Bai Youwei heard this and smiled, asking him: “Do you have any items?”
Shen Fei was mildly startled.
What did this have to do with items?
As staff of the organization, he wasn’t required to enter games on a mandatory, periodic, rotating basis — but he did have to hand over all items on his person to the evaluation team that specialized in game-clearing. So…
Shen Fei answered flatly: “No.”
“Then that settles it.” Bai Youwei’s tone was bright, carrying a trace of schadenfreude. “It’s precisely because you have no items that being in a group with Jiang Hao is the safe choice.”
“What do you mean?” Shen Fei furrowed his brow.
Luo Bin, overhearing this, looked at Bai Youwei with a contemplative expression.
“Alright, we need to speed up.” Yu Yaqing cut in. “You all keep dealing with the dolls — I’ll go with Youwei to confirm the other routes.”
“Sure thing~ Time to work! Time to work!” Tan Xiao called out, spontaneously appointing Luo Bin and Shen Fei as his little helpers and dragging them off to get things done.
……
Time flew by.
When the clock struck four, everyone gathered again beneath the carousel.
The place had been utterly transformed.
— Around the carousel, bonfires had been set up, large swaths of paving stones had been pried up, and candles had been obtained from somewhere, melted into the empty slots left behind by the missing tiles, forming rings of scalding wax oil encircling the entire area.
Further out, there were hemp rope fishing nets strung up high, rows of wooden masts, and piles of dismembered plush toys heaped up like small mountains.
All of these were excellent combustibles.
“Ah…” Bai Youwei looked at all these preparations and couldn’t help sighing. “Yan Qingwen, please don’t end up burning us along with everything else.”
Yan Qingwen laughed. “Don’t worry — the burn radius is controllable. But this wax oil really is dangerous, so when the time comes, you all should find somewhere to hide in advance.”
Burning wax oil, once it splattered onto a person, would cause severe burns that were difficult to wash off quickly.
Bai Youwei let out a long, subdued sigh. “I miss Su Man a little.”
Yu Yaqing looked over at her when she heard this, the corners of her mouth curving upward. “Yeah, I miss her a little too.”
Su Man was skilled with a whip — if she were here, she could easily yank Mali down from the cat’s back, and they wouldn’t have needed to go to all this elaborate trouble setting up traps.
Yan Qingwen smiled. “Although this took a lot of effort, I still hope the trap doesn’t end up being needed. Ideally, we land a decisive hit from the start.”
Bai Youwei blinked, curious. “What are you all planning to do?”
Beside her, Lu Ang said fiercely, “Go up and chop her head off with one swing!”
“Alright, I’ll be the one to strike,” Yan Qingwen said. “I’m most familiar with the trap layout, so if anything unexpected happens, I can withdraw more easily than the rest of you. Shen Mo and Lu Ang focus on controlling the direction of the fire, and everyone else find somewhere to hide.”
“Let Youwei stay,” Shen Mo said, looking toward Bai Youwei. “She can help at a critical moment.”
Shen Mo didn’t blindly shield Bai Youwei.
He trusted that she had the ability to stay.
Shen Fei hesitated. “Brother, then what about me…”
“You go find somewhere to hide.” Shen Mo said. “If the fire gets out of control, follow the escape route and leave.”
Shen Fei: “…”
Why was the treatment so different?
“I’m staying too.” Luo Bin stepped forward, his tone resolute. “You don’t need my consent. My brother died in this game. That cat, that Mali — I won’t let either of them off.”
Yan Qingwen glanced at Shen Mo and Bai Youwei.
Both of their expressions were calm.
Yan Qingwen pondered for a moment, then looked around at everyone. “Then it’ll be me along with Shen Mo, Bai Youwei, Lu Ang, and Luo Bin — five people staying behind. Everyone else find cover and provide support. At the first sign of anything, follow the planned escape route and withdraw immediately.”
—