The Endless Forest and a Desperate Proposal

Silently making a mental note about Du Nan, Xiang Qi patiently began to explain.

“Can’t you use your brain to think for once? Since I chose to keep going, it obviously means that method failed. Honestly…”

“You mean?”

Du Nan’s understanding dawned on him, and he vaguely grasped the crucial point.

“Yes, even though I made marks every so often, after walking for such a long time… I haven’t encountered a single one of them.”

“We really have been moving forward, not in circles at all.”

The girl concluded, her voice firm.

This realization was easy enough to come to. The only reason it was subconsciously overlooked stemmed from the ingrained common sense of reality.

When people get lost for an extended period, they instinctively assume they’ve lost their bearings and are simply circling. Many films and television shows reinforce this idea, leaving a deep-seated impression in their subconscious.

This preconceived notion, unfortunately, led them astray from a correct judgment.

One must remember that this was a game; it wouldn’t necessarily operate according to the laws of reality. Many universal rules might not apply here.

The system had never stated that the dungeon would adhere strictly to reality, so encountering events beyond the ordinary was not entirely unacceptable.

Xiang Qi had experience with this, like the maps created with copy-pasted sections in the previous game.

Viewed this way, a forest that seemingly had no end was not so implausible.

The crux of the problem wasn’t there, which was why Xiang Qi hadn’t brought it up earlier.

Somewhat embarrassingly, even after realizing their current predicament, Xiang Qi couldn’t offer any good solutions. She was helpless against such a dilemma and could only continue along their predetermined path.

‘The cart will find a path over the mountain, and the boat will straighten when it reaches the bridge.’

Since it was confirmed they weren’t circling but consistently moving forward, they might as well continue. Perhaps it wouldn’t be long before they broke free from this predicament.

While the trio was caught in their dilemma, the situation elsewhere was hardly any easier.

Zhou Yousheng had been waiting in the clearing for some time, the empty night feeling particularly desolate.

With the announcement of the system’s rules, everyone else had vanished in an instant, teleported to other locations. Only she remained, utterly alone.

If Xiang Qi were in this situation, she would first speculate on the system’s intentions, then act as proactively as possible. She would make preparations, useful or not, seizing the opportunity to increase her own leverage without anyone else present.

Then she would wait, but not for too long. Once certain that no one could arrive quickly, Xiang Qi would take the initiative to seek out others and regroup.

This round’s mode differed from the last. Collective action was more advantageous for all players, in every sense of the word.

Especially for a schemer like Xiang Qi, who, despite her dislike of socializing, could absolutely become the most popular person in a crowd if she put on an act. She had maintained this facade for years while secretly committing mischief.

However, Zhou Yousheng was not Xiang Qi; she was just an ordinary girl. Naturally, she panicked when suddenly confronted with such a situation, unsure of her next move.

Though it might sound a bit harsh, some things had to be mentioned.

Anyone who survived the first game was no longer truly ordinary; they possessed unique qualities in some aspect or another.

And a beautiful girl, without any special abilities herself… how exactly had she managed to survive the first round’s Hunt Mode?

Hmm… the implications were thought-provoking.

Of course, one couldn’t simply judge a book by its cover, but since the topic had come up, a brief elaboration was necessary.

In typical Hunt Modes, cases of survivors making it to the end were exceedingly rare; usually, the Hunters claimed victory. This wasn’t merely due to a disparity in power levels, but more often because Hunters were typically played by more experienced players.

In games involving pure newcomers, the system usually arranged for two to three players with a score of around 10,000. This served both to guide the new players and to balance the game’s difficulty.

Without veterans, the battle could easily become one-sided.

This was a bit of a tangent, but the core idea remained the same.

To prevent any unhealthy thoughts, it was worth noting here that ‘Qi Jiang,’ a name mentioned in the original synopsis, referred to Zhou Yousheng.

Waiting there, doing nothing, Zhou Yousheng gazed at the distant sea. The dark blue tide reflected in her eyes.

Her body instinctively curled tighter, almost hugging herself into a ball.

“Are you very scared?”

After an unknown amount of time, a voice sounded behind the girl. The man casually glanced at her, then found an empty spot and sat down.

And so, the two of them sat on the beach, watching the sea.

Zhou Yousheng stiffened abruptly upon hearing the sudden voice, but then she recognized the speaker and slowly relaxed.

She knew this man; she knew him in real life.

“Why?”

The girl lowered her head, murmuring softly in her unique tone.

“Why?” The man echoed, as if questioning her, then chuckled. “Be my girlfriend, Qi Jiang. I’ll protect you.”

“No, I told you I don’t date. Why do you keep pursuing me like this?”

Zhou Yousheng lifted her head, her eyes flashing with stubborn defiance, her attitude uncharacteristically firm.

She needed an explanation.

“Stop pretending. I did believe you before, but…”

“This is already my third game. I understand the situation in these games better than you; I know how desperate these circumstances can be. When I found out you also appeared in the game…”

“Do you know… how heartbroken and regretful I was then? There was even a tiny bit of secret joy. For a female player like you to survive the first round, it must have been incredibly difficult, right?”

“I understand everything… I don’t mind. Since you’ve already… why can’t it be me?”

“I’ll protect you…”

The man continued to speak eloquently, attempting to move the girl with his sincerity. However, he failed to notice the girl’s astonished gaze, as if she were hearing such a thing for the very first time.

“I didn’t…”

The girl tried to defend herself, but her words were utterly ineffective, sounding pale and powerless.

“I understand everything… truly…”

He finally turned his head, only to see Zhou Yousheng’s bloodless cheeks and her flickering, evasive gaze.

“Qi… Jiang…?”