The following was Tan Xiao’s self-introduction:

“My name is Tan Xiao — the ‘Tan’ from ‘witty and relaxed,’ the ‘Xiao’ from ‘witty and relaxed.’ Known far and wide as Brother Xiao! I set out to roam the world at eight, pledged brotherhood at ten! Decades of ups and downs in the rivers and lakes! Armed with nothing but my bare fists! Bound by the loyalty of brothers! If there’s ever anything you need, just come to me! Brother Xiao will never fail to step up!”

He finished, planted his hands on his hips, and flashed a dazzling set of perfectly white teeth.

The crowd: “……”

Tan Xiao looked left and right. No one was clapping.

He felt very lonely.

Only Bai Youwei and Pan Xiaoxin had yet to introduce themselves.

Pan Xiaoxin glanced at Bai Youwei.

Bai Youwei had her eyes half shut, looking completely languid, with no intention whatsoever of opening her mouth.

Pan Xiaoxin: “……”

He hesitated for a while, then said: “My name is Pan Xiaoxin. I lived with my grandparents in Hangzhou and was attending Zhongxin Primary School — fifth grade… After the incident in Hangzhou, I had nowhere to go, so I wanted to find a team to travel with. But those adults… for some reason, they were always fighting, always chaotic… a lot of people died…”

As he was speaking, he noticed Bai Youwei’s half-lidded eyes drifting toward him.

Pan Xiaoxin felt a pang of guilt. His voice dropped:

“Later… later I ran into Sister Wei Wei and Brother Mo. They were willing to take me into the labyrinth. I thought… this team should be able to survive, so I stayed with everyone.”

“Little one, you’re not being entirely honest, are you~” Bai Youwei’s voice was slow and drawling.

Pan Xiaoxin lowered his head and honestly admitted: “I gave myself those injuries. But I didn’t mean to harm any of you — I was just afraid… afraid you’d be suspicious of me, so…”

“A crafty little kid — not the least bit cute,” Bai Youwei clicked her tongue and said lazily. “Then again, you’re not a pet, so why do you need to be cute? As long as you can survive, that’s enough.”

Pan Xiaoxin froze, then lifted his head to look at her.

“My turn, is it…” Bai Youwei stretched her body, looking a little weary. “My name is Bai Youwei. A cripple.”

That was it.

Everyone waited quietly for three seconds.

Then they realized she truly had no intention of saying anything more, and all felt a little unsettled.

“Wei Wei, that’s really not okay.” Tan Xiao complained. “You didn’t even say your age!”

Bai Youwei shot him a sideways glare. “Is a woman’s age something you can just go around asking?!”

Tan Xiao: “Everyone else said theirs!”

“Hmph, I’m not saying mine.” Bai Youwei turned her face away haughtily, refusing to look at him. “My age — there are only two people in this world who are allowed to know it. The one who brought me into this world, and the one who puts me in the ground.”

“Why?” Tan Xiao was puzzled.

Bai Youwei said: “Because the person who buries me will have to write the inscription on my gravestone — ‘Here Lies Bai Youwei, Born in Such and Such Year, Month, and Day, Died Suddenly in Such and Such Year, Month, and Day.’ You didn’t even know that?”

Tan Xiao said “Oh,” and thought for a moment. “……That actually kind of makes sense.”

The others had nothing to say.

Yan Qingwen asked one more question: “You seem very skilled at clearing games. Have you had any training in that area before?”

“I wouldn’t call it skilled, exactly. The more you play, the more practiced you get compared to others.” She rested her cheek on her hand and spoke casually. “It’s like… hmm, the more you play matching games, the better your feel for them gets. Same principle.”

She asked Yan Qingwen: “How many games have you played?”

“Three.” Yan Qingwen smiled. “The first game we cleared and received an item called a self-healing bandage. The second game was too difficult — it used up five of our puzzle pieces. The third… was the Lucky Q&A. If you count this one too, then it’s four.”

Bai Youwei nodded seriously. “That’s a little on the low side. It’d be best to run through a few more games. Practice makes perfect — better to get experience now than to suffer for it later.”

Li Li couldn’t help interjecting: “The games keep getting worse and worse — and you want to play more?! What if you die before you even get good at them?”

Bai Youwei burst out laughing. “Then we’ll carve you a gravestone: ‘Here Lies Li Li, Died Suddenly in Such and Such Year and Month~'”

Li Li: “……”

He should never have asked.

—