John stood still in the ring of light for a very long time.

The black vehicle had disappeared into the fog. The pathway opened by the lantern light had also gradually closed. Only the small lanterns planted in the ground remained, their pale yellow light struggling to hold back the gray-white fog that was quietly encircling them.

John lowered his head to look at the lantern on his side.

The flame within was still burning very steadily, but for some reason, he felt it seemed a little tired.

"Four Lamp-Bearers..."

John muttered, then smiled bitterly.

"Hopefully you all don’t work the best horse I’ve ever seen to death."

The fog didn’t answer him.

But right after, outside the ring of light came the sound of very light footsteps.

Not the footsteps of the living.

They were dry, brittle, cold, like bones knocking against the damp ground. John didn’t immediately turn his head. He only breathed out a sigh, his expression as if he had already guessed who was coming.

"You arrived a bit late, Livia."

The fog behind him slowly parted.

A silhouette in a black cloak appeared in the darkness. Beneath that cloak was not flesh, but a white skeleton. Two empty eye sockets held faintly burning pale green flames. Its body radiated a deathly aura that made the surrounding temperature seem to drop several degrees.

It was the Death Skeleton that had once appeared in the second round.

Livia.

She stood outside the ring of light, the black cloak gently shifting in the fog. A moment later, the white skeleton began to change. Bones contracted, flesh regenerated, golden hair fell from beneath the hood onto her shoulders, and a cold, beautiful face slowly appeared in the lamplight.

In just a few seconds, the Death Skeleton was gone.

In its place was a golden-haired woman in a black cloak. Her aura was cold. Her eyes were calm to the point of seeming to have witnessed too many deaths.

John looked at her and asked: "How do you feel?"

Livia didn’t immediately answer.

She looked toward the fog where the vehicle had just disappeared, as if her gaze could pierce through that thick gray-white layer and see Rover returning to room 2705.

A moment later, she finally said: "More interesting than I expected."

John raised an eyebrow.

"Just interesting?"

"And more dangerous than I expected."

Livia turned her head to look at John.

"But your bet still isn’t enough."

John was silent for a few seconds.

Then he burst out laughing, but this smile was no longer as cheerful as when facing Rover.

"You just arrived and you’re already stepping on my sore spot?"

"I’m only stating the truth."

Livia stepped into the ring of light. The pale yellow flame illuminated her face, softening the cold look slightly, but the deathly aura on her didn’t diminish much.

John rubbed his chin.

"I had planned to offer the level 5 upgrade card. For a Survivor still in the dead zone, that’s not bad."

"Not bad." Livia replied very calmly. "But not enough."

John looked at her.

"Why?"

"Because this bet has no longer been a small game." Livia said: "As of now, those who have placed bets on Rover include me, Otrix, and Leng Yan. If you also want to bet, then your stake must be heavy enough."

John didn’t immediately answer.

He knew Rover had potential.

He knew Rover was very special.

But when he heard Livia say those three names at the same time, John still felt his temple twitch.

Livia.

Otrix.

Leng Yan.

None of these three were the kind to be swayed by momentary emotions. Even less the kind of existence who would casually throw a bet onto a Survivor just because they found the other party "rather interesting."

If all three of them had already placed bets, then Rover certainly had something John hadn’t yet seen.

John breathed out.

"Alright. Tell me, what is your stake?"

Livia looked at him.

"Information about the Heart of the Judging Angel."

The smile on John’s face immediately froze.

He looked at Livia as if he had just heard an extremely absurd story.

"Have you gone mad?"

Livia didn’t react.

John pointed at her, his voice going slightly higher: "That’s the Heart of the Judging Angel. You know what that thing represents. Just the information about it alone would be enough to make a pile of people in the higher areas tear each other into pieces. You’re bringing that out as a bet for a Survivor who hasn’t even reached level 5?"

Livia calmly answered: "Yes."

John opened his mouth, then closed it again.

He truly didn’t know what to say.

A moment later, he smiled bitterly: "I’m starting to feel like I’m too poor."

"You were always poor."

"You’re still as unpleasant to talk to as before."

"I’m only stating the truth."

John massaged his temples, feeling like he had sighed far too many times tonight. First Rover and Nanoe made him feel envious, and now Livia had brought out a stake so heavy it made him want to turn around and run.

But he still asked further.

"And Otrix?"

Livia looked at him.

"[Mirror]."

The air immediately went quiet.

This time, John didn’t just freeze his expression.

He truly opened his mouth.

"What the..."

The curse escaped his lips almost on instinct.

John looked at Livia, his gaze overflowing with disbelief.

"Even that thing he dares to take out? Isn’t he afraid the Wicked God will grind him into a pile of ground meat?"

Livia wasn’t at all surprised by John’s reaction.

She only said indifferently: "Otrix has never been an ordinary person."

"That’s not a matter of ordinary or extraordinary." John said through gritted teeth: "That’s [Mirror]. Getting involved with that thing is no different from placing your own head under the Wicked God’s foot and asking whether they want to step on it."

Livia was silent for a few seconds.

Then she said: "That’s not only a gift."

John frowned.

Livia continued: "It’s also a promise to an old acquaintance."

John looked at her.

His expression gradually became serious.

"Which old acquaintance?"

"You don’t need to know."

"Your lantern doesn’t allow you to say?"

"No." Livia answered. "I don’t want to say."

John: "..."

He found that none of this group of Lamp-Bearers were easy to talk to.

But he didn’t press further either.

Some secrets, if the other party didn’t want to reveal, asking more would only make things uncomfortable. Moreover, just the phrase "a promise to an old acquaintance" was already enough for John to understand that this matter wasn’t only related to Rover’s present.

