“Lu Lu is going to die!” Zhang Yu screamed, his composure completely shattered.

A’Shalina hardened her heart and told him plainly, “She may already be dead. Just now, I hit her with an arrow.”

Zhang Yu went blank. He sat there as if something inside him had turned off entirely—even his tears stopped coming.

Bai Youwei averted her gaze without expression, her eyes lifting to the distant northern forest. She murmured quietly, “No reason is reason enough. I won’t be a stepping stone for anyone…”

Yu Chaohui’s brow furrowed as he looked over at her, not quite understanding.

At that moment, Bai Youwei happened to look toward him as well. She said, in a mild tone, “Find a trap. Throw him in. It’s a bit of a waste, but there’s no other choice—at this point, keeping him around would only cause more problems.”

Yu Chaohui nodded, grabbed Zhang Yu, and hauled him into the forest. A’Long followed to help.

A’Shalina stayed beside Bai Youwei. She looked in the same direction Bai Youwei had been staring, deeply worried. “What do we do now? Without Zhang Yu, we’re down to… four people.”

“Don’t worry.” Bai Youwei’s expression was calm. “The other side may not have more people than us.”

A’Shalina silently did the math. The other side also had four—but that girl Han Lu had an arrow through her leg, which meant her combat effectiveness was negligible. That left three…

Though numbers weren’t really the issue. The real problem was that White Gloves was nearly impossible to deal with. Just handling him alone was enough to tie all of them in knots.

“Tomorrow, help Yu Chaohui go after him,” Bai Youwei said. “Use the bow and arrow.”

…

The sun slipped lower in the west. Darkness was gathering.

After taking the arrow to her leg, Han Lu had returned to camp. The bleeding was stopped, but her condition was dire—she remained unconscious and unresponsive.

Xiao Qi’s condition was also alarming. He showed no visible injuries, yet he kept slipping into brief spells of unconsciousness.

Ye Chong and Tian Li were doing somewhat better, but they too were exhausted, as if the two ambushes had drained every last reserve of strength.

Something wasn’t right.

They had eaten the food delivered by the drones. They had drunk the water delivered by the drones. So why were they still so weak, growing steadily more frail?

Ye Chong couldn’t work it out. He sensed something was wrong, but couldn’t identify the cause.

By now, everyone was too exhausted to do anything but rest. He sent them back to their safe houses. Han Lu, unconscious, couldn’t get into one on her own, so she was left at camp to fend for herself.

Ye Chong walked alone up the hillside, searching in the dark for the glow of the safe houses across the way.

One… two… four.

Only four safe houses still shining.

The Fox’s safe house was dark.

He had expected this. Once Bai Youwei discovered the mole, she would never let him stay. Eliminating the traitor with a trap was the only logical choice.

Thinking that Bai Youwei had personally eliminated one of her own teammates, Ye Chong felt a flicker of satisfaction. He almost smiled—

And then the smile froze.

As if he couldn’t believe what he was seeing, his eyes went wide. He walked forward. All the way to the highest point of the hillside. His gaze locked onto one particular glowing point with total fixation.

How was this possible?

That position…

That position was unmistakably—the Elephant!

Ye Chong suddenly recalled what Shen Mo had said.

*”Are you sure you’re choosing me? Maybe I’m not the elephant.”*

So Shen Mo really wasn’t the Elephant!

But if he wasn’t—then who was?! That man who was always at Shen Mo’s side, wearing combat fatigues?!

Going by the lights of the safe houses, the animals remaining on the other side were: Elephant, Bear, Lion, and Cat. Every single upper-tier animal—none of them gone!

He had been played for a fool.

Ye Chong’s teeth ground together with a sharp, grating sound. He wanted nothing more than to storm over to Bai Youwei right now and tear her apart.

“Bai Youwei… Bai Youwei…” He whispered her name in the darkness—vicious, obsessive, like a curse. “Bai… You… Wei…”

—