"Minghe!"
Seeing Jing Minghe wake up, You Mi excitedly squatted down and asked him, "How do you feel? Are you injured anywhere?"
Chi Hao pulled Jing Minghe into his arms, gently patting his back to help him breathe.
After a few gasps, Jing Minghe caught his breath. His gaze swept over You Mi and the others, finally landing on Chi Hao, who was still holding him. Seeing this face, the unease in his heart finally subsided a little.
"I saw it."
Jing Minghe only said these four words.
Chi Hao nodded and said softly, "I know. You rest first. We'll talk about everything else later."
Hearing their conversation, You Mi remained silent. As long as Jing Minghe was okay, other things were no longer that important.
Wan Zuo looked confused. He really wanted to ask what Jing Minghe had seen, but he felt it wasn't appropriate to ask at this moment, especially since Jing Minghe might have just gone through something terrible.
Jing Minghe had woken up and was alive and well, which was a slight disappointment to Shen Rong. At this point, completing the instance was paramount. She didn't care if Jing Minghe had the strength to speak. She directly asked, "What did you see? Tell me quickly."
Leaning in Chi Hao's embrace was comfortable, and Jing Minghe was reluctant to leave. Hearing Shen Rong's question, he merely glanced at her and was about to speak when he realized the number of people was wrong. He sat up again and asked, "Where are Brother Tong and Wu Wen? Why don't I see them? And Jia Dong and Qiu Zhian, where are they?"
You Mi immediately answered Jing Minghe's question, "The game ended a while ago. We didn't see you and Mr. Chi in the banquet hall, so we came up to look. Jia Dong is still on the second floor banquet hall. His injuries haven't healed, and he seems a bit dazed right now, so he didn't come with us. As for Mr. Tong, Mr. Wu Wen, and Mr. Qiu, we haven't seen them. We don't know if they've returned to the banquet hall or... encountered something else."
Jing Minghe stood up with Chi Hao's support. "Let's go back to the banquet hall to check. If they're not there, we'll split up and search immediately."
Shen Rong stopped Jing Minghe and pressed him, "You still haven't said what you saw. If you don't give us clues, what will we do if we encounter danger?"
Jing Minghe was worried about Tong Zheng and Ke Wu Wen's situation, and his tone was uncharacteristically harsh. "The game is over. There will be no more danger. Believe it or not!"
With that, he walked past Shen Rong and ran out of the grand theater.
Shen Rong wanted to say something more, but Chi Hao's glare made her swallow her words.
As Jing Minghe reached the staircase to the fifth floor, he saw Tong Zheng descending from the sixth floor, carrying Ke Wu Wen.
"What's going on?" Jing Minghe stepped forward to ask. He glanced at Ke Wu Wen, whose eyes were tightly closed, his face ashen. Ke Wu Wen gripped Tong Zheng's arm tightly, trembling uncontrollably, clearly terrified by something.
Tong Zheng frowned and said to Jing Minghe, "Things are a bit complicated. Let's talk in the banquet hall."
"Okay."
By this time, the others had also caught up.
They all returned to the second-floor banquet hall, only to find Jia Dong alone. Qiu Zhian was still nowhere to be seen.
"Qiu Zhian isn't here."
With that, Jing Minghe was about to turn and go out to look for him.
You Mi stepped forward and stopped him. "Minghe, you rest. I'll go look."
Knowing Jing Minghe was about to refuse, Chi Hao spoke before Jing Minghe could. "I'll go with You Mi to look for him. You rest."
It was rare for the great Chi to be so proactive, so Jing Minghe couldn't refuse. Moreover, he did need to rest and properly process what he had seen and what he had guessed.
"Alright," Jing Minghe nodded in agreement.
Wan Zuo volunteered to go along, and Shen Rong hesitated before following.
After Chi Hao and the others left, Jing Minghe walked over to Tong Zheng and Ke Wu Wen.
Ke Wu Wen had woken up but was still somewhat disoriented. Seeing Jing Minghe, he reached out and grabbed him, saying in a trembling voice, "Idol, I, I saw him, that, that ghost child, he, he was going to kill me."
"Don't be afraid," Jing Minghe gently patted the back of Ke Wu Wen's hand. "It's okay, nothing will happen. Soon, we'll be able to leave here. Don't worry."
Hearing Jing Minghe's comfort, Ke Wu Wen's taut nerves relaxed slightly, and he fell back into a deep sleep.
Jing Minghe took off his jacket and placed it on the long table, letting Tong Zheng place Ke Wu Wen on it to rest.
After Tong Zheng put Ke Wu Wen down, the two tacitly moved aside and spoke in low voices.
"If I hadn't arrived in time," Tong Zheng said with lingering fear, "Wu Wen would probably... would probably be a corpse by now."
"Thank you."
Tong Zheng gave a wry smile. "We're teammates. It's my duty to save him, so there's no need to thank me. Besides, he's not your responsibility, and neither are we your responsibility. You really don't need to..."
"I need you," Jing Minghe interrupted Tong Zheng. "Every single one of you."
"Brother Tong," Jing Minghe looked at Tong Zheng seriously. "I think you can see that my goal isn't just the current instance, nor the next one, but something much further. Therefore, I need teammates whom I can trust and who are willing to trust me. Whether it's Brother Hao and Sister You Mi, or you and Wu Wen, you are all teammates I can trust. Do you understand?"
Tong Zheng was taken aback for a moment and then said to Jing Minghe, "It is I who should thank you."
Jing Minghe smiled knowingly. "Brother Tong, are you willing to remain my teammate?"
"Don't worry," Tong Zheng nodded. "I may not be very smart, but I will never betray your trust."
As they were talking, Jia Dong, who had been slumped on the other side, motionless and dazed, suddenly cried out. He looked at Jing Minghe in terror and shouted, "She's here! She's here! Don't, don't talk, I don't want to hear you talk!"
"Jia Dong?"
Jing Minghe and Tong Zheng exchanged a look and simultaneously walked towards Jia Dong.
As they approached Jia Dong, his cries grew louder. Jing Minghe paused and took two steps back.
Tong Zheng also noticed Jing Minghe's intention and turned to him, asking, "Jia Dong is afraid of you? Why?"
Jing Minghe shook his head and explained, "He's not afraid of me. I think I know what he's afraid of, and I know where he was hiding last time."
"Oh? Where?"
"Under the stage in the grand theater."
Tong Zheng suddenly realized. "It seems the important clues in this instance only appear during the hide-and-seek game. This hide-and-seek game wasn't meant for us to actually play hide-and-seek."
"Yes," Jing Minghe nodded. "Once the game ends, all the clues will disappear, and this will just be an ordinary cruise ship sunk at the bottom of the sea."
As Jing Minghe spoke, he continued to retreat away from Jia Dong. As he expected, once he maintained a certain distance from Jia Dong, Jia Dong finally calmed down and returned to his dazed state.