Dark clouds.

Yan Qingwen’s heart sank. He thought back to the downpour that had greeted them when they first entered the game.

“When we were woken up, it was around seven in the morning. Eight hours per season — until summer… there are two hours left.”

Two hours. Not much time left for them.

They had once thought eight hours was too long. Now it felt urgent — because if the game’s difficulty scaling held any logic, summer’s visitor would surely be far more terrifying than spring’s bear.

Yan Qingwen asked Shen Mo, “How formidable do you think that bear was?”

Shen Mo glanced at him. “…Outdoors, I’d give it a five. Indoors, a seven.”

Bai Youwei asked, “Out of a hundred?”

“…” Shen Mo laughed in spite of himself, reached out, and ruffled her head. “Out of ten.”

Bai Youwei did not want to accept that answer.

She felt Shen Mo ought to be able to sweep everything aside in a single breath — though, thinking carefully, she could understand it, because:

First, the arena was restricted. With one monster entering, the players were like turtles trapped in a jar, unable to fight freely.

Second, weapons were restricted. Even with bodies upgraded by the labyrinth, bare hands against a ferocious wild beast was still a losing position.

“That bear was genuinely hard to deal with,” Yan Qingwen said, thinking it over. “The visitor blocked the door, and we as hosts couldn’t get out. The dollhouse is the game arena — we can’t leave it. And the doll game doesn’t allow players to bring weapons… I think for whatever time remains, besides hunting for ‘treasure,’ we also need to prepare some means of self-defense.”

“If we can’t take it on directly, can we use what we have to set up some traps?” Bai Youwei suggested. “I don’t have any experience with this — it’s just an idea — but for instance, could we stack beds and wardrobes and other furniture at the top of the stairs? That way, if the visitor goes berserk and we’re hiding on the second floor, those things could block the way and at least buy us ten or twenty extra seconds, right?”

As long as they could hold out for one full minute, they’d survive.

“I can do that,” Yan Qingwen said. “But I’ll need help. Some of the mechanisms can’t be installed alone.”

“I’ll help.” Lu Ang stepped forward. “We’ve worked together plenty of times — I know what materials he needs.”

“By the way…” Bai Youwei looked at Lu Ang. “You found some dried grass on the roof earlier, didn’t you?”

Lu Ang paused. “Yeah — do you need me to bring it over? I left it in the living room.”

Bai Youwei shook her head gently. “Pan Xiaoxin also found some dried grass in the corners of the stair steps — it looks like aquatic grass to me. When you’re setting up the traps, I’d suggest doing your best to make them waterproof.”

Yan Qingwen and Lu Ang exchanged a look.

If they had to make things waterproof, any fire-based mechanisms would have to be scrapped.

That was a shame — fire was the simplest and most effective means of attack.

Especially since Bai Youwei had an electrified rabbit. Used in combination with fire, the result would surely be significant.

Yan Qingwen looked out the window again. The patch of dark clouds was spreading wider. He furrowed his brow and said in a low voice, “Let’s not waste any time.”

Everyone got to work.

……

Two hours — not exactly long, not exactly short.

As the time drew closer, the sky darkened steadily. Dark clouds smothered the entire sky, cutting off the light, and the interior of the house turned pitch black.

Shen Mo turned on the lights.

With the storm bearing down, the little mountaintop cottage glowed through the darkness with points of warmth.

The music box on the windowsill flickered faintly, and the snowflakes that had been still for so long began to drift again —

The sphere said: “Summer rain is so big, it’s pitch black and I can’t see where the treasure is…”

Crash!

The downpour hit all at once.

Every view outside the windows was swallowed by the curtain of rain — just as it had been when they first arrived at this house.

—