“Why surrender?” Chu Huaijin genuinely couldn’t understand. He pressed her urgently, his emotions running high, “You’ve all been actively preparing for the mazes—isn’t that exactly for the sake of the next battle?!”

Fu Miaoxue said carelessly, “Preparing for the mazes is so we can go *into* the mazes~ If not for being able to enter mazes, why on earth would I want to be this thankless, exhausting king~”

Bai Youwei recalled that the first time she’d seen Fu Miaoxue, Fu Miaoxue and Du Lai had been standing right outside a maze.

These two had always wanted to enter a maze, but after the Maze War began, all mazes were locked, and only by winning battles in the game could they be gradually unlocked.

Come to think of it, Fu Miaoxue had always done whatever made her happy—she never had a particularly strong competitive drive.

Chu Huaijin was devastated. His gaze drifted forlornly to Bai Youwei, and he asked hesitantly, “…And Miss Bai—what are your thoughts?”

Bai Youwei felt an inexplicable urge to laugh. “Me? I don’t think I have any reason to surrender.”

Only then did Chu Huaijin’s complexion improve, though it still looked bitter and heavy—like someone watching their kingdom crumble, brimming with anguish.

Clearly, having two out of three kings contemplating surrender had dealt Chu Huaijin a considerable blow.

The meeting ultimately fizzled out without result—no decisions or plans were reached. Everyone left the conference room with different things on their minds.

The next day, when Bai Youwei went to the medical area to check on Ashalina, Ashalina asked her in halting English to demote Aaron to commoner status.

She only had two close companions, and one was already gone—she couldn’t afford to lose the other.

In the early days of the war, everyone had been full of ambition and enthusiasm.

But after truly experiencing battle—after witnessing the people around them get injured, die, and disappear—they had begun to retreat, give up, and hesitate, held back by all manner of attachments and concerns.

Sometimes Bai Youwei couldn’t help but wonder: at this stage of things, what was it that kept the kings who could still press on going?

Would it be the same as her? Already so drawn into the game they could barely let it go…

Bai Youwei did not grant Ashalina’s request.

She promised Ashalina that she would not bring Aaron into any more battles, but that she would keep his subject status—that way, if Bai Youwei really did win to the very end, Aaron would be able to share in the fruits of victory.

She had plenty of puzzle pieces, after all.

A few more days passed, and Tan Xiao was discharged from the hospital.

His injuries had healed to roughly seventy or eighty percent, and his body’s recovery speed was exceptional—a stark contrast to the others who were still undergoing treatment.

Perhaps having entered three mazes compared to two was only a minor difference, but however small, even that tiny gap could prove critically important at the edge of life and death.

And so, improving physical recovery ability had become an urgent priority—the maze expedition needed to be put on the agenda.

In the days that followed, Bai Youwei began deliberating over candidates.

She determined the most reliable headcount to be seven—even if two or three people were lost, the survivors would still have enough numbers to overcome the difficulties the maze posed.

Tan Xiao probably couldn’t go this time; he was still trapped in what had happened with Hu Dashan and couldn’t come out of it.

Shen Mo definitely had to go.

Ashalina’s physical fitness needed improving, so she would be brought along too.

Pan Xiaoxin was physically weak due to his age, and Bai Youwei wasn’t sure whether to bring him—he was too young, and the maze held unknown dangers.

Unable to make up her mind, she was still deliberating when Fu Miaoxue personally delivered her own subjects to Bai Youwei’s doorstep—

Du Lai, Chen Hui, and Leonid.

Bai Youwei glanced at the luggage these people had already packed and asked Fu Miaoxue, “Why do I get the feeling you’ve been waiting here for a while?”

“Don’t think of it as losing out~” Fu Miaoxue said to her with an air of great seriousness. “You lead my people into the maze first, and then when you all come out, I’ll lead your people into the maze. Everyone wins~”

Bai Youwei was silent for a moment, then said, “I can’t guarantee they’ll come out alive.”

Fu Miaoxue gave a soft laugh and replied, “You’ll bring them out alive.”

—