Bai Youwei, Shen Mo, and Du Lai went together to the main rest hall and presented the Friend Invitation Card to the inspector.

“Maze No. 1 — if I want to enter someone else’s dream, will this item work?” Bai Youwei asked Tu Shenshi.

The inspector took the card, looked it over, and asked: “May I ask which player wishes to use this item?”

“Me,” Bai Youwei said. “Last time you told me I’d unlocked two mazes. I’ve already been to No. 5 — so going into another maze, I should be eligible for No. 1, right?”

The inspector didn’t answer directly, responding only: “Which maze a player enters is determined by the system. The inspector has no authority to interfere.”

“Alright, just tell me whether this item can be used,” Bai Youwei said, rolling her shoulders casually. “If it can, I’ll give it a try. If it can’t, I’ll go back.”

Tu Shenshi smiled at that, and handed the invitation card back to her. “The item can be used. However, there is only one card, so only one person may enter.”

“I’m going alone — I want to enter Maze No. 1, into Fu Miaoxue’s dreamscape.” She gestured at the two men beside her. “They’re here to see me off.”

Tu Shenshi glanced at the two men, and then his gaze returned to Bai Youwei’s face. “Are you certain? By the rules, two kings cannot be present in the same maze at the same time — this is to prevent an uneven distribution of puzzle pieces upon clearing. If you enter a maze where another king currently resides, then even if you clear it and emerge, you will receive no reward.”

“It doesn’t matter. I have more than enough puzzle pieces at the moment,” Bai Youwei said. “Go ahead and open the maze entrance. The person standing next to me has been at the end of his rope for some time now~”

Du Lai showed no reaction to her teasing. He watched the side of Bai Youwei’s face and said in a low, measured voice: “Bai Youwei — as long as you can bring Miaoxue out, we will stand with you in every future battle.”

His tone was grave, as though he were making an oath.

Bai Youwei smiled coolly. “First worry about making it out alive — then talk big~”

The rabbit-headed inspector swept his arm out, and a large, luminous square appeared before them — just like the entrance to every other maze they’d encountered.

“Please hold the invitation card as you enter,” Tu Shenshi said with a slight bow, making an elegant gesture of invitation. “Because you are entering another person’s dream, your identity will be adjusted according to that person’s dreamscape, and the items you carry will be subject to certain restrictions imposed by the dream — after all, the items you possess are things the other person could never have dreamed of. But please be assured: once you emerge from the dreamscape, your items will be returned to you exactly as they were.”

“Understood.” Bai Youwei slung her canvas bag over her shoulder and gave the outside of it a light pat. “I only brought two things. May I go in now?”

The inspector nodded and stepped aside to clear the way.

Bai Youwei took two steps forward and stopped. She turned and looked at Shen Mo.

Thinking of something, she walked back with light, quick steps — before she even reached him, Shen Mo closed the distance in a few strides and pulled her into his arms, holding her tightly against him.

“Alright…” Bai Youwei gave a soft laugh where she was pressed against him. “Don’t make it feel like a farewell. Maze No. 1 isn’t dangerous for me — I’ll be out before long.”

Shen Mo murmured: “Let me go instead.”

“You?” Bai Youwei laughed again. “As if you’d be able to talk Fu Miaoxue into coming back. A person like her… forget it, even if I explained it you wouldn’t understand. Just remember to miss me.”

She hugged him and said with a sigh: “It’s a shame — if only I could enter your dream. I’d love to see whether I’m the girl of your dreams.”

Shen Mo laughed despite himself. “I never dream.”

“What a completely unromantic answer…” Bai Youwei shook her head in exasperation.

“Except for one kind,” Shen Mo said, bending down and lowering his head to murmur something close against her ear.

A faint flush crept across Bai Youwei’s face. She looked up at him with a mix of shyness and reproach. “…Since when did you learn to build someone up just to knock them down?”

Shen Mo kissed her and said: “Come back soon.”

—