killed the fleeing merchants while Feng Ling watched.
• Meteor criticized Feng Ling for refusing to help, and Feng Ling said she would only kill people in self-defense because the caravan members were human.
• Meteor told Feng Ling the Player Forum rumored she was a violent criminal, and Feng Ling objected that Players were ruining her reputation.
• On the ride back to the Oasis, Feng Ling explained that her murderer parents had caused others to judge her as a potential criminal, and Meteor agreed that this was unfair.
• Feng Ling said she would try to kill more Scorpions next time, and Meteor promised to kill the caravan herself if the quest failed again.

Feng Ling and Meteor escorted the caravan into desert ruins, where the merchants became possessed by Vengeful Spirits and attacked them. The spirits fled into a sandstorm and opened a hidden Stone Gate in a giant Mountain, where the Messenger was waiting.

• Feng Ling learned that Meteor’s system could retrieve or manufacture living caravan members and wondered whether humans on Earth had been printed too.
• Meteor warned Feng Ling that the ruins were a Plot trigger point where all forty merchants would become Ghost Monsters immune to Mental Power.
• The merchants collapsed in the ruins, then rose possessed by Vengeful Spirits, and Meteor and Feng Ling fought them off.
• The spirits joined into a whirlwind and fled toward a sandstorm, so Meteor and Feng Ling pursued them toward the Treasure Vault.
• The spirits shouted before a giant Mountain, opening a Stone Gate, and Meteor told Feng Ling that the Bandits used the words “Open Sesame.”

Feng Ling and Meteor entered the thieves’ Treasure Vault to confront the Messenger, who tried to recruit Meteor into a battle party against the Hidden Boss. The Messenger’s allies attacked, and he activated a bloodstained gold coin, summoning Angra Mainyu as the Treasure Vault erupted into a new battle.

• Meteor explained that the Treasure Vault had served as the Star Society’s warehouse, then used stealth to enter with Feng Ling.
• Feng Ling and Meteor found the Messenger in the vault, where he warned Feng Ling that stepping forward would trigger a Boss battle.
• The Messenger revealed Momo and Doctor and tried to persuade Meteor to join a raid party, claiming Drunkard was on her way.
• Feng Ling prepared to fight as Meteor, Witch, Momo, and Doctor revealed themselves and attacked.
• The Messenger struck the floor with a bloodstained gold coin, raising a vast Mental Power Field as Angra Mainyu’s roar filled the vault.

Feng Ling and the others fell into the sand-filled chamber and faced the revived Corpse Soldiers as the Labyrinth Boss battle began. With the Monsters draining their strength and Bishop in danger, Messenger gave Witch Solomon's Silver Ring of Exorcism and asked her to escape with the boy.

• The Treasure Vault collapsed into sand, and Feng Ling, Meteor, Messenger, Witch, Doctor, Bishop, and the Xenomorph fell into the chamber below.
• Witch argued with Meteor about killing the Hidden Boss and returning Bishop to his parents, while Messenger blamed Meteor for Black Spot's death.
• Forty Corpse Soldiers rose from the sand and attacked, repeatedly reforming after Feng Ling struck them.
• Messenger handed Witch Solomon's Silver Ring of Exorcism and told her to take Bishop away and contact Drunkard.
• Bishop pleaded with Messenger, who promised to protect him, then asked Doctor for help.

Feng Ling and the Star Society members fought through the Corpse Soldiers as Witch tried to escape with Bishop, until the Labyrinth Master appeared and killed Messenger. Feng Ling was badly wounded by its lightning-fast attack, while Doctor and Meteor argued over whether to pursue Bishop.

• Doctor used the Serpent of Life to give Messenger a final burst of energy, and Witch fled with Bishop as Meteor attacked them.
• The Stitched Beast struck Meteor, but Feng Ling unleashed Mental Pressure and pierced the beast with Steel Blades after it refused to log off.
• Messenger blasted the Corpse Soldiers away, and the Labyrinth Master rose from the sand and instantly beheaded him.
• The Labyrinth Master attacked Feng Ling, piercing the left side of her face and eye before Witch and Doctor escaped with Bishop.
• Doctor stopped to heal Meteor, who urged her to pursue Bishop before he could log off, and Feng Ling heard them.

The Witch and the boy were trapped behind the Iron Gate while Feng Ling battled the Lion-headed Warrior outside. Feng Ling gained the upper hand, but as the wounded Boss knelt and roared, Meteor feared it was about to unleash a dangerous attack.

