The second rampage of summer had cost them dearly.

Shen Mo and Yan Qingwen, the first to fall into the water, had both sustained injuries of varying severity.

Shen Mo had mud on him, but because he received treatment promptly, the effects were minor. Zhu Shu, however, had been slashed across the abdomen by a spine on the fish monster’s pectoral fin when she fell into the water, and was already barely clinging to life when they pulled her out.

Shen Mo used his mud — once to save himself, once to save Yan Qingwen, once to save Zhu Shu. Three uses at once.

When Zhu Shu came to, she was in a daze.

She instinctively touched her abdomen. She distinctly remembered having her stomach torn open, yet the skin there was now perfectly intact.

It felt like waking from a long dream.

Someone nearby was calling her name, over and over: “Zhu Shu, Zhu Shu…”

It was Li Li.

He held her hand, his voice heavy with grief. “Why were you so reckless — why did you let go…”

“If she hadn’t let go, the one falling into the water to feed the fish would have been us.” Su Man said quietly from nearby. “Lu Ang couldn’t hold three people.”

Li Li was even more distraught: “Zhu Shu did it to save me.”

Su Man couldn’t help rolling her eyes, but given the circumstances, she didn’t argue.

Zhu Shu withdrew her hand from Li Li’s grip, pressed it over her abdomen, and slowly sat up.

The wound was gone. No pain either…

Someone must have used an item on her.

Su Man pulled Li Li away to check on Lu Ang’s leg injury, which had flared up again.

Zhu Shu sat alone in a daze, still somewhat out of it.

The reason she had let go was to save others — but it wasn’t only to save others. She knew exactly what she was worth in this group compared to Li Li and Su Man.

Rather than wait for Lu Ang to weigh things up and eventually let her go, it was better to be self-aware and take the initiative — that way she preserved the group’s situation, and still got a kind word for it.

Why not?

Yan Qingwen saw her sitting there in a blank stupor and frowned slightly, asking, “Are you alright?”

Zhu Shu came back to herself, looked up at him, and shook her head gently. “I’m fine…”

She paused for two seconds, then said quietly, “And once again I’ve caused you all to waste an item.”

Yan Qingwen heard this and instinctively glanced toward Shen Mo. The item had come from Shen Mo — for them, it was hardly a waste.

At that point, Zhu Shu spoke slowly: “Actually… every entertainer has thought about how they’ll make their exit. Whether it’s a collapse of image — dragged down by scandal; or growing older, phased out by fans loyal to the newer generation; or simply fading away with no new work, drifting out of the industry without anyone noticing…

Some entertainers design their own exits very carefully — a concert or a performance, leaving at the peak of their radiance. Isn’t that beautiful?

I want that too.

If you’re going to die sooner or later in the doll game, I hope my death is a beautiful one. Not dying because I was too foolish to solve a puzzle and became a doll, and not dying after scheming and maneuvering for a chance to survive — I want to die… as a human being would.”

To live as a human being.

To die as a human being.

Holding to the last line of integrity — with sincerity, and with goodwill.

She had passed through life and death, and spoke from that place.

The room was silent for a long time.

Zhu Shu looked around, and only then realized that at some point, everyone had been looking at her.

Li Li and Su Man, Yan Qingwen and Lu Ang, Bai Youwei and Shen Mo, and Teacher Cheng Weicai, Tan Xiao, Pan Xiaoxin… Every single one of them was looking at her.

After a moment, Yan Qingwen said, “Of course. If you allow yourself to become a devil who has lost all humanity just to win a game, then even if you win, you’ve lost.”

“We won’t lose!” Li Li was a bit animated. “I’ll go underwater to search too this round — as long as we find all the beads, we’ll definitely be able to clear it!”

“We don’t need to look for beads.” Bai Youwei’s voice was unusually calm. “What the water monster wants is not the beads.”

—