The entire afternoon passed without incident. The other side made no moves at all.

As the sky darkened, even from the best vantage point on the hillside, visibility gradually faded.

The lights of the safety cabins, however, stood out even more clearly in contrast.

Looking at their positions — on Bai Youwei’s side, the wolf’s safety cabin had no light; on Ye Chong’s side, all eight safety cabins were lit.

It seemed the safety cabins served a dual purpose: beyond being a final refuge for players, they also served as a signal. Come nightfall, it would be immediately obvious which animals had been eliminated.

A’Shalina sat with Bai Youwei on the hillside and lowered her voice to ask: “The White Gloves haven’t made a move all afternoon — will they act tonight?”

“Maybe, maybe not.” Bai Youwei rested her chin in her hand and looked out at the darkening forest, her tone somewhat languid. “Let’s wait it out. After all, we’re not the ones who should be anxious.”

A’Shalina still felt unsettled at heart. She thought that Bai Youwei, throughout the entire day, had done nothing beyond destroying the drones and had not issued any orders — strategically, it felt almost too passive, too reactive.

Even with that feeling, remembering how Bai Youwei always managed to turn things around from the brink of disaster, A’Shalina found herself thinking she ought to trust her.

Perhaps… this was a form of psychological warfare?

A’Shalina hesitantly asked: “Tomorrow, do we keep intercepting the drones?”

“Mm.” Bai Youwei nodded, then glanced down to observe the movement of several white dots on her wristband map. “Ye Chong will either do what I expect and scatter his team members, or he’ll try something new. All we need to do is respond to whatever comes. Don’t worry too much — I know what I’m doing.”

She pressed the call key and told everyone: “Take turns keeping watch through the night. Stay safe. No one stays at camp tonight.”

Of course no one could stay at camp — those campfires were like a blaring announcement: *Animals are here.*

Bai Youwei took out a blanket and draped it around her shoulders.

She had no intention of sleeping tonight — there needed to be someone ready to respond to anything that might arise.

A’Shalina sat down beside her to keep watch, silently gazing out at the vast, dark night.

……

The night passed without incident.

Bai Youwei caught a brief nap in the middle — roughly half an hour. Given their current physical conditioning, going a full night without sleep posed no problem.

She gave a lazy yawn, and said — somewhere between admiration and reflection: “This Ye Chong is quite capable of restraint… It seems intercepting the drones today won’t go as smoothly as before.”

A’Shalina was just about to ask for details when Bai Youwei’s wristband cut in first with a voice:

“Early morning is usually when people are least alert — we could rush them right now and catch them completely off guard!”

It was Yu Chaohui.

Bai Youwei lazily replied: “No need. Stand by.”

Yu Chaohui took a sharp breath. “We’ve been standing by since yesterday noon! Does that mean as long as they don’t act, we don’t either?!”

Bai Youwei’s brow furrowed slightly. “They have no food and no water and they’re not even panicking — so what are you rushing for?”

“I just don’t want to miss a good opportunity to hit them,” Yu Chaohui said.

Bai Youwei listened, and then her expression settled, her brow smoothing. She said evenly: “Is it truly a good opportunity to attack — or is it a perfect opportunity to walk into a trap? You know as well as I do that the other side has been quiet since yesterday noon. Have you stopped to consider why there’s been no movement?

Either Ye Chong still hasn’t figured out how to handle us;

Or Ye Chong has it all figured out already and is simply biding his time, waiting for his own so-called ‘right moment’ before he strikes.

Yu Chaohui — do you think Ye Chong is the kind of person who would spend an entire day failing to come up with a plan against us?”

Silence fell on the other end.

Bai Youwei paused, then emphasized again: “Everyone listen — without my order, no one is to enter the northern forest.”

A few acknowledgments came through from her teammates on the wristband.

A’Shalina looked out into the distance. The sun was slowly rising, its warmth spilling over this eerily still forest.

“What are we doing now?” she asked.

Bai Youwei narrowed her eyes, cocooned in her fluffy blanket like a cat — soft and utterly languid. She answered in a single word:

“Wait.”

—