The middle-aged couple just took Bai Youwei for a spoiled young lady who didn’t understand things, paying no mind to her words. They only said to Shen Mo: “We’re holding a meeting in the restaurant soon. Would you two like to join?”

Shen Mo glanced down at Bai Youwei and asked casually, “What kind of meeting?”

“Just gathering together to discuss solutions,” the other party explained amiably. “Many hands make light work. Everyone thinking together is better than worrying alone. It’s fine if you don’t want to come—we’re not forcing anyone.”

Shen Mo nodded slightly and replied politely, “Alright, we’ll come over in a bit.”

Having received their agreement, the middle-aged couple said no more and left together.

“Why stay? Want to dig information from them?” Bai Youwei curled her lip corners with a disdainful expression. “The supermarket’s already empty. They’ve been hiding here eating and drinking for more than just a day or two, not daring to take any risks. What could we expect them to know?”

Shen Mo opened the car door, bent down to lift Bai Youwei inside, then handed her bread and water.

“Since the highway is blocked, to reach Yangzhou we’d have to take a long detour. Maybe before the car reaches Yangzhou, it’ll be dark. Driving at night with poor visibility, if we encounter dolls it’ll be hard to avoid them in time. Better to stay and see what they have to say.”

Bai Youwei frowned at his words, neither agreeing nor disagreeing.

She had no good feelings toward these people in the service area, but given the current situation, whichever decision they made didn’t seem particularly sound.

Bai Youwei took small bites of bread, chewed, then asked Shen Mo again: “Do you think any of these people have cleared a game?”

Shen Mo opened the rear cargo area, searching for useful items. He looked up at her: “What do you think?”

“I think there are some,” Bai Youwei said. “Those two just now looked honest and straightforward, not like people who like taking charge, yet they proactively waited here for us. At first glance it seems warm-hearted, but I think they were sent.”

Shen Mo’s movements paused slightly—a bit unexpected.

He’d also noticed this point, but he hadn’t expected Bai Youwei to see through it as well.

“Your powers of observation are quite good.” He pulled out a military blanket from the cargo area, draped it over Bai Youwei’s legs, and said calmly, “Among these people there should be a leader. To obtain information, he must constantly contact newly arrived travelers. As for why he doesn’t come in person, that’s easy to understand—sending an honest-looking couple is more likely to gain trust.”

Bai Youwei looked at him suspiciously: “You clearly know something’s fishy, yet you’re still going to that meeting?”

Shen Mo smiled slightly. “Something fishy doesn’t mean malicious intent. He needs information, and we need it just as much.”

From that “Tortoise and Hare Race” game, they’d discovered not everyone would turn into dolls—surviving was possible by clearing games. But why didn’t anyone in the city know? There wasn’t even a hint of related news.

Thinking further, after they’d cleared the game, they immediately found the network signal cut off. Did that mean… all others who’d won games had gone to places without signal, so they couldn’t accurately transmit information?

If that were the case, this worldwide disaster was more terrifying than imagined.

…

Later, as night fell, only the restaurant in the entire service area was lit.

Shen Mo pushed Bai Youwei into the restaurant.

The people inside sat in a circle. Hearing sounds, they turned to look. Seeing Shen Mo and Bai Youwei, they turned back unsurprised.

Cold white light poured from the ceiling, casting deep shadows on these people’s faces. Combined with their similarly numb expressions, the scene before them looked inexplicably eerie.

“Newcomers?” A bespectacled man raised his head, his tone measured. “To participate in the meeting, you need to do an information exchange first.”