Chapter Summaries

Feng Ling and Huangfu Miaomiao discussed Xenomorphs’ plans and learned about the Star Society before Pei Xianjue invited them for skincare at the Supervision Bureau. The chapter ended with Feng Ling agreeing to accompany Pei Xianjue to bodyguard interviews at Yuquan Forest Farm so her two little ones could run in the grassy field.

• Huangfu Miaomiao read Forum complaints about lost Points and mentioned the Star Society, which had campaigned against the Abyss.
• Pei Xianjue invited Feng Ling and Huangfu Miaomiao to lunch at the Supervision Bureau and learned that Li Qing had escaped by climbing down a bedsheet from the ninth floor.
• Pei Xianjue said damaged surveillance lines had prevented the Security Department from tracking Li Qing, then invited Feng Ling to try skincare treatments.
• Feng Ling, Huangfu Miaomiao, and Pei Xianjue received facials while Pei Xianjue described two incidents that Liang Zhou had resolved.
• Pei Xianjue invited Feng Ling to help judge bodyguard candidates at Yuquan Forest Farm, and Feng Ling agreed so her two little ones could run in the field.

Feng Ling accompanied Pei Xianjue to interview prospective Hunters for the Pei Clan Group and learned how the company planned to train and profit from them. Huangfu Miaomiao spotted a Player among the interviewees, leaving Feng Ling to watch the situation while keeping the warning from the group.

• Pei Xianjue explained that the Pei Clan Group would sign Hunter Contracts with promising candidates and make money through security work, media appearances, and merchandise.
• Feng Ling and Pei Xianjue arrived at Yuquan Forest Farm, where Baozi had gathered the interviewees to demonstrate their abilities.
• Huangfu Miaomiao warned Feng Ling that a person in a gray T-shirt was a Player and asked whether they should cancel the interview.
• Feng Ling sent Huangfu Miaomiao to stay in the air-conditioned vehicle, then let the Cat Spider and Cat Owl out of their truck.
• Feng Ling suspected the Player might be investigating Pei Xianjue and chose not to warn her within the interviewees' hearing.

Feng Ling and Pei Xianjue watched candidates demonstrate their abilities in interviews for Pei Xianjue’s bodyguard team. Fang Ye recognized Feng Ling from the Underground Cave operation, and the interview continued as the other candidates asked him about it.

• Baozi explained that the interview would select a bodyguard who could also fight Xenomorphs and protect Yuquan City.
• The gray-shirted Xenomorph drew No. 1 but asked to go last, while No. 2 demonstrated her Nether Butterfly hallucination ability on Feng Ling.
• No. 3 transformed into a powerful Bearman and sent sandbags flying with a punch.
• Fang Ye demonstrated his Mermaid Card and reminded Feng Ling that they had met during the Underground Cave operation in Jiangkou City.
• Feng Ling told Pei Xianjue that she and Fang Ye had met once, and the interview moved on to No. 5.
• The other interviewees asked Fang Ye about the Underground Cave operation, and he felt special as he answered.

During Pei Xianjue’s bodyguard interviews, Feng Ling recognized that Xiao Zhiwen was a Xenomorph trying to test her Card Ability. After Feng Ling subdued him, Pei Xianjue offered the interviewees a reward for killing him, and the disguised Xenomorph cried out for Starlight.

• The interviewees demonstrated their abilities while Pei Xianjue considered their strength and personalities.
• Xiao Zhiwen asked Feng Ling to cooperate with his demonstration, and Feng Ling grew suspicious of his unusual insistence.
• Feng Ling identified Xiao Zhiwen as a Xenomorph, and he revealed himself by scattering Colorful Scale Powder before fleeing with copied abilities.
• Feng Ling’s Mental Pressure brought Xiao Zhiwen and the surrounding interviewees to their knees, while Baozi protected Pei Xianjue from the pressure.
• Baozi revealed that the Xenomorph had impersonated the real Xiao Zhiwen, and Pei Xianjue promised a million to whoever killed it.
• Feng Ling withdrew her pressure, the interviewees attacked the Xenomorph, and it screamed for Starlight to save it.

Feng Ling and Pei Xianjue’s interview was interrupted by Xiao Zhiwen, who fought under apparent remote guidance before the Cat Owl and Cat Spider killed him. After the candidates were sent away, Feng Ling searched the corpse and discovered a strange eye between its collarbones.

