The rabbit-headed figure silently watched the gray-robed figure.
After a long while, it said, "It's just returning to a new starting point. It never ends."
In the distance, a cube-shaped object lit up.
"A player has entered the game. I have to go." The rabbit-headed figure lifted its foot and walked away.
After a few steps, it stopped.
"Oh, right."
It turned its head slightly, looking at the back of the gray-robed elder.
"I want to remind you, the reason Instance 7016 is in debugging is not only because the difficulty is too high, but also because the rewards are too great. If those people really obtain the rewards, I'm afraid it will affect the game balance… So, good luck."
Good luck.
I hope you achieve your wish and let those people die in the game. Otherwise, they will become… a big problem for the puppet game.
…
The sky was gloomy, the rain icy cold.
The endless downpour beat against her body, cold and painful.
Bai Youwei forced her eyes open, then closed them tightly. Rainwater flowed down her eyelashes. She wiped it away and opened her eyes again—
Before her eyes was a torrential downpour. The curtain of rain obscured her vision, and the sound of the rain simultaneously muffled her hearing.
She couldn't see where she was, nor could she hear the voices of her companions.
The wheelchair lay behind her. She propped herself up on her elbows and crawled towards it bit by bit, the gravel in the mud hurting her hands.
Her knees hurt too.
Her legs had regained feeling, but they couldn't compare to ordinary legs. Although she could barely stand, she couldn't walk. They were so weak, powerless, lacking strength.
It was a bit perverse to say, but she really envied Shen Mo's muscles, solid and cast-iron-like, strong and hard! Every time she got close, she couldn't help but want to touch them, squeeze them…
Thinking of Shen Mo, she looked around again, but apart from the endless downpour, she saw nothing.
Where was Shen Mo?
Bai Youwei gritted her teeth, grabbed the wheels of the wheelchair, dragged it in front of her, and supported herself to stand up.
The rain was too heavy, and the muddy ground was too slippery. She tried twice but failed to stand, instead falling even more awkwardly.
"Damn it…" She bit her lower lip in frustration, supported herself on the wheelchair again, and tried to stand.
Her legs trembled uncontrollably, and her knees felt prickly and numb. She took a deep breath, struggled to straighten up, and sat down in the wheelchair just before losing her strength, gasping for breath!
The canvas bag and the rabbit were both on the ground, wet and dirty from the rain and mud.
But she didn't have the strength to pick them up.
"Hey…" she called to the plush rabbit, "Pick up my bag for me."
The rabbit twitched its ears, took a few steps on its short legs, hugged the strap of the backpack, and dragged it with effort, pulling hard.
After being drenched with who knows how much rainwater along the way, it finally reached Bai Youwei.
Bai Youwei hung the canvas bag on the side of the wheelchair, then picked up the rabbit and wrung it out. The plush rabbit was soaked, water gushing out.
"At least you're somewhat useful." She murmured, holding the rabbit in her arms and pushing the wheelchair forward with one hand.
"Shen Mo must be looking for me now."
"The rain is too heavy. I need to find shelter quickly…"
"This seems like a slope. Let's go up. When people get lost in the mountains, they subconsciously go uphill."
"Do you know why?… Because the view is wider from higher up."
"Also, going uphill narrows the search area. Rabbit, I'll test you. Which has a larger area, the mountaintop or the foot of the mountain?… Shen Mo will definitely go to a high place to look for me. As long as I go up a little more… I'll definitely meet him…"
Bai Youwei spoke almost to herself, continuously going uphill.
However, the slope was difficult to navigate, becoming more rugged the higher she went.
Her wheelchair started and stopped, finally getting stuck in a crevice between rocks. She couldn't pull it out. She tried again, but the wheelchair didn't budge. She couldn't help but feel discouraged.
The torrential rain poured down on her, making her head dizzy.
Bai Youwei gave up.
She hugged the rabbit and sat quietly in the rain.
She told herself: It's okay, Shen Mo will find me.