Bai Youwei and Shen Mo left the rest hall and returned to the headquarters building.

Since they had advanced by essentially eliminating themselves from within the same bracket, they hadn’t truly experienced the actual content or mechanics of a proper battle — so there was nothing much to report. Upon returning, they exchanged only a few brief words with Chu Huaijin before retreating to their rooms to rest.

Shen Mo pulled out research materials related to the Ball’s games and settled onto the sofa to read through them.

Bai Youwei, meanwhile, spread out a map and flopped down on the bed, studying which territories it would be best to “claim” next.

She now had a substantial surplus of puzzle pieces, which she could use to expand her domain.

Though she had little interest in saving the world, she couldn’t deny that the more cities were restored, the faster various industries would recover, and the living conditions at the base would improve accordingly.

For instance, “claiming” the coastal region would restore the fishing industry, and all manner of fruits and seafood would flow in steadily.

Bai Youwei traced lines back and forth across the map, carefully making her plans. At some point, Shen Mo had come over without her noticing. He raised one long arm and reached over from behind, pressing his finger to a spot on the map:

“This one won’t work. Someone’s already claimed it.”

“Someone claimed it?” Bai Youwei blinked. “I didn’t notice — who?”

Shen Mo said, “The White Glove. He placed two puzzle pieces in this area.”

Mention of the White Glove left Bai Youwei with a very unpleasant feeling. She furrowed her brow and muttered, “I really don’t want to run into someone like that in the game.”

During the qualifying rounds, when the White Glove had emerged from the game, he was covered head to toe in blood — someone else’s blood. Not a single one of the players in his group had come out.

Shen Mo thought back for a moment. “He chose Battle 5 for his first battle — same as Yan Qingwen. Not sure if they’ll run into each other.”

“Hopefully not.” Bai Youwei curled the corner of her mouth. “And if they do, I hope Yan Ge deals with him quickly and cleanly, so we don’t have to face him later.”

Shen Mo smiled. “You’re afraid of him?”

“Not afraid.” Bai Youwei rubbed her arms. “Just feel very uncomfortable. Don’t you find that guy unsettling? Like something’s off with his head. You can outthink or outfight a normal opponent — but him… Anyway, maybe he’ll be knocked out in the first battle.”

Shen Mo considered it, then gave a quiet nod. “In these games, nothing is ever certain.”

And with that, the topic was dropped. The two of them set their minds entirely to preparing for the next battle.

A month was more than enough time.

Bai Youwei had assumed she could simply wait with calm elegance for the next battle to arrive — but she never expected that something would happen the very next morning.

She was having breakfast with Shen Mo, Teacher Cheng, Tan Xiao, and Pan Xiaoxin. The table was set with fried eggs, grilled sausages, mushroom soup, and plain steamed buns.

Suddenly, a voice reached her ear: “Weiwei!”

It was Zhu Shu’s voice.

Bai Youwei almost thought she was hallucinating. She froze for a full two seconds — then she saw the plastic flower hair clip fly out of her canvas bag on its own! It floated right up to her face!

Zhu Shu’s voice became clearer: “Weiwei!”

Bai Youwei instinctively reached out and took the clip.

A message from Zhu Shu surfaced in her mind, asking whether she was currently able to provide help.

Shen Mo looked at her. “What’s wrong?”

Bai Youwei blinked in confusion and looked at him. “Zhu Shu seems to be calling me to come help.”

“Something happened on Yan Qingwen’s end?” Shen Mo asked.

Zhu Shu and Yan Qingwen were together, so if something had happened to Zhu Shu, Yan Qingwen had probably been affected too.

“Not clear yet,” Bai Youwei hesitated. “The message only tells me that Zhu Shu — the other holder of this item — needs to see me, and asks whether I’m willing to come. If I’m willing, I clip in the hair clip. If not, I crush it.”

As she spoke, she held the hair clip up and tentatively fastened it into her hair.

The scene suddenly shifted — without any warning, she found herself on a sofa in an unfamiliar room. And right in front of her, Zhu Shu and Su Man were staring at her.

—