Shen Mo very naturally replied: “Came in to try it out.”

Then asked Tu Dan: “What about you all? Did you get the mud?”

Tu Dan forced a smile. “Yes, we got it.”

Though she said they got it, she didn’t seem very happy, and even the students beside her had complicated expressions.

However, the two sides’ relationship wasn’t deep enough to pry. Since they didn’t say anything, Shen Mo had no need to ask.

After exchanging pleasantries, they each went about their business.

Shen Mo’s side cleaned up a pile of leftover dishes and greasy plates.

Tu Dan’s side had clearly come prepared. They brought bundles of rope and small flags of various colors. Through exploring paths and obtaining results, they planted different colored flags at intersections—

Red represented dead ends, green represented passable routes, and yellow represented unexplored.

Teenagers in their mid-teens had more energy than adults. Each one busied themselves enthusiastically, and before long, they had already planted quite a few colorful flags nearby.

Shen Mo’s side made no progress whatsoever.

Bai Youwei tugged at him and said quietly: “I want to take a bath.”

Shen Mo said nothing, only looked at her silently. His eyes already said everything: Are you sure you have to pick this moment?

Bai Youwei understood.

“I have to wash, or else I’ll be covered in barbecue smell and feel uncomfortable.”

She couldn’t be uncomfortable.

Because once she became uncomfortable, everyone around her would become uncomfortable too.

“We’re going to explore the path anyway. If we happen to see a place where I can bathe along the way, just wait for me a bit. It’s not that troublesome.” Bai Youwei said matter-of-factly.

A passing female student overheard and couldn’t help showing an astonished expression.

After entering the maze, their lives were hanging by a thread. Not only did they have the mood to eat barbecue, but now they even wanted to find a place to bathe?!

Were they here on an outing?

Shen Mo, a mature and steady man, didn’t want to waste time arguing with the pampered Bai Three-Years-Old and casually agreed.

—The maze walls were assembled in complete chaos: buses pressing down on double beds, bathrooms cut in half stuck to kitchens, toilets suspended and embedded in cement, strange sights everywhere. Since she loved cleanliness so much, she might not be able to find a suitable bathing place, right?

The four of them packed up and prepared to explore.

To avoid interfering with Tu Dan’s group, they chose the opposite direction to set out.

Bai Youwei had Shen Mo open his phone’s built-in pedometer.

Walking along, recording as they went.

Whenever they encountered a fork, she would stop to record numbers—for instance, proceed three steps left-hand intersection one, proceed nine steps right-hand intersection two… and so on. The more detailed the numbers, the more accurately they could reproduce that area’s map on paper.

When encountering shops that weren’t too damaged, Bai Youwei would also record them, making it convenient not to search blindly like headless flies when collecting supplies.

To be fair, when Bai Youwei wasn’t being difficult, she was really a very reliable partner.

But when she started being difficult…

“I want to take a bath.” Bai Youwei stopped in front of a budget chain hotel and refused to budge another step.

Shen Mo looked ahead. “There are two more intersections, and this passage will be finished.”

“Not going. I’m not going anywhere without bathing.” She sat in her wheelchair with her head down, completely listless. “I want to bathe right now.”

Shen Mo: “…”

Old Teacher Cheng looked around. “There’s a ladder over there. I’ll go get it.”

Tan Xiao also went to help move the ladder.

Forgot to mention—only half of this chain hotel was squeezed into the wall. The part with the elevator and stairs was gone, so to get to the hotel rooms on the second floor, they needed to figure out a way to climb up themselves…

To let Bai Youwei take a bath, three men of various ages worked themselves to the bone.

Moving the ladder wasn’t enough. They went to find nearby boxes, tables, cabinets, and sofas… The hotel lobby’s ceiling was too high, so they stacked several layers before finally propping the ladder up to the second floor.

Shen Mo carried Bai Youwei up to the second floor. “I’ll wait for you at the door. Don’t wash too long. Call out to me every three minutes—if you’re too lazy to talk, just keep humming a tune so I know you’re fine inside… Don’t wash your hair. Blow-drying takes too much time. Best to just rinse off quickly and come out.”

Bai Youwei: “So many demands—why don’t you just help me wash?”

Shen Mo: “…”