Rover thought of the psychiatric hospital.

Thought of the side missions he had experienced before.

If the beings there had once been Lamp-Bearers, or had once been existences similar to John, then this world was even worse than he had imagined.

John shrugged.

"I don’t want to wake up one day and discover I’ve become an NPC in another psychiatric hospital. I like smiling, but I don’t like smiling the same way for several hundred years."

That sentence had the tone of a joke.

But no one laughed.

Rover was silent for a moment, then asked: "If I let you bet on me, what do I lose?"

John looked at him.

"Right now, you lose nothing obvious. The bet doesn’t force you to submit to me, nor does it make you carry out tasks on my orders. It only creates a rules-based link between us. Within the bounds of what the lantern allows, I can provide information, warnings, even a little support. If you surpass level 5 and leave the dead zone, I’ll follow you as your guide."

"Then what about the parts that aren’t obvious?"

John looked at Rover, then burst out laughing.

"You’re just as troublesome as your woman."

"That’s not an answer."

"Alright. The non-obvious part is that once I bet on you, other Lamp-Bearers may pay attention to you. Not all Lamp-Bearers are friendly. Some have half-rotted away, some are desperate, some don’t want to escape by following a Survivor but want to steal others’ opportunities instead." 𝒇𝒓𝒆𝒆𝙬𝒆𝒃𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝙡.𝒄𝓸𝒎

Nanoe immediately said: "So you’re pulling more trouble toward Rover."

John didn’t deny it.

"Possibly."

Rover laughed coldly.

"You’re remarkably straightforward."

"If I don’t say it, you’ll discover it sooner or later anyway. By then the cooperation would truly be over."

Nanoe looked at John for a long time.

Then she said: "Then we won’t agree to any formal bet right now."

John slightly raised an eyebrow.

Nanoe continued: "You can provide information as an initial gesture of goodwill. Rover will assess your value. Before he fully understands the price, he won’t accept any rules-based link with you."

John rubbed his chin.

"Sounds like I have to prove my value first."

"That’s right."

"That’s cold."

"I’m only protecting my people."

John looked at Rover and sighed.

"I truly envy you."

Rover ignored that line.

He was thinking about what John had just said. If the bet would draw the attention of other Lamp-Bearers, then this couldn’t be rushed. He already had enough trouble ahead of him: Amed, Millan, the high-level Survivors in the apartment complex, Rilia and Sunako along with their respective tribes behind them, and also the existence less than twenty miles from the apartment complex that had been stirred by Dokai’s soul fluctuation.

Adding another group of Lamp-Bearers was not a smart choice.

At least not right now.

At the same time, inside room 2705.

Nanoe’s real body was sitting on the sofa, eyes closed, one hand resting lightly on her chest to maintain the connection with the seal on Rover’s body. Nanami sat pressed close beside her, expression both worried and curious, occasionally glancing at Nanoe, occasionally glancing at the others in the room.

Rilia sat across from them, her wrists still wrapped in Elith’s spider silk, but her posture had become a little more natural than before. Sunako wore the maid outfit, standing behind the sofa with a rarely seen obedient expression. She didn’t dare talk nonsense, because in this room right now there was no Rover for her to cling to, and Nanoe was in a half-present half-connected state that looked even less approachable than usual.

Morie stood beside the window.

That’s right.

She was standing.

Light from outside fell on her platinum hair, making her small figure appear quieter than usual. But no one in the room still viewed Morie as the fragile girl who used to sit in a wheelchair. After the Titan bloodline awakened, her legs could move normally. Her body wasn’t yet fully as strong as a true close-combat fighter, but her aura had changed.

Heavier.

More stable.

Like something ancient inside that slender body had just opened its eyes.

Sunako glanced at Morie, then immediately lowered her head.

For some reason she felt that Morie became more frightening the quieter she was. Nanoe was frightening because she could smile while calculating others. Elith was frightening because she could hang someone on a wall without changing expression. But Morie was frightening in a different way. She was very calm, but that calm was like a massive hand placed on top of someone’s head; without even squeezing, it was already enough to make one not dare breathe too heavily.

Rilia was also looking at Morie.

She had been controlled by Morie’s Titan hands on the battlefield, so she understood that pressure was no illusion.

Nanoe, even with her eyes closed, 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 looked at Nanoe.

Nanoe opened her eyes.

"Don’t hide important information."

Sunako laughed awkwardly.

"I... I was just afraid that my tribe’s situation would make Great Lord Rover feel it’s troublesome."

"Rover hates trouble."

Nanoe smiled very softly.

"But if that trouble can be exchanged for benefits, he’ll weigh it. If you want room 2705 to help your tribes, then you must prove your tribes are not just a burden."

Sunako fell silent.

Rilia coldly said: "The Ice Wolf Tribe will not easily accept a human as their master."

Morie at this point turned her head.

Her jade green eyes were very calm.

"Then make them accept it."

Rilia looked at her.

Morie stepped forward one step.

Just one very light step, but the floor beneath her feet seemed to let out a low rumble. The air around Morie vibrated slightly. Behind her back, the faint shadow of a massive hand briefly appeared. That shadow only appeared for a moment before disappearing, but the pressure as heavy as a mountain immediately made Sunako stiffen, while Rilia instinctively clenched her fingers.

Morie said: "If persuasion doesn’t work, use force. If force isn’t enough, use benefits. If benefits still aren’t enough, prove that following Rover means living better than any other choice."

Her voice wasn’t loud.

But it was very firm.

"I don’t care whether they are humans, the Ice Wolf Tribe, or some other tribe. As long as they have value, room 2705 can use them. If they want to be saved, then they must become something worth Rover saving."

Rilia fell silent.

This was the first time she had truly looked at Morie as someone who could stand at the front, not a smart girl behind a screen.

Nanoe looked at Morie, the corner of her lips slightly curving.

Morie had changed.

Not just because she could walk. But because after gaining new strength and a new body, she had begun to dare to use her own voice to set the rules.

This was very good.

Rover needed people like this.

Outside in the fog, John finally nodded.

"Alright. I accept your temporary conditions. Before you agree to a formal bet, I’ll provide some information as an initial gesture of goodwill."

Rover looked at him.

"What information?"

John smiled.

"I already said it. Don’t trust the rankings."

"Be specific."

John raised his hand and lightly tapped the lantern on his side. The flame within wavered slightly, as if warning him not to say too much.

John looked at the flame, then slowly spoke: "The next round won’t be as simple as ice monsters. The rankings will appear, and the rewards will also be very enticing. But precisely because of that, it will kill more people than even the monsters."

Rover frowned.

Nanoe slightly narrowed her eyes.

John didn’t explain further. He only took one step back. The smile on his face had returned to its usual cheerfulness, but his gaze was much more serious than at the beginning.

"Rover, I can help you leave this dead zone. But before that, you have to survive to level 5."

He paused for a moment, then added:

"And if I were you, I would start preparing to leave this cage right now."