Shen Mo concisely explained to Tan Xiao and Cheng Weicai what happened on the island.

Although he tried to be as brief as possible, because it involved the newly appearing Inspector, different game forms, and the relationship between Old Man Zhao and the island people, it still took quite a bit of time.

After listening, Tan Xiao was so shocked he couldn’t speak.

He found it incredible—an old man could unknowingly send hundreds of people to their deaths, and not one person on the island noticed anything wrong!

Cheng Weicai also said nothing.

He lowered his head silently, looking extremely heavy-hearted.

Everyone still remembered that Teacher Cheng had originally planned to stay on the island, but who could have imagined that what seemed like a paradise actually hid such filth and squalor?

“No wonder the old man gathered everyone as soon as he returned—is he trying to clarify things in person?” Tan Xiao couldn’t understand. “Even at this point, could he possibly whitewash himself?”

Shen Mo said: “Zhao Jiantao’s matter can be set aside for now, but the information he provided concerns me—games can move.”

“Let them move.” Tan Xiao didn’t care. “If they can move, I can run~ At worst we’ll just take off.”

Teacher Cheng sighed. “Little Tan, you don’t understand. If games really chase after people, then there will never be a safe base in this world. As long as you’re alive, you face danger.”

Tan Xiao opened his mouth, momentarily speechless.

“This also perfectly explains why the earliest incidents all occurred in first-tier cities.” Shen Mo said flatly. “Because of population density.”

“And the maze.” Bai Youwei also spoke up. “Don’t forget, the maze’s characteristic is constant expansion. Can we speculate that after sensing no surviving players inside, the maze automatically expands its scope, searching for new players to enter?”

“Then, then…” Tan Xiao was confused. “Games want to capture people, mazes also want to capture people… will there be any place left for people to stay?”

Shen Mo said in a deep voice: “In the future… I’m afraid all of humanity will be forced to enter the maze.”

Tan Xiao: “Why not the games?”

“We believe the maze’s level, in a sense, is higher than the games.” Bai Youwei said. “Like a food chain—we need to follow the game rules, while Inspectors need to follow the system rules. I think… the maze is the existence closest to the system.”

Tan Xiao listened half-understanding, scratching his head: “But I feel like games are more troublesome. At least you can see mazes and avoid them, but doll games are like landmines that suddenly pop up out of nowhere!”

Bai Youwei said: “There’s one more thing. In this game, the Inspector said something: ‘The friends game is my masterpiece, it’s flawless, and has displayed countless precious data.'”

Teacher Cheng was slightly stunned, murmuring: “Precious… data…”

“Exactly.” Bai Youwei nodded. “These two points concern me. One, the game was designed by the Inspector; two, the game provides data to the Inspector. But what is the data used for? Why does the Inspector need data?”

Shen Mo: “Zhao Jiantao said games move and compared it to hunting, with us as sheep. Now it really does seem like games are driving us toward the maze.”

Teacher Cheng sighed wistfully: “Collect all puzzle pieces to clear all games. In the end, games still lead us toward the maze. No one can escape.”

No one can escape…

Shen Mo thought for a moment, then after a brief silence said: “The good news is… to the system, we’re all valuable data samples. At least, without violating the rules, our lives won’t be threatened by Inspectors.”

The four remained silent.

This was so far the only piece of good news.

And only relatively speaking, not-so-terrible news.