“What kind of nonsense is this?” Earth Dog retorted. “Su Shine made her choice because she doesn’t fully understand this place.”
“You don’t have the right to decide what others should understand either,” Zhang Chenze countered. “From my perspective, you’re pushing Su Shine into making an even less informed choice. That’s not fair.”
“Hmph…” Earth Dog snorted coldly before turning away, his voice low and heavy. “Su Shine, this is the first time I’ve seen you in years. I’m glad you’re still alive and kicking, even if you’ve lost your memories. But trust me—trusting anyone here will only bring you trouble.”
“Is that so?” Su Shine shot back. “From what I’ve seen, in this game, they’ve been the ones protecting their teammates, while you’ve been scheming to kill people.”
“But I didn’t kill you,” Earth Dog said. “From start to finish, I never used a single ‘Calamity’ on you.”
Hearing this, Su Shine slowly furrowed her brow.
Had her immunity to the “Calamity Sticks” not just been part of Earth Dog’s strategy? Was there personal sentiment mixed in as well?
“But you—” Su Shine started to say more, but Earth Dog pushed the door open and walked out.
“Sorry, but it’s really late. I’ll miss the last train if I don’t leave now,” he called from outside. “Stay here and rest for the night. If fate allows, we’ll meet again.”
“Can you at least tell me your name?” Su Shine asked one last time.
“Me?” Earth Dog blinked. “I’m just a stray dog who’s given up on life. I might bite, but never my own.”
He shut the door from the outside and vanished into the darkness.
The four women finally let out a collective sigh of relief. The game was truly over.
Aside from Su Shine, the others weren’t in great shape—Qin Dingdong and Lin Qin were injured, and Zhang Chenze was still pulling locusts out of her hair.
“How are you holding up?” Su Shine asked, glancing at Qin Dingdong and Lin Qin.
“How do you think?” Qin Dingdong shook her head helplessly. “One of us is injured inside, the other outside. Are you planning to heal us with some mystical energy?”
“I’m just worried… You both look terrible.”
At her words, the others turned to look at her. If anyone looked like they needed immediate concern, it was either Qin Dingdong or Su Shine herself.
Her eyes were bloodshot, and two distinct trails of dried blood streaked down her cheeks.
“What? Why are you staring at me?” Su Shine asked.
“Are… are you okay?” Zhang Chenze asked hesitantly. “Your eyes…”
Su Shine reached up to touch her face. When she pulled her hand back, her fingers were smeared with blood.
“What’s… happening to me?”
“You don’t feel any discomfort?” Zhang Chenze pressed.
“Not really… just a bit blurry vision…” Su Shine wiped her face with her sleeve, but seconds later, a sharp pain flared in her eyes.
“At least we survived,” Su Shine brushed it off and turned back to Lin Qin and Qin Dingdong. “You two are veterans. Tell me—how rare is it for everyone to survive a ‘Tier Earth’ game?”
The two pondered for a moment before slowly frowning.
It was true. Full-team survival in a Tier Earth game was almost unheard of. While Tier Earth games didn’t always wipe out every participant, they *always* killed someone.
After all, the purpose of every Tier Earth game was to lure participants in with the promise of “Tao” and then sell their deaths outright.
“Gotta admit… it’s rare,” Qin Dingdong coughed lightly. “But I’m basically half-dead anyway, so I can’t give you full marks. You should’ve just let me die.”
“Maybe I’m still not used to the ‘rules of survival’ here,” Su Shine explained. “I think as long as you’re alive, you can do more. Like if others are asleep and I’m not, my days are longer than theirs.”
“What kind of twisted logic…” Qin Dingdong sighed and slumped against the wall. “We’re stuck here tonight… might as well rest. If it weren’t for you, I could’ve slept soundly…”
Zhang Chenze turned to her. “You all keep saying we can’t go out at night… What’s so dangerous about the nights here?”
“Yeah, you wouldn’t believe it,” Qin Dingdong murmured, closing her eyes. “People scuttle around the streets like insects.”
“People… like insects?” Zhang Chenze froze, as if she had something to say.
**CRASH!**
Before anyone could react, the door to one of the glass rooms was violently flung open, the loud noise echoing through the space.
“Huh?”
They turned to see a black women’s suit leap out, its sleeves propping it up like legs while the collar lifted to “look” at them.
Not only did it resemble a locust, but it was also crawling with *actual* locusts, sending chills down their spines.
“I almost forgot about *this* thing…” Su Shine muttered, glaring at the suit. Then her eyes widened. “Lawyer Zhang… how the hell did this happen?”
She could clearly see a glowing locust-shaped outline on the suit.
“I’m not sure…” Zhang Chenze said. “I think it was something I did… turned this suit into a ‘locust’…”
Lin Qin and Qin Dingdong exchanged glances. Something was off.
This sounded exactly like an “Echo,” yet in seven years, they’d never encountered this woman before.
If her “Echo” was this powerful, why had she remained hidden for so long?
Lin Qin’s mind flashed to Qi Xia, while Qin Dingdong thought of Chen Junnan.
Something strange must have happened—something that kept everyone from that room from appearing in “Terminal Land.”
Su Shine took a deep breath, pulling Zhang Chenze behind her as she faced off against the eerie black suit.
Since it was essentially a piece of clothing, Su Shine had no idea how to “kill” it. She planted her feet firmly, trying to project an intimidating aura.
Zhang Chenze frowned, studying the spotlight in the room. After a moment’s thought, she walked to the wall and opened the door.
Outside air rushed in, carrying the metallic stench unique to Terminal Land.
The suit seemed to sense the change. After a pause, it flexed its sleeves and *leaped* into the darkness outside.
Zhang Chenze immediately locked the door again, and the tension in the room dissipated.
If they had to guess, this locust-like suit would now roam Terminal Land indefinitely—since it wasn’t a living thing, it had no concept of a lifespan.
“I may have killed you… but I also made you immortal,” Zhang Chenze murmured. “That’s fair.”
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