Chapter Summaries

Ling Feiran, overwhelmed by despair, wandered onto the railway tracks and nearly died before Han Xu pulled her to safety. He gave her his number and urged her to contact him if she faced trouble, while she insisted she had not meant to die.

• Ling Feiran watched the Quarantine Zone’s construction and envied Lin Pengpeng’s vitality during their ride to the Train Station.
• Lin Pengpeng left Ling Feiran at the station while she and her team inspected a shipment of instruments.
• Ling Feiran wandered onto the railway tracks as a train approached, lost in thoughts of exhaustion and wanting to be free.
• Han Xu rescued Ling Feiran from the tracks and angrily scolded her for risking her life.
• Han Xu gave Ling Feiran his phone number and told her to contact him if she ran into trouble.

Ling Feiran returned to her dormitory while struggling against a despairing state of mind, then received and digested two Cards Feng Ling had prepared for her. She gained the skills Heal and Purification and used Purification to destroy the ghostly black notes surrounding her.

• Ling Feiran rode back to the dormitory with Lin Pengpeng and her colleagues, but fell back into a trance after they left.
• Auntie Wang found Ling Feiran at her room and brought her the Cards Feng Ling had prepared.
• Auntie Wang extracted the two Cards, and Ling Feiran digested Divine Healer and Saintess, reaching a Corruption Value of 6%.
• Ling Feiran named her new skills Heal and Purification.
• Ling Feiran invoked Purification, and its white light tore apart the ghostly black notes.

Ling Feiran broke free of Amir’s musical influence and transformed into her Second Form, Pazuzu. She resumed investigating the lizard-faced patient and discovered that the song’s influence spread as infected patients sang it to one another.

• Ling Feiran tore apart the notes, transformed into Pazuzu, and then withdrew her Second Form as a storm struck Guangnan.
• Ling Feiran reasoned that Amir had targeted her to silence her investigation of the lizard-faced patient and decided to find out who else his music controlled before reporting him.
• Ling Feiran used the Ghost Card to pass through a wall at the medical waste storage point and began checking the inpatient department’s windows.
• Ling Feiran saw notes around nearly every conscious Infected person and realized that patients could spread Amir’s influence by singing his folk song.
• Patients in one ward sang along with a humming patient, turning the notes red, and patients in the neighboring ward joined in after hearing them.

Ling Feiran searched the hospital for the short, lizard-faced man while discovering that nearly every patient was followed by contagious notes. She found Yalana’s song stirring the notes and used Divine Healer to cure her, but Yalana’s plea for salvation left the danger unresolved.

• Ling Feiran found crawling marks outside a ward and saw five Infected patients, but none matched the man she sought.
• Ling Feiran changed into a nurse’s uniform, entered the ward, and discovered that the patient beneath the blanket was an older woman, not the lizard-faced man.
• Ling Feiran found Yalana in severe pain after six doses of painkillers and read the nurse’s recommendation to transfer her to floors 7–9.
• Yalana began humming the familiar melody, and the two children and other patients joined in as the notes turned red.
• Ling Feiran used Divine Healer on Yalana, removing her Scales and easing her pain, and Yalana tearfully begged God to save her.

Ling Feiran called Yalana as her first Saint and promised her that a miracle would come, though she could not cure Yalana’s Gene Pollution permanently. When Yalana’s son Pashan ran from the ward, Ling Feiran suspected he might possess the lost Hundred-Armed Giant Card and went after him.

• Ling Feiran accepted the prompt to call Yalana as a Saint and discovered she could understand Yalana’s speech and sense her condition.
• Yalana affirmed her faith in gods, and Ling Feiran encouraged her to keep hope, courage, and love for the world.
• Yalana asked whether her children could be healed, but Ling Feiran hesitated to make them Saints because they would share her future injuries.
• Pashan rushed into the ward, shoved Ling Feiran, and accused her of bullying his mother; Yalana slapped him and ordered him to kneel.
• Pashan fled in tears, and Ling Feiran suspected he might have the Hundred-Armed Giant Card before chasing after him.

Ling Feiran followed Pashan through a hidden sewage pipe to the refugee settlement, where she uncovered brewing anger against the Quarantine Zone. After a refugee was struck by a Patrol Team vehicle, the crowd surged toward the Containment Net, and Ling Feiran rushed back to the inpatient building, fearing unrest there too.

