Yun Yao looked at Zhang Chenze, and only after a long time did she nod.

“I understand. We’re walking different paths.” Yun Yao said. “Those who walk different paths cannot make plans together. I can only wish you well.”

“Yun Yao… right?” Zhang Chenze confirmed.

“That’s me.”

“Although I don’t know what your plan is exactly, I participated in a game together with Lin Qin, Qin Dingdong, and Su Shan. I believe they are trustworthy people.” Zhang Chenze said earnestly. “You haven’t participated in a game together with Lin Qin, have you? So you shouldn’t point fingers at her behavior either.”

Yun Yao’s eyes gradually dimmed as she spoke. “You’re right. I apologize. But this is a hurdle I can’t get over in my heart. Because of the ‘Extreme Path,’ I’ve lost teammates time and time again. That feeling was too painful.”

“It’s alright…” Lin Qin nodded. “The current ‘Extreme Path’ is no longer the original ‘Extreme Path.’ My style of doing things is different from theirs.”

After saying this, she looked at Su Shan’s corpse with melancholy, then turned to ask Yun Yao, “Have you decided where you’re going?”

“Mm…” Yun Yao nodded. “When I participated in Earth-Snake’s game before, I remember his game venue was very large and divided into many small rooms. I want to use that as our first base.”

At this moment, Tiantian also walked up and looked at everyone’s injuries. “You all seem to be injured… Are you really not coming with us?”

Li Xiangling also looked at Lin Qin’s right leg from behind and said, “Sister, I… know some bone-setting. I can help treat you roughly.”

Lin Qin and Qin Dingdong exchanged glances. Their impression of Yun Yao wasn’t particularly good, but dragging these bodies back to ‘Heaven’s Mouth’ would certainly be troublesome.

“Even if we don’t look for Doctor Zhao…” Lin Qin said. “We still need to go back and find Qi Xia first. There’s something we need to ask his opinion on.”

“Qi Xia?” After hearing this, Yun Yao shook her head silently. “If I’m not mistaken, Qi Xia didn’t return to ‘Heaven’s Mouth’ last night. He went to the ‘Cat’ with Qiao Jiajin and Officer Li. Later Chen Junnan also followed them. They should still be there now.”

“What? That bastard Chen Junnan went too?!” Qin Dingdong was startled. “Is that kid really avoiding me? When I look for him, he comes. When I arrive, he leaves. I’m really impressed.”

“So what do you say…?” Li Xiangling asked. “Lin Qin’s current injuries aren’t light. It’ll probably be dangerous to walk back…”

“Since Qi Xia isn’t at ‘Heaven’s Mouth,’ we don’t have any reason to go back either.” After Lin Qin finished speaking, she looked at Li Xiangling again. “Can you help stabilize my right leg? I’ll go to the ‘Cat’ later to find Qi Xia.”

“No problem, Lin Qin.” Li Xiangling nodded.

“Then can we go with you to that Earth-Snake game venue first?” Lin Qin asked Yun Yao again.

“Yes… that’s fine.” Yun Yao said. “Don’t mind what I said earlier. I just…”

“It’s fine.” Lin Qin smiled slightly. “Through your micro-expressions, I can tell what you’re thinking. You’ve just been deceived too many times.”

Yun Yao nodded with a bitter smile.

Just as the six people had agreed to leave, they turned around and suddenly discovered a strange man standing before them.

This man’s figure didn’t seem to have appeared out of thin air. It was as if he had been standing here all along, currently staring blankly at the screen.

This person had a pale complexion and messy hair, with thick black-framed glasses perched on his face.

He clutched a book titled “Game Theory” in his left hand and wore a somewhat wrinkled white shirt. Although not very old, he had tucked the hem of his shirt into his pants.

“I’m sorry… very sorry…” the man stammered. “I just heard you mention ‘Earth-Snake,’ right? May I ask… I mean, although this is a bit intrusive… do you have any information about him?”

Seeing this person’s face, Qin Dingdong gasped and retreated half a step imperceptibly.

These past few days had been absolutely absurd.

“A parade of a hundred demons, that’s what this is…”

Qin Dingdong muttered to herself, then looked around, contemplating the possibility of escaping from here.

When Yun Yao saw this person, she furrowed her brow slightly. She knew that anyone who could appear nearby so silently was definitely no ordinary character. Even Li Xiangling, who was naturally perceptive, hadn’t discovered his presence. He was worth being careful around.

“We… did mention ‘Earth-Snake’ just now. We were saying we wanted to go participate in his game.” Yun Yao said. “Do you want to come along?”

“Oh yes… right…” The man nodded, then reached up to push his glasses. “You female comrades… you people should indeed go participate in Earth-Snake’s game… Earth-Snake does indeed have games. Reasonable.”

From this brief exchange, Yun Yao felt that this person might be a “Native.” His thinking seemed somewhat abnormal, but he didn’t have an “Echo.”

“So do you want to go too?” Yun Yao asked again.

“Me? Should I go?” The man looked at Yun Yao awkwardly and stammered again. “Ha, I won’t go… It’s useless if I go. I need to find someone.”

“Who do you… need to find?” Yun Yao asked again.

“Find… who am I looking for?” The man seemed confused by the question. “Who was I looking for? I’m looking for… I don’t even know that person… Right… How can I find someone I don’t know…”

“Then the reason you’re looking for someone is…?” Lin Qin also asked from the side.

After hearing this, the man’s expression slowly turned cold. “My research materials… my experimental samples have run out… Without Earth-Snake, without Earth-Snake I can’t continue… What should I do…”

He slowly raised one hand to grab his own hair, making his already messy hairstyle even more disheveled.

“What should I do?! How many Earth-Snakes are left?! The experimental samples can’t run out!”

How many Earth-Snakes are left…?

The several women all furrowed their brows. Had this person made deals with various Earth-Snakes?

“Don’t bother with him…” Lin Qin said in a low voice. “This person is too strange. Let’s leave quickly.”

“Mm.” Yun Yao nodded and turned to give Tiantian and Li Xiangling a look.

Just as everyone was about to leave, they discovered that Qin Dingdong had already retreated several steps away.

“Hey…” The man also turned his head to look in Qin Dingdong’s direction. He squinted his eyes and carefully scrutinized this woman. “Excuse me… why are you so far from me?”

“Ah?!” Qin Dingdong was startled. “I… I’m not… I’ve been standing here all along…”

“Wait a moment…” The man pushed his glasses and looked carefully at Qin Dingdong. “Sorry, you… what did you just say?”

“I said I’ve been standing here all along…” Qin Dingdong repeated.

“You said you saw me eight years ago?!” The man’s eyes instantly widened as he shouted in alarm. “You’re trying to deceive me?!”

“What the fuck…” Qin Dingdong sensed trouble and turned to run.

The man widened his eyes and waved his hand slightly. Vines instantly sprouted from Qin Dingdong’s feet, tripping her to the ground on the spot.