News of Game #21’s failure spread quickly through the entire base, causing an uproar.

Afterward, Chu Huaijin issued another recruitment notice, seeking ten people to make a second attempt at Game #21 — but nobody responded.

Just as Bai Youwei had predicted, after so many elite players had died in that game of hide-and-seek, everyone was desperate to avoid Game #21.

Even with Professor Song offering eight puzzle pieces as a bounty, even with two items available for trade listed in Bai Youwei’s notice, still no one was willing to go.

Chu Huaijin had given up hope. She was making arrangements to relocate the base.

Professor Song had used his own system of calculations to determine the new base’s location. It was quite far away — god only knew how many days the actual relocation would take, and no one could say how many casualties there might be along the road.

For the first two days, watching Shen Mo fail to assemble a team, Bai Youwei couldn’t help feeling a small, petty satisfaction — but as the days passed and Shen Mo still hadn’t found enough people, she started to feel genuinely irritated.

She thought: *What’s wrong with the people in this base? How can they be so blind?*

In a foul mood, she sat at home and mentally berated every single person in the base, as though everyone who refused to enter the game with Shen Mo was nothing but a worthless, spineless good-for-nothing!

Teacher Cheng, Tan Xiao, and Pan Xiaoxin listened in silence, not daring to say a word.

“A bunch of fools! Do they really think following the organization to some new place will keep them safe?! The more you fear death, the sooner you die! When they get there and have to rebuild order from scratch, there won’t be anyone capable of protecting the others! They’ll be lucky if they manage to take care of that old man with the surname Song!

*This* is what you call a ‘base’? I say forget calling it a ‘base’! Call it a ‘Refugee Congregation Brigade’! Or how about ‘Losers’ Intake Center’ — that suits those cowards far better!”

Bai Youwei glared at Cheng Weicai, Tan Xiao, and Pan Xiaoxin. “Am I right or not?!”

All three nodded vigorously. “Right, right, absolutely right…”

“Still so infuriating!” She slapped the sofa cushion, her face full of indignation. “We lowered ourselves to help them clear the game, and not a single one of them knows how to seize the opportunity! They’ll regret it one day!”

Tan Xiao chimed in to agree: “Exactly, even our boss stepped up personally, and this lot is too blind to recognize what they’ve got!”

Bai Youwei glared at him. “Shen Mo is not a ‘what’!”

Tan Xiao hesitated. “Then… they can’t recognize a *who*?”

“Who said anyone wasn’t a person?!” Bai Youwei grew even more agitated. “Shut up! You’re not making any sense!”

Tan Xiao silently rubbed his nose.

Teacher Cheng spoke up to offer comfort: “There are still two days. After all, this is a matter of life and death — people will naturally hesitate for a few extra days. Maybe by tomorrow the numbers will be filled.”

Bai Youwei frowned slightly.

There was some logic in Teacher Cheng’s words. Facing a choice of life or death, people always wrestled with it longer.

But if… if by the seventh day, still nobody was willing to go — then what?

They couldn’t very well drag along Shen Mo’s father, uncles, younger brothers, and every assorted relative. This trip north was to collect puzzle pieces, not go on a holiday!

The more people you brought, the heavier the burden on your shoulders — because their deaths would no longer be theirs alone. You’d have to protect all of them too.

…Of course, you could be ruthless about it and simply not concern yourself with whether others lived or died.

But if you weren’t going to look after others, why bring them along in the first place?

Thinking about all of this, Bai Youwei felt her head throb. She closed her eyes and rubbed her temples.

From outside the door came the sound of hurried footsteps. She heard Shen Mo’s voice, then looked up — the front door swung open, and Shen Mo led several people inside.

He introduced them to the group: “Since everyone has decided to enter the game together, I think it’s worth taking time to get acquainted beforehand and make some early preparations.”

—