• The Witch threw the boy down when Meteor attacked, but Feng Ling cut off Meteor’s arm and dragged Meteor and Doctor out of the passage with Fangs and Claws.
• The Witch tried to escape through a hole made by the Tiger Head Worm, but found the passage beneath the floor packed with Yellow Sand.
• The Lion-headed Warrior cut Doctor in half at the thigh while Meteor escaped and hid; Feng Ling announced she had found the Boss’s weakness at its ankles.
• Feng Ling fought the Lion-headed Warrior, blocking its attacks and repeatedly striking its legs, while Meteor and Doctor stayed out of the crossfire.
• Feng Ling and the Tiger Head Worm wounded the Lion-headed Warrior until it slowed, then the Boss dropped to its knees and roared.

Feng Ling survived the Lion-headed Warrior’s sandstorm attack, killed the Labyrinth Boss, and caught Doctor and the wounded Meteor near the passageway. As Feng Ling held Meteor, Meteor prepared to use the Golden Cicada, her last remaining escape.

• Feng Ling endured the Lion-headed Warrior’s Yellow Sand cavalry assault, then killed it by piercing its throat and heart and hacking apart its limbs.
• Feng Ling used the Boss’s Card for Nest Building and took Messenger’s four extracted Cards, but found no Card from the Stitched Beast.
• Feng Ling pursued a fleeing Red Dot, found Doctor instead of Meteor, and threatened to cut her into smaller pieces.
• Feng Ling attacked the passageway blindly and caught the wounded Meteor after Doctor called out and revealed her location.
• Meteor looked at Doctor, then readied the Golden Cicada, which had one use remaining.

Meteor escaped the Flood Dragon Serpent and pursued the boy, but Drunkard intervened and warned that killing the Demon King could lead to Rebirth in the missing Poet. Drunkard revealed that killing the Labyrinth Administrator would not end the game; the Mazes themselves had to disappear.

• Meteor used a Golden Cicada to escape Feng Ling and fled toward the passage after the Labyrinth Boss died.
• Witch escaped with Bishop and met Drunkard, who said human forces were approaching and Momo's Teleportation Array was ruined.
• Meteor arrived and insisted that the boy had to die, but Drunkard opposed killing him because the Demon King could undergo Rebirth.
• Witch told Drunkard that Doctor was dead, raising the Rebirth chance among the remaining vessels to one in three.
• Drunkard warned Meteor that the Demon King might be reborn in Poet and said the game would end only if the Mazes disappeared.

Feng Ling tracked Meteor through the passage while Drunkard and Witch prepared a Teleportation Array to escape. As Feng Ling caught up, Meteor and the others confronted the Hidden Boss, and Drunkard used Witch’s potions to prepare for a fight.

• Feng Ling discovered that Meteor had escaped by leaving behind a thin layer of skin, then killed Doctor and collected Doctor’s three Cards.
• Feng Ling used Mother’s Longing to track Meteor through the passage and saw her approaching a giant skeleton and two figures in the rain.
• Drunkard and Witch learned the Maze was the game’s anchor point and searched for level ground to set up their Teleportation Array.
• Drunkard decided to hold off the Hidden Boss while Witch and Meteor escaped, and Witch gave Drunkard potions that boosted her defense, attack, speed, and critical hit rate.
• Bishop ran off, Meteor tackled him, and Feng Ling charged at the group as the Skeletal Monstrosity blocked her Steel Blade.

Feng Ling fought Meteor and Drunkard, but a strange vision and her high Corruption Value disrupted the battle and let them escape with the Short-legged Sheep. She realized the frightened boy was her Labyrinth Administrator and waited for Ye Zheng's team to arrive.

• Drunkard and Meteor struggled against Feng Ling's tentacle attacks as she seized the boy, but Feng Ling suddenly saw a vision of a burning landscape and Drunkard wounded her with an arrow.
• Feng Ling's attacks drove Drunkard and Meteor toward the Teleportation Array, but her Boss Mark flickered with the words Root of All Things · Mother Nest, and the two escaped with the Short-legged Sheep.
• After the Xenomorphs vanished, Feng Ling's burning visions returned until she changed back into human form and recognized the boy as her Labyrinth Administrator.
• Feng Ling released the boy when touching him brought back a vision of the Hive Labyrinth, then vowed to deal with Meteor later.
• Ye Zheng, Huang Yi, and several Inspectors arrived by helicopter, and Ye Zheng demanded to know how Feng Ling had lost half her face.

Feng Ling left the Lut Desert with Ye Zheng and the Green Weasel after Huang Yi's team investigated the Maze and recovered a Crystal Coffin. She planned to contact Number 77 and learn why she had seen the mysterious scenes.

