Chen Hui said, “I kept heading north—went to Jinan, then Shijiazhuang, and eventually Beijing. There’s a base in Beijing too, bigger than this one, though people there focus mainly on clearing games and nobody engages with the mazes.”
She gestured toward Leonid at her side and introduced him with a smile: “Leonid is Russian. No idea how he ended up in Beijing. When I found him, he was like a vagrant who hadn’t bathed in months—reeking, filthy, with a terrifying scraggly beard. It was only after we went through a game together that I realized he’s actually quite easy to get along with.”
Bai Youwei felt like laughing. “You describe him like that to his face…”
Chen Hui seemed livelier than she had been half a year ago. She winked mischievously and said, “It’s fine—outside the game he can’t understand Chinese. He only knows ‘hello,’ ‘thank you,’ and ‘goodbye.'”
Leonid couldn’t follow what they were saying, though he sensed vaguely that they were talking about him. He raised a hand toward Bai Youwei and said, “Nee how.”
Bai Youwei smiled. “Hello.”
Fu Miaoxue leaned curiously toward Leonid and asked, “Can you speak English?”
Leonid furrowed his brow, and from beneath his large beard spilled a stream of English with an extremely heavy accent.
Fu Miaoxue was momentarily at a loss—she hadn’t caught it.
Du Lai explained from beside her, “He said ‘A little’…”
“Ah…” Fu Miaoxue murmured in wonder. “Good thing communication inside the game has no barriers.”
Chen Hui turned to Bai Youwei and said, “I was carrying the puzzle piece from Maze No. 2 and planned to look for Teacher Tu’s child. I knew it was a long shot, but I couldn’t just not try. Later I ran into the big man—Leonid—and he helped me in a game, so we ended up traveling together. I gave my puzzle piece to him for safekeeping, since he’s a big guy, so it’s safer with him.”
She gave a helpless little laugh, then continued, “We didn’t expect the puzzle piece to trigger the maze wars. Neither of us had much interest in competing for king, so after getting through the first battle, we just surrendered in the second.”
Bai Youwei asked, “What are your plans from here? Are you going into the maze with Fu Miaoxue?”
Chen Hui pressed her lips together, not answering immediately. She glanced at Fu Miaoxue first, then slowly replied:
“We have few tools on hand. If we run into a player with many tools, the only way to match them is through sheer personal strength—reaction speed, physical ability, and so on—including the self-healing ability Tu Shenshi mentioned. All of those are crucial to winning.”
Fu Miaoxue cut in: “Besides, your companions will all need to enter the maze sooner or later—might as well let them come with us first! Saves me the trouble of going to Chu Huaijin to beg for people~”
Bai Youwei gave a derisive smile. “So that’s why you’ve been so pleasant with me today—you want to poach my people again.”
Every other time they met, they’d exchange a few jabs at each other. Now that she actually needed something, out came the pleasant face. Truly something else.
Fu Miaoxue felt not the slightest trace of shame. She slapped the table with reckless confidence and tilted her chin up. “Have you thought it through? Your people have nothing to lose by coming with me into a maze! Think about it—either I bring them out safely and everyone’s physical ability goes up a tier, or I die in there and you have one fewer competitor in the third battle. Either outcome works out for you, doesn’t it?”
Bai Youwei smiled. “Whether you’re dead or not, you’re no competition of mine.”
“Bai Youwei! Don’t you underestimate me!” Fu Miaoxue fumed.
Du Lai held Fu Miaoxue back and turned to Bai Youwei. “No need to refuse outright yet. The number of mazes is uncertain, but the types are actually similar in structure. Right now, apart from Maze No. 1, almost every other maze has been encountered by someone. If we can pool information, even if your companions go in with us, it won’t be too dangerous. You might want to think it over.”
He paused, then added, “We’ll also discuss it with Yan Qingwen’s group.”
—