Chapter Summaries

Baozi investigated the volunteer’s fall and interviewed Ling Feiran, whose questions led him to suspect that the incident deserved further investigation. Amir soothed the inpatient department with music, then received Witch’s message urging him to return because Drunkard was back.

• Pei Xianjue refused to send Huangfu Miaomiao to investigate, so Baozi visited the Second Inpatient Department instead.
• Baozi used his emotional perception on the wards and found no clear evidence of extreme hatred, though the patients’ negative emotions grew more intense on the upper floors.
• Baozi interviewed Ling Feiran, who questioned why a volunteer would take their own life after a patient died if volunteers felt little compassion for patients.
• Baozi heard Amir’s flute music calming emotions nearby and promised to reinvestigate the volunteer’s fall.
• Amir stopped playing and read Witch’s message saying Meteor had lured him back with news that the plan was nearly successful and that Drunkard had returned.

Amir refused Witch’s request to join Meteor’s group, while Meteor and her allies decided Short-legged Sheep had to die and discussed how to counter his Rebirth ability. Meteor revealed she knew a place that could put them into a state of false death, but they still needed a way to destroy the Abyss Mother Nest.

• Amir saw that several friends had died, learned from Witch that Meteor was muted, and received the group’s coordinates.
• Amir told Witch he would visit only after he got bored with his current amusement, enraging her.
• Witch, Drunkard, and Meteor debated their options and concluded Short-legged Sheep must die because he could expose them if he logged off.
• Meteor explained that the Mazes, not the Administrators, anchored the game, and that humanity might eliminate the Mazes after their pollution spread.
• Meteor identified the Abyss Mother Nest and the Demon King’s Rebirth ability as the remaining problems, then described how making all living Reincarnation Vessels falsely dead could stop Rebirth.
• Meteor said she knew a place that could put them into a state of false death.

Meteor, the Witch, and the Drunkard searched for a way to defeat the Short-legged Sheep and the Hidden Boss, but their plans had fallen apart and Meteor could see no clear path forward. Meanwhile, Amir taught Navin a song before he left, and the song spread through the hospital wards.

• Meteor explained that the Underworld Labyrinth drained intruders’ life energy and that the Short-legged Sheep had to be killed on the seventh day after entering it.
• The Witch revealed that the body-swapped Player had escaped before being transferred to the Warehouse, leaving Meteor’s plan without its intended opportunity.
• Meteor told the Witch to share part of the plan with the Poet, while the Drunkard reported having no new news about the Hidden Boss.
• The Witch and the Drunkard discussed how the Hidden Boss’s Squirrel and Abyss Cards made their usual strategies ineffective, and Meteor said they might need a chance to turn things around.
• Amir told Navin he might be leaving, played a flute, and taught him a song about home and freedom.
• Navin learned Amir’s song and sang it with other patients, who spread it through the hospital wards.

Ling Feiran sensed a malicious patient and accidentally collided with Amir while chasing him, soaking his clothes and flute. After she left, Amir confronted Pashan, an Infected who wanted to kill her and take her Card, and called him a warrior determined to save his family and others.

• Ling Feiran sensed malice in the hospital and chased a patient down the corridor, but crashed into Amir and spilled medical supplies over him.
• Amir told Ling Feiran he had not seen the patient clearly and advised that surveillance cameras could identify him; she apologized and offered to replace Amir’s soaked flute.
• Pashan climbed through a stairwell window and accused Amir of abandoning the effort to rebuild their homeland.
• Pashan complained that volunteers treated Infected like criminals and proposed killing Ling Feiran to take her Card.
• Amir warned that killing Ling Feiran could provoke people to slaughter the Infected, then called Pashan a warrior who would save everyone.

Ling Feiran struggled with her confidence at the hospital while Feng Ling called to tell her she was sending two Cards. Meanwhile, the Short-legged Sheep’s trapped human mind grew increasingly distressed and it charged at Meteor, leaving it stuck in a chair as Feng Ling and Auntie Wang watched.

• Ling Feiran disposed of shattered medicine bottles and reassured the waste worker that she had cleaned up the spill.
• Feng Ling called Ling Feiran, who explained that she was working in the inpatient building and asked when Feng Ling would return.
• Feng Ling said she was busy walking a sheep, while the Short-legged Sheep rammed into a tree stump and the Tiger Head Worm buried it in dirt.
• Feng Ling told Ling Feiran she had chosen two Cards for her and would send them back in a few days.
• Ling Feiran accepted the Cards and hurried to help Liu Wen in the ward.
• The Short-legged Sheep’s thoughts and emotions became harder to control, and it charged at Meteor before getting its horns stuck in a folding chair.

