Li Li immediately panicked. “Shen Mo will be there too!”
Bai Youwei’s brow furrowed at that, and she repeated his words: “…Shen Mo will be there too?”
Li Li had learned his lesson about Bai Youwei’s peculiar disposition and nodded repeatedly. “Yes, yes, Shen Mo will be there too! Don’t you want to see him?”
Bai Youwei muttered with mild displeasure, “How did Shen Mo become so ordinary.”
Li Li: “……”
“Are we going now?” Bai Youwei said. “I need to bring Teacher Cheng, Tan Xiao, and Xiaoxin — going by myself would be no fun.”
“Pan Xiaoxin doesn’t need to come,” Li Li said with a frown. “This banquet is quite formal. It’s not appropriate to bring a child…”
What he actually thought was that Tan Xiao had better not come either — that blockheaded fool would probably cause some embarrassment. But thinking of Bai Youwei’s temperament, Li Li kept that part to himself.
“What ‘formal’~” Bai Youwei, as expected, showed no restraint in mocking him. “This organization is just a hastily assembled operation, isn’t it? It’s not an actual government institution — how formal can it really be~”
Li Li was flustered, his face an unpleasant shade, thoroughly stumped.
Teacher Cheng stepped in to smooth things over, saying to Li Li, “If we all go and leave Xiaoxin alone at home, that’s not right either. What if something happens? It’s better to bring the child along. Xiaoxin is sensible — she won’t cause any trouble for you.”
“Fine…” Li Li tugged at the corner of his mouth. “But Tan Xiao and Xiaoxin don’t seem to be around — I already knocked on the door earlier. If you wait for them to come back, you might miss the banquet…”
“You must not have knocked loudly enough.” Bai Youwei wheeled her chair toward Building 5. “I’ll go get them.”
Teacher Cheng gave Li Li an apologetic smile and hurried after Bai Youwei.
Once those two had gone, Li Li finally let out a long breath. He turned to Yan Qingwen again and spoke seriously:
“This banquet is really mainly to invite all of you to join the organization. Su Man and I have already joined. Brother Yan, with us vouching for you and Lu Ang, there won’t be any problem joining. But for Shen Mo and Bai Youwei, I’m not so confident — the organization has limited resources and can’t take in the elderly or children. And Bai Youwei’s attitude being what it is, she’s almost certainly not going to stay.”
“What exactly is this organization?” Lu Ang had an impatient nature. “Li Li, spell it out clearly — what’s the situation here?”
Li Li explained: “It’s Professor Song. Professor Song and the surviving members of the special operations unit formed the organization together. They continue their research while also ensuring residents’ livelihoods. It’s not without its shortcomings, but it’s far more stable than life out on the outside!”
Li Li looked at Yan Qingwen and urged again: “Brother Yan, stay! You all rescued me from the maze. Now it’s my turn to help you. If you’re willing to stay, I can guarantee — whatever open positions there are inside the organization, you pick them!”
Lu Ang stroked his own full beard and looked at Yan Qingwen.
Yan Qingwen was quiet for a moment, then gave a mild smile. “The thing is, after living independently for so long, I’ve gotten rather unaccustomed to the structured life within a system.”
Lu Ang, understanding exactly what Yan Qingwen meant, said bluntly: “I go where Old Yan goes.”
Li Li looked disappointed and turned to Zhu Shu. “Zhu Shu, what about you? You’re a young woman alone — are you really going to keep drifting out there, homeless?”
Zhu Shu pressed her lips together and asked Li Li, “If I stay, can I join the organization?”
Li Li’s expression became awkward. He hesitated for two seconds, then said, “Probably not this time… but I promise — as soon as you have more than two game clearances on record, I’ll help you apply to join the organization!”
Zhu Shu listened, then slowly moved to stand behind Yan Qingwen.
“I’m sorry, Li Li… Without Brother Yan and Lu Ang, I doubt I’d manage to clear even one game.” Zhu Shu said softly. “So… I’ll stay with everyone.”
—