• Ling Feiran tracked Pashan in lizard form as he escaped the inpatient building and entered an abandoned factory's sewage pipe.
• Ling Feiran followed Pashan to the refugee settlement and saw him ask for Amir, then discuss plans with other refugees to obtain Cards and resist their treatment.
• Refugees reported that Ticha had been hit by a Patrol Team vehicle, and the crowd gathered angrily to confront the Patrol Team.
• Ling Feiran followed the refugees to the Containment Net, where a gunshot sounded, then hurried back toward the inpatient building.

Ling Feiran discovered that Amir’s music had spread musical notes to the nurses and was turning accumulated pain into hatred. After the Head Nurse was found dead, Ling Feiran stopped the staff from attacking the patients and explained that Amir’s music had driven the Head Nurse to suicide and was pushing vulnerable people toward extreme actions.

• Ling Feiran saw musical notes on Liu Wen and hurried with her to find the Head Nurse after warning that Amir’s music might be controlling people.
• Ling Feiran and the volunteers found the Head Nurse dead in her office, with the scene arranged to look like murder.
• Liu Wen and the other nurses erupted into rage and called for revenge against the patients as the notes intensified their emotions.
• Ling Feiran used her skill to calm the volunteers and told Liu Wen that the Head Nurse had died by suicide and someone wanted to throw the department into chaos.
• Ling Feiran explained that Amir’s music amplified negative emotions, and Liu Wen realized that the staff might have been controlled by it all along.

Ling Feiran organized the volunteers to contain the patients as Amir’s song stirred hatred and chaos through the inpatient department. While they injected patients with anesthetics, one patient revealed that he had taken the Head Nurse’s Card.

• Ling Feiran explained that Amir had used music to turn the Infected against the volunteers and had driven the Head Nurse to suicide.
• When the Guard Team did not answer and the patients began reacting to the song, Ling Feiran told the volunteers to gather, guard the exits, and obtain anesthetics.
• Ling Feiran and two volunteers went ward to ward, using their Cards to help her clear Amir’s influence as they tried to sedate the patients.
• A patient resisted an injection, broke free from the volunteers, and shouted that he had not killed the Head Nurse but had taken her Card.

Ling Feiran stopped a ward full of hostile patients from attacking the volunteers and tried to reform a terrified man who denied killing the Head Nurse. Meanwhile, refugees attacked the Patrol Team and the Iron Curtain Project site, prompting Pei Xianjue to send reinforcements.

• After a volunteer accused a bloodied patient of killing the Head Nurse, the patients stopped singing and advanced on Ling Feiran and the other volunteers.
• Yalana arrived with two children, and Ling Feiran asked her to translate while she used Purification on the children and helped get the patients to accept painkiller injections.
• When the five patients fell asleep, Ling Feiran said she wanted to use her skill to reform the remaining man, who insisted that he had not killed anyone.
• The Patrol Team captain told Pei Xianjue that hundreds of singing refugees were attacking, the Containment Net's electricity had failed, and more refugees were gathering at the Iron Curtain Project.
• Pei Xianjue ordered all Patrol Teams from the southeastern and southwestern coasts and every Guard Team in the city to reinforce the scene.

Pei Xianjue rushed to respond after refugees attacked the Patrol Team, then brought Huangfu Miaomiao with her when she feared the unrest might target her. As refugees occupied the Iron Curtain Array Construction Site and a soldier’s Protective Suit was damaged, Pei Xianjue ordered all available forces to surround the site and mount a rescue.

• Pei Xianjue suspected Xenomorphs were behind the refugees’ attack and turned back to collect Huangfu Miaomiao before heading to the front.
• Pei Xianjue learned that refugees had flooded the Iron Curtain Array Construction Site and trapped the soldiers stationed inside.
• Huangfu Miaomiao urged Pei Xianjue to use force against the refugees, while Baozi warned that doing so could amount to massacring civilians.
• Pei Xianjue privately considered how casualties could justify a military response and protect her political standing.
• Pei Xianjue learned that a soldier’s Protective Suit had been damaged in a physical clash and ordered all forces to surround the site and rescue the soldiers.

Poet manipulated the refugees’ emotions and drove them into a violent assault on the Patrol Team at the Construction Site, while a monster he called Pashan attacked the convoy. When reinforcements arrived, Poet left for the inpatient department to investigate why his musical “chords” had not worked; Baozi and Huangfu Miaomiao reached the site and sensed a mass of negative emotions.

