In the vast white expanse, beams of light rose from the ground one by one.

Each time a king claimed territory, another beam of light appeared on the map.

The rabbit-headed figures had appeared at some point — not just one, but twenty-six rabbit-headed inspectors moving through the crowd, patiently and gently providing more detailed explanations to each of the twenty-six kings.

Bai Youwei held two puzzle pieces in her hands, trying every combination without being able to fit them together.

A rabbit-headed inspector approached her, gently taking the pieces from her hands and offering a small smile. “Two puzzle pieces belonging to different kings cannot be joined together.”

It returned one piece to Bai Youwei and handed the other to Shen Mo, then said politely: “Different kings’ territories may only be adjacent, never overlapping. Please reassemble separately.”

Not far away, Tan Xiao was holding one puzzle piece and curiously trying to place it on the satellite map beneath his feet.

The piece showed no reaction whatsoever.

A rabbit-headed inspector walked over and reminded him: “Subjects do not hold territorial rights. Puzzle pieces held by subjects can only be used to participate in battles — they cannot be used to claim territory.”

Someone, far too nervous, accidentally dropped their puzzle piece into an oceanic region on the map. A rabbit-headed figure caught it just in time and said warmly:

“Territory is the king’s free rest zone. Please try to choose a location with abundant water and food sources.”

Leonid stood over the map, troubled.

The rabbit-headed inspector beside him asked: “Is there anything I can help you with?”

Leonid scratched his hair in frustration and stared at the satellite map at his feet. “When I think of territory, naturally I think of my homeland first — but where I’m living now isn’t in Russia. If I claim my hometown, it doesn’t seem to serve much purpose.”

He had originally lived in Vladivostok, working during the day, drinking at night, occasionally going fishing with friends. But that quiet life had been gradually disrupted. As more and more residents in the city turned into dolls, everyone began preparing to leave. Then one day, the power suddenly cut out, network signals vanished, and everyone panicked.

No rescue organizations ever arrived.

Some of the people in that city had crossed the ocean and disappeared to unknown places, some had moved north in search of help, and others like him had simply crossed into neighboring countries.

He had just never expected that this wasn’t one nation targeting another — it was a global disaster.

So for Leonid to choose his territory in his hometown would be meaningless. That city was already empty. There was no one there for him to save.

The rabbit-headed inspector asked him: “Do you have companions?”

Leonid thought about it. “…I suppose I do.”

The rabbit-headed inspector smiled. “Then choose a place where your companions are as your territory.”

Leonid considered for a moment, then joined two puzzle pieces together and placed them near Cangzhou.

Tan Xiao noticed and couldn’t help sidling over. “Hey Big Beard, so you have relatives here after all!”

Leonid frowned. “How would I have relatives here? Stop joking around. I chose this place because a young girl lives here — she’s the one who gave me the puzzle pieces I used to enter the qualifying round.”

So the fruits of victory shouldn’t be enjoyed by him alone. On that point, Leonid’s thinking was perfectly clear.

Bai Youwei assembled three puzzle pieces and placed them on Shanghai, Suzhou, and Changzhou.

Shen Mo, following her placement, put two pieces on Zhenjiang and Nanjing.

Yan Qingwen placed her two pieces slightly further south, choosing Hangzhou.

Fu Miaoxue chose Fuzhou — because before entering the qualifying round, she and Du Lai had been within the Fuzhou area.

Once a piece was placed, the covered region emitted a beam of white light, signifying that area was now safe. No fog-shrouded labyrinths, no games appearing out of nowhere.

And each single puzzle piece covered precisely 10,000 square kilometers. They had long wondered what shape the puzzle pieces would ultimately form — and yet the answer turned out to be this.

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