Chapter 108: Entrustment

"She was so strong; it’s unlikely she was killed by a beast," Lin Shuang analyzed.

Xi Yan circled around Luo Bai a few more times, but he did not touch her, nor did he discover anything else unusual upon inspection.

"Perhaps it was someone's power or a card. How could there be beasts in a place like this?" Xi Yan remarked.

"Let's set her aside for now. What should we do next? Are we supposed to just take over her position?" Lin Shuang crossed her arms, looking at Xi Yan, waiting for his answer.

"Let's keep walking around and see what we can find."

Lin Shuang nodded, and they walked side by side, wandering aimlessly through the Autumn Zone.

The Autumn Zone had no daylight; no matter how much time passed, it remained perpetual night, and the night was the most dangerous time of all.

Because there was only one massive swing in the area, the guides worked near the swing set.

Xi Yan and Lin Shuang arrived at the swing set and saw from a distance someone resting beneath it. It was the same person they had seen jumping off the swing earlier.

Xi Yan and Lin Shuang exchanged a look and walked toward the man.

Before they could even get close, the man noticed them and immediately stood up to greet them, a fawning smile plastered on his face.

His attire had changed; Xi Yan remembered that he had been wearing tattered clothes before, making him look like a desperate desperado. Now, he was dressed in a black robe, which looked somewhat similar to what the deceased Luo Bai had been wearing.

"Hi, you two big shots, over here!"

The man waved enthusiastically as he approached them. "You must be the newly appointed guides, right?"

"Who are you?" Xi Yan looked at him with a cold expression. He had no good impression of this man; if they hadn't seen him jump off the swing earlier, they wouldn't have participated in that swing event.

"The two of you might not be aware, but I am the lackey responsible for receiving the guides. From now on, I will be the one helping you two reach your quotas. Let me introduce myself—my name is Black-Clad."

Black-Clad bowed slightly, appearing very respectful, but Xi Yan couldn't stand his demeanor.

"Helping us with our work? How exactly?" Xi Yan asked coldly.

Black-Clad didn't mind Xi Yan’s attitude and continued to answer respectfully.

"You two just need to trick the players into using the swing, and then capture them. I will act as a shill to make it more convincing."

Hearing this, Lin Shuang flared up. She stepped forward and grabbed Black-Clad by the collar. "You mean when we saw you jump off the swing earlier, you were just acting as a shill for Luo Bai?"

Black-Clad kept his smirking expression, gently brushing Lin Shuang’s hand away. "That was just a quota requirement. Don't be angry, my lords; it's not worth ruining your health over."

"Are there no others besides us?" Xi Yan asked.

Black-Clad turned to look at Xi Yan, looking puzzled. "What do you mean by that, my lord?"

"I mean, are there no other guides besides the two of us? And is this swing in the Autumn Zone the only one in existence?" Xi Yan explained with great patience.

Upon hearing this question, Black-Clad paused, his expression suddenly turning very serious. "My lord, surely you aren't unaware of the rules here?"

"I am."

"Shh!! My lord, please don't say such things. You are the most indifferent person regarding the rules here that I have ever met."

Black-Clad held a finger to his lips and glanced around, as if afraid of something. He stepped closer and whispered to Xi Yan, "My lord, you must know the rules. Otherwise, you will die. There is little I can do for you other than help you meet your quotas, but as for the rules..."

He stopped there, not continuing, but Xi Yan understood his meaning.

He meant that if he didn't grasp the rules, he would die, yet he had to explore these rules himself. It seemed as though admitting he didn't know the rules was, in itself, a violation.

This swing zone was truly bizarre. It didn't look particularly dangerous on the surface, but it felt sinister in every detail.

"My lords, no players have arrived yet. You may wander around the Autumn Zone, but I hope you take your own lives seriously."

With that, Black-Clad retreated a few steps, merged into the darkness, and vanished before their eyes.

After he left, Lin Shuang moved a step closer to Xi Yan, glancing in the direction Black-Clad had gone. "This place seems tied to those rules. It seems we won't be able to leave until we resolve the issues here."

"Yes, I'm also concerned about those rules. Do you remember Luo Bai, who died earlier?" Xi Yan frowned, walking over to a roadside curb and sitting down.

Lin Shuang followed suit, sitting on a curb not far from him.

Though it was called the Autumn Zone, Lin Shuang felt it was more like a large garden; apart from the massive swing set, all they could see were flowers and grass.

"Was there something wrong with Luo Bai? Wasn't she killed by someone?" Lin Shuang asked.

"Perhaps she was killed by the rules."

"The rules? Killed her?" Lin Shuang was taken aback, not understanding Xi Yan's line of thought. She felt his train of thought was becoming increasingly strange, and she could no longer keep up.

"I’m not sure either; it’s just a hunch. Let's go. Since we have time to explore, let's do it thoroughly. We might even be able to find a way to leave."

Xi Yan stood up, brushed the dust off his pants, and started walking forward.

Lin Shuang hesitated for a moment, lost in thought, before following him.

They continued walking through the Autumn Zone. The path was lined with flowers and grass; they encountered no other strange buildings or people. It felt like nothing more than a large garden with a tall swing inside.

Following the path, they eventually returned to the spot where they had been tied up. This was the only open space in the garden.

Xi Yan stopped and stared blankly at the three pillars that had bound them.

He wondered: Why did A-Yuan suddenly feel unwell? This was the first time she had voluntarily asked to return to her card form. Before, no matter how he tried to persuade her, she had refused.

And then there was the irrationality of this "game."