Shen Mo’s gaze grew colder.

“How did you figure it out?” he asked.

The rules didn’t mention anything like this at all.

Bai Youwei smiled faintly, looking at Shen Mo. “Actually, you noticed it too, right? This game’s supervisor has been deliberately avoiding rules related to the frog.”

Shen Mo said nothing, essentially acknowledging it.

“Player preparation time is one minute. The supervisor properly counts down every time. The time to find the golden ball is only 20 seconds—such a crucial phase—yet it doesn’t count down. Isn’t that strange?”

As Bai Youwei spoke, the corners of her tender red lips slanted upward, her smile cold.

“No countdown, because there’s no time constraint at all. The supervisor has determined we’ll be eaten by the frog, so it gives a 20-second time frame. In reality, based on how fast or slow the frog appears each time, the time to search for the golden ball will also change accordingly—which is why you thought of killing the frog. Because as long as you kill the frog and have unlimited time, we’ll eventually find the golden ball.”

Shen Mo looked at her deeply.

The things he had been thinking were guessed by her almost completely.

Originally, he’d only thought she had keen perception and some cleverness, but now… he felt this girl had a wicked streak.

“Tell me about Zhang Hua,” Shen Mo asked her. “What is Zhang Hua thinking?”

Bai Youwei’s smile faded slightly. She considered for a while.

“Zhang Hua… he probably discovered it in the third round. The game design needs balance. Since the frog can feel hungry, correspondingly, the frog can also feel full. What would be the effect of feeding it a few more insects? Zhang Hua wanted to try.”

“Just to try?” Shen Mo let out a cold laugh. “All speculation—didn’t he consider it might fail?”

Bai Youwei looked at him seriously: “Actually, I think… his chances of success are very high.”

Shen Mo raised his eyebrows. He had no expression, but Bai Youwei could see displeasure in his eyes.

“It’s that same phrase again—the game needs balance,” she said unhurriedly. “Not everyone is as brave and fearless as you. The game has to leave room for other people. For instance, in the last Tortoise and Hare Race, that middle-aged businessman—he didn’t run particularly fast, nor was he particularly clever, but he was unscrupulous enough. If he hadn’t been pushed across the finish line in violation of the rules at the end, he could have cleared the game too…”

Shen Mo’s gaze turned completely cold. “Unscrupulous… so the game wants to train us into this kind of person?”

Bai Youwei looked into his eyes, knowing her words had irritated him. She simply closed her mouth.

At this juncture, she didn’t want to fall out with him.

The golden ball wandered out from some corner, swaggering as it flew a circuit, taking a headcount.

“Current game failed. Eight players surviving. Now entering the fifth round of ‘The Frog’s Golden Ball.’ Please prepare yourselves! One-minute countdown begins: 59, 58, 57…”

Eight surviving players.

—Bai Youwei, Shen Mo, Tan Xiao, Teacher Cheng, Hui Ge, Houzi, Zhang Hua, and a middle-aged fat man who’d been cowering in the shell the whole time.

Heavy casualties.

With just these few people left, how could they search for the ball? Teacher Cheng was unconscious, Zhang Hua was avoiding them, the fat man was too timid to possibly help. As for Bai Youwei, her legs were disabled—her mobility was effectively zero.

The fewer people there were, the more time-consuming finding the ball became. As for killing the frog…

Fighting a monster in the mud consumed enormous physical strength.

Bai Youwei was right. What he needed most now was rest.

“Boss, what do we do?” In the distance, Tan Xiao stared at him wide-eyed.

Without realizing it, Shen Mo had become these people’s pillar.

Shen Mo lowered his eyes to glance at Bai Youwei beside him, then raised his arm and waved it, his expression calm as he uttered two words:

“Rest.”