• Huang Yi explained that his team had tracked Kite to the desert and was sent to investigate the breached Maze and collect data for the Research Institute.
• Feng Ling directed Huang Yi's team to the Labyrinth Boss's lair, then boarded the helicopter with Ye Zheng and the captured boy.
• Ye Zheng told Feng Ling that Meteor had killed the Administrators she brought out of the General's Mansion, including the twelve Senior Administrators, and Feng Ling identified the boy as one of them.
• The Green Weasel woke up and used a tablet to communicate, revealing that Number 77 knew everything and that the Crystal Coffin was a Rare Item that could preserve someone who was critically injured.
• Huang Yi's team returned with the Crystal Coffin, and Feng Ling urged him to find a signal so she could speak with Number 77 as the helicopter left the desert.

Feng Ling rested in Lisa Country while awaiting a secure call with Labyrinth Administrator No. 77, who explained that her Abyss-related visions might come from inheriting the Abyss Boss’s Card and position. The call left Feng Ling questioning whether becoming the Abyss would cost her humanity.

• Huang Yi told Feng Ling she should attend a press conference to show she was safe and suggested blaming her earlier loss of control on a Xenomorph’s hallucination skill.
• Feng Ling connected with Number 77 and found that the Administrator was communicating through a Green Parrot.
• Number 77 explained that prolonged animal assimilation affected an Administrator’s personality and revealed that the Short-legged Sheep was about to revert from human form.
• Number 77 guessed that Feng Ling’s Card resonated with the Administrator and that she had recovered memories from her time in the Abyss after inheriting the Abyss Boss’s Card and position.
• Feng Ling asked whether becoming the Abyss would make her lose her humanity.

Feng Ling learned that the Hive’s Death Mark was causing its memories to surface in her and that advancing into an Abyss Form might overwrite the original Mother Nest’s memories. As she searched for a way to rescue Little Skeleton, the Parrot revealed that Little Skeleton had been moved from the Underworld Labyrinth, though her current location remained unknown.

• Feng Ling described resonating with the Hive’s emotions and worried that advancing into an Abyss Form would change her, while the Green Weasel and Ye Zheng reassured her that the influence could work both ways.
• Feng Ling recalled the Star Society’s methods for killing the Hive and learned from the Parrot that the memories were an unsolvable Death Mark inherent to the Card.
• The Parrot suggested that Feng Ling’s memories might overwrite the original Abyss Mother Nest’s if she advanced in the Abyss Labyrinth, but Ye Zheng noted they needed a cooperating Xenomorph to enter a Maze.
• He Xing Luo told Feng Ling that a Hypnotist at the Supervision Bureau might help if they captured a Xenomorph and secured approval from the authorities.
• The Parrot said Little Skeleton had been moved from the Underworld Labyrinth to a Treasure Vault in a Crystal Coffin, but Feng Ling had already searched the vault and found no trace of her.
• The Parrot explained that the Star Society had bought three interconnected Teleportation Arrays, including one near the General’s Mansion, but could not explain where Little Skeleton had gone.

Ye Zheng and Feng Ling questioned the Parrot about the Star Society’s whereabouts and learned why Meteor’s followers had turned against her. The Parrot shared a stream of Star Society gossip and explained the five genders in its world, leaving Feng Ling wondering why the system had not censored it.

• The Parrot told Ye Zheng that the Star Society had no base besides the Treasure Vault and had moved from Paradise to the General’s Mansion after its utilities were cut off.
• Ye Zheng reasoned that Little Skeleton had probably escaped, while Feng Ling worried about where she was and why she had not sent a message.
• The Parrot explained that the Messenger had kept the Treasure Vault’s teleportation array far from the Mansion to guard against General Singel, then used a third array to flee when the Hidden Boss arrived.
• The Parrot claimed Meteor would not rebuild the Star Society because its members betrayed her after she tried to kill the Short-legged Sheep.
• The Parrot shared Star Society gossip, including that Momo was the Messenger’s biological son, and described five genders in its world.
• Feng Ling asked why the Parrot could speak so naturally about that world without the system censoring it.

Parrot explained how its Lore Recorder Card helped it escape, but it could not predict Meteor’s whereabouts. Feng Ling arranged for Kite to land, then planned to feed and clean it while worrying about the condition of her remaining Contaminants and eggs.

• Parrot said its Lore Recorder could record or leak secrets and use gathered information to calculate escape routes, but it could not predict where Meteor or Little Skeleton had gone.
• Feng Ling had He Xing Luo take Parrot’s snacks away, then left Ye Zheng to continue interrogating it after Huang Yi reported Kite’s arrival.
• Feng Ling waited at the airport as Kite landed and reunited with the Human-faced Crows that had been left behind in Yilanka.
• Feng Ling asked Huang Yi to arrange livestock and workers to feed and bathe Kite, then told Kite to rest before they went to retrieve Big Worm.
• Feng Ling inspected her two eggs and considered the deaths, injuries, and limitations among her Contaminants, concluding that she urgently needed to strengthen her forces.