A grotesque Contaminant escaped the Maze, devoured soldiers and villagers, and recognized Feng Ling and Meteor on the news, filling it with hatred for Meteor. In the basement, Drunkard showed Witch and Meteor footage that appeared to show Meteor in Risa, and Meteor decided she had to go there before her body-swapping contract expired.

• A grotesque creature crawled out of the Maze, killed a soldier and villagers, and grew larger by consuming them.
• The creature saw Feng Ling on television and remembered that the Hidden Boss had killed its father.
• The creature recognized Meteor on the news and roared with hatred, wanting to tear her apart.
• Drunkard woke Witch and Meteor and showed them footage of a woman resembling Meteor in Risa.
• Meteor said her Demon Contract required her to try to switch bodies back within five days, so she had to go to Risa.
• Drunkard worried the trip might be a trap and asked Meteor to prepare Rare Items for self-defense.

Meteor and Drunkard argued with Witch over the Star Society’s losses and their chances against the Abyss Mother Nest, then Meteor planned to leave for Risa to return to her original body. Feng Ling was summoned to a meeting, where a Drone’s footage showed a Messenger-like monster that had slaughtered everyone in a village.

• Witch blamed Meteor for their losses, but Drunkard stopped their argument and asked Witch to prepare potions for Meteor’s trip to Risa.
• Drunkard questioned whether Meteor’s dream of bringing Scrap to the Upper City was worth the deaths, and Meteor admitted she had abandoned that goal and wanted to kill Messenger and Bishop.
• Meteor told Drunkard to stay behind while she left in the morning, and she watched a news video of Feng Ling, thinking they would meet again soon.
• Feng Ling woke to Huang Yi’s urgent knock and followed him to a meeting room, where a Drone’s footage showed a six-eyed, four-eared monster resembling Messenger.
• Huang Yi reported that the monster had broken through the contaminated zone’s defenses and eaten two Soldiers, every villager in a nearby village, and all their livestock.

Feng Ling and Huang Yi went to stop a hostage-taking monster that was heading toward the Azadernir Refinery, where combat risked triggering an explosion. At the refinery, Feng Ling spotted a worker who had escaped and decided to investigate.

• Feng Ling learned that the monster carried hostages and inflicted Mental Pressure, so she agreed to help intercept it with Huang Yi.
• The monster changed course toward the Azadernir Refinery, and Huang Yi was told the refinery had to be protected even if everyone else was sacrificed.
• Huang Yi told Feng Ling that only two, or possibly three, of the first Inspectors were still alive after nearly all died within six months.
• Feng Ling reached the refinery and used Third Perspective to count twelve hostages, then noticed the number drop to eleven when one escaped.
• Feng Ling and Huang Yi entered the refinery, where Feng Ling saw a worker in work clothes stumbling toward them.

Feng Ling and Huang Yi discussed a monster’s demand to exchange the Short-legged Sheep and Meteor for 120 hostages, while weighing the risks and the Risa military’s interests. Feng Ling agreed to consider trading the sheep but warned that Meteor’s disguise might fail, and contacted Green Weasel for advice before the exchange.

• A worker escaped from the factory and warned Huang Yi’s team that the monster demanded the Short-legged Sheep and Meteor in return for 120 hostages.
• Feng Ling realized the monster’s hostage count included people already contaminated, and she suspected the hostages might also pose a danger.
• Huang Yi discussed the Risa military’s priorities with Feng Ling, who said the sheep could be marked and stolen back but Meteor could not be safely traded.
• Huang Yi agreed to stall the military while Feng Ling contacted Green Weasel to ask about Meteor’s disguise.
• Ye Zheng objected to risking another Administrator, and then prepared to read Green Weasel’s written response.

Feng Ling and Huang Yi discussed a plan to exchange hostages and subdue the enormous monster, while Feng Ling investigated it through a Human-faced Crow. She discovered that the monster consumed the hostages embedded in its body to sustain its Second Form, and realized they would need to remove them before fighting it.

• Feng Ling and Ye Zheng discussed Auntie Wang's Elite Monster status and the Daoist priest's unlucky Wei Ji Hexagram.
• Huang Yi proposed exchanging the hostages in two stages while his team anesthetized the monster and the military rescued the captives.
• Feng Ling sent a Human-faced Crow to scout the factory and questioned how the monster could sustain its Second Form for so long.
• Feng Ling saw a hostage sink into the monster and watched his Red Dot disappear, realizing the hostages were feeding it.
• Feng Ling concluded that they needed to remove the hostages before trying to kill the monster.

Feng Ling’s team began exchanging the Short-legged Sheep for the refinery hostages while Ye Zheng wrestled with how the Cards were changing her. The monster revealed the hostages and appeared just behind them, leaving the exchange poised to begin.

