John looked at Nanoe for a long time.

If at first he had only felt Nanoe was a beautiful, dangerous, and somewhat special woman, that thought had now completely changed.

Not somewhat special.

But far too special.

She didn’t have a real body here, only an energy projection clinging to Rover. But even so, she could still use a few questions to press John back step by step. The gentleness on her face didn’t disappear, the allure in each glance and each smile didn’t diminish at all, but precisely because of that it made John feel even more frightened.

A woman who knows she’s beautiful is already very dangerous.

A woman who is beautiful, intelligent, and loves a man deeply enough to calmly calculate everything for his sake, is even more dangerous.

John looked at Rover, his voice overflowing with envy.

"Do you know how many Survivors die not because they were weak, but because there was no one beside them to keep them clear-headed?"

Rover glanced at him.

"Are you complimenting me or complimenting Nanoe?"

"I’m envying you."

John said very sincerely.

"If I had a woman like her beside me when I was still a Survivor, perhaps I wouldn’t have become a Lamp-Bearer."

Nanoe didn’t show any delight from this compliment.

She only smiled slightly, her translucent fingertips lightly stroking Rover’s shoulder, the motion both intimate and natural.

"You still haven’t answered my question."

John rubbed his face.

"Alright."

He looked at Rover, the smile on his lips fading.

"Just as Nanoe suspected. Before me, there were already Lamp-Bearers who had bet on you."

Rover narrowed his eyes.

"How many?"

"Three."

The air seemed to grow heavier.

John continued: "If I participate, I’ll be the fourth."

Rover fell silent.

Then he burst out laughing.

But that laugh didn’t carry much joy.

"Three people have already bet on me, and I had absolutely no idea?"

"That’s right."

"So should I feel honored?"

"If you want to think positively, you can."

"I don’t want to think positively."

John shrugged.

"I figured." 𝑓𝓇𝘦ℯ𝘸𝘦𝑏𝓃𝑜𝘷ℯ𝑙.𝑐𝑜𝓂

Rover was truly very uncomfortable.

He didn’t like the feeling of being silently bet on by others. This made him feel like a horse in a racing field, with the audience above choosing numbers, putting down money, waiting to see whether he’d run to the finish line or die halfway.

He hated this feeling.

Especially when his opinion was never asked.

Nanoe sensed Rover’s mood. She slightly tilted her face, her translucent lips nearly touching his ear.

"Don’t be angry."

Her voice was very soft.

"At least we know about this now. The more people who bet, the higher your potential is considered, but the risks also increase simultaneously. Knowing the cause, we can handle it."

Rover breathed out.

"I know."

Nanoe smiled.

"I know you know. But I still wanted to say it."

John looked at the two of them, the corner of his mouth twitching.

He suddenly felt this negotiation was rather painful to watch.

Not because of the light.

But because Rover had a woman who was both terrifyingly smart and so gentle that others wanted to bite their handkerchief in envy.

John cleared his throat.

"You two can continue being sweet later. Right now I’m getting to the point."

Nanoe raised her head to look at him.

"Why did the other three bet on Rover?"

"I can’t say."

Nanoe didn’t get angry.

"Can’t, or won’t?"

"Can’t." John said: "Each Lamp-Bearer has their own way of betting and their own secrets. I don’t have the right to reveal their identities or methods. My lantern won’t allow it."

Rover looked at the lantern on John’s side.

The flame within was still burning steadily, but when John mentioned the other bettors, the flame slightly contracted, as if warning him.

John pointed at the lantern.

"See? It doesn’t like me saying too much."

Nanoe softly asked: "Then you can speak about your own way of betting."

"This one is fine."

John nodded.

"My way of betting is to help Rover reach level 5 faster. I can’t directly level him up, but I can offer him an opportunity, a dangerous shortcut. If he survives, he’ll bypass a large portion of the risks that later rounds would create."

Rover frowned.

"You want me to skip the fourth and fifth rounds?"

"Not entirely." John said: "The level 5 trial isn’t about skipping everything. It’s more like taking the pressure that would otherwise come later, compressing it into a single trial. Harder, more dangerous, but also clearer. You go in, you survive, you receive the reward. No need to wait for the rules to twist the rounds around you bit by bit."

Nanoe asked: "Why does it have to be fast?"

John looked at her.

"You’ve already guessed, haven’t you?"

"I want to hear you say it."

John smiled bitterly.

"Truly not easy to deal with."

Nanoe smiled.

"As long as Rover likes it."

John: "..."

He truly felt he shouldn’t continue this topic, otherwise his mood would only get worse.

"Because too many people have already bet on Rover." John said directly: "Three Lamp-Bearers have placed bets. Adding me makes four. The rules will pay more attention to him. The fourth round could already show distortions, and the fifth round will be even more dangerous."

"How dangerous?" Rover asked.

John looked at him.

"If the bettors reach five, the fifth round could be pushed to five times the normal difficulty."

Rover frowned.

"Five times?"

"Yes."

"Based on whose difficulty?"

"Based on yours."

Rover fell silent.

John continued: "Don’t compare the normal rounds of other Survivors to yours. For you, the system will calculate room 2705’s combat strength, the number of Tenants, special items, all types of special abilities, defense towers, even things it thinks you might be able to exploit. Then it will increase the difficulty based on that foundation."

Rover felt a slight headache coming on.

If it were only calculated based on himself, the increased difficulty would still be acceptable.

But if room 2705 was calculated as a whole, things would become very troublesome.

Nanoe softly said: "In other words, the better Rover develops, the harder the rounds want to test him."

"Correct." John nodded. "That’s why I want him to reach level 5 faster. If we just let the normal rounds continue, I’m afraid the fifth round will become a pit so large that even room 2705 will struggle to climb out."

Rover rubbed his chin.

"Can your trial bring people along?"

John looked at him.

"Yes."

Rover was slightly surprised.

John continued: "But the number is limited. Moreover, the more people brought, the higher the difficulty. The trial won’t let you bring the entire room in and use sheer numbers to crush it."

"What about room 2705 while I’m gone?"

"It still exists. But if you leave the room to participate in the trial, the rounds outside won’t completely stop because of that. In other words, your room still needs defenders."

Nanoe immediately asked: "How long does the trial last?"

"Not fixed." John answered: "It could be a few hours, could be a day, could also be longer. But for the dead zone, time usually doesn’t drag on too long, because the rules still need you to participate in the main rounds."

Rover continued: "If we fail, can revival items be used?"

John looked at him once.

That gaze told Rover that John had guessed he had something.

But John didn’t ask.

"Possibly, if your revival item is strong enough and the trial doesn’t completely lock the soul. But I advise you not to pin your hopes on resurrection. Many level 5 trials don’t just kill the body; they also like to play with souls, memories, and contracts."

Nanoe immediately tightened her hold.

Rover sensed it, slightly turning his head: "I haven’t said I’m going right away."

Nanoe looked at him.

"I know."

"But you’re still worried?"

"Of course."

Rover smiled.

"I rarely see you speak so simply."