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The second meal time arrived, and the strength of the labyrinth creatures increased once again, along with the difficulty of the next level. It was evident that some people were showing signs of anxiety on their faces. Cui Ming was right; such emotions could spread. While everyone thought about abandoning their teammates, they felt reluctant to do so. During conversations with others, they often spoke ill of their teammates, seeking validation and agreement for their thoughts of betrayal. The people they chatted with were usually those who hadn’t yet reached a point of dissatisfaction with their teammates, leading to a rather opportunistic exchange.
Ten minutes before the third meal arrived, someone finally left. The Cao Liu Family abandoned Mi Big Head and exited the camp, moving on to the next level. Feng and Eva remained still; after an hour of anxiety, Feng’s mood had relaxed significantly. He had completely let go and was prepared for Raefus not to come out, deciding he wouldn’t leave without him.
Four minutes before the third meal, the North Moon Group faced the worst situation: Ding Ze appeared alone.
Cui Ming had considered various possibilities, and this scenario was the worst for him. The four of them sat down, and Cui Ming spoke first: “Are we waiting or not? Everyone should express their opinions. Not waiting for Beiyue means no loss for her, but it could mean loss for us. If we wait for Beiyue, we can’t be sure when she will come out. The increasing difficulty of the next level might prevent us from passing.”
Li Qing replied, “I’ve thought about it. We are a whole; although you may think it’s irrational, I hope that under possible circumstances, all five of us can move forward together. If we can remain united in our current situation, then the upcoming challenges won’t be difficult.”
Cui Ming, being the rational one, couldn’t accept this idea: “Senior Brother, Beiyue has guaranteed admission; there’s no risk. Now that we’re entering the next level, the four of us can handle it. If we wait for Beiyue, we might face difficulties that none of us can manage. There are only two minutes left; the difficulty is about to increase.”
Mi Xiaonan pondered and said, “If we came together, we should leave together. Unless we encounter irreversible situations like casualties, we shouldn’t abandon our teammates.”
Cui Ming responded, “I understand, but Beiyue has already been guaranteed admission.”
Ding Ze added, “This time I support Cui Ming. This is an assessment; it’s not about appearances. Our best outcome is for all five of us to pass. Cui Ming’s choice increases our chances of success. I believe Beiyue herself would agree that we should proceed first.”
At that moment, Beiyue was observing the four through a crystal ball from her free point, accompanied by Dina.
From the start of this round of competition, Beiyue had received a special mission. She could choose to accept or decline it. If she accepted and succeeded, the difficulty of the subsequent assessments would be halved and she would gain a revival opportunity. If she chose not to accept it, then it would proceed as normal. The mission involved whether the North Moon Group would wait for Beiyue during eight rest periods. Accepting this mission meant she couldn’t return to camp during those eight periods; if anyone came to retrieve her during that time, the mission would be deemed successful. If Cui Ming and the others waited through all eight rest periods, their next task would be calculated as one rest period's difficulty while also halving future assessment difficulties and granting them a revival opportunity—essentially guaranteeing that all five would pass.
It was this temptation that led Beiyue to accept the mission. Now she realized she had made a grave mistake by not considering each member's thoughts and lacking rational reasoning and reflection. She felt conflicted inside; she hoped they would leave immediately so that all five could potentially pass together but also wished they could stay until the eighth rest period to ensure everyone passed. However, given the current atmosphere, she worried that if they delayed until six or seven rest periods before leaving camp, they would face significantly higher challenges without her being able to participate in their mission.
Beiyue said, “If it were Cui Ming, he definitely wouldn’t accept.”
Dina asked, “Why?”
“Because he often says one thing: ‘Opportunities don’t fall from the sky; when someone tries to offer you something good, there’s usually an ulterior motive.’ Now it seems Cui Ming should be the leader of this group. Although his decisions are overly rational, rationality is undoubtedly beneficial for assessments. Turn it off; I don’t want to watch anymore.”
Dina asked, “Listening to their arguments must be tormenting for you?”
Beiyue nodded, "Yes, they are definitely waiting now. What worries me most is the fourth and fifth breaks; Cui Ming will become increasingly insistent on his views, while Li Qing and Mi Xiaonan will waver. Li Qing himself has a bit of a lucky mindset; his motto is that perhaps digging just an inch deeper will uncover treasure."
Dina said, "This is something pleasant for me and the judges. Since you don't want to watch, then don't. You can take a break; you have plenty of time. If you want to watch again, just shout." With that, Dina teleported away from the arena, and soon the crystal ball image shut off.
Every three hours there was a break, and Beiyue's task involved eight breaks in total. Now there were five left, which meant fifteen hours of time. Beiyue felt quite anxious, prompting her to reflect on herself. Logically speaking, she was someone who had been guaranteed a spot and shouldn’t be feeling such intense emotions. Was she merely putting on a strong front? Did her desire for all five of them to advance surpass her own wish to advance alone?