• Huang Yi warned Feng Ling that media Drones were livestreaming the operation, and the two went to meet Ye Zheng, Auntie Wang, and Green Weasel as they arrived by helicopter.
• Feng Ling marked the Short-legged Sheep and arranged for Green Weasel to scout ahead while Ye Zheng led the sheep toward the refinery.
• Auntie Wang prepared to act as bait despite the danger of wearing Meteor’s face, while Feng Ling explained that she had originally hoped to lure out Meteor.
• Ye Zheng reflected that the Cards fused into her body were changing her feelings and judgment, making her fear that her mind and soul were deteriorating.
• Near the factory, Huang Yi said the monster would kill the hostages if anyone but the sheep came closer, and Feng Ling questioned sending the sheep before seeing the hostages.
• Twenty or thirty refinery workers appeared on the road with the massive monster following behind them.

Feng Ling and Huang Yi began a hostage exchange while preparing to subdue a giant monster contaminated by the Fallen God. The exchange turned into a fight when the monster attacked, and the released hostages exploded in corrosive pus as Feng Ling charged in.

• Feng Ling marked uncontaminated White Dot workers with strips of cloth while Risa Soldiers carried the released hostages to safety.
• Feng Ling read Weasel01's warning that the monster's Card Deck included the Fallen God, Minotaur, Spirit Devourer Beast, and Giant Sand Devourer Worm, then warned Huang Yi's team about its Mental Pressure.
• The monster released dozens more hostages, but Feng Ling spotted over seventy Red Dots still clinging to its body beneath its feathers.
• Huang Yi ordered the tranquilizer guns to fire as the monster lunged at the Skin-Painting Ghost, mistaking her for Meteor.
• More than twenty hostages exploded in corrosive pus, damaging Feng Ling's Scales and Ye Zheng's wings, and Feng Ling transformed into her Second Form and rushed the monster.

Feng Ling fought the regenerating Stitched Beast while Meteor appeared inside the refinery and tried to flee. As Feng Ling struggled to capture the Short-legged Sheep, it merged with the monster, revealing that the Stitched Beast had never intended to protect it.

• Feng Ling repeatedly attacked the Stitched Beast, but it regenerated its severed heads and legs and kept pursuing the Skin-Painting Ghost.
• The Stitched Beast trapped Feng Ling’s tentacles in its wings and detonated sacs containing hostages, spraying toxic pus that caused her pain and numbness.
• Meteor appeared near the Skin-Painting Ghost, then transformed into a Ghost Shadow and escaped into the refinery’s pipes, prompting Feng Ling and Ye Zheng to pursue her.
• Feng Ling realized Meteor might be after the Short-legged Sheep and spotted it near the factory entrance as the Stitched Beast lunged toward it.
• Feng Ling tried to seize the Short-legged Sheep, but it resisted her, escaped, and leapt into the Stitched Beast; Feng Ling tore off its hind half while its head merged into the monster.
• Feng Ling realized the sheep had died and understood that the Stitched Beast had planned to kill both Meteor and the sheep rather than protect them.

After the Short-legged Sheep died, the Fallen God unleashed a self-destruction that shattered the Stitched Beast and scattered chaos-tainted creatures across the refinery. Feng Ling killed the weakened Fallen God and gathered his Cards, but the surviving creatures overwhelmed the retreating forces as Huang Yi and Ye Zheng fought to contain them.

• The Short-legged Sheep’s death cleared Feng Ling’s mind, and she ordered Ye Zheng and the others to retreat as the Stitched Beast absorbed the hostages and began to swell.
• Feng Ling tried to stop the Stitched Beast with her tentacles and Mental Pressure, but its body split apart and its sacs burst, releasing countless malformed creatures.
• The Fallen God revealed himself as a frail boy and died beneath Feng Ling’s claw after his self-destruction spread chaos throughout the area.
• Feng Ling collected the Fallen God’s Cards and chased the scattered creatures, while Huang Yi and Ye Zheng fought the chaos-tainted monsters and tried to protect the Soldiers.
• Huang Yi’s whip accidentally locked Ye Zheng’s Knight Card, but he later lifted the restriction as the monsters continued to attack.

Feng Ling and Ye Zheng fought through the chaos at the oil refinery, but the sheep died and Meteor escaped. With the confused Soldiers still out of control, Feng Ling decided to hatch the Wreath Fairy using the remaining half of the sheep, hoping it could heal them.

• Feng Ling told Ye Zheng to call Little Skeleton after the sheep died, and Ye Zheng contacted Huangfu Miaomiao to ask whether the Demon King had reborn her.
• Feng Ling and Ye Zheng fought for over an hour while Huang Yi restrained the confused Soldiers, whose condition did not respond to healing.
• Feng Ling lamented the losses, including the deaths of villagers and workers, and learned that Meteor had escaped through the refinery machinery.
• Feng Ling decided to try hatching the Wreath Fairy with the remaining half of the sheep, and Green Weasel typed that the Card might have healing abilities.
• Feng Ling pressed her palm against the sheep carcass and asked the others to help name the Wreath Fairy.

