After the blood butterfly tide dispersed, Ding Chang's body began to slowly crystallize, turning from his limbs to his body into bright red butterflies. Ding Chang could only watch helplessly, unable to change it.
Due to the outcome replacement, Gao He was also transforming into blood butterflies at this time, just like Ding Chang.
However, Shi Wan's body did not remain intact. After Ding Chang and Gao He finished transforming, it instantly turned into a pool of blood.
This indicated that if the outcome had not been replaced, Gao He would still not have been able to escape this instance.
"Shi Wan?" You Mi's eyes were filled with tears. Even though this was Shi Wan's own choice, she still felt heartbroken.
In this City of Death, they were less like players challenging a death game and more like playthings of the system.
"Sister You Mi, let's go."
Hearing Jing Minghe call her, You Mi nodded. She no longer looked at the pool of blood that Shi Wan had become. Instead, she followed Jing Minghe and the others to chase the two swarms of blood butterflies that Ding Chang and Gao He had transformed into.
They didn't chase far before the two swarms of blood butterflies stopped. After circling twice in the air, they landed separately on two adjacent plants.
After the blood butterflies fully merged into the plants, Chi Hao handed the long thorn in his hand to Jing Minghe, and at the same time bared his neck to Jing Minghe.
Jing Minghe took the long thorn that Chi Hao handed him and thrust it into Chi Hao's neck without hesitation.
"Minghe? You?"
You Mi was astonished. Before the question could leave her lips, she saw two pure white butterflies fly out from the palms of Jing Minghe and Chi Hao respectively. As they flew out, they drew two streaks of white light on the ground before them.
"Silver light paves the way," Qiao Qiao thought of these four words as she looked at the two streaks of white light.
You Mi also connected the events that had just happened. "Blood as a guide, silver light paves the way."
"And then?" Qiao Qiao couldn't help but ask.
Jing Minghe said in unison, "Golden butterfly pupa, pairs for life, singles for death."
With that, Jing Minghe and Chi Hao simultaneously raised the hands with the butterfly imprints. Two golden butterfly imprints began from the wings, turning into fine threads that flew out from their wrists, then spun and connected.
"They are..." You Mi's eyes widened in astonishment, her tone tinged with excitement, "They are forming a cocoon!"
Qiao Qiao cautiously took a step forward. "Golden butterfly pupa, so that's how it is? But..." She looked at Jing Minghe and Chi Hao, confused, "How did they know? Using this method, they can form a golden butterfly pupa."
"Connect all the conditions together," Jing Minghe explained. "Everything is related to color, plus the phrase 'pairs for life, singles for death'."
Qiao Qiao recalled every condition they knew but still didn't quite understand.
Seeing that it would take a while for the pupa to fully form, Jing Minghe continued to explain, "First is blood as a guide. Blood is red, and the most obvious red we know here is the blood butterfly tide. Pairs for life, singles for death, therefore, one person activating it cannot point the way; it is just a sacrifice in vain."
He paused, then looked at Chi Hao. Seeing that Chi Hao had no intention of helping him explain, he continued, "Then there is silver light paving the way, and the golden butterfly pupa. Silver is white, gold is yellow, but we haven't seen any obvious white or yellow anywhere. It wasn't until last night that I knew my butterfly imprint was white, but being alone is not enough."
"I think I understand," You Mi suddenly said. "It's color blending!"
Seeing Jing Minghe nod in agreement after she uttered these words, You Mi continued, "In art, red, green, and blue blend to form white. Red and green can blend to form yellow. And among us, the person with the most colors is Mr. Chi. He has a five-colored butterfly imprint, possessing five colors: red, green, blue, white, and yellow."
You Mi's gaze swept over Chi Hao and Jing Minghe. "And Minghe has white, which can also be red and green and blue."
"Yes," Jing Minghe continued You Mi's words. "Besides this, we also have a condition for passing, which is to seize."
Qiao Qiao felt like she was starting to understand, yet not quite. "What does seizing have to do with it?"
Jing Minghe smiled and explained, "Seizing, recombining, forming pairs. Sister Shi Wan had a blue butterfly imprint, and I had red, green, and blue. Red and green form yellow, so blue was redundant. How to seize, how to seize, I didn't know at first. I was planning to test it with Brother Hao, but I didn't expect..."
"So, you're saying," Qiao Qiao asked uncertainly, "that same colors can seize same colors?"
Jing Minghe nodded. "Sister Shi Wan seized my blue. I originally had white, and red and green formed yellow, so I had white and gold. Then it was Brother Hao and me. My red, green, and blue seized Brother Hao's red, green, and blue. He was left with only white and yellow. I had one white and one gold, he had one white and one gold."
"Double white, double gold!" Qiao Qiao finally understood. "But can one possess and use their original colors repeatedly?"
Jing Minghe gave a wry smile. "Actually, I'm not sure about this. So... whether this instance can be passed successfully or not, there is only one word: gamble."
"This..."
You Mi and Qiao Qiao looked at each other, simultaneously thinking of something.
"Then, for the two of us, are we lucky or unlucky? Not being able to be seized is a good thing, but not possessing the conditions to pass. Whether we live or die is entirely in your hands."
"Regarding that," Jing Minghe smiled helplessly, "that's indeed true."
"..." Qiao Qiao and You Mi simultaneously felt fortunate in their hearts that they had encountered teammates like Jing Minghe and Chi Hao.
While the few were discussing, the golden butterfly pupa was gradually taking shape. The moment the golden butterfly pupa took shape, it transformed into a light gate that they were all too familiar with.
"We succeeded!" Qiao Qiao and You Mi said in unison.
Jing Minghe and Chi Hao exchanged a look and nodded. Jing Minghe turned to You Mi and Qiao Qiao and said, "To be safe, Brother Hao and I will go first and last, and you two walk in the middle."
Just as Qiao Qiao was about to speak, You Mi pulled her aside. "It's okay."
She understood Jing Minghe and Chi Hao too well. No matter how much others said, their decisions would not change, and it would only be a waste of time.
The four of them, Jing Minghe at the front, You Mi and Qiao Qiao following closely behind him, and Chi Hao at the rear, constantly observing their surroundings, their eyes fixed on Jing Minghe in front.
As they walked out of the light gate and saw the platform, they finally confirmed that they had truly succeeded.
Jing Minghe silently let out a sigh of relief and was the first to board the train. Chi Hao quickly followed.
You Mi and Qiao Qiao exchanged a smile and also boarded the train.
On the train, no one spoke. They were all resting. Although the three days in the instance were shortened, three days and three nights without sleep would still make one feel exhausted.
The train arrived at the station, and after passing through another light gate, they reached the resting area.
Jing Minghe and Chi Hao, who were walking in front, suddenly stopped. You Mi and Qiao Qiao almost collided with them.
"What's wrong?" You Mi looked around, feeling that something was strange. This seemed like the lobby of the resting area, yet it also seemed not to be.
"No," Jing Minghe said. "This is not the resting area."