Rationally, Beiyue should have gone to sleep to rest, but even with her eyes closed, she couldn't fall asleep. She kept thinking about how Cui Ming and the others would choose. Normally, if Cui Ming held a firm stance on something, Li Qing would yield; as for Mi Xiaonan, it wouldn't be too easy for Cui Ming to sway him.
Anxiety, restlessness, frustration, emptiness—by the last few hours, Beiyue no longer thought about anything and was filled with a sense of helplessness. She stopped considering how others viewed her; in this state, Beiyue unexpectedly fell asleep.
Finally, after waiting through eight breaks—24 hours—Beiyue entered the Teleportation Array and arrived at the campsite.
The campsite was empty except for Eva and Feng. Feng was meditating with his eyes closed while Eva quietly fished by the lake. The wind brought Beiyue's presence to Feng; he opened his eyes upon seeing her and couldn't help but curse, "Damn it! This monster cannot remain in this world; it must be eliminated swiftly."
Eva had been watching Beiyue as well, her thoughts unknown.
Beiyue walked over to Feng and asked despite already knowing the answer, "Have they left?"
Feng remained silent but leaped into the air above the lake. With both hands gripping his sword, he slashed downwards; a hurricane struck the Lake Surface and surged downward...
In an instant, four men jumped out of the water, with Li Qing holding a fish in his mouth and kicking Feng away with one foot. At that moment, Mi Xiaonan exclaimed joyfully, "Beiyue! Beiyue is here!"
During the third to fourth breaks, Cui Ming continued trying to persuade the somewhat wavering Li Qing to move on to the next stage. Li Qing asked Cui Ming for just a little more time; he didn't want to give up on Beiyue because he firmly believed she would appear. Unfortunately for her, she had chosen a labyrinth with seven paths that required considerable time to navigate.
From the fourth to fifth breaks, Cui Ming fell silent instead; he lay quietly in the tent sleeping. Li Qing and Ding Ze thought that Cui Ming might be sulking or giving up entirely. They were also internally blaming Beiyue for not showing up and putting them in an extremely awkward position.
During the fifth to sixth breaks, Li Qing took the initiative to speak with Cui Ming, pulling him out of the tent earnestly saying, "Let's go. Mi Xiaonan and I have decided to move on to the next stage voluntarily; there’s no coercion involved."
Cui Ming sat down and ran his fingers through his hair: "We can't leave now."
"Why not?"
"Ask yourself: Is there any chance that Beiyue might give up on this assessment?"
"It’s impossible," Li Qing replied. Beiyue had a strong will; she could never abandon the competition without informing the other four. She absolutely could not do that.
"Is Beiyue stupid?"
"No."
"Exactly, there must be some kind of problem. Beiyue wouldn’t be able to reach the camp due to some issue; otherwise, with her intelligence, how could she still be lost in the maze?" Cui Ming said. "What kind of problem could it be? A trap in the assessment? It can't be an accident; if it were, we would have been notified. I don’t know what kind of trap it is, but I have many guesses, none of which I’m confident about. What is the second half of the assessment testing? Trust, not betrayal. So I believe that if Beiyue fell into a trap and we didn’t abandon her before, now we can only choose to trust her. The main reason is that after the fourth break, the possibility of all four of us advancing has likely vanished. This is our last chip; since we didn’t leave when we were winning, we must place this chip down now that we are losing. Because we can no longer afford to lose."
The wind murmured on the side, "Gambling never ends well?"
"True, but when I placed this bet, I already knew one of the dealer's dice showed a six. Why? Beiyue wouldn’t give up; she’s not stupid. What about the other two dice? I don’t know, but I do know that as long as the other two dice show five or higher, we win. Our chances are very high," Cui Ming said. "And we have no choice."
...
As the brain of the team, Cui Ming convinced everyone to relax and enjoy themselves at the camp. It became so boring that they held their breath and dove into the lake to catch fish. Within five minutes, whoever caught the lightest fish would have to do chores.
The wind didn’t understand Beiyue and thought Cui Ming was being somewhat arbitrary. His analysis wasn’t wrong; Cui Ming wanted everyone to pass, but after the third break, they had already lost their chance and could only gamble now. Eventually, Beiyue did appear. Facing Cui Ming’s smug and provocative gaze, the wind silently looked at the portal while humming a tune: Where is the person I'm waiting for? I’m going to take your woman away...
At that moment, Raefus appeared alongside Dina. Dina said, "Due to his persistence for 24 hours without giving up on finding a way out, according to this mission's baseline, you have completed your task. The bad news is that your group will face the most difficult test. I can tell you in advance that your scene is set in the Arctic, on a high snowy peak where there is a dragon's lair. Your mission is to obtain a dragon egg and deliver it intact to a designated location for it to be considered successful; how many survive will determine how many pass. The peak area belongs to an adult male and female red dragon's absolute domain. This red dragon has abilities that mimic those of a real red dragon in the Arctic at that time. Li Qing should know that your teacher perished while trying to eliminate the red dragon."
The wind replied calmly, "What’s so great about that? Aren't they just two reptiles? Can we take a few hours' rest? My companion is tired." (To be continued.)
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