Feng Ling incubated a tiny Wreath Fairy that began helping the soldiers recover from Momo’s chaos, then considered a suitable body for her remaining Card. Meanwhile, Meteor reached Risa and watched the refinery from a distance.

• Feng Ling incubated a tiny winged sheep Wreath Fairy from the half-sheep corpse and sent it to help the soldiers whose minds were in chaos.
• Feng Ling reviewed Green Weasel’s information about Lord of Sand Throat · Akash and said she wanted a creature that could break stealth after Meteor escaped.
• Green Weasel showed Feng Ling that it had sent Ling Feiran information about the Divine Healer and Saintess Cards, and explained how they might suit her Demon Main Card.
• The Wreath Fairy spread a floral scent that gradually helped the soldiers recover, then drank blood from Feng Ling before returning to assist them.
• Meteor reached Risa by hitching a ride with military reinforcements and watched the refinery from atop an oil storage tank.

Meteor returned to the villa and told Drunkard that Witch’s rebirth as the Demon King had likely cost her luck. She planned to return to the Abyss Labyrinth to investigate a possible restriction on the Hidden Boss, while Poet began preparing to set out from the hospital.

• Meteor explained that Witch had overdrafted her luck by brewing a Luck potion, and Drunkard blamed himself for her death.
• Meteor rejected Drunkard’s search for someone to blame and reminded him that he had returned to the game hoping for a third ending.
• Drunkard said the reborn Short-legged Sheep had become muddleheaded, and Meteor decided not to kill him.
• Meteor told Drunkard that Feng Ling’s reactions had faltered when she touched Short-legged Sheep, and she planned to investigate a possible game restriction in the Abyss Labyrinth.
• Meteor told Drunkard to notify Poet that Witch had been reborn and that Meteor or Poet might be next.
• After receiving Drunkard’s message, Poet decided to leave the hospital soon and noticed the nurse in charge of the ninth floor searching the corridor.

Poet used Bard’s ability to get Ling Feiran to explain her private investigation into a stolen Card and a pregnant woman’s death. When Ling Feiran suspected someone had restrained the woman before stealing her Card, Poet decided she could not be allowed to live.

• Ling Feiran returned a replacement flute to Poet and explained that she had come to cover a nurse’s shift and search for the lizard-faced patient.
• Poet used Bard’s ability to make Ling Feiran confide in him, then offered to help with her investigation.
• Ling Feiran revealed that a Card had vanished from the body of a deceased Card holder and that she had been checking windows for signs of someone climbing into rooms.
• Ling Feiran said she wanted to find the person who took the Card and ask how the pregnant woman died.
• Ling Feiran suspected the woman had been restrained so she could not cry out before someone stole her Card, and Poet decided she could not be allowed to live.

Poet used his flute to draw out Ling Feiran’s grief and learned that she believed the Supervision Bureau had murdered her fiancé, Feng Shao, and concealed the truth. Ling Feiran explained her suspicions and recalled how her adoptive family dismissed her evidence, leaving her to question whether truth mattered.

• Poet played the flute for Ling Feiran and used its calming effect to guide her into recalling her past.
• Ling Feiran said Feng Shao, her fiancé, had been killed by the Supervision Bureau, despite the Inspector blaming a Xenomorph.
• Ling Feiran explained that Feng Shao’s chest wounds suggested an Inspector killed him after he had been restrained by a Xenomorph.
• Poet encouraged Ling Feiran to hate the people who concealed Feng Shao’s death, while privately admiring her careful reasoning.
• Ling Feiran recounted how her adoptive family ignored her proof that she had not stolen money and said the truth had no meaning for orphans like her and Feng Shao.

The Poet used Mind Chord to manipulate Ling Feiran’s emotions while disguising it as a soothing melody, hoping to keep her from exposing Pashan. As Ling Feiran’s grief and despair intensified, she boarded the wrong Shuttle Bus and ended up somewhere unfamiliar.

• The Poet comforted Ling Feiran and secretly stacked Mind Chord on her, then sent her away with a melody that could later trigger Fatal Elegy.
• Ling Feiran slept fitfully, dreamed of Feng Shao, and used the melody to ease her sorrow when she woke.
• Ling Feiran’s despair returned more strongly, and she began to question whether she should keep living.
• Ling Feiran asked a colleague for leave and walked away with a severe headache.
• Ling Feiran boarded a Shuttle Bus in a daze and realized only after arriving that it had taken her to an unfamiliar destination.