Shen Mo said nothing.

Bai Youwei added: “The maid at the villa mentioned it. And we don’t necessarily have to go to Grand Avenue No. 23 to find them — didn’t Ada say that Nick was injured? He might still be in the hospital. We could just ask the front desk, couldn’t we?”

Everyone looked at one another and agreed it was worth a try.

Bai Youwei turned to Natasha. “So… is that settled, then?”

While they’d been talking it through, Natasha had been on the same side as all of them. But now, meeting Bai Youwei’s direct gaze, she hesitated again.

“Are you two really going to leave the team?” Natasha asked quietly.

“We have to,” Bai Youwei said calmly. “Those people won’t stop otherwise.”

Natasha was silent. After a long pause, she gave a small nod. “…Alright.”

—

Walking out of the ward, Ada felt like he was in a daze.

He reached into his pants pocket and found the cigarette pack nearly empty — only one left. He thought for a moment, then stopped, walked to the vending machine around the corner, and used his points to buy cigarettes.

“Want one?” he asked Shen Mo.

Shen Mo shook his head.

Ada bought just one pack, then casually grabbed three bottles of water as well — one for each of them.

When he opened his personal panel, the team name field was blank. Below it, a small line of grey text read:

【Currently Unaffiliated】

Ada rubbed his forehead and smoothed his ponytail back, the whole thing feeling surreal.

“We really just… left the team like that?” he murmured. “Something about this feels off to me.”

Bai Youwei stood beside Shen Mo, quietly drinking her water, and said nothing.

Ada kept muttering: “We just handed over our records like that? Even without strategies, the three of us could have finished the instances on our own.”

Bai Youwei glanced at him. “And how exactly would you do that?”

Ada: “Just work through them slowly. That’s still easier than finding a whole new team. Going to find Nick now — who knows if he’ll even agree to let us join? And even if he does, whether we can actually break a new record is uncertain. And even if we manage that, what if Nick pulls something shady at the last minute and kicks us out right before the end?”

Bai Youwei said flatly: “If we stayed on the current team, could you guarantee that after the instances are cleared, Natasha wouldn’t kick us out?”

Ada fell silent.

He was quiet for a moment, his gaze drifting to the cigarette between two fingers, pale smoke curling upward, his eyes stinging faintly from it.

He hadn’t expected to end up in such an awkward position.

He had changed teams so many times, and this had been the most harmonious one — the one where he’d felt the most in sync with everyone. He had always assumed that all his experience switching between teams gave him more insight into instances and team dynamics than most. He hadn’t thought that very same thing would become the reason for suspicion.

Shen Mo said: “At its core, Natasha doesn’t trust you. Staying any longer doesn’t benefit anyone. Better to step aside — then we can act without anything holding us back.”

“Fine…” Ada let out a rueful laugh and bowed his head to smoke.

Bai Youwei added: “And don’t blame Natasha. Right now, she’s injured, and her whole mind is set on avenging Yuri. Being suspicious of everyone is natural in that state. Anyone competing for a spot becomes a target for her doubts. Now that we’ve stepped away cleanly, she’ll actually come to trust us more.”

“I understand all of that,” Ada exhaled a cloud of smoke and sighed quietly. “I’m just worried that after we join a new team, we’ll be doing all the work for someone else’s benefit. That Nick guy…”

He paused, then looked up at Bai Youwei and Shen Mo. “He’s not exactly a good person.”

“Funny thing.” Bai Youwei smiled faintly. “Neither am I.”

—