Beside Lu Yuwen, Su Man listened to his words and silently widened her eyes. She gently nudged him with her elbow and asked quietly, “…Do you not want the game to end either?”

“How could I?” Lu Yuwen shook his head with a smile. “Every extra day the game exists, countless more people lose their lives. Of course I want the world to return to normal as quickly as possible. Just now I was only trying to analyze Bai Youwei’s psychology — I think I can understand it. Of course, the fact that ordinary people can’t accept it is also a perfectly natural reaction.”

Su Man sighed. “What a pity that we’ve all become commoners. There’s nothing we can do to help her.”

“Even if you weren’t a commoner, I wouldn’t recommend getting involved.” Yan Qingwen glanced at her. “The final decisive battle is extraordinarily dangerous. You’re an only child — combat isn’t for you.”

Su Man pouted back at him. “And if I don’t fight, do I get to survive? It’s not like I’m going to escape death by just sitting here and waiting…”

—

Zhu Shu asked Yan Qingwen, “Is there anything we can do to help Weiwei?”

She was anxious, and added, “If I go out and tell everyone that recording is misleading, will anyone believe me?”

Yan Qingwen glanced around their surroundings, his expression unruffled. “Do you think Professor Song targeted the Kings because he discovered those recordings?”

“Isn’t that it?” Zhu Shu looked at him blankly.

Yan Qingwen: “His research team must have produced some new results recently… Otherwise there would be no reason to take such a self-destructive course of action. I think this time around, Bai Youwei may have no choice but to surrender.”

“She’s already reached the fourth battle — you want her to surrender now?” Zhu Shu said incredulously. “Weiwei would never agree to that.”

Su Man couldn’t help adding, “Right, Yan-ge, that’s a terrible idea! She’s so close to winning — surrendering now would mean throwing away everything she’s worked for!”

Lu Yuwen mused quietly for a moment, then proposed: “If we could find out about the research team’s progress, we might be able to figure out what Professor Song is really after.”

The group looked at each other, and almost in unison:

“Find Li Li.”

As the person who had once been Professor Song’s most capable assistant, after Song Mingchuan took to his sickbed, Li Li had become a cornerstone of the research team. If anyone would know something, it would be him.

……

Meanwhile, Ashalina and Alon had also heard about the recordings.

The story had spread like wildfire. Getting it translated into English was simple enough, and even Leonid had privately asked Shen Mo: was it true that Bai Youwei actually thought that way?

Not wanting the game to end?

Not hoping for the world to be restored?

How could anyone think like that?

Zhu Shu believed it had been a momentary lapse on Bai Youwei’s part — but to everyone else, her way of thinking felt extreme and incomprehensible, completely beyond acceptance.

It was like a group of soldiers who had enlisted to fight off an invader, only to discover that their commanding general was in it because they enjoyed the fighting, and couldn’t care less whether the enemy lived or died…

A faith had collapsed.

Ashalina asked Shen Mo in English whether the recording was really Bai Youwei’s voice, and whether it had been tampered with.

When she received confirmation, Ashalina said that she and Alon wanted to go home. They could no longer fight for Bai Youwei.

Even if they stayed against their will, Bai Youwei couldn’t recruit enough subjects — sooner or later it would be a dead end. Ashalina felt there was little point in the two of them remaining.

All of this was said directly to Shen Mo’s face. Ashalina had originally hoped to hear an explanation from Bai Youwei herself — but she was never able to see her.

After the incident broke, Bai Youwei had moved into the dollhouse and refused to see anyone.

She didn’t offer a single word in her own defense, didn’t expect forgiveness, and made no plea for sympathy. She cut herself off completely from the outside world.

Sealed away from the insults and accusations — and sealed away equally from the concern of her friends.

—