Everyone present understood what Teacher Cheng’s story was meant to convey.

The game was that transfer student from the juvenile detention facility.

And they — the players — were the students struggling to survive under his rules.

Even if someone seized the position of “top dog,” it wouldn’t be a true victory. It would be the beginning of their domestication.

This was also the reason Shen Mo had proposed returning the world to how it was.

He wasn’t driven by heroism or a desire to save the world. He simply refused to let the game dictate the terms of his existence.

— Humanity might bring about its own ruin, but it would not be enslaved to its death.

The mood grew heavy.

The silence stretched on for a long while before Bai Youwei spoke quietly: “What happens after someone becomes king, no one really knows. The inspector’s words were vague and can’t be taken as certainties. The only thing we can be sure of right now is that games won’t appear within a king’s territory. Let’s think about how to fight the next battle first. As for the rest… we’ll figure it out later.”

The topic came to an end there.

Teacher Cheng did his best to lighten the atmosphere, chatting about dinner, about the weather, about the future development of the cities — large, airy topics without much substance. The others played along, speaking in fits and starts for a while, though every one of them seemed distracted at heart.

…That night, everyone’s mood was inevitably subdued. Only Tan Xiao and Pan Xiaoxin fell asleep without the slightest burden on their conscience. The others, to varying degrees, struggled with sleeplessness.

Because Du Lai and Fu Miaoxue were also present, Bai Youwei didn’t open the doll house — she simply had Shen Mo bring out two sets of bedding, which they spread out inside a tent.

As they settled in to sleep, Shen Mo wrapped his arm around her waist from behind and murmured: “You barely said anything just now.”

Bai Youwei stilled.

She hadn’t said much… that was true.

What was there to say?

That she had been domesticated? That she had already adapted to the rules, and even found a kind of comfort in them?

Bai Youwei closed her eyes and said softly: “Maybe I’m just tired.”

Shen Mo was quiet for a moment, then drew her down beside him, pulling her close.

Warm blankets wrapped around them both, and the glow of the campfire danced across the tent wall in wavering light and shadow. Shen Mo’s arm tightened ever so slightly around her.

He rested his chin lightly against the top of her head, his voice low: “Truly exhausted… we spent nearly three days in there without a single chance to rest properly. I don’t know what the inspector has planned for the coming battles, but if they’re going to be this long, we should prepare food and water in advance.”

At the mention of the game, Bai Youwei’s mind drifted back slightly. “…We probably won’t need to. We chose battle 20 — we’re unlikely to run into any other players.”

She ran the numbers again: “Battle 20 requires a minimum of 10 participants, which means a king would need to recruit at least 9 subjects before having enough people. 20 pieces for the battle itself, plus 9 for recruiting subjects, plus 2 for territory, plus 1 as a reserve… add it all up, and a king would need at least 32 pieces to choose battle 20.”

Among the 26 current kings, aside from Bai Youwei and Shen Mo, it was hard to imagine anyone else holding that many pieces.

And even if they did, surely they’d play it safe — there was no logical reason to choose the highest-participant battle right from the very first round.

Shen Mo lay there listening to her murmuring quietly about the game’s mechanics, the corners of his mouth curving upward. He reached out and moved aside the cool, smooth fall of her hair at her back, baring the soft curve of her neck, and pressed his lips gently against it…

“Do you know…” his voice came low and quiet. “Just now, Du Lai said — let someone else be king, it doesn’t matter if our bodies aren’t whole, it doesn’t matter if family and friends are gone, as long as we’re together, we can live well without being king… Those words are ones I’d want to say to you as well.”

—

Bai Youwei’s heart stirred.

She should have felt warmth and sweetness. But somehow, a quiet desolation rose in her chest.

—