Ada inquired at the front desk and confirmed that Nick was indeed in the hospital — not far away, in a ward on the floor below Natasha’s.

However, patients couldn’t be visited on a whim. The security implications would be far too significant if they could.

Following the nurses’ instructions, the three of them filled out a registration form, then waited on the ground floor for a response.

After a short while, a cheerful puppet nurse came over and told them the patient had agreed to a visit.

Bai Youwei suggested: “Should we pick up some flowers?”

Ada blinked. “Is that necessary?”

“Just as a gesture of goodwill,” Bai Youwei said with a smile. “Visiting someone in the hospital — bringing flowers is only polite.”

Shen Mo stood up. “I’ll go get them. You two wait here.”

“Wait — you’re actually going?” Ada found it oddly jarring.

The hospital didn’t sell flowers, but there was a service station nearby that stocked all kinds.

While they waited, Bai Youwei and Ada made idle conversation.

“What’s Startle the People’s highest record score, again?”

“937 points.”

“They lost a member, right?”

“Two, technically. One died inside the instance, the other passed away after coming out.”

“What about the team that broke the record? How many did they get?”

“Extraordinary Swordsmen — beat it by one point. 938.”

“Did they lose anyone?”

“Extraordinary Swordsmen got lucky. Both of the ones who died held on until after leaving the instance. Maybe that’s what gave them the edge — just that tiny bit higher.”

Bai Youwei nodded slowly. “So dying inside an instance is clearly a deduction factor. If we can keep everyone alive throughout Devil’s Island, the score could be even higher.”

“Not easy,” Ada sighed. “Devil’s Island is considered one of the hardest instances in the entire competitive district. Even going in with strategies is incredibly dangerous. So far, no team that’s entered has come out unscathed.”

Bai Youwei considered this — if the risk level was too high, the room for maneuvering would be very limited. Maybe better to try a different instance…

She asked again: “How many instances does Extraordinary Swordsmen still have left?”

“Not sure — seems like quite a few.” Ada’s mouth curved in a cool, dry expression. “And their main attacker is dead. The rest are either injured or crippled. That team… could fall apart any time now.”

Bai Youwei gave a thin smile. “It seems the teams that break records rarely ever truly make it out of here.”

“Of course…” Ada watched the people coming and going throughout the hospital, lowering his voice further. “Even though everyone brings a heavy load of weapons into every instance, no one can guarantee they’ll make it out alive. The higher the score you’re chasing, the more you’re betting your life on it. Sometimes the record barely gets broken before the team collapses.”

He paused, then looked over at Bai Youwei. “I really thought this time would be different.”

He had thought they’d be luckier than all those teams before them. But instead… the same fate of falling apart had caught up with them.

A familiar figure appeared at the hospital entrance. Shen Mo was walking back in, holding a bouquet of flowers.

Vivid red roses — startling against the sterile white of the hospital lobby.

Ada’s mouth twitched. When Shen Mo walked over, he said: “Shouldn’t you bring carnations when visiting someone in the hospital?”

“They’re all flowers. There’s no real difference.” Shen Mo handed the bunch to him without expression.

Ada was unceremoniously shoved a handful of roses and immediately got a face full of floral fragrance. His eyebrows knotted almost to the point of tangling. “I… I’m the one giving them?”

“What gorgeous roses~” Bai Youwei leaned in to smell them, then smiled and looped her arm through Shen Mo’s. “You’ve never given me flowers.”

Shen Mo gave her a sidelong glance. “Never?”

She thought about it carefully. Her smile deepened. “Actually… you did, once.”

Shen Mo: “What kind?”

Bai Youwei: “Lotus flowers~”

She paused, then added with a grin: “And a lotus seed pod~”

The look in Shen Mo’s eyes softened, as though he had no idea what to do with her. He gently squeezed the small hand she’d tucked in the crook of his arm.

Ada stood there cradling the roses, watching the two of them walk further and further ahead. He let out a heavy sigh and hurried to catch up…

—