Chapter 67: A young couple, looking out for each other, embark on a journey together in a world governed by rules...

Their numbers are now neither too many nor too few. They no longer have the anxiety and panic they had when waiting for Liang Jun and Gu Keke. Old Ren is now more curious and eager to watch the show.

He slowly moved back to the main group's position, redistributing the marked maps, his gaze lingering on the curtain that was about to be lifted.

"So, who do you think came out then?"

Luo Chuange took the map from Lao Ren, examined it carefully, folded it a few times, and stuffed it into his pocket.

"Probably just staff," he replied casually.

"They don't seem to be staff members..."

After several swaying motions, the swaying yellow cherry was finally pried open, revealing a complete slit.

Gu Keke tilted her head, catching a glimpse of blond hair peeking out from behind the curtain, and asked with a puzzled expression, "Do the staff dye their hair?"

As soon as she finished asking in a low voice, the three people who had been sitting silently in the front row suddenly stood up and rushed to the door curtain.

She was a girl who looked to be only about twenty years old, with waist-length golden hair draped behind her head.

Her sleeve appeared to have been cut in half, and a shocking, pale pink scar snaked along the inside of her fair arm. Growing granulation tissue, rapidly forming during the healing process, clung to the scar like numerous flesh-sucking worms.

The girl seemed surprised by the three men's arrival; the moment their eyes met, her eyes filled with light.

What are you doing here?!

Shao Feng reacted the most intensely. He almost jogged forward and, without saying a word, hugged the girl tightly.

With a slightly surprised look on the girl's face, he buried his head deep in the crook of her neck, trembling all over, as if he were crying very sadly.

"I'm sorry... I'm so sorry... It's my fault that you've suffered so much..."

Perhaps noticing the dampness around her collarbone, the girl instinctively shrank back, wrapped her arms around Shao Feng, and patted his back reassuringly.

“It’s alright,” she comforted softly. “It was an accident, it has nothing to do with you. Look, I’m perfectly fine now.”

This scene was witnessed by the six people sitting in the central hall.

Qi Zhixia suddenly felt gossipy and moved closer to Liang Xun and Gu Keke. "What's the relationship between Shao Feng and that girl? Are they siblings?"

Liang Jun also turned slightly to the side, "If they're siblings... they don't even look alike..."

Old Ren heard the noise from somewhere and poked his head out from above the group.

"Can't you see that? You're still just naive kids..."

Old Ren, with a mysterious air, narrowed his eyes and said, "I suspect there's more to this than meets the eye..."

Luo Chuange hadn't originally intended to get involved in the conversation, but upon hearing what Lao Ren said, he couldn't help but chime in.

"You understand now."

On the other side, Jiang Chunhua couldn't bear to watch Shao Feng crying anymore, so she pulled him away from the girl's embrace, her tone filled with impatience.

"Alright, stop bothering Ling'er."

Just as the girl's arms were freed from holding Shao Feng, Jiang Chunhua grabbed them again.

Compared to her previous sour face towards Shao Feng, Jiang Chunhua's attitude changed completely. Her face was full of smiles, and her eyes revealed concern that was almost overflowing.

"Ling'er, are you really alright?"

The rugged scar on the girl's arm was so conspicuous that Jiang Chunhua's gaze inevitably fell on it, and the heartache in her eyes deepened.

"I'm really fine, don't worry!"

She smiled and shook her head at Jiang Chunhua, her long golden hair spreading out behind her as she moved.

The girl had naturally smiling eyes; even when she wasn't speaking, her eyes radiated a charming smile.

It was as if the hardships of fate had never left a mark on her.

Jiang Chunhua seemed to have a close relationship with her; the two walked hand in hand back to the bench area.

Shao Feng followed behind them sheepishly. Several times, he tried to tentatively hold the girl's hand, but each time Jiang Chunhua stopped him with a glance, and all his attempts ended in failure.

Tang Cailei's behavior was as expected. He seemed unfamiliar with everyone in the team; aside from quickening his pace a few steps when greeting the girl, he remained indifferent.

At that moment, he walked at the back of the line, ignoring the stares of others, and slowly sat back down in his original spot.

As she got closer, Gu Keke noticed that the scars on the girl's arm were even more gruesome.

A pinkish-red scar ran straight from the wrist to the elbow joint.

Gu Keke subconsciously looked down.

In that car accident, broken parts of the bumper car pierced her unprotected chest and abdomen. But now, that once extremely bloody hole has healed to the smoothness of normal skin.

Even with his own severe injuries, he could recover to almost perfect condition in the game; but the scars on the girl's arm were as clearly visible as brand marks—

Gu Keke didn't dare to think about the miserable state she was in back then.

She shook her head with heartache and moved closer to Liang Jun and Qi Zhixia. Just before whispering in their ears, Gu Keke's gaze was still fixed on that terrifying serpent.

"Do you think she was in a lot of pain when she got injured?" Gu Keke felt a pang of sympathy. "Will scars of this severity never be completely removed once she returns to reality?"

Qi Zhixia glanced at it as well and sighed softly.

"Perhaps, but this is ultimately a private matter for their team, so let's not discuss it too much."

When she looked up, she caught a glimpse of Shao Feng's profile. His thick glasses were covered in dried tear stains. Shao Feng stood silently beside the blonde girl, and no matter how much Jiang Chunhua complained, he held her hands tightly, as if he had just escaped a disaster.

