“I don’t think I have ever seen a list of rules,” Yi Zheng turned to the guide and asked.

  “Naturally, because it is basic human etiquette to not cause trouble in a place that is meant for one’s happiness,” the guide spoke.

  “I thought this place was created to fulfill a person’s earnest desire,” Yi Zheng asked curiously.

  “If you mean to say that a person might enjoy fighting, then this place can accommodate for that in an appropriate place and setting,” the guide responded to his hidden words.

  “This place, or is it you specifically?” Yi Zheng said calmly, but his body was tensed as he thought about how the question lay upon a lot of untouched secrets about the guide.

  The guide responded to these kinds of questions with the same polite smile.

  Yi Zheng huffed but sighed in relief internally that the matter didn’t escalate.

  The guide seemed to be someone who wouldn’t harm anyone, but that only caused him to be intrigued as to how he would handle this situation.

  “Who are you?” The guide turned to Alex as if he knew that Yi Zheng had nothing else to say.

  “An intruder. He wanted to sneak in and looks really shady,” Wei Zhi hid behind Yi Zheng, poked his head out, and complained.

  “I see.” The guide studied Alex seriously.

  Wei Zhi wanted to smile mischievously, but he couldn’t with the burning gaze coming from Yi Zheng.

  “Yi Zheng helped to chase him away too… he was really cool,” Wei Zhi said, then gave Yi Zheng a look as if to say that I’ve done what you wanted.

  “When did we get so close? I thought you were the only one who was still cautious around me,” Yi Zheng said, brushing his hand over his gun.

  “Why can’t I be moved by how you stood resolutely in front of me to block all danger?” Wei Zhi gulped and praised him while taking a step back.

  “You seem more annoying. Did something happen inside?” Yi Zheng studied him up and down,

  but the kid didn’t look like he went through something that could change his personality in such a short time.

  “Look, they’re starting,” Wei Zhi pointed at the other two talking.

  Yi Zheng played along with him as he saw his focused attention on the guide and Alex.

  “So Alex, what is your purpose for coming here?” the guide asked.

  Alex kept mute and increasingly studied the ordinary-looking young man in a worker’s uniform in front of him.

  The conversation between him and the other two didn’t seem like a normal conversation either.

  The way the young man was speaking to them indicated some sort of cooperation between the two and a sense of familiarity,

  acknowledging the fact that they had met enough times to have some sort of relationship.

  The most important thing was that he definitely didn’t seem as easy as he looked, and his words suggested that he had a certain authority over this place.

  “I don’t want any trouble,” Alex spoke, but he still clutched the flaming kitchen knife tightly.

  “That’s exactly what he said before showing us a party trick,” Wei Zhi said enthusiastically.

  Alex looked at the scrawny teenager, speechless, and Wei Zhi shrank back.

  “Then what may I do for you?” the guide ignored the whole interaction.

  “I would like to confirm something,” Alex said.

  “But you don’t look like that at all. Instead, you look like an angry kidnapper,” Wei Zhi said, eyeing his kitchen knife.

  “If you wish to be invited, then you can only serve the role of an audience, as the facility is in use,” the guide gave him an offer.

  “I thought I was to be a guest,” Alex asked, startled, and wondered whether he had done something wrong or had that teenager put him under a bad light.

  Thinking like that, he glared at Wei Zhi.

  “What a tough audience,” Wei Zhi muttered.

  “The guest depends on the person currently using this facility, and you are not someone who qualifies to be called her guest,” the guide explained.

  “Why not?” Alex looked at the guide suspiciously.

  “You are not her friend or an acquaintance, so it would be quite rude to join in her fun,” the guide obviously referred to Shae Harris.

  “I see,” Alex could only concede for now, as he was outnumbered.

  That young man had a gun, and the way he handled it clearly told Alex that he was quite good at it.

  The teenager who loved to talk nonsense also didn’t seem simple.

