Chen Hui was covered in goosebumps from what Bai Youwei had said.

Bai Youwei then said lightly: “But we haven’t been trapped for that long ourselves, so we can’t objectively gauge what’s going on in their minds. Maybe their mental states are no longer clear — to them, as long as there’s a chance to get out, food and items are all inconsequential~”

Chen Hui still felt a creeping unease, and whispered: “Then… we should keep a close eye on them.”

“Mm, of course we will.” Bai Youwei nodded.

Shen Mo walked over and handed Bai Youwei 3 keys. “From those people.”

They had said earlier they would give them over, but Bai Youwei had found them too disgusting to take. Now they were being pressed upon her again — those three men seemed genuinely afraid of being abandoned.

Bai Youwei looked at the keys in Shen Mo’s hand, sighed quietly, and said: “Ask them for some water bottles, and let’s give them a wash…”

Shen Mo nodded, turned to go, then was called back by Bai Youwei: “And your hands — remember to wash those too.”

Shen Mo: “……”

He gave her a helpless look.

……

Shen Mo asked the three men for two bottles of spring water — one to wash the keys, one to wash his hands.

The cleaned keys still had a worn, old appearance. Nothing remarkable about their shape. Each was about 10 centimeters long, each a different color: one was tortoiseshell green, one was grape purple, one was old ginger yellow.

Bai Youwei picked up the keys, put them down, felt them, tapped them, examined them — and couldn’t figure out anything. She simply had Shen Mo keep them for the time being.

Keys were just keys, with no other use. Until the remaining keys were found, these 3 keys were worth the same as having 0.

The light beside them flickered twice.

Leonid’s flashlight had gone out.

Leonid quickly said: “I was using old batteries — not enough charge left. It’s fine though, I have spares in my pack.”

He skillfully opened the back cover of the flashlight and removed the old batteries. Just as he was about to put in new ones, Bai Youwei said: “Let’s turn off the other flashlights too — one beam of light is enough for now. We don’t know how long we’ll be staying here, so let’s conserve.”

Everyone listened and switched off their own flashlights. Only one was kept, placed in the middle of the stone chamber to serve as the light source.

The light from a single flashlight naturally couldn’t illuminate the entire stone chamber. Apart from the strong beam standing in the center, the edges of the room remained submerged in dim shadow.

But since they currently had no need to scout the environment or fight any enemies, slightly dimmer light was perfectly fine.

Shen Mo took a blanket from the luggage and draped it over Bai Youwei’s shoulders.

There was no biting cold wind here like outside — instead it was a different kind of pervasive chill that seeped in gradually, until, if one sat still long enough, their hands and feet would go cold without even noticing.

Bai Youwei wrapped herself in the blanket and slipped both hands inside Shen Mo’s clothing to warm them, saying to him: “Could you set up the tent in a bit?”

Shen Mo swept a glance over the other people in the stone chamber, made a low sound of acknowledgement, and clasped her hands, turning them over to warm the backs.

Bai Youwei laughed: “What do you think you’re doing — flipping flatbread?”

Shen Mo heard this and also smiled. He released her hands, pinched her nose lightly, then turned to set up the tent.

The tent was meant for outdoor camping.

Under normal circumstances, in an enclosed space like this, there would be no need for a tent — to rest, you only needed a moisture-proof mat and a sleeping bag.

The reason Bai Youwei had Shen Mo set up the tent was because she needed a private space — at least, when entering and exiting the dollhouse, it wouldn’t be noticed by those few people outside whose identities were still unclear.

She wrapped herself in the blanket and entered the tent. She lit a small lamp inside, then took out her usual paper and pen to write and sketch, searching for a train of thought.

After a while, Shen Mo came into the tent as well.

Bai Youwei asked him: “What is everyone doing?”

“Nothing much — resting.” Shen Mo paused, then said: “Those three have gone to sleep.”

—