• Poet conducted the refugees into attacking the Patrol Team, intensifying their rage and despair with his music.
• Poet tried to make a young Patrol Team member hate the refugees, but his notes revealed the team member felt no malice toward them.
• Pashan appeared as a many-headed, many-armed monster and flipped an armored vehicle, prompting Patrol Team members to fight back in their Second Forms.
• As Pashan began to shrink, Poet tried to summon his missing chords, then left across a steel wire when his music still received no response.
• Reinforcements from the Quarantine Zone and Pei Xianjue’s convoy arrived, while Baozi and Huangfu Miaomiao sensed the negative emotions near the Construction Site.

Pei Xianjue and Huangfu Miaomiao tried to stop the emotion-controlled refugees while searching for the Xenomorph behind the crisis. After a Drone spotted a suspicious tightrope walker heading into the city, Pei Xianjue redirected the convoy to investigate, but the enemy’s objective remained unknown.

• Baozi identified intense hatred among the refugees and warned that their emotions, and those of the Soldiers, had been affected by a Xenomorph.
• Pei Xianjue called for scarce mental-type volunteers, then ordered sound systems and Drones equipped with amplifiers to disrupt the music controlling the refugees.
• Pei Xianjue sent Baozi and two vehicles to support the Construction Site while her own convoy continued through the rain.
• Huangfu Miaomiao used the All-Seeing Eye and saw notes throughout the area near the refugee settlement, prompting Pei Xianjue to warn Baozi and dispatch Drones.
• Pei Xianjue reviewed Drone footage of a figure walking a tightrope into the city, ordered a search and security checks, and learned that the station, Warehouse, and engineers' Apartments were safe.
• Huangfu Miaomiao offered to use the All-Seeing Eye again to locate the tightrope walker as Pei Xianjue worried about the Xenomorph's hidden objective.

Huangfu Miaomiao used the All-Seeing Eye to locate the Second Inpatient Department, where Ling Feiran was exhausting herself purifying patients affected by the singing. The Poet attacked her, but Pei Xianjue arrived with reinforcements before he could finish the job.

• Huangfu Miaomiao spotted notes near a hospital and identified it as the Second Inpatient Department, prompting Pei Xianjue to order the driver there.
• Ling Feiran told Liu Wen to move the lucid patients away from the contagious singing and sent Yalana and the saints to guard the rooms where patients were still singing.
• The Poet appeared outside the building and announced that he intended to kill Ling Feiran for points.
• The Poet’s iron nails struck Ling Feiran, but her wounds healed, and he questioned how she had the Doctor’s skill and what connection she had to Feng Ling.
• The saints shielded Ling Feiran as the Poet prepared another attack, but Pei Xianjue arrived with reinforcements and ordered them to kill him.

The Hunters attacked the Bard, but he summoned a powerful Heroic Spirit Phantom and escaped after Meteor revealed the skill’s time limit. While fleeing through a sewage pipe toward the Molian River, the Bard sensed someone approaching and saw a ghostly woman emerge from the darkness.

• The Hunters shot at the Bard and dragged him from the eleventh floor, but he survived the fall and used a Recovery Syringe.
• The Bard activated Heroic Ballad, summoning a black-haired swordsman whose attacks injured the Hunters while their attacks passed through him.
• Huangfu Miaomiao warned the Hunters that the summoned phantom would disappear after twenty seconds, then hid when the Bard recognized her as Meteor.
• The Heroic Spirit Phantom dissipated, and the Hunters reported two serious injuries and seven minor injuries as the Bard escaped.
• The Bard crawled through a sewage pipe toward the Molian River and messaged the Drunkard that Meteor had ruined his performance.
• The Bard sensed danger in the pipe and saw a ghostly woman emerge from the darkness.

Ling Feiran confronted Poet in a pipe and demanded one of his Cards to ease her pain. She poisoned and killed him, and four Cards emerged from his body.

• Ling Feiran accused Poet of deceiving her and explained how losing Shao had left her in pain.
• Poet tried to attack Ling Feiran with Fatal Elegy, but the notes were torn apart by her Wraith form.
• Ling Feiran decided Poet's Card could keep her happy and transformed before chasing him through the pipe.
• Poet fled, but Ling Feiran's viruses weakened him and prevented him from logging out.
• Ling Feiran pinned Poet's hand with an iron nail, and Poet died after convulsing; four Cards emerged from his body.

Ling Feiran killed Amir, chose a Musician Card, and gave the remaining Cards to Yalana and her children so they could defend themselves. As rising floodwater swept Amir’s body away, Drunkard learned that the game character had died.

