John slowly walked over to one of the small lights planted in the ground, then sat down on a low stone. He didn’t rush to continue speaking, as if choosing which parts could be said and which shouldn’t. Rover didn’t press. Nanoe still held him from behind, her translucent body floating in the air, but her gaze was placed entirely on John.

John finally opened his mouth.

"The dead zone is where many Survivors begin. Here there are no stable resources, no real trade routes, no cities, no markets, no free territories. Most of what you all have comes from the system, rounds, side missions, supply crates, or stolen from other Survivors."

Rover’s gaze shifted slightly hearing this.

Nanoe also slightly narrowed her eyes.

John continued: "You think you’re surviving, but in reality you’re being raised in a very large cage. That cage is dangerous, blood-soaked, with people dying every day, but it’s still a cage. It forces you to develop, forces you to kill, forces you to become accustomed to the loss of old rules, then selects those who are qualified to advance to the next area."

Rover didn’t like this way of putting it.

But he couldn’t refute it.

From the time he entered the Endless Game until now, most of his resources had indeed come from the system. The room, defense towers, items, missions, rounds, supply crates, even the Tenants were bound by the system’s rules.

It appeared as though they were surviving freely.

But in reality, the path was still set within certain limits. 𝒻𝓇𝑒𝘦𝘸𝑒𝒷𝓃ℴ𝑣𝘦𝑙.𝒸ℴ𝘮

Nanoe softly said: "In other words, the dead zone is the beginner’s area."

John looked at her.

The smile on his face paused slightly.

Nanoe continued, her voice still very calm: "Scarce resources, information blockades, fog restricting the range of movement, the apartment complex providing a basic safe point, rounds providing survival pressure, side missions providing opportunities to obtain special rewards. All of these resemble a filtering system."

John said nothing for a few seconds.

Then he very lightly clapped his hands.

"I’m beginning to understand why Rover is doing so well."

He looked at Nanoe, his smile carrying a hint of helplessness.

"You’re truly smarter than I expected."

Nanoe didn’t feel pleased from the compliment.

She only asked: "What happens after level 5?"

John tilted his head.

"What do you think?"

"If the dead zone is the beginner’s area, then after level 5, Survivors will be qualified to leave the cage. The higher area will certainly have real resources and real factions. There, Survivors won’t just wait for the system to drop rewards, but can find resources on their own, trade on their own, claim territories, build bases."

Saying this, Nanoe paused for a moment.

"Or get swallowed whole by larger factions."

John smiled.

"That’s right. Leaving the dead zone doesn’t mean safety. In reality, many Survivors die faster after surpassing level 5 than they did in the dead zone. Because here, you only need to face rounds and Survivors at the same tier. But outside, you may encounter things that existed before you even knew what the system was."

Rover frowned.

"What things?"

"Monsters. Tribes. Merchants. Cities. People hunters. Groups of Survivors who have developed many rounds ahead of you. And things that you’re better off not knowing about right now."

Rover looked at John.

"Sounds like you’re deliberately trying to scare me."

"I am deliberately trying to scare you." John admitted very quickly. "Because if you think surpassing level 5 is the finish line, you’ll die very fast. Level 5 is just the ticket out of this place, not a certificate proving you’ve become a big player."

Rover didn’t get angry.

On the contrary, he felt this sentence was very useful.

Rover had never liked deceiving himself. He could enjoy himself, could be greedy, could lazily hand off troublesome matters to Nanoe and Morie, but when facing information truly related to life and death, he would listen very seriously.

"So what do you Lamp-Bearers get out of this?"

John smiled.

"Finally getting to the main point."

"If you want to cooperate with me, I need to know what you want. People who say they don’t need benefits are usually more dangerous than the greedy ones."

"I like this line."

John pointed at Rover, his voice a bit more cheerful.

"Lamp-Bearers aren’t saints. We’re also bound by rules. Many Lamp-Bearers are trapped in the dead zone for a very long time, like lamplighters for a road they themselves cannot leave. We can see part of the road, can guide others along a stretch, but if there’s no Survivor qualified to surpass level 5, we also can’t advance."

Rover understood.

"In other words, you need me to surpass level 5."

"Correct."

"After that you can leave this dead zone."

"Correct."

"And become my guide in the next area."

"Correct."

Rover looked at John for a moment.

"The way you say it, it sounds like I’m giving you a ride."

John slightly raised an eyebrow.

"You could also put it that way."

"Then why do I need you?"

John burst out laughing.

This question was very direct.

But he liked it.

"Because I know more than you. I know how to keep you from dying before level 5, know what kinds of danger the subsequent rounds might produce, know which things in the dead zone are worth competing for and which ones look good but are actually traps. After level 5, I also know which paths are better for you."

Rover didn’t immediately respond.

Information was a resource.

In the current world, information was sometimes more precious than weapons. A person who knew the rules in advance, knew the area in advance, knew the dangers in advance could help him save a great many Omni Points, time, and lives.

