After chatting around the campfire for a while, everyone finished eating the food from their black boxes and began doing exactly as Bai Youwei had suggested — fanning out to familiarize themselves with the surrounding terrain and environment.

Because the inspector had emphasized in advance that no attacks were permitted before the game officially began, the night passed peacefully. Both sides were making their preparations, and even when they crossed paths, no conflicts broke out.

Bai Youwei kept herself busy as well.

She had A’Shalina accompany her as she wound her way around the area, and eventually found the highest vantage point — a spot from which she could look down over both the forest and the grassland.

“We can see their fire from here,” A’Shalina said, gazing into the distance. “The lights in the safety cabins are on too. Are you sure we shouldn’t head over? If we just wait outside the safety cabins, when the people inside come out the next day, we’ll know what animals the other side is.”

Bai Youwei still shook her head. “It might be bait.”

A’Shalina thought it over and sighed. “You’re right. In a battle game, caution is the only sensible approach.”

After a moment, she asked Bai Youwei: “Does that mean we can’t rest in the safety cabins either?”

“Mm.” Bai Youwei nodded. “Everyone should have packed tents and sleeping bags before entering the game, so let’s make do for tonight… At least for the first two nights, we can’t go into the safety cabins.”

For the first two nights, all information was still unknown. Whoever revealed themselves first would be the first to show their hand.

“Understood.” A’Shalina nodded. “Don’t worry — even if we’re running for our lives, we won’t set foot in the safety cabins unless it’s absolutely our last resort.”

At that, A’Shalina found her gaze drifting toward the distant pinprick of firelight, and she murmured with feeling: “That person called Ye Chong is probably over there laying out his plans right now. I wonder what they have in store for us…”

“That man… has an extremely aggressive nature.” Bai Youwei stared into the distance, her expression thoughtful. “And he’s very arrogant. He hadn’t even been at the base for long before rumors about him were everywhere. Actually, I suspect he spread those rumors himself.”

“The rumor about everyone in his qualifiers dying?” A’Shalina said. “That one’s true — I saw it myself. He really was the only one who came out…”

“No, you’re misunderstanding me.” Bai Youwei glanced at her and clarified. “I’m not saying he lied. What I mean is… is…”

Bai Youwei chose her words carefully before continuing:

“Unless someone personally witnessed him walk out of the qualifiers and then went around the base loudly boasting about it, how would everyone else have found out? And it spread so fast — practically everyone knows that his white gloves are deadly, that just hearing about them makes people’s faces change color. Yan Qingwen, Fu Miaoxue, and I all won our qualifying rounds, so why isn’t anyone spreading rumors about us?”

A’Shalina looked puzzled. “You mean he spread the rumor about himself? What would he gain from that?”

“Pleasure. Enjoyment. The split-second flicker of awe and fear on people’s faces when they talk about him.” Bai Youwei attempted to analyze it further. “This man loves to kill, and he revels in it. Tomorrow, he will definitely do something unexpected.”

A’Shalina opened her mouth, then found she had nothing to say. At last, she looked out toward the enemy’s position.

Tomorrow — they would have their answer.

……

The following morning at daybreak, Shen Mo, Yu Chaohui, Tan Xiao, A’Long, Wu Meng’an, and Zhang Yu split into pairs and cautiously advanced to explore — from the left, center, and right flanks respectively.

Shen Mo and Yu Chaohui formed one pair. Their path was uneventful, and even as they drew near the enemy’s territory, they didn’t spot a single figure.

The scenery along the way was quite pleasant — all manner of flowers and plants, lush and verdant.

Having gone so long without seeing anyone, Shen Mo pressed the communication key and asked for a status update: “Tan Xiao, A’Long — anything on your end?”

Tan Xiao: “Nothing. Not a single person!”

“Same on our side — not even a shadow… How strange…” said Wu Meng’an from the other pair.

But just as those words left her mouth, Wu Meng’an suddenly cried out: “Oh no!”

Shen Mo furrowed his brow, and through the wristband came the sound of Wu Meng’an’s shocked voice: “They — they’re here! What do we do?! Eight people — all eight of them, coming right at us!”

—