• Ling Feiran absorbed the Musician Card, which gave her a new skill and slightly increased her Card Deck’s growth.
• Ling Feiran called Yalana and offered her and her children the three remaining Cards.
• Yalana and her children absorbed the Cards and described their abilities, while Ling Feiran reassured her son that his ability to take items from Xenomorphs was justified.
• Ling Feiran led Yalana’s family out of the rising sewage pipe as rainwater carried Amir’s corpse away.
• Drunkard’s message failed, and she told Meteor that the game character had died.

After learning that Poet had died, Meteor and Drunkard discussed the loss of his Heroic Ballad and remembered how Black Spot’s decision to absorb the Hive had fractured the Star Society. They decided to use news of chaos surrounding Poet’s prematurely ended show to locate where he had been, leaving Meteor’s separated body still at risk.

• Drunkard told Meteor that Poet had died shortly after saying her body caused his grand show to end early, leaving Meteor as the only Reincarnation Vessel.
• Meteor lamented losing access to Poet’s Heroic Ballad, and Drunkard blamed Black Spot’s death on his reckless decision to absorb the incompatible Hive Card.
• Meteor and Drunkard recalled the Star Society’s early Maze raids, Black Spot’s generosity with Cards, and Meteor’s growth after absorbing All-Seeing Eye.
• Meteor remembered how Black Spot’s behavior changed after the team’s first Abyss Labyrinth raid, where he killed the Boss and Meteor claimed All-Seeing Eye.
• Drunkard searched Poet’s messages for his location, and Meteor suggested they watch the news for sudden chaos caused by Poet’s plans.

Meteor, Drunkard, and Cang Wu traveled through the wilderness with the Short-legged Sheep while discussing the Star Society’s former goal and how to fight Feng Ling. Meteor gave Cang Wu two Cards and revealed she had another plan, then the group reached a familiar snowy mountain range.

• Drunkard, Meteor, and Cang Wu left the car and brought the bound Short-legged Sheep with them into the wilderness.
• Cang Wu explained that he had joined the Star Society to see whether it could give every Player a Ticket, and recalled how its Players once farmed Points through Mazes.
• Cang Wu described his encounter with the Hidden Boss, and Meteor assessed his Cards and pointed out the weaknesses in his deck.
• Meteor gave Cang Wu Corrupting Insect and Poison Master, saying they could weaken enemies and counter the Hidden Boss’s recovery.
• Drunkard suggested using an Abyss Card against Feng Ling, but Meteor rejected the idea and said she had another plan.
• The group reached a snowy mountain slope, and Drunkard recognized the place.

Meteor and Drunkard returned to the Saint Imis Mountain Range and discussed Black Spot, their past failures, and why the Star Society’s plan to obtain Tickets had fallen apart. Meteor revealed that the Society had gained a major advantage using reusable Key Codes, while Cang Wu vowed to help her pursue a Ticket.

• Meteor showed Drunkard the Teleportation Array she had left near the Maze entrance in case she returned to search for Black Spot.
• Meteor explained that Black Spot may have survived by reaching the sea and traveling to Qingjiang City, where he encountered Feng Ling.
• Drunkard apologized for logging off during the search, and Meteor said the group had failed because they were willing to settle for Points instead of pursuing Tickets with full resolve.
• Meteor told Cang Wu that high-tier Cards and Rare Items were Key Codes obtained in advance, allowing Star Society members to win Scoreboard rewards and earn Tickets.
• Meteor explained that Messenger had distrusted her after suspecting the Key Codes caused a game Bug and had instead backed Short-legged Sheep.
• Cang Wu vowed not to betray Meteor and promised to risk her life in future efforts.

Meteor and Drunkard entered the ruined Hive Maze and discovered that Contaminants had survived by feeding on the Hive Remains. Feng Ling briefly sensed a connection to the Maze, but her feeling disappeared before she could identify its cause.

• Cang Wu pledged loyalty to Meteor, and Meteor had Drunkard transfer twenty thousand Points to her so she would have a way out.
• Drunkard accepted the Short-legged Sheep's Maze quest, and Meteor stepped through the Labyrinth Gate into the scorched Maze.
• Feng Ling sensed a strange call and flew with Ye Zheng and Green Weasel toward its source, but the feeling vanished and they returned to the airport.
• Drunkard found a tender shoot and a lizard in the ruined Maze, then summoned the Bone King and spotted more small Contaminants.
• Meteor explained that the surviving Contaminants could feed on nutrients in the Hive Remains.