Yan Qingwen gave a faint smile. Without denying it or pursuing the topic further, he simply said: “The day is still early. We’re thinking of heading out to take a look around. Want to come along?”

“No.” Bai Youwei shook her head. “I need to wait for Shen Mo.”

“Who knows when he’ll be back!” Lu Ang urged. “Come on, it’s stuffy and hot just sitting inside! Going out will at least cool us down a bit! And we haven’t figured out what’s going on around here yet!”

Yan Qingwen smiled and said: “Friends who’ve played the game together — they should be worth trusting, shouldn’t they?”

Bai Youwei hesitated for two seconds, then nodded: “Fine, let’s go out and take a look around.”

Teacher Cheng hadn’t expected her to agree. In all this time, none of them had ever acted independently without Shen Mo.

“But Tan Xiao and Xiaoxin…” Cheng Weicai hesitantly reminded Bai Youwei.

— Tan Xiao and Xiaoxin were still in the dollhouse.

Bai Youwei said: “Just leave them a note.”

Teacher Cheng thought about it, then found a blank piece of paper and wrote a few lines of instruction.

…

There wasn’t any particular destination in mind for the outing — they just strolled along and kept their eyes open for anything notable.

The streets were very clean. Waste sorting was evidently working well.

The shops and supermarkets along the street were all empty — no usable supplies visible. Most likely everything had been relocated by the “authorities” for centralized, efficient distribution.

They walked for seven or eight minutes in the direction of People’s Square. Along the way they encountered one person, who met their gaze with cold indifference, gave them a single glance, and hurried off. Yan Qingwen saw no point in calling out a greeting.

It seemed that while the place appeared peaceful, life here wasn’t quite as relaxed as it might seem.

Closer to People’s Square, the number of people gradually increased — clusters of three and five beneath the trees, chatting, cooling off, smoking.

A young man caught sight of Zhu Shu’s pretty face and let out a wolf whistle.

Lu Ang immediately snapped a ferocious glare at him: “What are you doing?!”

The young man was instantly scared into silence. He smiled awkwardly: “I… nothing.”

After they had walked on a bit, that fellow — whether intimidated by Lu Ang’s imposing build or emboldened by something else — suddenly reversed course entirely, and called out with eager friendliness: “Hey! You guys! Interested in a game? Need one more for Russian Roulette! We’ve got a strategy!”

Lu Ang turned to look, frowned, and then cut a sidelong glance at Yan Qingwen.

Yan Qingwen gave a nearly imperceptible shake of his head.

Lu Ang knew the man was untrustworthy and paid no attention.

The man called out a couple more times, saw that Lu Ang wasn’t responding, and eventually gave up.

“Interesting.” Bai Youwei curved her lips, half-smiling. “Russian Roulette, with a strategy, and one player short. They not only know the exact contents of the game, they know the trigger count and the strategy. Who’s giving them this information? The organizers of Shanghai’s survivor group?”

“Whoever it is, they won’t be doing it for free.” Yan Qingwen was perfectly calm. “There’s no such thing as a free lunch. Suddenly inviting Lu Ang like that — nothing good is behind it.”

“Trying to trap me?” Lu Ang cracked his knuckles, the joints giving a crisp pop. “Should we teach him a lesson?”

Yan Qingwen shook his head mildly. “We’re new here. Better to get a read on things first.”

“You’re a smart one.”

An unfamiliar voice rang out ahead.

Everyone startled.

They looked toward the sound — and saw no one.

“I’m over here.”

That young voice rang out again, from the trees!

—

Before anyone could look up, a dark shadow leaped down from the tree —

A person in a grey hoodie straightened up before them, wearing shorts and canvas shoes. The broad hood was pulled up, obscuring their face.

“Hello there. My name is Du Lai. I only deal with smart people.”

He pulled his hood down, revealing a young, handsome face. He grinned, showing two small canine teeth — adding a somewhat boyish, youthful air.

Bai Youwei quietly measured the height from which he’d jumped.

This person… must have been through a maze.

—