The game ended.

The inspector vanished from before their eyes. All was still and quiet around them, sunlight falling silently over where they stood.

Shen Fei looked left and right, uncertain. “Are we out?”

“We’re out.” Yan Qingwen tilted his head back to look at the sky. “The sun is in the west. In the game it’s morning — but in the real world, it should be evening now.”

They turned around. Behind them, the crystal tower had returned to its original state. The great crystal at its peak was dyed orange-red by the setting sun, drinking in the brilliant hues of the evening glow, radiant and dazzling.

Shen Mo pushed the wheelchair and walked forward.

Shen Fei and Yan Qingwen followed behind.

Along the way they occasionally passed humanoid puppets. In life, perhaps some had arrived with a mission, others with ambitions — but now all of them were mingled among the original puppets of the amusement park, as though they had always been part of it.

Yan Qingwen’s footsteps suddenly quickened.

Faster and faster.

At last he abandoned all composure entirely and sprinted with everything he had toward the merry-go-round.

The iron puppet behind him kept pace without missing a step, each footfall sending a heavy resonant impact shuddering through the ground.

Everyone understood: Yan Qingwen had gone to find Lu Ang.

Not far from the merry-go-round, Lu Ang’s puppet stood perfectly still, the setting sun stretching a long shadow out behind it. The puppet’s body was completely intact and unmarred — no sign of any wound — only its face bearing an expression of stiff, frozen surprise.

It was difficult to imagine how violent a death this face had witnessed inside the game.

When Shen Mo and Bai Youwei arrived, they found Yan Qingwen using rope to bind Lu Ang’s puppet, securing it to the back of the iron puppet.

“In the future… if we ever find an item that can restore the dead to life, this might come in handy.” Yan Qingwen looked at the puppet, his voice flat and even.

The puppet strapped to the iron warrior’s back was lifeless, stiff, and awkward — almost a little absurd.

But no one laughed.

Bai Youwei said to Shen Mo: “Let’s bring Yu Yaqing as well.”

Shen Mo gave a single nod.

The hope was slim — but it was still hope, and that was better than none.

…

The four of them walked out through the amusement park gates, carrying two puppets between them.

Outside, a handful of young people were loitering idly. From their clothes and bearing, they appeared to be members of the organization’s assessment team.

Shen Fei recognized them. He raised a hand in greeting from a distance, and explained to Shen Mo: “Professor Song must have posted them here to relay news as soon as it arrived.”

When those young people saw them emerge, they all went blank — as though they couldn’t quite believe their own eyes.

One of them asked hesitantly: “Did you… did you use a puzzle piece to get out?”

Shen Fei walked over and said: “No — we cleared the game and came out on our own. Take us to Professor Song right away! We can provide the organization with a full strategy guide!”

“You actually cleared it?” The young people were both astonished and overjoyed. “You cleared hide-and-seek? You actually cleared it?!”

They burst into cheers, sprinting across the road with barely contained elation.

Their cries drew in others, and the news spread from person to person. Before long the cheering swelled into a great wave of voices, rising and falling as it echoed through the city—

“They cleared it! They cleared it!”

“Game 21 has been cleared! We don’t have to move anymore!”

…

And yet, in the midst of all that joy, the other party could not share it.

Shen Fei looked back. He saw the blank expressions on his companions’ faces, then saw the puppets of Lu Ang and Yu Yaqing, and the smile he had just begun to lift froze in place. It felt like a sudden slap he hadn’t seen coming. An overwhelming, suffocating shame hit him all at once.

Whatever victory they’d won had been paid for with his companions’ lives.

So how could he smile so freely?

Shen Mo rested one hand on his back and gave him a brief pat. “Let’s go. Get back and rest properly — don’t make your parents worry.”

Shen Fei lowered his head, and gave a muffled, subdued sound of assent.

…

—