“Four.” Bai Youwei said.

Everyone looked at her.

Bai Youwei said: “Before the third battle began, the Rabbit-Headed Gentleman said eight Kings would be participating in total. Two entered Battle 1, two entered Battle 5, and four entered Battle 10. Working through the elimination pattern — one win, one loss in each round — there should be four left at this point.”

“Four people in the fourth round…” Zhu Shu’s chest felt heavy. “It really is brutal. Eliminate one more round, and at most two people will enter the final battle. If something else goes wrong in the final battle, then…”

Zhu Shu didn’t finish the sentence.

She suddenly felt afraid. The people sitting around her right now might, before long, lose their lives inside the game.

“I’m not worried about the fourth battle — but when it comes to the final battle, you really do need to think carefully.” Yan Qingwen glanced at Bai Youwei’s legs. “At the very least, get your physical condition sorted out. What’s going on with your legs?”

“What do you mean, ‘what’s going on’?” Bai Youwei said, unbothered. “Can’t I just be reflecting on my past hardships? Wheelchairs are comfortable.”

Tan Xiao looked up, suddenly enlightened. “Ohhh, so it’s for reflecting on past hardships! I thought…”

Bai Youwei shot him a sharp look.

Tan Xiao: “???”

“How are things with you?” Shen Mo changed the subject, turning to Yan Qingwen. “Being with Fu Miaoxue and Du Lai — are you worried?”

Yan Qingwen smiled faintly and leaned back. “Those two… they can be a bit unpredictable, but in the game, they’re reliable enough. When it comes to making sacrifices, neither of them blinks — pretty cold-blooded, isn’t it?”

Shen Mo neither agreed nor disagreed. “Du Lai is a self-interested pragmatist. As long as it benefits him, he’ll sacrifice anyone — except Fu Miaoxue.”

“Yes.” Yan Qingwen nodded quietly, then sighed. “That’s actually fine by me… That way, I don’t have to carry any sense of moral obligation. It’s much more freeing than before.”

Zhu Shu listened, her expression falling. She pressed her lips together and said nothing.

Of course Yan Qingwen felt free now — because he no longer bore responsibility for anyone’s life. The people you love are warmth in your heart, but they’re also a weight you carry. Zhu Shu thought to herself: I don’t want to become his burden…

Shen Mo asked, “Your next game should be Battle 20?”

“Mm.” Yan Qingwen nodded. “We need ten people, and we’re still three short. But it shouldn’t be an issue — Du Lai has a real talent for persuasion. The numbers will be filled before long. What about your side? Are you short on people?”

Shen Mo gave an almost imperceptible nod. “More people is always better, especially since no one knows what will happen in the final battle.”

Yan Qingwen looked at him and said once more: “Think carefully about what I just told you.”

“We will.” Shen Mo said. “We’ve come this far — and we’ve all been chasing an answer. Now that the answer is almost within reach, letting go is genuinely difficult.”

Yan Qingwen tilted his head, glanced over at Bai Youwei, and smiled. “I envy you.”

Zhu Shu watched him with concern.

Yan Qingwen stood to take his leave. “I’ve passed the message along. We should go. Good luck to you all.”

Shen Mo: “Same to you.”

—

In no time at all, the one-month mark arrived, and the time for the fourth battle had come.

Bai Youwei recruited Teacher Cheng Weicai as a subject, bringing the group to five, and entered the fourth battle.

Upon arriving in the waiting hall, the surroundings were quiet. The handful of Kings and their subjects remaining stood in silence, waiting for the monitor to announce the battle’s commencement.

After a short wait, the silhouette of the Rabbit-Headed Gentleman appeared in the air.

“The fourth battle is about to begin. Kings participating: four in total.

One King has selected Battle 5.

Three Kings have selected Battle 20.”

Bai Youwei was taken aback.

There was only her, participating in Battle 5?

—