Chen Hui stared blankly at the empty road, murmuring, “They’re gone…”

“Because they went into the mirrors.”

Bai Youwei sneered lightly:

“According to the maze game’s logic, we recognize our true selves through mirrors. To prove we’ve accepted our ‘true selves,’ we must leave the maze together with them—only then does it count as a perfect ending. Ugh, I could vomit.”

She wheeled forward.

Shen Mo stopped her.

Bai Youwei looked up at his face. “Don’t worry. Just now it was eighty percent certainty—now I have one hundred percent certainty.”

Shen Mo frowned. He didn’t try to dissuade her, only gripped her wheelchair armrest and said, “Let’s go in together.”

Bai Youwei looked at him. After a moment she nodded: “All right.”

The two entered the door together. Their figures quickly merged into the white fog and disappeared from view.

Tan Xiao looked left and right. Not sensing anything unusual, he simply went in too.

Next was Chen Hui.

Then Zhang Tianyang and his several classmates.

Teacher Cheng stayed until last. Estimating that everyone had safely gotten out, he hobbled through the doorway with his cane.

…

Not far away, Liao Jingjing crouched at a passage intersection, her bloodshot eyes staring fixedly at the exit.

After a long while, she murmured in disbelief, “Why… why are they fine? Why didn’t they turn into puppets?”

She looked down at her right hand—from fingertips to forearm, it had already become sensationless plastic.

She had just tentatively put her hand inside for a brief moment and it became like this. Later she discovered her classmates’ puppets and realized this exit was wrong! But why could Bai Youwei get out?!

“That cripple… she said to go back to the starting point, said to get reflected in the mirrors…” Liao Jingjing clutched her forearm, staggering as she turned back. “I need to get out. I must leave this place…”

…

Bai Youwei was surprised. She had clearly entered together with Shen Mo, yet Shen Mo was nowhere to be seen now.

She sat in her wheelchair, alone, surrounded only by vast white fog.

At this moment, a voice sounded in the air:

“Congratulations, player, on clearing Maze Number 2.”

“Reward settlement for this round of the game now begins.”

“As the first player to clear Maze Number 2, the player receives one puppet puzzle piece.”

“The player’s clearing ranking for this game round is first. Now upgrading player data… Ding, this upgrade is complete.”

“Reward settlement complete. Please continue playing and work hard to clear all games—”

As the voice ended, the white fog dispersed.

As if in the blink of an eye, Bai Youwei discovered everyone was present.

All stood dazedly on a wide, straight road. Only after seeing each other did they hazily come to their senses, realizing they had finally left the maze!

Behind them, the fog remained.

Everyone gathered together and saw the puzzle pieces in each other’s hands.

“Why only five?” Holding his puzzle piece, Tan Xiao was completely confused. He looked toward Cheng Weicai. “Old Cheng, you didn’t get a puzzle piece?”

Teacher Cheng shook his head. “No.”

Bai Youwei, Shen Mo, and Tan Xiao all had a puzzle piece in hand. Zhang Tianyang and Chen Hui also had them, but the remaining three students all came up empty.

“It should be given according to order.” Zhang Tianyang said. “During game settlement, the system said my clearing rank for this game round was five. I’m guessing puzzle pieces are only given to the first five people who leave the maze.”

Yang Yi beside him let out a long sigh, seeming utterly exhausted. He sat directly on the roadside sidewalk and slapped down heavily, sighing, “Being able to get out alive is already incredibly lucky! Puzzle pieces don’t matter anymore!”

Another student who didn’t get a puzzle piece also nodded repeatedly, recalling everything that happened in the maze with lingering fear on his face.

Chen Hui suddenly said, “Yang Yi, get up.”

“Huh?” Yang Yi was stunned.

Chen Hui walked over and directly pulled his hand away. Everyone saw that where Yang Yi had slapped, the brick had cracked.

Everyone was astonished.

Chen Hui looked at them: “Do you remember? The system also said one more thing… upgrading player data.”