Bai Youwei said immediately: “Du Lai, Uncle Shen has never once entered a maze. Sending him in there — isn’t that the same as sending him to his death?”

Du Lai pointed in Shen Mingyuan’s direction and replied:

“I’m not sending him anywhere. He wants to go himself. I’m only providing a walkthrough and some protective items.”

He gave a derisive laugh and continued: “What’s wrong, Bai Youwei? You don’t want to go yourself — but you want to stop everyone else in the base from going too? I’ve offended you and Miaoxue has offended you, but we don’t have a blood feud. There’s no reason to go this far, is there?”

Bai Youwei found herself shut down by his words. Deep down, she knew it was pointless to argue with Du Lai — the real issue lay with Shen Mo’s father.

She turned her gaze toward Shen Mo.

Shen Mo and Shen Mingyuan sat across from each other in the lounge chairs in the main lobby. Both of them wore stony expressions.

Du Lai said coldly: “What, a son trying to control his own father? How charming… Fine, take as long as you need — talk it over among yourselves. Go or don’t go, give me a real answer. If you won’t, I still need to post the bounty elsewhere. Don’t waste my time.”

Everyone’s eyes turned to the standoff between father and son.

Shen Mingyuan sat quietly.

He wore a grey-patterned dress shirt beneath a soft, clean cashmere outer jacket. Fine lines fanned from the corners of his eyes. His face, shaped by the passage of years, was refined and calm — it was difficult to imagine that this man and the formidably imposing Shen Mo were father and son.

Shen Mingyuan spoke slowly: “All the times you’ve risked your life and walked through death’s door — I never stopped you once. Now I want to take one risk for a woman I care about. Is that not allowed?”

He raised his head and smiled at Shen Mo: “My boy, you can’t hold others to a different standard than yourself.”

Elder Uncle Shen, standing somewhere in the crowd, burst out anxiously: “How can you be so stubborn about this! She already ran off with another man!”

A flash of displeasure crossed Shen Mingyuan’s face. He found it deeply disagreeable when people spoke ill of Wang Jingxian.

“She went in search of a new refuge,” Shen Mingyuan explained, unhurried. “Shanghai was not safe at the time. A group of them had gathered substantial supplies and assembled a number of technical specialists. It was because Professor Song said the Arctic was quite possibly the only place untouched by the effects of the game, so they set out by ship toward the Arctic. The man you’re referring to was a major financial backer and organizer of that expedition. Wang Jingxian and he are simply ordinary friends.”

This was somewhat different from what Bai Youwei had first heard.

Not that it mattered much to her now. Her mother’s ordinary friends were numerous enough. What she was more concerned about at this moment was how to stop Shen Mo’s father.

Shen Mo said: “The maze is currently in a locked state. You may not even be able to enter Maze No. 1.”

“Mr. Du will provide a walkthrough,” Shen Mingyuan answered calmly. “Maze No. 2 the mirror, No. 3 the mermaid, No. 4 Stonehenge, No. 5 the Minotaur, No. 6 the arrows, No. 7 the snake game, No. 8 the desert, No. 9 the rainforest — the specific details aren’t yet clear, but Mr. Du has pledged that for anyone willing to save Fu Miaoxue, in order to improve the odds of gaining entry to Maze No. 1, he will freely provide all walkthroughs for Mazes No. 2 through 9.”

A wave of murmuring swept through the people around them.

Obtaining that much information on the mazes all at once — that was no small thing.

Shen Mingyuan continued: “Moreover… according to Mr. Du, Maze No. 1 is relatively safer compared to the others. There are no harsh environments, no dangerous monsters. As long as you keep reminding yourself that you’re inside a dream, there shouldn’t be any problems at all. Even if I fail to rescue Fu Miaoxue, I should be able to walk out unharmed.”

Bai Youwei thought quietly to herself: But it’s precisely because of Maze No. 1’s unique nature that once something goes wrong, it becomes a dead end — because unlike other mazes, there’s no clearly defined exit. It’s a dream.

Shen Mo remained silent, clearly recognizing that Shen Mingyuan’s mind was made up and he would be difficult to dissuade.

He thought for a long while, then asked his father: “Is it absolutely necessary that you go?”

—