Qi Xia pondered briefly before asking, “A ‘welcoming party’?”

“Yes.” Yun Yao nodded. “It should have been held last night originally, but last night we drove to find Xiao Nian… so it was postponed to today.”

“Is this necessary?” Lin Qin interjected. “We’ve already lost many teammates… This ‘welcoming party’ sounds far too ironic…”

“I know, which is why I said ‘it’s a bit presumptuous’…” Yun Yao smiled bitterly. “Never mind, you all rest then. I’ll go ask some other people.”

Before Yun Yao could leave, Qi Xia called out to her again.

“What’s the main purpose of this ‘welcoming party’?”

After hearing this, Yun Yao pondered briefly before saying, “Mainly to introduce everyone to each other and facilitate later operations… Oh right, we’ll also be serving beer to everyone.”

Upon hearing this, Qiao Jiajin stood up with a “whoosh.”

“Damn… that sounds really important. We definitely have to go.”

Han Yimo seemed not to understand. “What’s so important about it?”

“It’s a ‘welcoming party’! Writer boy…” Qiao Jiajin grabbed Han Yimo’s hand with some excitement. “It sounds really important…”

Han Yimo looked at Qi Xia with confusion. He still didn’t understand—what was the big deal about a “welcoming party”?

Qi Xia sighed helplessly. “What deep plans do you think Brother Qiao could have? He’s practically written ‘I want to drink beer’ all over his face.”

“That’s right…” Qiao Jiajin smiled sheepishly. “In these four years, I’ve only drunk beer once, and that was right before I died…”

…

Although Qi Xia didn’t really want to attend this “welcoming party,” Qiao Jiajin wanted to come after all.

Qi Xia knew he rarely had such strong opinions, so he decided to fulfill his wish.

When the four set out, Han Yimo insisted on bringing Doctor Zhao along.

He said that during the last cycle, Doctor Zhao had tried to save him—not only stitching up his harpoon wound but also staying with him and talking to keep him from losing consciousness. So he must be a good person.

Qi Xia didn’t dare say whether Doctor Zhao was a good person or not, but at least he was a qualified doctor who had shown a very professional side when saving people.

As for his character… people were complex and multifaceted. He could only withhold judgment.

The “welcoming party” was held in the school cafeteria.

Everyone had pushed all the tables in the cafeteria together, arranging them into two long tables. Many candles were lit on the long tables, illuminating the modest-sized cafeteria brightly.

Many canned goods, puffed foods, dried fruits, and beverages were piled on the tables, looking quite spectacular.

Where on earth had Chu Tianqiu found all these things?

The five found a spot and slowly sat down. There were already over thirty people present.

At this moment, Chu Tianqiu, Zhang Shan, and Yun Yao stood at the very front of the crowd, greeting people as they came and went.

It seemed that just as Little Glasses and Jin Yuanxun had described, everyone here had been recruited by Chu Tianqiu.

“Why haven’t we seen that Teacher Xiao at all?” Lin Qin asked. “Did she go out?”

Qi Xia and Qiao Jiajin simultaneously turned to look at Doctor Zhao.

“I don’t know…” Doctor Zhao shook his head. “I haven’t seen her for a while either.”

“Good riddance.” Qiao Jiajin picked up a beverage from the table and looked at it. “That woman is annoying as hell.”

Though he said this, Qi Xia felt an uneasy feeling in his heart.

Qiao Jiajin didn’t care. He rummaged around the table for a while before his expression suddenly turned serious. “Oh no… we’ve been played!”

“Huh?” Han Yimo, sitting beside him, was startled and quickly looked around. “Wh-what’s going on? Who played us?”

Qiao Jiajin turned back with a serious expression and said, “Writer boy, there’s no alcohol here! We’ve been deceived!”

Looking at Qiao Jiajin’s expression, Qi Xia wanted nothing more than to punch him.

He had never seen him show such an expression even when facing the black bear. Was “no alcohol” scarier than a black bear?

“I’m telling you… you’d better not scare Han Yimo…” Qi Xia advised. “He’s timid. If you scare him badly, it’ll be troublesome.”

“Timid?” Qiao Jiajin put his arm around Han Yimo. “Writer boy, with me and Liar boy here, is there anything we can’t handle?”

After hearing this, Han Yimo smiled slightly. “When you put it that way, I suppose…”

After everyone had taken their seats, Chu Tianqiu, standing at the front, spoke.

“Everyone… although we’ve all already met, I still need to introduce myself.” He nodded to the crowd with scholarly courtesy. “My name is Chu Tianqiu, and I’m currently the guide for all of ‘Heaven’s Mouth.'”

After speaking, he extended his hand to the side. “This is Yun Yao. She’s the vice leader of ‘Heaven’s Mouth.’ If I’m not here, all logistics and task assignments will be decided by her.”

Everyone greeted Yun Yao accordingly. Most people present had seen Chu Tianqiu, but not everyone had seen Yun Yao.

Her harmless temperament and approachable smile left a good impression on everyone at first sight.

“And this person on the left is Zhang Shan.” Chu Tianqiu continued introducing. “He’s also a vice leader of ‘Heaven’s Mouth,’ mainly responsible for leading everyone in participating in games.”

Zhang Shan nodded to everyone.

“There’s no need for everyone to be too depressed.” Chu Tianqiu said. “This is our desolate place of endless reincarnation. No matter how many times you die, I will bring you back to ‘Heaven’s Mouth.’ You will forever be a part of this place. So you can cast aside all worldly concerns and focus on completing our goal.”

After speaking, he turned to look at Zhang Shan and gave him a look.

Zhang Shan nodded knowingly and brought out two cases of beer from under a nearby table.

“Today is the ‘welcoming party.’ We will provide large amounts of food resources to entertain everyone, but starting tomorrow, everyone will need to spend ‘Dao’ to purchase food. Those who can’t do this can leave ‘Heaven’s Mouth’ at any time. We don’t support freeloaders here.”

Qiao Jiajin quietly raised his hand at this moment.

“What is it?” Chu Tianqiu looked at him.

“Can ‘Dao’ buy alcohol?”

“Yes.” Chu Tianqiu nodded. “But alcohol costs more than regular food.”

“That’s fine.” Qiao Jiajin smiled. “I’m better than regular people.”

“Very good.” Chu Tianqiu smiled. “Starting tomorrow, Zhang Shan will lead teams in ‘Earth’ level games. High risk brings high rewards. Anyone who wants to participate in games can contact him. However, tomorrow we don’t recommend novices participate—we’re only recruiting those who retain their memories.”

Qi Xia remembered that on the second day of the last cycle, Zhang Shan had also led a team to participate in games. They had encountered each other in the “Earth Ox” game.

Zhang Shan distributed the beer onto the tables, one bottle per person.

Neither Qi Xia nor Han Yimo drank, so they gave theirs to Qiao Jiajin, who looked exceptionally happy.

After biting off the bottle cap with his teeth, he gulped down several mouthfuls, showing an expression of enjoyment. But after a while, he said somewhat disappointedly, “Room temperature. Not good.”

“That’s enough.” Qi Xia shook his head. “Where in this place could they find cold beer for you?”