The boy shook his head.

Cheng Shuang was somewhat disappointed, yet relieved. She wasn't too worried about her parents; the sensitive and sensible child had already sensed the change in her life, which was largely related to her resurrection.

"Brother!" She hesitated for a moment, then finally stammered, "You...you weren't...in a car accident in front of the convenience store?"

The boy's pupils suddenly contracted, and his handsome lips pressed into a straight line.

He nodded silently.

Cheng Shuang remained silent, remembering how she had fallen ill. She had witnessed a familiar person being smashed to pieces by an out-of-control vehicle, a devastating blow to her fragile heart.

If I had taken the medicine in time, there wouldn't have been any major problems, but unfortunately, my hand trembled and I dropped the medicine bottle on the ground...

Hearing the two talking, Liu Juan sighed. She had also had an accident; when she opened her eyes, the world around her was filled with thick fog. "Don't think about it. Life and death are predestined. Many things are beyond human control." Although she was not very brave, she had more social experience than the two children and could see the worry on the little girl's brow at a glance.

Completely bewildered, Cheng Shuang nodded obediently. To change her mood, she tried hard to recall what the quiet and reserved young man's name was.

It seems so...

"Brother Du Jun, I remember now!"

The girl's crisp voice was filled with a natural sweetness. The boy, who had a somewhat mixed-race appearance, was taken aback, then politely nodded to her, showing no anger at all that she had forgotten his name.

His eyes were deep and calm, adding an air of maturity to his presence. The dozen or so adults present were far less composed than him, as if he could solve even the biggest problems with ease.

Cheng Shuang clenched her little fists to encourage herself, determined to learn from Brother Du Jun and not to panic in anything. As she thought this, she noticed the boy slowly walking towards her.

He stretched out his fair fingers and gently touched the space above the track dividers, trying to find out if there were any invisible barriers between the tracks to prevent participants from wandering around and disrupting their assigned positions.

The little girl immediately whispered a reminder, "Brother Du Jun, be careful!" Before she could finish speaking, she noticed that the little brother's fingertips were wrapped in a thin strip of white cloth, and he was safely suspended in mid-air.

As he moved his finger, the air was filled with a subtle mist that changed like flowing water.

"A wall shrouded in mist." Just as he expected.

The fog, which should have provided no resistance, acted like an invisible wall, completely isolating everyone and leaving them as isolated individuals, helpless and alone. That's why, even now, the woman's screams for help can still be heard on the nineteenth track.

Unlike the others, her field of vision was filled with thick fog; she couldn't get out, she couldn't escape, and her panic was several times greater than that of the people on the track. Unless she could control her emotions, no one could help her.

At first, Liu Juan kindly called out a few times, trying to comfort the other woman with words, but perhaps because of the distance, the woman completely ignored other sounds and only focused on venting her cries.

The fog in the distance dissipated in an instant, and the previously deserted lanes 18 and 20 disappeared. Lane 19 was right next to lane 17, and the number changed to 18 in full view of everyone. However, the woman on the track did not notice this. She sat on the ground with her arms around her head and kept sobbing.

The track was empty in front of us, with invisible walls blocking our way on both sides. We could see the tense faces of the anxious people beside us. Eighteen tracks, eighteen people in total, less than half the number of people in the town in just a short while.

The dozen or so people standing alone seemed especially vulnerable and helpless in this overly empty space.

'Ding!'

"Break time is over. The Nintendo Pass qualifying race is about to begin. Every participant who successfully logs into the track will receive a free gift. We wish you all the best in winning even more rewards in the upcoming mini-games."

With a "ding," the event ended, and someone had an extra item in front of them.

The little girl immediately exclaimed with delight, squatted down to hug her lost and found teddy bear, and affectionately nuzzled noses with it, her uneasy heart finding some comfort.

Liu Juan, standing next to her, picked up a carrot-shaped thermos about half an arm's length long with a strange expression. She hugged the thermos with a look of bewildered amusement. As for Du Jun... the refined young man's prize was a ball of pink yarn.

As expected, you get what you pay for; most freebies are weird!

Under Liu Juan's envious and jealous gaze, the little girl silently hugged her teddy bear, her pretty face revealing a childish willfulness for the first time, and turned her head away, ignoring her.

Then, as if feeling guilty, she secretly glanced at the older girl next to her and comforted her, "Take your reward carefully. Carrots are super healthy, and there might be a surprise!"

Liu Juan smiled helplessly. She wasn't actually envious of the teddy bear; she clearly regretted being unarmed before entering the game. If she could get whatever she brought in, like Cheng Shuang, she would wish she had a broadsword in her left hand, a firearm in her right, a bow and arrow on her shoulder, and a short blade at her waist.

This is no ordinary game; it's a deadly trap. Even a young girl knows the importance of suddenly given out freebies and prizes, so the other two are even less likely to think they're useless and choose to give them up.

The other participants received a variety of gifts, including a life-sized wooden statue, a pair of chopsticks, and a suitcase. The two men on tracks four and eleven complained that the prizes took up too much space and were inconvenient. After looking at them and finding they had no other effect, they tossed them aside.

Cheng Shuang didn't lower her voice, so the man on track four naturally heard her. Perhaps because the gift was too cheap, he was in a bad mood and lashed out, "What does a little brat know! Don't spread rumors. A child and a woman are the most useless!"

Du Jun turned his head and gave the man a cold glance. Then he looked down at the ground with a heavy gaze. He seemed to hesitate for a few seconds before finally bending down and holding the ball of yarn in his hand.

The boy's behavior clearly displeased the man on track four. Fortunately, considering the unknown consequences, he merely gave Du Jun a disdainful sneer and muttered "coward" under his breath.

All three of them, including Cheng Shuang, seemed completely indifferent to someone who couldn't control their emotions.

The little girl's reminder was well-intentioned; whether or not one accepts it is a personal choice and has nothing to do with anyone else.

'Ding! The countdown to the competition has begun! Three, two, one! Ding!'

The timing was quite short, catching everyone off guard, leaving them standing there dumbfounded and at a loss for what to do.

Soon, Cheng Shuang felt a chill run down her spine. Her keen intuition, honed from her repeated escapes from death in the apocalypse, told her that she couldn't stay in one place for long. Just like before, even if things were calm for the time being, if she stayed put, an unexpected event would inevitably come knocking.

The little girl instinctively held the teddy bear to her chest and started running along the track.

Without hesitation, the people on both sides also rushed off.

Humans have a herd mentality; when someone leads the way, others start running forward, even if they don't know if the decision is right.

Suddenly, a piercing scream rang out.

Cheng Shuang was startled and couldn't help but turn around to look out of curiosity.