Inside the dungeon.
The ground was a mix of uneven, hard-packed earth and shattered stone slabs, with dark, unidentifiable grime piled in the cracks.
Most of the barred gates stood wide open, the iron chains hanging from them dangling limply on the floor.
Silence was amplified here. Xu Xi could even clearly hear the sound of his own breathing.
But none of that was the main point.
The main point was, where were the clues?
He felt a bit bewildered as he surveyed the abandoned prison before him once more.
Still nothing.
That shouldn't be the case.
How could a place so heavily guarded by those blue monsters have no clues at all?
Refusing to give up, Xu Xi began wandering around inside the dungeon.
About ten minutes later, he finally found something abnormal in one of the cells.
"A hidden underground passage...?"
Xu Xi stared thoughtfully at the stone slab that appeared quite smooth on the surface.
Regardless of how this passage came to be, at the very least, he didn't believe this hidden tunnel was meant for escape.
A small island surrounded by the sea and cut off from the world—how would one escape? Swim into the ocean?
It was worth noting that he sensed a familiar chill around this stone slab.
A vague guess suddenly formed in his mind.
Just as Xu Xi was about to lift the slab and go down to verify his idea, the previously vanished blue monster reappeared.
This time, there was only one.
It stood in front of the stone slab, clearly refusing to let Xu Xi get closer.
Seeing this, Xu Xi understood: the tour ended here.
Fine.
Under the watchful eye of that blue monster, Xu Xi left the dungeon and retraced his steps back.
The Hua Nation production team, along with all the global netizens in the God Hunt live stream, were certain that beneath that stone slab lay crucial clues vital to the entire instance.
Hua Nation netizens felt it was a pity the young man couldn't get in, while netizens from other participating countries were relieved, hoping their own contestants could find the spot quickly and obtain the clues.
*
In the monitoring room.
The slovenly man stared intently at the screen. Only when the figure of the East Asian young man in the footage finally returned to his room and closed the door did the tension in his shoulders relax almost imperceptibly. He slowly released his finger, which had been hovering over the all-camp broadcast button the entire time.
He leaned back in his chair and rubbed his face vigorously.
The slovenly man truly hadn't expected that among this batch of contestants, there would be one with such a strong desire for exploration.
Not sleeping in the middle of the night, wandering around the camp like that.
If the guy had lingered a few more minutes, he would have been unable to resist using the broadcast to force him back to rest.
A few staff members on duty nearby whispered quietly among themselves.
"Hey, did he just say something to the air earlier?"
"Seems like it. It was as if there was something opposite him."
Hearing this, the slovenly man's brow furrowed slightly, but after a moment, it smoothed out again.
Perhaps that East Asian young man could bring him some different kind of viewership?
*
Xu Xi randomly chose a single room that looked barely acceptable.
He didn't care if the bed board was dirty or not. He closed his eyes and lay down on it.
After all, he had slept on stone steps in the space. Why bother about this or that? Having a place to sleep was good enough, not to mention the sheets had already been changed by the instance's staff.
Actually, Xu Xi was feeling a bit mentally exhausted at the moment.
His physical functions could remain at their peak inside the space, but that wasn't possible within the instance.
Wandering around the camp for over half an hour had genuinely tired him out.
Just as he was about to take a light nap, he suddenly remembered something.
The mixed-team competition... there should be a lot of netizens watching, right?
Hiss—
The previously drowsy Xu Xi instantly became wide awake.
How many people would be watching? Were there foreigners watching him? He hadn't done anything out of line, had he?
After seriously recalling for a good while, Xu Xi felt reassured and continued sleeping.
He almost forgot. Since he reloaded, even if he had done something, others wouldn't remember.
In the past, he might have nervously paid attention to his appearance and demeanor.
Now? Reload.
He didn't know that his manner of lying down and sleeping whenever he felt like it, showing not the slightest worry about being ambushed, once again sparked intense discussion in the live stream.
Especially with the strong contrast provided by the other ten players.
The vast majority of netizens who didn't know much about this Hua Nation contestant were very puzzled. Was his heart really that big??
*
First floor, front hall.
The ten players gathered around the dining table.
"One is missing," Daisy remarked casually, leaning back in her chair, twirling a strand of her red curly hair around her finger as she glanced around at everyone.
Buriman, with his brown hair and blue eyes, looked at the empty seat and said in a tone laced with unclear meaning, "That player who seems to be from Hua Nation? Perhaps he didn't sleep well last night and woke up late."
Saha, whose dark skin stood out the most, curled his lip.
Who would actually sleep in an instance, let alone sleep in? Anyone daring to do that must have a death wish.
He's probably already dead.
He asked directly, "Who saw him last last night? Does anyone know which room he was in?"
Everyone exchanged glances, and the already delicate atmosphere grew even more tense.
A flicker passed through Winifred's eyes.
Barring any accidents, he should have been the last person to see the guy last night.
The young man had turned and left after seeing the short-haired woman attacked, and his whereabouts were unknown.
But he didn't speak up, just listened quietly from the sidelines.
Polina meticulously wiped her short dagger. Without looking up, she said calmly, "I didn't hear any unusual commotion last night."
The implication was that there hadn't even been any death throes or screams, which was unusual.
In fact, she suspected that Hua Nation player had encountered a similar attack, but the fact that he hadn't made a single sound was truly puzzling.
Dana lowered her head, silently chewing on the bread in her hand.
Her thoughts were similar to Polina's.
Just then, unhurried footsteps sounded from around the corner.
Tap. Tap. Tap.
The rhythm was steady, even carrying a hint of looseness.
Everyone instantly stopped moving. Their gazes swiveled toward that corner in unison, and some had already prepared for combat.
The footsteps drew nearer. A tall, slender figure emerged from the shadows at a measured pace.
The first thing that came into view was a pair of sneakers dusted with a bit of dirt, then long, blue wide-leg pants, and finally, the young man's expressionless face, which even held a trace of lingering morning drowsiness.
As he descended the stairs, he casually raised a hand to sweep his slightly long bangs back, revealing a smooth forehead.
Xu Xi hadn't expected to sleep so exceptionally well. Only after waking up did he realize he seemed to have overslept.
However, he hadn't heard the production team's broadcast start yet, so it wasn't exactly sleeping in.
But when he arrived at the front hall for breakfast and looked up to meet ten pairs of varied eyes, his steps immediately halted.
"..." Xu Xi's gaze swept over the sole empty chair.
Alright, he was the last one.
After a moment of silence, Xu Xi nodded to the group. "Morning."
Then, under their silent stares, he walked straight to the empty seat and sat down.
