Having one more ally was always better than having one more enemy.

…

Tu Dan brought Zhang Tianyang over to Shen Mo’s side, first thanking Teacher Cheng. The sunny, tall boy straightforwardly bowed to Cheng Weicai.

Cheng Weicai was holding a pot and couldn’t dodge. He set down the soup pot and asked with a smile: “All recovered now?”

“All recovered!” Zhang Tianyang smiled. “Earlier, because the wound hurt so much I couldn’t eat, I was starved for two or three days and couldn’t get out of bed. Now that I’m eating and drinking well, there’s nothing wrong at all!”

“Good that you’re fine.” Cheng Weicai had a kind smile on his face. “Be careful in the future, think thrice before acting—a gentleman is cautious at the beginning and has no worries later.”

Zhang Tianyang repeatedly agreed.

Having expressed their thanks, it was time to get to the main point.

Tu Dan organized her words and said carefully: “In the last game, we accidentally obtained some information about the maze, so we came in to try. We didn’t expect to encounter you… Since everyone has gathered together again, for the next few days, why don’t we try cooperating and find the exit together?”

“Cooperate?”

Bai Youwei’s delicate voice was particularly noticeable at this moment.

She stared with cat-like eyes, looking at Tu Dan, then at Zhang Tianyang beside her, and said: “We probably can’t cooperate.”

Shen Mo raised his hand and rubbed her head. “Don’t make trouble.”

“I’m not making trouble, we just can’t cooperate.” Bai Youwei’s expression was innocent. “Didn’t you notice those ropes and little flags they brought? The flags probably number only around a hundred, divided among three colors, so there are only about thirty flags of each kind, definitely not enough to fill the entire maze. They should be planning to use a progressive walking method, which is different from ours.”

Zhang Tianyang’s eyebrows raised slightly, looking at Bai Youwei with some surprise.

Although Teacher Tu had long said she was smart, he still hadn’t expected that she could tell at a glance from just the ropes and flags in their hands what their next walking method would be.

—The number of small flags was limited. If the maze had ten thousand forks, they couldn’t possibly prepare ten thousand flags, so they chose a place as the starting line, then advanced forward in an orderly manner. The areas they passed were left behind as “waste areas,” with the flags always in the “new areas” ahead, cycling and reusing them repeatedly.

If the maze were compared to a clock face, then they were like a second hand that would eventually traverse a complete circle.

Shen Mo didn’t pay much attention to Tu Dan and Zhang Tianyang’s surprise, asking Bai Youwei in a bland tone: “Oh, then what’s our walking method?”

Bai Youwei pondered for a while, tilting her head to look at Shen Mo: “Ball of yarn style? Sunflower style?… Which do you think sounds better?”

Zhang Tianyang understood. “You’re using a point-surface walking method? Using one position as a starting point, dividing the maze into several parts, then exploring each one, is that right?”

Bai Youwei completely ignored him, pulling at Shen Mo to press him: “Which sounds better?”

Zhang Tianyang: “…”

Shen Mo pulled away Bai Youwei’s hand and said to Tu Dan: “The two sides’ walking methods are indeed different. Moreover, you’ve prepared so thoroughly, you surely won’t accommodate our method, and we don’t seem to need to join you either. Since we can’t cooperate, why not act separately?”

Tu Dan looked disappointed but could understand. She nodded and said: “Alright, I guess that’s all we can do.”

Not having obtained a strong alliance was a bit regretful, but her main purpose in coming here was to avoid making enemies, so this result was barely acceptable.

She was preparing to say goodbye when Zhang Tianyang couldn’t hold back and spoke up: “Mr. Shen! Your walking method wastes too much time. Why not join us?”

“Tianyang.” Tu Dan frowned and called his name.

Zhang Tianyang said righteously: “If everyone works together with one heart, won’t we find the exit faster? Teacher Tu, you should also persuade them!”

“Ha… This is really hilarious.” Bai Youwei grabbed Shen Mo’s hand again. “Don’t bother with these people anymore. Their walking method has a super big bug—let them fumble around blindly!”