Bringing up the frog seemed to trap the topic in a dead end.

For a moment, no one spoke. The cave was deathly quiet.

But even without speaking, time was quietly passing. Before long, the golden ball would appear again and tell them the next round was about to begin, and their lives would once again hang by a thread between life and death.

During the silence, Hui Ge sized up Shen Mo and Tan Xiao. Gradually, suspicion crept into his eyes. “I say, you two aren’t chickening out, are you?”

“If you’re not chickening out, you go!” Tan Xiao glared at him coldly.

Hui Ge was stumped.

He quickly recovered, letting out a light snort.

“I’d love to go.” He glanced at Shen Mo. “Too bad I don’t have certain people’s skills.”

Among these people, only Shen Mo could inflict real damage on the frog.

“The able do more work. Brother, I’ll have to trouble you to continue charging into battle next round.” Hui Ge’s lips curved into a roguish smile as he spoke these words with complete righteousness.

Tan Xiao looked down on Hui Ge’s attitude, but at the moment, aside from Shen Mo, there really was no one else they could count on.

So he righteously patted Shen Mo’s shoulder: “Next round I’ll help you!”

Shen Mo’s face showed no expression throughout.

He gripped the small knife, using the muddy water to wipe away the mucus on it. The damp, cold fishy smell spread—it smelled no different from an ordinary frog.

“The frog’s skin layer is very thin, easy to create wounds in, but its muscle tissue is very thick. The depth a knife can penetrate is extremely limited. If we want to buy time by injuring the frog, we’ll probably need to find another weak point.”

After speaking, he calmly raised his eyes. His dark pupils seemed to carry a sense of oppression, inexplicably making people want to submit—that was the imposing presence his profession had given him.

“It’ll be the same as last time. Move immediately after the ball stops. Those afraid of dying can stay in the snails, but I also need to remind you—snails can’t protect you forever.”

Everyone’s faces looked ugly.

“What if the frog does that again…” someone muttered quietly.

What people dreaded most was this—the frog emerging too quickly, making early warning impossible. With one huge mouth, it swallowed people directly, not even giving time to escape. How could they search for the ball then?

“It won’t be like that anymore.”

An abrupt voice rang out.

Everyone recognized this voice as Zhang Hua’s. They all looked toward the sound, only to discover Zhang Hua was inside a shell, seemingly with no intention of coming out. He just stayed in the snail, slowly saying: “Last round, the frog didn’t eat any insects. It was hungry, so this round it came out more urgently than before. As for next time…”

He paused, as if silently counting something. After a moment, he said quietly: “Several people are gone, so next time it won’t happen.”

This explanation made people uncomfortable, yet it was also reasonable.

Teacher Cheng spoke up again: “I also think the frog won’t suddenly emerge anymore. It’s injured—its agility will definitely be affected. It might not even appear next round! Everyone shouldn’t retreat because of one setback! We should forge ahead bravely, we must forge ahead bravely!”

The schoolteacher’s words always made people scoff, yet also couldn’t help but kindle hope.

Yes.

The frog was already injured. Maybe it was so scared it would never come out again?

Even if it was huge, it was still just a timid frog.

Hui Ge spat and said through gritted teeth: “Damn it, let’s try one more time. I refuse to believe a broken ball is this hard to find?!”

The others showed various expressions—some revealed desperate determination, others were still hesitating.

Bai Youwei looked toward the snail where Zhang Hua was hiding, thoughtful.

Zhang Hua wasn’t a warm-hearted person. Why would he help Shen Mo persuade everyone to search for the ball together? Could it be just because he couldn’t stand these people’s cold selfishness, so he spoke out for justice?

…No. If he were truly righteous, he should have revealed the method to clear the game just now.

But he didn’t say it.

Of course, she hadn’t either.