Translator: 549690339
Just like before, they had all left together, but she alone was surrounded. Sitting in her wheelchair, Bai Youwei stared at the familiar vast fog with a calm demeanor.
After waiting a short while, the sound of the game system echoed in the air:
“Congratulations to the player for proceeding through Maze No. 7.”
“We are tallying up the rewards from this round.”
“The player is the third one to pass through Maze No. 7. The ranking order in this round is three. Unfortunately, no jigsaw pieces will be rewarded.”
What? Nothing at all?
Is it because I finished so quickly that they won’t even give a reward?
“Updating player data… Ding! Update completed.”
“The reward tallying process has completed. Please continue with the game and strive to pass—”
The voice died off, the fog dispersed.
Shen MO, Tan Xiao, Teacher Chang, Pan Xiaoxin – all of them appeared before her.
Everyone stared at the area behind them in shock.
The fog has disappeared.
The labyrinthine fog that loomed over the city center is gone!
Looking at the familiar streets and buildings, Pan Xiaoxin couldn’t believe his eyes. “It’s Hangzhou… Hangzhou is back!”
He took a few steps forward, flailing his arms. The sky was clear blue, the air fresh. The buildings were neatly organized, the street-side greenery lush and verdant. Everything was back!
As Pan Xiaoxin glanced towards Shen Mo and Bai Youwei, his eyes held a hint of hope, “Wouldn’t it mean, if we pass through the maze, it disappears?!”
Shen MO and Bai Youwei looked at each other, confounded.
The last time they had passed through Maze No. 2, the fog hadn’t dispersed back then and the maze remained.
While scratching his head, Tan Xiao looked at the clean streets, unable to hold back from muttering, “This is weird, with no fog and even no rewards.”
“Did you not receive your reward?” asked Bai Youwei.
“I did, but they didn’t give me any jigsaw pieces,” Tan Xiao couldn’t understand.
“We got three pieces last time.”
Last time, Shen MO, Bai Youwei, Tan Xiao, Zhang Tianyang, and Chen Hui each received a piece, making it a total of five.
“I… I got one piece.” Pan Xiaoxin opened his tiny palm to reveal a silver-grey puzzle piece.
“Just one piece?” Tan Xiao turned to Chang Weicai. “Teacher Chang, did you get any pieces?”
Teacher Chang shook his head. “No.”
“Wow, why is this maze being so stingy this time,” Tan Xiao was disappointed. “The few of us struggled so much to get out of the maze, and they reward us with just one piece.”
Shen MO turned to Pan Xiaoxin and asked, “What did the system say when it was totalling the rewards? Do you remember?”
After taking a moment to remember, Pan Xiaoxin slowly explained, “… The player is the third one to pass through Maze No. 7. The ranking order in this round is one. You may receive one jigsaw piece reward. It was something like that.”
Bai Youwei: “The last time in Yangzhou, the system said it was the first time.” She specifically emphasized the word “first”.
Thinking it over, Shen MO suggested, “So for the first time, you get five puzzle pieces; the third time, you get one, and then the maze disappears… following this line of reasoning, could it mean that the number of puzzle pieces a maze can produce is limited and that the disappearance of a maze closely follows when all puzzle pieces are exhausted?”
“It has to disappear.” Bai Youwei added, “Puzzle pieces are definitely not infinite. If there are no more puzzle pieces and a new player passes through the maze, they won’t be able to receive the puzzle piece reward. That would be extremely unfair to the whole game system.”
Shen MO pondered, turning to look at her, “How many puzzle pieces do you think a maze can produce at most?”
“Nine.” Bai Youwei answered, “Five for the first time, three for the second, and one for the third..”