• Xiao Zhiwen attacked the interviewees, and Feng Ling realized his improved fighting tactics suggested someone was guiding him.
• Feng Ling’s Cat Owl used Mental Pressure to hinder Xiao Zhiwen and the interviewees, while the Cat Spider attacked him.
• The Cat Owl and Cat Spider fought over Xiao Zhiwen until they tore his head from his body, and Pei Xianjue awarded each interviewee a 100,000 bonus.
• Fang Ye returned to the bus hoping to pass the interview and get closer to Feng Ling.
• Feng Ling and Pei Xianjue found that Xiao Zhiwen had logged off without yielding a Card, and Feng Ling searched his clothes for a possible earpiece.
• Feng Ling found an eyelid-like growth between Xiao Zhiwen’s collarbones and discovered a large grayish-purple eye beneath it.

After the Xenomorph attack, Feng Ling examined the creature’s dried eye and took Huangfu Miaomiao toward Sanqing Mountain to track Li Qing. Back on the bus, the interviewees celebrated Fang Ye’s bravery and praised his chances of passing.

• Feng Ling pulled the eye from the Xenomorph, guessed it was a Card Ability that could let someone see and hear through another person, and kept it to investigate.
• Feng Ling and Pei Xianjue returned to the vehicle, where Huangfu Miaomiao could not identify the eye or explain why the Xenomorph had shouted “Starlight.”
• After the Special Forces and Cleaners arrived, Feng Ling sent Cat Spider and Cat Owl back to the truck and arranged to take them elsewhere for a walk.
• Feng Ling and Huangfu Miaomiao left for the Sanqing Mountain Scenic Area, and Feng Ling used the Mark to track Li Qing’s location.
• On the bus back to the city, the interviewees praised Fang Ye for charging through the Scale Powder and predicted he would pass the interview.

Feng Ling and Huangfu Miaomiao found Li Qing apparently dead in the overheated RV, but the Green Weasel revived him after Huangfu Miaomiao injected it. Feng Ling sent Li Qing to clean up and Huangfu Miaomiao to buy him a Daoist robe, then tried to get Li Qing to come out so they could talk.

• Feng Ling and Huangfu Miaomiao found Li Qing motionless in the RV, with no heartbeat and a cold body.
• Huangfu Miaomiao found a General Treatment Injectable and All-Purpose Preservative in Li Qing's hand, then injected the Green Weasel.
• The Green Weasel drank water and returned to Li Qing's clothes, after which Li Qing opened his eyes.
• Li Qing explained that he had fainted with a fever before using his Potion, and Feng Ling told him to shower and change clothes.
• Feng Ling sent Huangfu Miaomiao to buy a Daoist robe, then knocked on the Bathroom door and asked Li Qing to come out and talk.

Feng Ling questioned Li Qing about his use of a corpse and learned how Administrators were being hunted by Players. Seeking a Card for her Hive’s evolution, she asked him about a parasitic eye ability and learned its holder belonged to the Star Society.

• Li Qing explained that his Diviner Card’s Soul Summoning ability let him control the corpse of a Taoist named Li Qing, which he had used to investigate Administrators going offline abnormally.
• Li Qing told Feng Ling that many Administrators had reported being attacked by Players, and that the survivors were hiding to avoid being hunted.
• Feng Ling gave Li Qing a Xenomorph’s eye and said she felt her Hive needed its ability to reach its final evolutionary form.
• Li Qing identified the ability as likely belonging to the Eye of Horus Card, which let its holder place eye-shaped parasites on others to see and hear through them.
• Li Qing said the Eye of Horus holder had joined the Star Society, and warned Feng Ling that its Players were Madmen.

Feng Ling and Li Qing agreed to cooperate, then prepared to seek out a Labyrinth Administrator while gathering supplies and training. An emergency order called Hunters to the north to fight Contaminants, and Feng Ling decided to go.

• Feng Ling offered to protect Li Qing and help rescue Administrators in exchange for information about the Star Society, and Li Qing accepted her offer.
• Li Qing proposed finding a Labyrinth Administrator that had survived a recent Player attack, and Feng Ling agreed to go with him.
• Feng Ling, Huangfu Miaomiao, and Li Qing met in the RV and drafted a plan to gather supplies, weapons, and equipment.
• Feng Ling trained with firearms at Pei Xianjue's training grounds for three days.
• Feng Ling received an emergency order recruiting Hunters to fight Contaminants damaging the Containment Net in the north, and she decided to go.

Feng Ling traveled north on a special train for the Cleansing Operation, where she unexpectedly encountered Su Yuqing, who was searching for news of Ye Zheng. After arriving in the polluted northern region, she saw infected residents suffering in a makeshift hospital.

• Feng Ling arranged a special train carriage so she could travel with her companions and pets.
• Feng Ling ran into Su Yuqing on the train and learned he had come north to investigate Ye Zheng's disappearance.
• Feng Ling resolved to find the eye and eliminate the Squirrel before it could ruin her plans.
• The train arrived at a small northern station, and staff in Protective Suits led the Hunters toward their accommodations.
• Feng Ling and the Hunters passed a makeshift hospital where infected residents cried and suffered from the Maze's pollution.