Jiang Chunhua stayed close to the girl, offering words of comfort and concern. She carefully blew on the girl's already healed scars, hoping that this would alleviate the pain the girl had endured.

For some reason, seeing this scene made Qi Zhixia feel a little bittersweet.

Her voice was unusually hoarse, "Perhaps their journey hasn't been smooth either. Putting ourselves in their shoes, if someone came to us asking about the details of your and Sister Jun's injuries, we would definitely be annoyed."

Gu Keke naturally understood this principle.

She nodded vigorously, and after saying "I know" many times, she casually pulled her clothes up to her chest.

Just as the topic was about to be turned over, Jiang Chunhua, who had been active in the front row, suddenly turned to face the crowd after whispering to the girl next to her for a few moments.

This startled Gu Keke, who was holding her breath in fear that she was about to be caught talking in the act.

After offering a polite smile, Jiang Chunhua began, "Excuse me, let me introduce you—this is my younger sister, Jiang Zhiling. Before entering the rule-based world, she was a junior in college."

After confirming that they weren't there to interrogate her, Gu Keke finally breathed a sigh of relief.

Liang Jun and Qi Zhixia both looked at each other simultaneously, while Luo Chuange crossed his arms warily.

They had no idea what Jiang Chunhua was really up to.

Perhaps sensing that the transition to the topic was a bit abrupt, Jiang Chunhua's smile took on a hint of embarrassment.

She reached out and gently nudged Jiang Zhiling, as if to remind her of something.

Although Jiang Zhiling was completely bewildered, she still obeyed Jiang Chunhua's instructions and looked at the people in the back row with a smile.

"Hello, my name is Jiang Zhiling, it's nice to meet you."

Liang Jun had a very good first impression of Jiang Zhiling. So, even though she didn't understand Jiang Chunhua's motives, she still politely returned a very friendly smile to her.

"Hello, I am Liang Yan."

Old Ren's gaze never stopped as he watched the drama unfold, his eyes constantly shifting between Jiang Zhiling and Shao Feng.

It seemed that the other person's gaze was too intense, and Jiang Zhiling naturally noticed this as well.

She openly took Shao Feng's hand, who was sitting next to her, and the scar on her right arm was exposed to everyone. Jiang Zhiling did not try to hide it at all.

"Let me introduce you all. This is my boyfriend, Shao Feng."

Shao Feng seemed quite introverted. He didn't complain at all when Jiang Zhiling forced him to stand up and introduce himself. Perhaps because of the term "boyfriend," Shao Feng even lowered his head shyly.

His almost familiar voice came from under the brown mushroom-shaped haircut, "Hello..."

So that's the relationship!

Gu Keke and Liang Jun both clearly had expressions of "having heard the juicy gossip"; Qi Zhixia's lips also unusually curled into a maternal smile; Luo Chuange's arms remained crossed, but his eyes held a more benevolent smile—

Who wouldn't love a story about a young couple navigating a rule-based world together?!

Seeing that the two had become friends who could call each other by name, Jiang Zhiling nodded in greeting and then wanted to sit down with Shao Feng.

Unexpectedly, Jiang Chunhua stopped her from holding Shao Feng's hand.

Under Jiang Zhiling's questioning gaze, Jiang Chunhua seized the opportunity to grab her hand. However, Jiang Chunhua didn't seem to want to pay attention to her sister, instead focusing all her attention on Liang Jun and the others.

"Perhaps I'm being a bit abrupt in saying this."

The familiar opening sequence.

Although Jiang Chunhua hesitated slightly, her words came out as if she had prepared them in advance, without any hesitation or ambiguity.

"Actually, I wanted to ask, what are your plans for the future?"

This is indeed a bit abrupt.

Liang Jun's expression turned somber and unclear.

She seemed to gradually understand what Jiang Chunhua was doing all this for.

Sharing your strategy in other instances would undoubtedly expose your secrets to others, unnecessarily increasing the difficulty of the game.

However, this is not the case in the "Innocent Amusement Park" level.

To complete the game's mission, players need to climb to the top of the mountain according to the system's instructions.

So there's no point in hiding their next plan—because every player is the same—it's to continue climbing the mountain.

"Our plan is simple. After a short rest here, we'll continue up the mountain the next day to find suitable activities."

Leung Yung told the truth.

She could tell that Jiang Chunhua was someone who habitually pretended to be ignorant when she knew the truth. Given how cunning the other person was, she was sure he could keep the conversation going, thus paving the way for her true purpose.

As expected, Jiang Chunhua's smile widened after hearing Liang Jun's answer.

"What a coincidence, this is really too much of a coincidence."

She tried to strike up a conversation, tentatively saying, "That's exactly what we were thinking too. You see, our two teams are so destined to meet, so..."

Liang Jun looked up. "So?"

Jiang Chunhua feigned hesitation.

"So, since our plans are the same, why don't we merge the two teams into one? That way, we can help each other in the future projects and have someone to look out for us."

Jiang Zhiling seemed surprised that she would make such a request, and a hint of confusion appeared in her smiling eyes.

"Sis! What are you doing!"

Jiang Chunhua brushed her aside, saying, "Don't meddle in other people's business."

Then, she put on that smiling mask again and subconsciously rubbed her hands together.

What do you think?

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Author's note: My food delivery is 45 minutes late and still hasn't arrived...

I'm sorry, you little bird-like stomach, you've suffered because of me...