Shen Mo thought it over and gave a slight nod. “If we could manage 713 points without any thorough preparation, then as long as we perform normally, we should absolutely be able to surpass that score. Add the newcomer buff on top, and breaking the record does become genuinely feasible.”

“780 points,” Bai Youwei said.

Everyone looked at her.

Bai Youwei said, “We need to score at least 780. If we hit 780, the 20% bonus comes out to 156 points, and 780 plus 156 is 936 — just enough to edge past the existing record.”

780 points. One point fewer, and it wouldn’t be enough.

Yuri glanced around at everyone and asked, “So… are we all in agreement?”

His gaze ultimately came to rest on Natasha beside him.

Natasha’s brow remained deeply furrowed. Her red hair framed her slightly pallid face, and within her deep blue eyes swirled an unmistakable undercurrent of melancholy and uncertainty.

“Natasha?” Yuri asked. “You don’t agree to going to Devil’s Island?”

“I don’t know.” Natasha closed her eyes for a moment, as if utterly exhausted. “Our previous captain… the accident happened during our second run at Devil’s Island. After that, the team never went back to run that dungeon again.”

Yuri looked at her in silence. After a moment, he gave a gentle nod, his voice calm and measured. “I understand. Breaking the record is important, but so is everyone’s safety. Let’s give the Devil’s Island idea some more thought — for now, everyone should rest for tonight.”

Yuri rose, and made his way upstairs in silence.

Natasha pulled a pack of cigarettes from her coat pocket, took one out and lit it. She seemed a little on edge. Holding the cigarette, she stood and said, “Sorry… I — I’m going to step outside for some air.”

And then Natasha left the dining room as well.

That left Shen Mo, Bai Youwei, and Ada at the table.

“Ada, have you ever been to Devil’s Island?” Bai Youwei asked curiously. “What’s it like?”

“Never been.” Ada shook his head. “I joined this team only about a month before Mo Ge did. But don’t worry — Yuri and Natasha aren’t the reckless type. At the very least, they’re more reliable than any team I’ve been in before.”

Bai Youwei asked again, “You’ve been in a lot of teams?”

“Averaged about one new team every two weeks.” Ada ran a hand along his sleek ponytail with a certain swagger. “Can’t have ones where personalities clash, can’t have ones where people are overbearing and dictatorial, can’t have ones with poor coordination, can’t have ones that are too dumb, can’t have ones that are too ugly, can’t have ones that are too weak — choosing a team is like handing over half your life, so of course you have to be careful.”

Bai Youwei couldn’t help but laugh, leaning against Shen Mo’s shoulder. “Listen to him — he makes it sound just like getting married.”

Ada burst out laughing. “Don’t say that — it really is quite similar!”

Shen Mo laughed along with them.

“I won’t keep you two~” Ada got up and stretched his arms, rolling his neck. “I’m heading back to my room too. Since we don’t have a dungeon run tomorrow, I can take the chance to track down some old squadmates from my previous teams and ask around about what Devil’s Island is actually like.”

He gave Shen Mo a pointed look and teased, “Envy, pure envy — a man like me with no wife has no choice but to find one in his dreams~”

Shen Mo replied with a light smile, “Once we get out of here, you’ll find someone too.”

Ada’s eyes dimmed ever so slightly, and he smiled in reply: “Right. As long as we get out of here.”

Ada turned and left.

Bai Youwei had the sense that everyone here carried their own story.

“Does he really have a wife?” she asked Shen Mo.

Shen Mo replied, “According to him, he has a fiancée. It’s just that when he arrived here, his memories were processed by the system — he can’t recall what she looks like or what her name is.”

Bai Youwei thought about it. “…Maybe his fiancée is in the residential district?”

“No.” Shen Mo gave a gentle shake of his head. “Ada is convinced his fiancée isn’t in the Livestream World. The fragments of memory he still has suggest she’s lying in a care facility — a place without livestreams or dungeons. It’s quite possible that it’s… the world where those from above reside.”

Bai Youwei hesitated. Could the world of those from above be… the real world she was searching for?

—