When Jing Minghe and Chi Hao returned to the second floor, Shen Rong was the only one left in the banquet hall, sitting on the floor, weeping while hugging her knees.
"You..."
Jing Minghe was about to ask Chi Hao if they should go comfort her when Chi Hao interrupted him.
"They should be in the restaurant."
"Huh?"
"To the restaurant."
As Chi Hao spoke, he naturally pulled Jing Minghe along.
Chi Hao led Jing Minghe into the first-floor restaurant, and Jing Minghe didn't realize anything was wrong with being pulled along by Chi Hao until he saw Wan Zuo looking at him with a bewildered expression.
Following Wan Zuo's gaze, Jing Minghe belatedly reacted and quickly pulled his hand out of Chi Hao's.
It was no wonder Wan Zuo looked like he had discovered a new continent, with two grown men walking hand-in-hand like that.
Jing Minghe felt speechless. It must have been because he had been blind for so long before that he had gotten used to Chi Hao holding his hand, which was why he hadn't noticed.
Youmi had long grown accustomed to Chi Hao's little gestures towards Jing Minghe and was unfazed. She stepped forward and said, "We heard about Jia Dong's situation from Tong Zheng. Minghe, are you alright?"
Jing Minghe gave a helpless smile. "Sister Youmi, what's going on with all of you? Why are you all asking if I'm okay? Do I seem that weak in your eyes?"
Youmi feigned a stern look and glared at Jing Minghe. "If we don't care about you, who should we care about?"
"Okay," Jing Minghe chuckled and gently patted Youmi's shoulder. "Thank you for your concern, Sister Youmi."
"Alright, it's good that you're fine," Youmi glanced at Chi Hao. His expression was finally not as terrible. It seemed that as long as Jing Minghe was alright, Chi Hao wouldn't bother with Shen Rong. Youmi's worries finally eased, and she smiled. "You must all be hungry. Wan Zuo and I have prepared some food. Let's fill our stomachs first."
After everyone had eaten, time had also passed. There were less than eight hours left until the third round of the hide-and-seek game.
As the minutes ticked by, everyone's expression grew increasingly serious.
"We," Tong Zheng's gaze swept over everyone, and he asked, "what should we do next?"
Wan Zuo sighed and said, "I don't know who the instance will choose to be the ghost player in the next hide-and-seek game."
As he spoke, Wan Zuo looked at Tong Zheng and Ke Wuwen. "If it were you two, the mission should be completed quickly, right?"
"Huh? Why?" Ke Wuwen looked confused.
Tong Zheng rubbed his forehead and shook his head, thinking that this child was beyond saving. He reminded him, "Where did you have trouble? If you were chosen as the ghost player, you could go directly to that place to find what you need."
Ke Wuwen's eyes lit up. "Oh, so that's how it is!"
"Yes, that's how it is."
Tong Zheng looked at Ke Wuwen with pity. He felt that he could now confirm that this child Ke Wuwen had survived purely by luck.
At this point, Jing Minghe felt he roughly understood a sliver of goodwill behind this instance.
Ke Wuwen was lucky. When he was about to be killed, Tong Zheng saved him, and by saving Ke Wuwen, Tong Zheng also gained a clear objective.
The instance had goodwill, but more of it was malice.
There was only one objective, yet two people knew it.
When it came to life and death, would they really give the clear objective to each other? This was another difficult choice.
"Actually," Youmi suddenly spoke, "there's nothing to worry about."
The others looked at Youmi, and she explained, "In this instance, there is only one ghost player. Whether he can find the remains depends on himself. No one else can help him. Whether one becomes the ghost player is determined by the instance itself. Therefore, we should just let nature take its course."
Jing Minghe understood Youmi's meaning. "In other words, the ghost player should earnestly search for what they truly need to find, and ordinary players should try their best to avoid being seen by the ghost player. There's no need to deliberately hide somewhere for safety."
"Yes."
Wan Zuo nodded. "That's the only way. Whether we live or die in the end will depend on luck."
"Since that's the case," Jing Minghe had no other suggestions, "let's all rest first, get enough energy, and then we can act."
Everyone unanimously agreed and returned to their rooms to rest.
Jing Minghe saw Tong Zheng pull Ke Wuwen aside and whisper to him, "Brat, I'm not going to that place. If you're the ghost player, remember to find that thing first."
"No!" Ke Wuwen refused. "Brother Tong, you saved my life. Since that's a clear objective, you must go. I'll look elsewhere. I'm younger than you and have more stamina, so I can search many places!"
Tong Zheng patted Ke Wuwen on the back. "Brat, this is about life and death. Don't talk nonsense."
"I'm not," Ke Wuwen said stubbornly. "I'm not going there anyway. And maybe someone else will have gone there before we become ghost players."
Tong Zheng smiled helplessly. "That's true, but..."
"No buts!" Ke Wuwen interrupted Tong Zheng. "I'll go around that place and look elsewhere. I'm not saying anymore. I'm going to sleep, I'm exhausted."
After speaking, Ke Wuwen darted away. Tong Zheng stood there, watching Ke Wuwen disappear from his sight, and remained silent for a long time.
·
Everyone gathered in the second-floor banquet hall before 6 PM.
After the game was announced to begin, Jing Minghe and Chi Hao simultaneously received instructions to return to room 3068 on the third floor, which happened to be the room Jing Minghe was staying in.
"How can this be?" Jing Minghe was baffled.
He had actually thought that if he was considered a free agent who had completed his mission, he could help others search for their objectives. He hadn't expected this outcome.
However, what made him feel fortunate was that Chi Hao was still bound to him. This meant that Chi Hao wouldn't have to complete any tasks.
But then, Jing Minghe thought of something else.
If he and Chi Hao were forbidden from acting, would the rest of the mission have to be entirely completed by Tong Zheng and Youmi?
"Player Jing Minghe, immediately return to room 3068!"
The void in front of him kept issuing warnings. As the text grew larger, Jing Minghe felt as if his body was being torn apart by something.
It seemed they had no choice but to obediently return to their rooms.
Before returning to the room with Chi Hao, Jing Minghe quickly explained his and Chi Hao's situation to Youmi and the others, urging them to act with caution.
After Jing Minghe and Chi Hao returned to their room as required by the instance, the tearing sensation in their bodies finally disappeared.
Jing Minghe couldn't help but curse, then turned and sat on the bed, worried. "I hope Sister Youmi and the others can successfully find the remaining five remains."
Chi Hao walked up to Jing Minghe and looked down at him. "You have to believe them."
Jing Minghe nodded. "Yes, you're right. I should try to believe them, not just..."