Inside mazes and games, every moment was fraught with tension — hearts in mouths, unable to eat or sleep well.

At headquarters base, life was considerably more comfortable, and time seemed to slow.

Every day Bai Youwei opened her eyes, there was a warm breakfast waiting for her. Then she would read a bit, let her mind wander, occasionally gaze through the glass window at the bleak, cold street scene outside, and the day would slip by almost without her noticing.

Of course, this was one of the privileges of being a king.

Everyone else at headquarters was busier than she was. Shen Mo, for instance, spent several fixed hours every day in the training room — either training himself or helping others train. In his words, it was to reinforce muscle memory, so that when danger arose, even before the mind registered it, the body could react in an instant.

Bai Youwei asked him whether she needed to train too.

Shen Mo said she could, but the effort-to-benefit ratio was far too low.

Bai Youwei had nothing to say to that and gave up the idea entirely.

After a few lazy days like this, Fu Miaoxue suddenly came looking for her — banging the door open with a series of loud, unapologetic raps, calling out her name all the while:

“Bai Youwei! Bai Youwei! Are you in there? Open the door!”

Inside the room, Bai Youwei’s hand jerked — she smudged the nail polish she was applying.

The Severed Hand grew anxious; it splayed its fingers delicately and dabbed them on the towel on the table, then began pacing in circles.

“I’ll redo it in a moment,” Bai Youwei said, twisting the nail polish bottle shut.

The Severed Hand was still anxious, tapping its fingers on the table with urgent little knocks.

“I’ll give you a proper manicure in a bit,” Bai Youwei said.

The delicate fingers lifted even higher, and the tapping stopped.

Bai Youwei opened the door for Fu Miaoxue — only she and Du Lai were outside.

“You took forever!” Fu Miaoxue’s first words were a complaint. “Why did you only open the door now?!”

“I walk slowly,” Bai Youwei replied with composure.

Fu Miaoxue stared. “Can’t you walk faster?”

“No.” Bai Youwei gave her a flat look. “What if I rush and twist my ankle? Or trip? Or fall and hurt myself? Or slip?”

Fu Miaoxue rolled her eyes dramatically. “Do you need to be so dramatic?! Are your legs made of gold?!”

Then, remembering the purpose of her visit, she straightened up and stood squarely in front of Bai Youwei with an eager look. “Tell me — is there anything different about me today compared to before?”

“Yes,” Bai Youwei said. “You can roll your eyes now.”

Fu Miaoxue bristled. “Hey! I’m being serious! Can you actually look properly?!”

This time it was Bai Youwei’s turn to roll her eyes. “You’re always wrapped up tight in black gauze — how would I know what’s different about you now compared to before?”

“Look closely!” Fu Miaoxue leaned in until she was extremely close to Bai Youwei’s face. “…Look… closely!”

Bai Youwei frowned and studied her face carefully. Slowly, she did begin to notice some subtle differences.

“You… have eyebrows now?” Bai Youwei was startled. Fu Miaoxue’s eyebrows had previously been the kind painted on like an SD doll — pigment drawn over smooth skin. But now, there was a faint layer of fine hairs. Actual eyebrow hairs.

“And here.” Fu Miaoxue pulled down her own eyelid so Bai Youwei could look at her eye.

Where before there had only been a beautiful glass-bead eyeball, now there were richer, more human-like layers to be seen within.

Bai Youwei understood, and turned to look at Du Lai, who stood beside Fu Miaoxue. “You two entered a maze?”

“Yes.” Du Lai gave a single nod. “Maze No. 4. We just came out.”

Fu Miaoxue’s changes were clearly the result of a maze upgrade.

She excitedly touched her own face, pinched her arm, her mood positively luminous.

“Fine hairs are beginning to appear on the skin. It’s also become more elastic. If I enter another two mazes, I’m certain I can become human again!”

Bai Youwei said flatly: “Two kings cannot enter the same maze. If you’re here to invite me, I’m afraid the answer is no.”

Fu Miaoxue grinned. “I was never planning to ask you — my boyfriend and I can handle it just fine!”

“Then why did you come barging in?” Bai Youwei said, at a loss. “Oh, I see — you just came here to show off.”

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