Nanoe refused almost immediately.

John had barely finished that sentence, Rover hadn’t yet made any clear reaction, when Nanoe’s translucent body slightly tightened its hold on his shoulders from behind. Her voice was still very gentle, even soft as if speaking normally, but the content held not a trace of hesitation.

"No."

John paused slightly.

He looked at Nanoe, then looked at Rover, and finally burst out laughing as if he had just heard an answer he hadn’t expected.

"I thought you’d at least think about it for a moment. After all, I just said I could help Rover leave this dead zone."

"Precisely because you said that is why I refused."

Nanoe looked at John, her brown eyes gentle but deep enough that you couldn’t see the bottom.

"We don’t understand what Lamp-Bearers really are, nor do we understand what kind of binding this so-called bet will create. You say you can help Rover, but from start to finish, you haven’t clearly stated whether this is tied to other rules. In the Endless Game, no one works for free, and there’s no such thing as a free meal. If you want to bet on Rover, then you certainly also have something you want to take from him."

Rover slightly tilted his head to look at Nanoe.

He didn’t interrupt.

Because what Nanoe had just said was also exactly what he had been thinking.

John wanted to cooperate, wanted to bet, wanted to help him reach level 5. It sounded very good, but the problem was, if this was truly as good as it sounded, why did John need to come looking for him? Why would a Lamp-Bearer like John need to rely on a Survivor who hadn’t yet reached level 5 to leave this area?

Rover didn’t believe in unconditional goodwill.

Especially in a world where even a piece of meat could be traded for a human life.

John looked at Nanoe for a long time.

Then he let out a sigh.

The smile on his face was still there, but it had mixed in a very faint hint of bitterness.

"You’re truly too smart. Smart enough to make others feel uncomfortable."

Nanoe gently replied: "If you feel uncomfortable, that proves I guessed correctly."

John raised his hands in surrender.

"Right. You guessed correctly."

This time, John’s voice was no longer as casual as before. He raised his hand to touch the lantern on his side. The pale yellow flame within flickered slightly, stretching his shadow longer across the cold damp ground.

"Lamp-Bearers aren’t kind people doing good deeds. We help Survivors, observe Survivors, and bet on Survivors with potential, naturally all for our own purposes. If the Survivor we bet on can surpass level 5, and moreover chooses to leave this dead zone, the Lamp-Bearer who bet on that person can also follow them."

Rover narrowed his eyes.

"Follow?"

"That’s right." John nodded. "Leave the dead zone, advance to a higher area, and become the guide of the Survivor they chose."

Rover rubbed his chin.

"Put that way, you want to use me as your ticket out of here."

John didn’t deny it at all.

"You could put it that way."

Rover smiled.

"You admit it pretty quickly."

"If I keep going around in circles in front of your woman, I feel this conversation will end very fast." John looked at Nanoe, his expression very sincere. "Moreover, I don’t like lying when it’s completely unnecessary. The best kind of cooperation is both sides mutually using each other. I need you to leave the dead zone, and you need my information to survive long enough to do so."

Rover didn’t immediately answer.

That didn’t sound pleasant, but at least it was honest.

He didn’t dislike greedy people.

He even felt that greedy people were easier to understand than those who always talked about acting for righteousness. As long as he knew what the other party wanted, he could calculate the price, and also decide whether this transaction was worth it.

Nanoe still didn’t relax.

"If this place is the dead zone, then what are the high-level Survivors in the apartment complex? We’ve already seen level 6 Survivors. If level 5 is the boundary for leaving, why are they still here?"

John’s gaze shifted slightly hearing this question.

He looked at Nanoe once more.

"You truly don’t miss a single point."

"I don’t like gaps in the terms of cooperation."

"Alright." John shrugged, but this time his smile had faded considerably. "Level 6 is the maximum limit that this dead zone can accommodate. In other words, if a Survivor reaches level 6 but doesn’t choose to leave, or has no way to leave, they will be forever stuck at that level."

Rover frowned.

"Forever?"

"Until they die."

John said it very calmly.

"Level 6 here sounds high, but in reality it’s just the ceiling of a cage. Those Survivors may be stronger than you currently, may have accumulated more resources, may live a bit longer, may even dominate a few small areas within the apartment complex or in rounds. But if they don’t leave the dead zone, they can permanently only circle that ceiling. No higher-level resources, no real path of evolution, no longer lifespan. They will live in the fog, participate in rounds, kill people, get wounded, recover, continue killing, until their life force runs dry or some round swallows them."

The air went quiet.

Rover looked toward the faint silhouette of the apartment complex behind the fog.

That building had once been the safest place he could rely on. Room doors, defense towers, the Tenant system, rounds, supply crates, everything had gradually made room 2705 stronger. But now, hearing John speak, Rover suddenly felt that apartment complex resembled a cage more than a base.

A cage with food.

With rewards.

With blood.

With monsters.

And with a ceiling.

Nanoe softly asked: "What does the higher area have?"

John smiled.

"Many things. Real resources, real trade routes, territories, tribes, cities, merchants, groups of Survivors who have existed through many rounds, races that aren’t entirely human, and things I currently shouldn’t say too clearly."

He paused for a moment, then continued: "It’s far more dangerous there than in the dead zone. But at least, there you can find resources on your own, choose your own path, expand your own faction. You don’t need to wait for the system to drop a supply crate and then fight over it like a pack of hungry dogs. If strong enough, you can claim a piece of land, build a base, trade, hunt monsters, recruit people, even establish a faction of your own."

Rover’s gaze shifted slightly.

Establishing a faction.

Building a base.

Real resources.

These words made him think of the [Real Estate Certificate for Self-Selected Area] still in his possession. The Legendary Supply Crate hadn’t only given him a resurrection item, but also a future anchor point outside the apartment complex. Before, Rover had only felt that thing was very valuable, but now hearing John speak, he increasingly understood it could be a preparatory step for leaving the dead zone.

Nanoe had clearly thought of the same thing.

She leaned close to Rover’s ear, her voice very soft.

"That real estate certificate may be more important than we thought."

Rover nodded very slightly.

John noticed that small reaction, but didn’t ask.

He knew Rover certainly had secrets.

A Survivor who could develop room 2705 to this level, with a woman like Nanoe by their side, would be strange not to have a few cards of their own.

Rover looked at John.

"And what about you Lamp-Bearers? If you can’t leave this place, what happens to you?"

This time, John didn’t immediately smile.

He lowered his head to look at the lantern on his side, his fingers lightly stroking the dark bronze body of the lamp. The flame within was still burning, but somehow, in that moment Rover felt that flame resembled something very lonely.

"Lamp-Bearers are like the ghosts of the dead zone."

John spoke very slowly.

"We can pass through fog, can guide others, can provide some information, can observe Survivors with potential. But we are also bound here. If we can’t follow a Survivor who surpasses level 5, we will continue to wander in this dead zone."

"Wander for how long?"

"Until we rot."

Rover looked at John.

John raised his head, the smile on his face appearing again, but this time it looked slightly ugly.

"Don’t look at me like that. I’m not using metaphors. Lamp-Bearers who stay too long will be corroded by the fog and the rules. At first it’s just memories becoming hazy, then emotions, then reason. At some point, we’ll forget who we once were, leaving behind only a lantern and an empty mission."

Nanoe slightly narrowed her eyes.

"And then?"

"And then we become part of this area." John laughed softly. "Some become monsters in the fog. Some become the administrators of side missions. Some become a strange character in a psychiatric hospital, a shop, a bus station, or anywhere the system needs someone to fill the role of guide and killer."