Feng Ling and the Hunters arrived in Black Mountain Town and saw the severe effects of Gene Pollution before settling into a temporary base. After finding confusion on the Hunter Forum about Pollution Spread, Feng Ling explained how a Labyrinth Administrator’s death caused a Maze to merge with the real world and how killing its Master could stop only some of the pollution.

• Feng Ling saw patients with mutated limbs and frost-like moss in the Medical Area, and Huangfu Miaomiao said her healing injections could not treat genetic mutations.
• Feng Ling secured permission to pitch a tent on the school playground for her Cat Spider and Cat Owl, then helped move supplies there.
• Hunters discussed the patients and suppressed reports on the forum while Feng Ling noticed that they knew little about Mazes and Xenomorphs.
• Feng Ling asked Li Qing for the coordinates of places where Labyrinth Administrators had died, and he agreed to convert them into human map coordinates.
• Feng Ling posted that an Administrator’s death caused Maze Pollution Spread and that killing the Labyrinth Master could not erase pollution that had already crossed the Maze’s perimeter.

Feng Ling shared information about the lingering pollution and avoided calls to lead the Hunter Alliance, while Huangfu Miaomiao worried that Feng Ling might turn against her. At a separate camp, Su Yuqing remained unable to contact Ye Zheng and Xu Yiming asked him to arrange a proper introduction to Feng Ling before they entered the Maze.

• Li Qing explained that pollution could take years or decades to disappear and that living Labyrinth Masters could worsen its spread by expanding their territory.
• Feng Ling published her update, ignored readers urging her to lead the Hunter Alliance, and gave Huangfu Miaomiao and Li Qing skull masks.
• Huangfu Miaomiao felt anxious about the hunters and feared Feng Ling might someday hate her, but Feng Ling offered her a matching mask.
• Su Yuqing reviewed Ye Zheng's cryptic messages and remained unable to reach her, so he had come with a healthy clone to confirm her safety.
• Xu Yiming showed Su Yuqing Feng Ling's Forum post and asked him to introduce them properly so they might team up with her inside the Maze.

Su Yuqing recruited Feng Ling to join Xu Yiming’s team for the operation, and General Yan briefed the Hunters on their mission to clear the remaining Contaminants in the Maze. The assembly ended with a Hunter asking whether they would operate without a Leader.

• Su Yuqing contacted Xu Yiming to help search for Ye Zheng, and Xu Yiming agreed to work with Feng Ling after learning she understood the Maze.
• Su Yuqing asked Feng Ling to cooperate with their team, and she agreed without making demands.
• The second batch of Hunters arrived in Black Mountain Town and gathered for a briefing by General Yan.
• General Yan explained that the Maze’s remaining Areas A, B, and C still held active Contaminants and ordered the Hunters to eliminate them.
• A Hunter asked General Yan whether the teams would operate freely or have a Leader.

Feng Ling and the other Hunters entered the contaminated Maze to search Zone A and fight its mutated creatures. The chapter ended as Feng Ling, Huangfu Miaomiao, and Li Qing stood motionless while the others battled a pack of Ice-Horned Wolves.

• General Yan refused to provide Protective Suits for the Hunters, gave them supplies and Micro Cameras, and advised them to split between Zones A, B, and C.
• Feng Ling joined Su Yuqing’s group and chose to enter Zone A with him.
• More than eighty Hunters approached the Containment Net, encountered dead animals and Contaminants, and gradually split into smaller groups.
• Feng Ling entered the Maze with Huangfu Miaomiao, Li Qing, and Su Yuqing, followed by Xu Yiming and the other Hunters.
• The Hunters fought a pack of Ice-Horned Wolves, while Feng Ling, Huangfu Miaomiao, and Li Qing stood still and watched.

After the Hunters rested at a campsite left by the Investigation Team, Feng Ling agreed to use Li Qing’s divination to find the direction with the most Contaminants. As the group prepared to set out, she quietly asked Li Qing whether that thing still existed in the heavily damaged Maze.

• The Hunters found a campsite, recognized signs that the Investigation Team had rested there, and stopped to warm themselves by a bonfire.
• Xu Yiming asked Su Yuqing why Feng Ling had not fought, and Su Yuqing explained that her ability was inconvenient to use in her Cold-Resistant Suit.
• Several female Hunters petted Feng Ling’s Cat Spider and asked about her Card Ability; Feng Ling explained that she cultivated new species and fed them fresh meat.
• Feng Ling asked Li Qing to divine the direction with the most Contaminants, and the Hunters agreed to rest ten more minutes before heading out.
• Feng Ling quietly asked Li Qing whether that thing still existed in the badly damaged Maze.

