Thick fog still hung over the convenience store, the glass windows obscuring the monster's roars and the stench of blood, as if everything that had happened was nothing but their imagination. But the physical and psychological changes did not lie.

The remaining four people had already woken up. It has to be said that arriving at the so-called rest stop was a relief for everyone. Instinct told them that this place was safe and friendly.

Sun Han, whom they hadn't seen in a long time, was also in the store. He walked straight to Du Jun's side, greeted him, and chatted quietly. Wu Qian leaned against the shelf, her face ashen, her emotions unreadable. The other two men with buzz cuts were unfamiliar faces; they weren't the other participants stranded on the island with them. However, they seemed to know Sun Han, and they helped each other to the cashier.

Only Liu Juan remained trapped in a nightmare, crying incessantly. The little girl, having regained her strength, ran towards her and shook her vigorously. Seeing that Liu Juan's eyelids trembled and she had woken up, the girl quickly handed her a chocolate and whispered, "Sister Liu Juan, eat this and you'll be alright!"

Liu Juan opened her mouth blankly, looking dazed, like a human puppet.

Cheng Shuang breathed a sigh of relief; as long as they know how to eat, that's fine.

The chocolate melted in her mouth, and perhaps it had an effect. Liu Juan, whose eyes had been dull, suddenly stood up, hugged the little girl tightly, and burst into tears.

She killed someone, she killed Brother Ma, why is she still alive! How can she be alive!

The little girl's hands were warm, gently patting her back, silently comforting her.

Sun Han walked over, chewing on chocolate. "It's good that you can cry! Things like this will happen again. Death isn't necessarily a bad thing, and living isn't necessarily a blessing!"

Sun Han's words were realistic and cold. Although he also felt sorry for Ma Guoxu, who had upright values ​​and was in his prime, he would have been a good companion if he had survived. However, such people were not uncommon in the so-called game before, and many of them died.

Fortunately, Liu Juan wasn't someone who couldn't accept reality. She was simply overwhelmed by the fact that she had killed someone with her own hands and that her companion had died as a result. She cried a few times, but eventually calmed down. She understood all the道理 (principles/reasons), but the guilt and self-blame were hard to describe in words. Now, the chocolate had swept away her mental weariness, but the psychological shadow would require her to slowly adjust herself.

Because they weren't familiar with the place, the other two men didn't come over. They took the chocolate directly, then rummaged through their previously empty pockets to find their phones to scan the code and pay, slowly enjoying their first delicious meal after escaping death.

After Du Jun finished his hamburger, he was about to find a trash can to throw away the packaging when he saw Cheng Shuang's eyes follow a certain spot. She opened her small, rosy lips, hesitated for a moment, and then said firmly, "Sister Wu Qian, we need to scan the code to pay."

The woman standing in front of the shelf stiffened, and a contemptuous laugh echoed in the quiet space. Without hesitation, she broke open a chocolate, popped it into her mouth, and turned to stare coldly at Cheng Shuang as she chewed, like a venomous snake.

Her voice was unusually hoarse, her spirits were low, but her eyes gleamed with a strange light. "What time is it? Do your old moral standards still apply? Scan a QR code? How am I supposed to scan it!" Her phone had been smashed to pieces in the car accident, and now her boyfriend was gone. Now she could only protect herself. Ha, what right did these people have to discipline her!

Du Jun frowned. "You've never followed the rules before!" Now you've just torn off that disguise. He remembered that when he was in the car accident, before his consciousness completely disappeared, someone shouted that the driver had been drinking, and the driver who came to pick up Wu Qian was her boyfriend.

Irresponsible drunk driving, a girlfriend who turned a blind eye, and a couple who endangered someone's life have never uttered a word of remorse. Du Jun doesn't think such people deserve any sympathy.

Wu Qian didn't care at all. She took a big bite of the chocolate and mocked herself with self-deprecating laughter, "Whoever is alive has the right to speak!" She pointed to a white paper notice at the entrance of the convenience store, which read in large characters—

Important Notes: Fighting is prohibited inside the store, and malicious damage or waste of merchandise is forbidden. If any such behavior is discovered, the store manager may expel the offender.

"See? I didn't say anything about scanning a QR code, why are you making such a fuss!"

"Sister Wu Qian, be careful!"

"Ha!" Wu Qian sneered, casually tossing the chocolate wrapper on the ground. "If you're so capable, find the stationmaster and get rid of me!"

She was never a kind person to begin with, and now that she was provoked, she began to vent her anger like a madwoman. Because the rules stated that physical attacks between them were not allowed, she became completely unrestrained and her words were extremely vicious.

"I have to say, everyone here is trash, you all deserve to die!" she roared angrily at everyone. "If you weren't so selfish, my boyfriend wouldn't have gotten into this mess!"

Cheng Shuang kept her mouth shut. She knew Wu Qian was wrong, but she was too young to know how to refute her.

Du Jun raised a brow with his peach blossom eyes, ruthlessly puncturing her baseless anger, "If you're not selfish, why didn't you refuse when your boyfriend offered you his car, but instead pushed him away?"

Wu Qian's face immediately turned ashen. She hadn't expected anyone to notice such a small detail. Under everyone's strange gazes, she angrily shouted, "I didn't do it on purpose! I was just racing against time!"

Her angry gaze swept over everyone, as if searching for companions who agreed with her. Unfortunately, she even looked away from Liu Juan, who had a gentle nature.

She bit her lip, feeling wronged and pained, and ran to the checkout counter. She grabbed a bottle of expensive liquor from the back shelf, uncapped it, and gulped it down. Fueled by the alcohol, she laughed loudly, "Anyway, I survived! I survived! Out of so many people, I'm the only one who survived!" She cried and knelt behind the checkout counter, occasionally taking a sip of liquor, but more spilled from the bottle onto the floor.

Caught between a mix of relief and confusion, Wu Qian failed to notice that the notices at the door were being amended word by word—

If a person repeats the offense after being warned, they will be forcibly expelled and will not be able to enjoy all the benefits of the rest stop.

Clang! There was no one behind the cashier; only the sound of a bottle hitting the ground could be heard.

Wu Qian has disappeared!

The group was shocked and searched the entire store relentlessly. Cheng Shuang hesitated for a moment, then walked to the automatic door. The door, which was usually very sensitive, did not open at all.

"Look here!" Sun Han's voice came from behind the cashier. Next to the wine rack was the employee attendance machine, which displayed the names, photos, and shift records of the current employees.

At this moment, the photo above was obviously replaced with the seven people present, but Wu Qian's headshot was slowly changing from color to black and white—burning to ash from the bottom in an instant, and soon disappearing without a trace, just like its owner.

"Is she dead?" the two strangers asked in unison. The names on the photos were Du Lanshan and Du Lushui, suggesting they were brothers.

Du Lanshan is burly with a flat-topped head and narrow eyes, making him look intimidating. Du Lushui has a refined demeanor and a slightly weaker build, but she is still over 1.8 meters tall.

The two of them looked at Cheng Shuang with questioning eyes.