After seeing those two off, several more people came not long after, also bringing puzzle pieces to exchange for items.

But because they didn’t have enough, Bai Youwei turned them all away.

Shen Mo closed the door and frowned at Bai Youwei: “Shanghai’s labyrinth has been cleared — nine puzzle pieces at most. Even if people who’ve been through labyrinths in other cities have come to Shanghai, there shouldn’t be this many…”

“Indeed~” Bai Youwei rested her chin in her hand and thought for a moment, then suddenly smiled. “I underestimated these people. Who would have thought — in an environment like this, they could still produce fakes.”

“You’re saying the puzzle pieces are fake?” Shen Mo’s expression turned displeased. “…A used puzzle piece won’t generate any information in the mind when touched. It looks just like an ordinary metal chip, so counterfeiting is genuinely possible. Still, if they think they can pull the wool over our eyes, that’s rather naive of them.”

He mulled it over for a moment, then stood up and walked toward the door.

“Where are you going?” Bai Youwei asked, eyes wide.

Shen Mo replied, “There should be magnets in the electrical repair shops outside.”

Bai Youwei was momentarily stunned, then her eyes curved into a smile, brightening with amusement.

— Puzzle pieces came from the game system. They only *looked* like metal, but the material itself was nothing found anywhere on Earth.

……

Bai Youwei and Shen Mo were preparing to welcome clients who wanted to exchange puzzle pieces, but just as the clock hands pointed toward noon, several vehicles suddenly entered the residential compound —

The organization had sent people once again to invite them, along with Yan Qingwen.

This time it wasn’t Li Li who came, but the organization’s leader, Chu Huaijin, along with Shen Fei.

Chu Huaijin had originally been part of the special intelligence unit — the same system Shen Mo came from — so naturally they were on familiar terms.

Shen Fei was Shen Mo’s cousin. Though not a blood brother, in times like these, even catching a glimpse of a living relative or friend was a rare thing.

Bai Youwei suspected they were trying to use family ties to bind Shen Mo to this place. She just didn’t know whether Shen Mo would fall for that approach.

Bai Youwei herself had no strong feelings about this place either way. Whether they stayed or not didn’t much matter to her — games were unavoidable regardless, and labyrinths would appear sooner or later. It was the same no matter where they were.

The cars drove steadily forward and descended into the underground garage of a large shopping mall.

Bai Youwei had initially thought it strange — why park in a dark underground space? But the vehicles didn’t stop. From the first basement level, they drove down to the second, then the third… all the way to the fifth basement level!

An ordinary shopping mall’s underground garage went three levels at most. She hadn’t expected this one to go as deep as five.

And on the fifth level — there was *light*!

Light meant electricity.

The man named Chu Huaijin stepped out of the car and walked ahead, with guards flanking him on both sides.

As he walked, he introduced the situation: “Ever since the blackout, we discovered that all power-generation facilities had stopped working normally — whether hydroelectric, wind power, or any other method… The machinery itself was perfectly fine, yet it simply couldn’t produce electricity. Diesel generators could generate power, but only for a short time. Once they ran continuously for a few hours, the electricity would vanish without any explanation.”

He sighed at this point, his voice growing heavier: “It felt like something was monitoring us — as soon as it noticed we were using electricity or communications equipment, it would immediately snuff it out.”

Shen Mo asked, “So you moved underground?”

“Underground isn’t foolproof either, but fortunately Professor Song has tested out a safe operating range. As long as we use power within set limits, we’re safe for now…”

Chu Huaijin stopped at a corner and raised his hand in a welcoming gesture. “This way, please.”

The group followed him around the bend.

Along one side of the corridor stood a massive screen displaying a map of the urban district, with the surrounding areas encircled by round colored blobs.

Bai Youwei counted — there were 24 circles.

“Weren’t there 23 detected game zones in total?” she asked. “Why is there one more?”

Chu Huaijin paused and looked at the screen. “That one appeared last week — a new game. No need to worry. This game very likely requires a large number of people to trigger, and given the current population distribution in the urban district, even if it drifts this way, it won’t be triggered.”

—