Perhaps from a very long time ago, someone had already pushed certain chess pieces to Rover’s side.

Or at least, left a path for him.

This made John feel even more strongly that Rover was not simple.

He was silent for a moment, then asked his final question.

"And Leng Yan?"

Livia looked at John.

"Herself."

John fell completely silent.

This time, he didn’t curse.

Didn’t laugh either.

He just stood there, looking at Livia with an expression as if wanting to confirm whether he had heard wrong.

But Livia offered no further explanation.

The answer was already clear enough.

Leng Yan had placed herself as the stake.

John lowered his head to look at the lantern on his side, then looked toward the fog. A long moment later, he finally let out a dry laugh.

"You people..."

"Truly all a bunch of lunatics."

Livia didn’t rebut.

Because even she didn’t feel this was wrong.

Information about the Heart of the Judging Angel.

[Mirror].

Leng Yan herself.

Any one of these three stakes placed on an ordinary Survivor would be a waste to the point of stupidity. But the problem was, Livia knew very clearly that she herself wasn’t stupid. Otrix wasn’t stupid either. And Leng Yan was even less the type of woman who would throw herself into a meaningless game.

So if all three of them had chosen Rover, there was only one possibility.

Rover was worth it.

Worth far more than what he was currently showing.

John understood this too.

Precisely because he understood, he felt the pressure.

At first, he had thought he had discovered a good horse.

A Survivor with extremely high potential, a room developing rapidly, a group of women both strong and loyal, especially Nanoe. Rover wasn’t perfect, but he was pragmatic, on guard, knew how to use people, knew how to yield authority to those more capable than himself, and wasn’t foolish enough to be blinded by rewards.

But now, John realized he had perhaps still underestimated Rover.

Not by a little.

But by a great deal.

John raised his head to look at Livia.

"You came here just to tell me I’m poor?"

"No."

"Then?"

"I came to remind you." Livia said: "If you want to enter the bet, don’t use something ordinary. A weak stake won’t help Rover live longer. It will only make him receive more attention from the rules without getting enough benefit to compensate."

John slightly narrowed his eyes.

"You’re worried about him?"

"I’m worried about my stake."

"That’s one way to put it."

Livia paid no attention to his jab.

"Rover is already being stared at by far too many eyes. If you can’t offer something of sufficient value, it’s better not to get involved."

John fell into contemplative silence.

These words were unpleasant to hear.

But correct.

If he became the fourth Lamp-Bearer to bet on Rover, the difficulty around Rover would certainly continue to increase. If his stake was only a level 5 upgrade card, it might still be useful, but compared to the other three stakes it was clearly much weaker.

More importantly, Rover still had Nanoe.

John recalled the eyes of that woman.

Gentle.

Alluring.

But clear-headed to a frightening degree.

She wouldn’t let Rover accept an unworthy deal. If John couldn’t offer something that Nanoe felt was worth enough, he wouldn’t even have the standing to formally place a bet.

John suddenly felt a little like laughing.

A Lamp-Bearer like himself, yet now wanting to bet on a Survivor still had to think of ways to satisfy the woman beside that Survivor.

But strangely, John didn’t feel humiliated.

On the contrary, he felt this was very reasonable.

Because in room 2705, Nanoe wasn’t only Rover’s woman.

She was the brain.

The softest yet most dangerous defensive line beside Rover.

If you wanted to approach Rover, you had to pass her gaze first.

John lowered his head to look at the lantern, thinking for a long time.

In the end, he smiled bitterly.

"Looks like the level 5 upgrade card truly isn’t enough."

Livia didn’t answer.

John continued: "I need to find something else. Something that not only makes Rover interested, but also makes that woman unable to refuse."

Livia looked at him.

"Do you have such a thing?"

John didn’t immediately answer.

He looked deep into the fog, his gaze for the first time showing a hint of hesitation.

"Perhaps."

"Perhaps?"

"There is one thing." John slowly said. "I originally didn’t want to take it out. Because once I give it to Rover, what happens afterward may go beyond all of our predictions."

Livia looked at him.

"What is it?"

John smiled, but without any joy.

"Something that a smart woman like Nanoe will certainly want."

Livia slightly narrowed her eyes.

John didn’t explain further.

He only raised his hand and lightly patted the lantern on his side. The pale yellow flame wavered slightly, then suddenly became deeper, as if something inside was being awakened.

The fog behind him slowly parted, opening a different pathway.

Not the path Rover had just left by.

But a direction that was deeper, colder, and darker.

John sighed.

"Hopefully that thing is worthy enough for me to wedge into the betting table of you lunatics."

Livia looked at him, her voice cold and indifferent:

"If it’s not enough, don’t bet."

John turned his head to look at her.

Livia continued: "That horse is already being stared at by far too many eyes. A weak stake will only make him die faster."

John was silent for a few seconds.

Then he burst out laughing.

"You really are as unpleasant to talk to as always."

"But correct."

"Mm." John nodded. "But correct."

He turned and walked into the fog pathway that had just opened.

His silhouette was gradually swallowed by the gray-white.

Livia stood still in the ring of light, watching John’s retreating figure. A moment later, she lowered her gaze to look at the pale green lantern in her hand.

The flame in the lantern burned quietly.

Not joyful.

Not sorrowful.

Like the eyes of the dead.

"Rover..."

Livia softly called that name.

"Don’t die too soon."

The fog closed.

Only she remained alone in the ring of light.

And in the deeper darkness beyond, countless eyes seemed to be slowly opening.