Feng Ling searched for an Idol to remove her useless Jellyfish Card and warned the Hunters about a Xenomorph that could plant eyes on others. The group encountered Snow Butterflies, then discovered a tree covered in hidden Contaminants as a branch attacked Cat Owl.

• Feng Ling explained that her Jellyfish Card had lost its ability to turn her transparent, and Li Qing agreed to help her find an Idol.
• Feng Ling showed the Hunters a specimen eye and asked them to report any Xenomorphs with similar eyes growing on their bodies.
• Feng Ling led the group through a silent forest while Cat Owl scouted ahead, but they found no signs of animals or Contaminants.
• The Hunters spotted and killed more than a hundred Snow Butterflies after Huangfu Miaomiao identified them as low-danger Contaminants.
• Cat Owl screeched, and Huangfu Miaomiao warned that the larch overhead was covered in Contaminants; a branch then stabbed toward Cat Owl.

Feng Ling and the Hunters encountered aggressive Night Spirits camouflaged as branches in the trees and decided to lure them down rather than climb into their attack range. Feng Ling tied a dead wolf beneath a tree as bait, promising to handle the creatures once they descended.

• The Cat Owl attacked a branch-like Night Spirit, which revealed its long body before leaping into a tree and disappearing among the branches.
• Huangfu Miaomiao identified the creature as a Night Spirit, and Su Yuqing explained how its hooked legs helped it climb.
• Feng Ling and the Hunters rejected setting a fire or climbing the trees as too dangerous, and Feng Ling proposed drawing the Night Spirits down with food.
• Feng Ling speculated that the Night Spirits had multiplied after the Labyrinth Master's death disrupted the Maze's food chain.
• Xu Yiming returned with dead wolves, and Feng Ling tied one beneath a tree as bait while the Hunters watched and waited.

Feng Ling discovered that the Night Spirits were attracted to blood and used a Grenade to destroy those gathered around a wolf carcass. As the Hunters prepared more traps and Huangfu Miaomiao joined in, Feng Ling grew bored and asked Li Qing to help her understand the Hive Card.

• Feng Ling cut open a wolf carcass, drawing the Night Spirits out of the trees with its blood.
• Feng Ling threw a Grenade at the gathered Night Spirits and blasted many of them apart.
• The Hunters split into groups to set more traps, and Feng Ling allowed Huangfu Miaomiao to help while warning her to be careful.
• Feng Ling burned the severed Night Spirits by a fire and asked Li Qing about the Maze Boss and local legends.
• Feng Ling turned the conversation to her Hive Card, startling Li Qing by asking him to help figure it out.

Feng Ling explained to Li Qing why she would not follow the Hive’s growth path toward endless reproduction, and they decided to focus on strengthening her weaknesses instead. Li Qing continued searching for Mazes without Administrators, while Huangfu Miaomiao returned to ask permission to hunt more Contaminants.

• Feng Ling told Li Qing that the Hive’s drive to nurture and multiply could eventually consume her and threaten humanity, so she wanted to adjust her growth direction.
• Li Qing proposed that Feng Ling compensate for weaknesses the Hive could not improve, such as her movement speed, by nurturing specialized Contaminants.
• Feng Ling agreed to shift from relying on quantity to improving quality, and Li Qing promised to search the Card library for suitable Cards.
• Li Qing said he had found forty-one Mazes without Administrators and had sorted through about half of them.
• Huangfu Miaomiao returned after blowing up nearby Contaminants and asked Feng Ling to let her hunt more; Feng Ling agreed and remarked that Little Skeleton disliked Li Qing.

Feng Ling and the Hunters found a dead Star Society Xenomorph, and Xiao Hai used his Card to see Ye Zheng kill it. Unable to contact Ye Zheng, Su Yuqing set out with a group to search Zones B and C while most Hunters stayed in Zone A to hunt Contaminants.

• Feng Ling identified a corpse's embedded eye as belonging to a Star Society Xenomorph and removed it.
• Xiao Hai used his Card on the corpse and saw Ye Zheng stab the Xenomorph from its perspective.
• Su Yuqing called Ye Zheng, learned she was outside Zone A and Zone D, and narrowed her location to Zones B or C.
• Xu Yiming proposed splitting up, with some Hunters staying in Zone A and others searching for Ye Zheng.
• Feng Ling, Su Yuqing, Xu Yiming, Xiao Hai, and several Hunters chose to search Zones B and C while most Hunters remained behind.