【Ladies and gentlemen, the livestream is about to begin! The team now entering the Temple of the Sun God is Startle the People! The team has four members, two of whom joined the competitive district less than a month ago. Ah~ It seems Startle the People’s lineup has undergone yet another round of changes! Will they achieve excellent results this time? Let’s wait and see!——】

The commentator this time had a different voice from before, but the style was nearly identical. They were probably all produced from the same template.

Nick noticed Bai Youwei looking up at the sky and reminded her: “The commentary can be startling and distracting, and the comment stream sometimes causes visual obstruction. It’s best to mute it and only open it again at the right moments.”

Bai Youwei was mildly surprised. She realized that Nick was actually quite sharp — unlike Yuri and the others who had muted it entirely from the start. Nick at least knew to use the comment stream to gather information when the timing was right.

“Will the audience give away intel?” Bai Youwei asked.

Nick walked at the front of the group, shaking his head. “The world up there has its own monitoring system. If a comment contains a spoiler, it gets filtered. For example—”

He stopped in his tracks, pointing to a massive old banyan tree ahead. “If someone in the comments said something like, ‘There’s a venomous snake in that banyan tree up ahead, I wonder if they’ll get bitten’ — what would appear on screen is a string of asterisks.”

Everyone nodded in understanding.

Nick continued: “At suspicious locations, you can pause and check the comment stream. If there are a lot of asterisks, there’s usually something there.”

He walked over to the base of the banyan tree and waved the rest of the group forward. “This spot is fine — no need to be on edge. No venomous snakes, no insects. All of that scenery is just for atmosphere. The real dangers are all inside the temple.”

They moved toward the temple, and the marching order settled naturally into place.

Nick led at the front, Shen Mo as the main attacker walked alongside him, Bai Youwei was in the middle, and Ada brought up the rear to watch for anything coming from behind.

As they drew steadily closer to the temple, the audience in the livestream gradually swelled. Comments drifted past one after another, growing livelier by the moment.

【This Startle the People team — every time, one or two members are different. This time takes the cake. There’s barely one original member left.】

【Thank goodness I’m a team fan, not a member fan, or I’d be devastated.】

【(˙˙) Bai Cai, Bai Cai! We’re here!~~~】

【Little Bai Cai! (ω) I’m here too~】

【Aaaaaah Bai Cai is streaming again!】

【Finally the day has come! Little Bai Cai, you’ve got this! I love you forever woof~】

【ヽ(^0^) Bai Cai Bai Cai Bai Cai Bai Cai Bai Cai Bai Cai!!】

【What in the world? A bunch of suspicious characters have infiltrated the stream.】

【Where did all these weirdos come from, screaming Bai Cai nonstop — what is going on?】

【@Customer Service, someone is launching a personal attack in here!!】

【Screw that! You think only you know how to report? @Customer Service, there’s a bunch of idiots spamming!】

【Who are you calling idiots?! This is Little Bai Cai King’s fan turnout, understand?!】

……

The comments devolved into a brawl.

By now, Bai Youwei had already followed the group to the base of the temple.

It was enormous, rising tier upon tier — shaped like the pyramids found in Mayan civilization.

At the base there was a narrow passage, dark and deep within. Faint echoes drifted out from inside — perhaps the moan of wind, perhaps the rush of water, perhaps some kind of creature. Impossible to distinguish.

“Everyone’s brought flashlights, right?” Nick reminded them. “The first through third floors must be navigated with lighting equipment. After the third floor, visibility gradually improves.”

Shen Mo looked up toward the top of the tower. “So the Demon God is at the top?”

“Yes.” Nick looked at the dark, sunken passageway ahead and said quietly: “Before we face the Demon God, the first thing we have to get through is the mechanism on the first floor — the quicksand mechanism.”