Today, I Have Yet to Become a Doll

As before, despite everyone exiting together, she found herself alone.

Bai Youwei sat in her wheelchair, facing the familiar, boundless white fog, her heart calm.

After a short while, the system's voice echoed from the air:

"Congratulations, player, on clearing Maze Number 7."

"Now calculating rewards for this round of the game."

"As the third player to clear Maze Number 7, your ranking for this round is three. You will receive zero doll puzzle pieces."

What? Zero?

Bai Youwei frowned.

Just because she came out a bit faster, did they have to be so stingy with the rewards?

"Now upgrading player data… Ding, upgrade complete."

"Reward calculation complete. Please continue the game and strive to clear—"

The voice faded, and the white fog dispersed.

Shen Mo, Tan Xiao, Teacher Cheng, and Pan Xiaoxin all appeared beside her.

Everyone stared in shock at what was behind them.

The fog… had vanished.

The fog that had shrouded the city center was gone!

Pan Xiaoxin looked at the familiar streets and buildings, unable to believe his eyes. "It's Hangzhou… Hangzhou is back!"

He ran forward a few steps, stretching out his arms and waving them vigorously. There were no flesh masses, the blue sky was clear, the air was fresh, the buildings stood in neat rows, the street greenery was lush and verdant—everything, everything had returned!

Pan Xiaoxin looked excitedly at Shen Mo and Bai Youwei, his eyes filled with anticipation. "Does this mean that as long as we clear a maze, the maze will disappear?!"

Shen Mo and Bai Youwei exchanged glances, both feeling puzzled.

The last time they cleared Maze Number 2, the fog hadn't disappeared, and the maze was still there.

Why?

Tan Xiao scratched his head, looking at the clean streets, and muttered, "So strange, the fog is gone, and there are no rewards either."

"Didn't you receive any rewards?" Bai Youwei asked.

"I did, but I didn't get any puzzle pieces." Tan Xiao couldn't understand. "We got three last time."

Last time, Shen Mo, Bai Youwei, Tan Xiao, Zhang Tianyang, and Chen Hui each received one puzzle piece, for a total of five.

But this time…

"I… I have one here." Pan Xiaoxin opened his small palm, revealing a silver-gray puzzle piece.

"Only one?" Tan Xiao looked at Cheng Weicai. "Old Cheng, did you get a puzzle piece?"

Teacher Cheng shook his head. "No."

"Wow, this maze is so stingy this time." Tan Xiao was very disappointed. "We worked so hard to get out of the maze, and we only got one puzzle piece."

Shen Mo asked Pan Xiaoxin, "Do you remember what the system said during the reward calculation?"

Pan Xiaoxin thought for a moment, recalling slowly, "…The player is the third to clear Maze Number 7. This round's ranking is one. You will receive one doll puzzle piece. It was something like that."

Bai Youwei said, "Last time in Yangzhou, the system said it was the first clearance."

She emphasized the word "first."

Shen Mo pondered, "The first clearance rewarded five puzzle pieces, the third only one, and the maze disappeared… Reasoning this way, does it mean that a maze produces a limited number of puzzle pieces, and when the puzzle pieces are all used up, the maze will disappear as well?"

"It has to disappear," Bai Youwei continued. "The puzzle pieces are definitely not infinite. If there are no more puzzle pieces, and new players clear the maze next time, but can't get puzzle piece rewards, it would be very unfair to the entire game system."

Shen Mo looked at her thoughtfully. "How many puzzle pieces do you think a maze can produce at most?"

"Nine," Bai Youwei replied. "Five for the first clearance, three for the second, and one for the third."

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