The next day, they rested the entire day. Only Ada slipped out quietly to gather information.

He wore sunglasses and a face mask, wrapped his ponytail under a woolen beanie, and threw on an oversized hoodie over it all — perfectly concealing every distinguishing feature.

Nik said: “You could actually cross-dress as a woman.”

Ada kicked him and walked out the door.

Nik just chuckled to himself.

He wasn’t the least bit annoyed. Ever since the squad had broken the record, he’d felt as though he were living through the most triumphant moment of his life. No matter what he looked at, everything seemed wonderful.

It was still early. He sorted through the information on the remaining dungeons, then went to find Bai Youwei and Shen Mo to discuss which dungeon to tackle that evening.

Bai Youwei looked through the materials and said: “Let’s pick the simpler ones first.”

Nik nodded emphatically in full agreement. “Right, right — knock out the simple ones first, saves time.”

“Actually…… it won’t quite save that much time.” Bai Youwei paused for a moment, then slowly continued: “We still need to grind a few more 999s.”

“What?” Nik froze — thinking he must have misheard.

Bai Youwei thought about it. “At least two more,” she said.

Nik stared in bewilderment, looking from her to Shen Mo at her side. “You agree with this too?”

Shen Mo gave a slight nod, without further explanation.

Nik looked at them both. After a moment of silence, he straightened his back with deliberate care and spoke seriously:

“You’re newcomers, so you may not fully understand the rules of the competitive district. In this district, only one squad can earn the slot in a given year. To obtain that slot, two conditions must be met —

First: the squad completes all dungeons.

Second: the squad breaks any single record score.

We have already broken one record. There’s no need to waste any more time on records. If another squad beats us to the finish line, we’ll have to wait until next year……”

He did a quick mental calculation, then continued: “If we miss this opportunity, we’ll be stuck here for at least another three months before we can leave.”

Nik looked at Bai Youwei and Shen Mo gravely. “So — can you tell me why you want to waste time chasing more records?”

Bai Youwei considered for a moment, then answered calmly: “Because I want to sell strategy guides.”

“Sell strategy guides?” Nik raised an eyebrow. “High-score strategy guides?”

“Mm.” She nodded. “That’s why — to sell strategy guides, I at least need to demonstrate that I’m capable of creating them. If I grind two more 999s…… combined with the Sun Temple, that’s three 999s total. That should be convincing enough, shouldn’t it?”

Hearing this, Nik immediately recalled the suffering from the first floor to the last floor of the temple. And now they’d have to do it twice more? Cold sweat began trickling down.

“I feel like clearing a dungeon should be like a Hollywood blockbuster — tight pacing, high density of explosive moments, maybe even viewership ratings for all we know,” Bai Youwei said slowly. “The challenge is figuring out how to balance the risk. As long as I can design that part well, I can put together a strategy guide that actually works.”

Shen Mo followed: “If we can offer high-score strategy guides to other squads in the competitive district, we shouldn’t have to worry about our safety for the foreseeable future. As you just said — only three months remain until next year. That’s actually not very long. Next year’s slot will be just as tempting to them.”

Nik understood now.

Bai Youwei and Shen Mo wanted to use the strategy guides as bait — like holding out a bone to draw a pack of dogs into fighting over it, keeping them occupied and away from them without having to inflict any real harm.

“But…… our hideout should be quite safe. There’s no reason anyone should find us.” Nik hesitated. “Is this really necessary?”

Shen Mo: “We still have 16 dungeons. That means at least 16 trips in and out of the subway station. Even if we go at midnight every time — can you guarantee that across all 16 trips, no one will ever spot us and we’ll make it back safely, every single time?”

Nik couldn’t make that guarantee. He understood well what people were capable of when cornered. The closer to the very end, the more likely things were to go wrong.

Shen Mo added: “Let’s wait for Ada to get back and see what news he brings.”

—