But that didn’t mean he could trust John.

Nanoe softly asked: "What is the price?"

John looked at her.

"I don’t need Rover to pay a price right now."

"Nothing good comes without strings attached."

"True. But it usually comes with very bad conditions."

John smiled slightly, then continued: "Right now, I only need the right to bet. I choose Rover as the Survivor I observe and support. In exchange, I’ll provide some information within the bounds of the rules. If he surpasses level 5, I’ll accompany him to the next area as a guide."

Nanoe asked: "What if Rover fails?"

"I continue staying in the dead zone, waiting for the next person. Or if I’m unlucky, I’ll lose some authority for betting wrong."

Rover rubbed his chin.

"Sounds like an investment."

"Exactly." John smiled. "I invest information and authority into you. You invest a little trust into me."

"Trust is expensive."

"I know. So I’m not asking for too much."

Nanoe looked at John.

"You said ’within the bounds of the rules.’ That means you can’t say everything."

"That’s right. If I say too much, this lantern will go out."

John lightly patted the lantern on his side.

"What happens if the lantern goes out?"

"In the fog, a Lamp-Bearer who loses their lantern will have a rather unpleasant ending."

John said it very lightly, but this time he wasn’t joking.

Rover recalled what he had once seen in the fog, then stopped asking further about that.

At the same time, inside room 2705.

Nanoe was still sitting in the chair. Her real body had her eyes closed, one hand resting on her chest as if maintaining the connection with the seal on Rover’s body. Nanami sat beside her, both worried and curious as she watched her older sister.

Rilia sat across from them, her wrists still wrapped in Elith’s spider silk. Sunako stood behind the sofa in the maid outfit, but unlike her noisy demeanor from before, she was now very quiet.

Morie stood beside the window.

That’s right.

She was standing.

No longer the frail girl confined to a wheelchair who could only use her mind to compensate for an inconvenient body. After the Titan bloodline awakened, her legs could move normally. Her body was still small. Her skin was still pale. But her aura was much more stable.

Sunako glanced at Morie, then couldn’t help swallowing.

For some reason she felt that the platinum-haired girl became more frightening the quieter she was.

Rilia was also looking at Morie.

She had once felt Morie’s Titan hands on the battlefield. That wasn’t ordinary Psionic strength. It was heavy, ancient, like something born to crush resistance.

Nanoe had her eyes closed, but still softly said: "Sunako, Rilia, about the matter of your tribes, I’ll ask in more detail when Rover returns. But there’s one thing I want to say first."

Sunako immediately stood straight.

Rilia also looked at her.

Nanoe opened her eyes.

"If you truly want room 2705 to help your tribes, then from now on, don’t hide important information."

Sunako laughed awkwardly.

"I... I was just afraid that if I said it, everyone would find it troublesome."

"Rover hates trouble." Nanoe smiled. "But if that trouble can be exchanged for benefits, he’ll consider it."

Sunako: "..."

She discovered that Nanoe understood Rover to a slightly frightening degree.

Rilia coldly said: "If the Ice Wolf Tribe still exists, I’m also not certain they would accept a human as their master."

Before Nanoe could respond, Morie had already turned her head.

Her jade green eyes were very calm.

"Then make them accept it."

Morie’s voice wasn’t loud, but the room suddenly grew heavier.

The air around her trembled slightly. The shadow of a massive hand appeared very faintly behind her back, only for a moment before disappearing, but that pressure made Rilia immediately clench her fingers.

Sunako nearly took a step backward.

Morie looked at Rilia and continued: "If persuasion doesn’t work, use force. If force isn’t enough, use benefits. If benefits aren’t enough, prove that following Rover allows one to live better. I don’t care whether they’re humans, the Ice Wolf Tribe, or something else entirely."

She paused for a moment.

"As long as they have value."

Rilia fell silent.

This was the first time she had truly looked at Morie as an equal, not a smart girl standing behind Rover.

Nanoe smiled.

Morie had changed.

Not just because she could walk. But after gaining a new body, new strength, and a new bloodline, she had begun to dare to stand at the front.

This was a good thing.

Rover needed people like this beside him.

Out in the fog, John stood up at this moment.

He brushed the dust from his clothes, then looked at Rover and Nanoe.

"I’ve said the most basic parts. Now it’s your turn."

Rover asked: "What do I need to do?"

"Nothing too major yet. Survive. Develop. Don’t die stupidly. And when the next round appears, listen to my first piece of advice."

"What advice?"

John looked at Rover, the smile on his face becoming more subdued.

"Don’t trust the rankings."

Rover frowned.

Nanoe also slightly narrowed her eyes.

John didn’t immediately explain.

He only lightly patted the lantern on his side. The pale yellow flame within flickered slightly.

"Rover, I can help you leave this dead zone."

He looked directly into Rover’s eyes.

"But before that, you have to survive to level 5."