In reality, the scene outside was nothing like the cozy picture they had imagined.

It had all come about because Bai Youwei, in a fit of uncontrolled emotion, had thrown her crutch at Shen Mo to drive him away — only to miss, lose her own balance, and nearly topple over, at which point Shen Mo moved with swift reflexes and caught her in his arms.

That was the scene Tan Xiao had seen through the crack in the door.

……

Shen Mo carried Bai Youwei to the sofa. Looking at her — red-faced, red-eyed — he felt irritation smoldering inside him, though he also found it oddly funny.

“What are you crying about?” he asked. “You lectured me the whole time and I didn’t say a word. What do you have to cry about?”

Bai Youwei turned her face away. “Hmph!”

Shen Mo pulled a few tissues from the coffee table and went to wipe her tears.

Bai Youwei immediately swiped at him with her hand like a claw!

“Don’t touch me!”

Shen Mo took the hit. No blood drawn, but a red scratch appeared on his arm.

He frowned slightly, then looked at Bai Youwei again, this time with a note of severity in his voice: “Dare move again, and see if I don’t clip all of them off.”

Bai Youwei: “……”

She bit her lip.

Then she raised her hand, decisively yet hesitantly…

And scratched him again.

Shen Mo: “……”

He had no intention of indulging that habit.

One minute later, Bai Youwei was forcibly disarmed.

Her two hands were bound securely, and Shen Mo produced a nail clipper and worked his way through her fingers one by one.

The three inside the room, hearing no more noise from outside, cautiously came out — and were utterly baffled by what they saw.

Tan Xiao was especially confused. “What kind of method is this, exactly?”

Still, judging by both their expressions, a temporary ceasefire seemed to have been reached.

Teacher Cheng asked Shen Mo with concern, “I thought I just heard you say you wanted to go into Game 21 — is that true?”

Shen Mo cradled Bai Youwei’s small hands in his and, while clipping her nails, explained: “…Game 21 doesn’t just threaten the base’s safety — it threatens my family as well. I want to deal with this concern before I leave.”

Bai Youwei glared at him, words coming fast. “If you can’t deal with Game 21, then just move somewhere else! The base should have a relocation plan, right? There’s absolutely no reason to dig in here and fight a losing battle with one game! So many people have died — it’s obvious the game is too hard to beat. Why would you still go and throw your life away?!”

The more she spoke the more agitated she became, and her eyes gradually reddened again. “You’re not allowed to go! I said before — no entering any game without new puzzle pieces first! Does my word mean nothing?!”

“The game may not actually be that hard.” Shen Mo remained completely calm. “The reason everyone was wiped out this time might be because someone interfered. That may have nothing to do with the game’s actual difficulty.”

Teacher Cheng weighed his words for a moment, deeply uneasy. “Little Shen, Weiwei is absolutely right. We understand you’re worried about your family — but if something happens to you in the game, your family will only suffer even more. Won’t you… reconsider?”

Shen Mo slowly shook his head. “Shanghai formed this ‘vacuum’ safe zone because of the labyrinth that exists here. The positions of all the nearby games are confirmed, their movement patterns are all tracked — there won’t be a safer place than this. And if there is, it’ll be thousands of miles away.”

He glanced up at Bai Youwei and added, “I’ll consult with Chu Huaijin and recruit a new team.”

Bai Youwei said sourly: “So many people have died — even a squad of elites was wiped out. Who would be stupid enough to go into a game with you?! You definitely won’t be able to recruit anyone!”

Shen Mo looked at her. “If I can’t gather enough people, I’ll give up on clearing Game 21, relocate with the base to a new stronghold, and then head north with all of you.”

Bai Youwei brooded and chewed her lip.

He made her sound so unreasonable. But with the situation they were in… they were in absolutely no condition to enter a game.

—