  He sounded like he wasn’t in his right mind, and Alex had seen enough crazy people to learn to be wary of them.

  The guide, though, released some sort of low pressure that made his senses scream not to disobey the rules he set.

  “So there you guys were,” Shae Harris said, rushing up to them.

  “When did you guys leave?” she grumbled, glaring at the three guys, including the guide.

  “Who’s that?” Mori Aoi shrank behind Wei Zhi, shaking after noticing Alex, who had not yet put the knife away.

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  “I don’t know either,” Wei Zhi turned his back to Alex as his body stood tense and faced Mori Aoi completely, shielding her from his figure.

  “What does he want?” Shae Harris moved closer to Yi Zheng and watched Alex curiously.

  “To check for something,” Wei Zhi said quietly, rubbing Mori Aoi’s head and making both of them ease up.

  “You should explain a bit more and speak like you did not long ago,” Yi Zheng raised an eyebrow at him.

  “Forget him, he just has green tea syndrome,” Shae Harris shook her head, guessing that Wei Zhi was being his usual pitiful self to get Yi Zheng to protect him.

  She was just surprised he went after men too.

  Yi Zheng looked at her and considered whether he should tell her that Alex was coming for her,

  but decided against it after remembering their stance on the threat of death or danger.

  “Something wrong?” she noticed his gaze staying a bit too long.

  Yi Zheng shook his head.

  “If you do not want him inside, then I can send him away,” the guide asked Shae Harris.

  Shae Harris scratched her head and turned to Yi Zheng.

  “I don’t see why not,” Yi Zheng shrugged.

  “As long as you can make sure he wouldn’t interfere with us, then it’s okay,” Shae Harris said, but added in her head how they could easily run away after they were done here.

  If they couldn’t, then she would just fight him to the death so that the other three could escape.

  After all, she was the next person to die after Ming Jun.

  Shae Harris had that feeling since the night of Ming Jun’s death, which was why she couldn’t allow herself to drown in grief.

  Dying earlier rather than at a point forward in time didn’t really matter.

  “I guarantee it,” the guide almost swore.

  “Anyway, we’re done with the skydiving, so now what?” Shae Harris asked, believing his promise and looking away from Alex.

  “Due to the circumstances, why don’t you come here tomorrow to play some games?” the guide ushered them out.

  “But—” Shae Harris faltered, gazing at Alex and then at the guide, trying to convey her meaning.

  “As I said, due to the circumstances, the last event will be held in this location,

  but it is also an insurance that it would happen no matter what,” the guide gave them a confident smile.

  “What are you going to do to him then?” Yi Zheng asked, referring to Alex.

  “Make sure he doesn’t get in the way,” the guide walked them to their van.

  On the way, they passed Alex, who had been studying the girl he had only seen from the file.

  His first thought was that she looked like a normal teenager, just a bit lean for a girl, maybe.

  His instincts weren’t giving him a warning, though his rational side felt something was wrong.

  He didn’t know what it was until he saw her hop into the van and slam the door shut.

  That’s when he realized that anyone with half the symptoms she had would barely be able to stay awake, much less walk or, as she said, skydive.

  The sense of something strange finally got an origin.

  By all accounts, Shae Harris was really too healthy.

  Not in the sense that her skin was flourishing and she had the whole vibe of a healthy person.

  More like she looked like just every other girl, and that was supposed to be impossible.

  There was no cure for her disease, yet she looked healed.

  Was it possible that the mysterious young man with her was responsible for healing her? If so, then he was more dangerous than Alex thought.

  At this thought, Alex found himself picturing what the doctor would feel if he ever learned of this.

  What was clear was that something happened to Shae Harris, and he had to find out what.

  If he could manage to sneak away from the man in front of him.

  “Are you done considering your options?” the guide looked at him calmly.

  “Yes, and I find myself refusing to obey your kind gesture,” Alex shook his head and released a large wave of flames along with the scent that made one fall asleep.

