The matter of the item couldn’t be explained in a sentence or two, and Shen Mo wasn’t in the mood to explain it to Tan Xiao.

However, this matter truly made one seethe with frustration. Things that had been properly arranged were all thrown into chaos by this one gunshot.

Shen Mo was someone who, whether due to his profession or his personality, had a certain heroic complex. He was willing to act righteously, had a strong sense of responsibility, and had more spirit of sacrifice than ordinary people. But this didn’t mean he was a “saint” or couldn’t bear to see people die.

Quite the contrary—he had been on the battlefield. Even if tens of thousands died, he could remain expressionless. He deeply understood the cruelty of life and death!

But what he couldn’t tolerate was this kind of completely unnecessary sacrifice!

Simply absurd!

Those people originally had ample time to hide, but because of one gunshot, they all lost control and ran wildly through the mud, ultimately becoming food for the frog!

They died without value, without meaning! Like the lowest-level joke!

Life shouldn’t be like this.

A game with dolls that appeared out of nowhere had already made the world absurd enough. Wasn’t that enough?

Shen Mo really wanted to drag Zhang Hua out and ask him, but he also felt it was unnecessary.

The cave was covered in snails—he couldn’t tell which one he was hiding in. Even if he found him, it wouldn’t change the fact of the heavy casualties. Moreover, the golden ball could appear at any time, and who knew what the next round would be like.

Shen Mo’s face was dark as water as he returned to Bai Youwei’s side, leaning against the shell without speaking.

Bai Youwei observed his expression and slowly said: “Assuming Zhang Hua has experienced the same game as us, then the item in his hands should be the same too. Once the gun is fired, everyone within 10 meters of the shooter will run at full speed. The effect is influenced by distance, environmental factors, and individual willpower. This is an enclosed cave, which easily creates echoes, so even people beyond 10 meters were affected.”

After pausing, she praised him: “Your willpower is pretty good. You stopped after only running two steps.”

Her voice was very light, faintly revealing intimacy and comfort.

Shen Mo lowered his eyes to glance at her, his heart stirring strangely.

He felt she seemed a bit… too calm?

He knew Bai Youwei’s personality was different from ordinary people. Last time encountering the “Tortoise and Hare Race,” she hadn’t shown much fear either. But this time, she not only wasn’t panicking, she was actually very calm, even… seemingly relaxed?

Bai Youwei continued: “In a bit, you should hide in the shell to rest. Although dealing with the frog is one way out, relying entirely on you alone consumes too much physical strength. You need to rest.”

Shen Mo’s gaze became somewhat meaningful.

On the other side, Tan Xiao was still cursing incessantly, unwilling to let the matter go, forcibly dragging the remaining people out of the snails to search them.

Hui Ge and his group also participated—they absolutely couldn’t tolerate someone among their companions hiding a gun!

They hadn’t found Zhang Hua yet.

Shen Mo leaned against the shell, silently watching the chaos before him. After a long while, he withdrew his gaze, looking down at Bai Youwei from his higher position, his eyes dark.

“You know something.” He used a question sentence, but his tone was a statement.

He was certain Bai Youwei was hiding something from him.

Bai Youwei blinked.

The girl was covered in mud, filthy all over, but only those eyes were exceptionally clean, like water-washed black jewels. Her gaze flickered, also like fireflies and starlight hidden in the night.

“Isn’t it obvious?” She smiled faintly. “You have your methods, naturally others have their own ideas too. Zhang Hua firing the gun at this moment can’t be without reason. He also wants to clear the game, just his method is different from ours.”

Shen Mo pondered: “His method… is to reduce the number of people?”

Bai Youwei’s lips curved up. “I’ll be direct. On average, a frog can catch over 70 insects a day. At least forty or fifty people died on the highway earlier. He probably thinks that as long as a few more die and the frog is full, he’ll be safe.”