  Alex planned to accomplish either of the two plans he had just formed in his head.

  The first plan was to knock the guide out and then question him using not-so-peaceful methods if necessary, as he certainly looked like someone who knew a great deal.

  The probability of this plan failing would lead to some dangerous consequences.

  After all, Alex released the highest level of heat his flames could reach and used a wide area sweep that even reached above the ground.

  Who knew? The guide might have the ability to fly using telekinesis.

  As for whether the guide could control the flames or teleport, that was the premise for the activation of the second plan.

  Using the cover of smoke and scent to slow him down long enough for Alex’s enhanced physique to allow him to escape.

  Alex fled, seeing no movement from the flames and not wanting to take his chances.

  But just as he took a step in the direction of the van, he froze.

  Not because of what was happening behind him, but because of the intense suffocation he felt.

  It was like stepping one foot into the grave, with death standing right in front of him.

  His thoughts became jumbled, and he could hear his heart beating in his ears.

  Then the heartbeat slowed, and a numbing sensation spread through his entire body, as if he were being swallowed by quicksand.

  He felt nauseous and terrified at the same time.

  His pupils dilated as his vision was swallowed by darkness until everything fell into silence.

  All Alex saw was a hand made of darkness stretching out to grab him.

  That hand enlarged until it was all he could see.

  Alex finally couldn’t take it anymore and collapsed on the ground, twitching.

  The shadow cat stood there, studying Alex, then looking at its paw in amazement.

  “Did you really have to scare him that bad?” [Life] appeared from thin air.

  She walked to the towering flames, opened what looked like a plastic water bottle, and poured the water onto them.

  Despite its size, a burst of water flooded the flames until they quickly died down.

  The guide dusted his wet clothes and bowed in thanks to [Life].

  [Life] closed the bottle, and it vanished.

  “Should I have upgraded you or something?” [Life] studied the guide from head to toe.

  “It was my weakness,” the guide admitted.

  “No, it’s that [@￡$%^&]’s fault,” [Life] said angrily.

  “Don’t worry. I wouldn’t let that thing win next time,” she snapped her fingers.

  The guide’s eyes flickered, his body glitching for a second before stabilizing.

  “Thank you,” he said, both grateful and surprised.

  “And whatever were you up to?” [Life] grabbed the shadow cat.

  “I was curious,” [Death] spoke from the black hole of the cat’s mouth.

  “Do you doubt my work?” [Life] smiled dangerously.

  “Can you blame me?” [Death] struggled.

  "True, even I was amazed at how those kids could stay so long around the stench of death so heavy around you all the time" [ Life ] hummed swinging the shadow cat around.

  "I did try staying away most of the time but it didn't seem to matter when I didn't" he spoke.

  “So you pushed them off a helicopter,” she rolled her eyes.

  “I was trying to test whether touching them would make them notice.”

  “Mori Aoi especially likes poking you. Thankfully, I made you quite cute,” she praised herself.

  “So Alex was a test subject. The effect was normal,” [Death] concluded.

  “And you almost gave him a heart attack, which I’d approve of, considering he has a system attached to him,” [Life] glanced at Alex in disgust.

  “Plus, neither those kids nor Yi Zheng are normal humans,” she chuckled.

  “I’ll leave the rest to you,” [Life] dropped the shadow cat, which vanished into its shadow, then patted the guide before disappearing.

  The guide snapped his fingers, and two men in matching uniforms carried Alex away.

  The guide followed.

  Meanwhile, Yi Zheng questioned Shae Harris.

  “I have never seen that guy before in my life,” she almost swore.

  Yi Zheng believed her.

  “You can go to bed now.”

  She ran off, then returned to say good night.

  Yi Zheng sat by the window with a gun in his lap and dozed off.

  Mori Aoi and Shae Harris quietly draped a blanket over him.

  Yi Zheng opened his eyes immediately and watched them leave.

  The night was silent.

  Until the sun rose again, marking the start of a new day.