Wen Xiang Yuan added, "They don't seem to realize they're dead, and the adventure ended so abruptly."
Wen Xiang Yuan tapped the table, where a card had been placed.
【Congratulations to all explorers on completing the adventure. Please wait peacefully for the journey to end and return home with your companions.】
Nan Yue frowned as she held the card. "It's over?"
Wen Xiang Yuan nodded. "Yes. There are no other adventures listed on it, and we didn't lose anyone this time."
Nan Yue's gaze swept across the restaurant. It was true; every single scavenger had survived.
It seemed... too smooth.
"It makes sense. As long as you don't remind them of the fact that they're dead, they aren't really dangerous, despite their terrifying appearance."
"It was just a dance with the dead."
Gu Xiang Kai agreed with Wen Xiang Yuan's assessment. "While it's a bit surprising everyone survived, the difficulty of this mission wasn't high, as you said. The logic of the adventures has been consistent; as long as you stay calm, you can pass."
"Even the slowest person would have figured out the pattern after surviving so many previous adventures."
Nan Yue nodded and said nothing more.
Only... while the mission was simple, it was incredibly draining on a player's psychological value.
Could anyone truly remain calm when even basic rest couldn't be guaranteed?
"In any case, the adventure is over. Let's go back and rest."
Jiang Siyan could tell that Nan Yue wasn't as calm as she appeared. Given her strength, the fact that she was the last one out and in such a state was highly unusual.
People were starting to leave in succession. As the other scavengers departed, Zhu Xi Ning ran over.
"A-Nan, what took you so long? I was worried sick."
Zhu Xi Ning whispered, "I felt like those guests weren't an immediate threat, so I came out early."
Since her ability had upgraded, it was incredibly useful in situations requiring judgment like this.
However, because this mission used an independent mission mode, she hadn't been able to provide any support to the team.
"I'm fine. It was someone I knew from before, so we talked for a while."
Zhu Xi Ning let out a small "ah." Though they knew most of the people on the ship to some extent, their manners of death were gruesome and the smell was overpowering.
She couldn't believe Nan Yue had managed to talk with one for so long.
"Nan Yue, can you stay for a moment? I have something to tell you."
Zhu Xi Ning glanced at Nan Yue. Seeing her nod, she headed back first with Wen Xiang Yuan and Gu Xiang Kai.
Jiang Siyan gentlemanly took off his coat and draped it over Nan Yue's shoulders. The two of them stood on the deck, leaning against the railing as the wind blew past.
The lights in the restaurant flickered out one by one, and the small oil lamp at the bow was lit again. For a moment, the only sounds on the deck were the sea breeze and the crashing waves.
After standing in the wind for a while, Nan Yue felt much better.
"Thank you."
Jiang Siyan had noticed her emotional fluctuations and stayed behind intentionally.
He unbuttoned his cuffs and loosened his tie.
"It's fine. Observing your emotional fluctuations and inner thoughts was the reason I joined your team in the first place."
Nan Yue felt like she was one of Jiang Siyan's experimental subjects.
But strangely... she didn't really mind.
Perhaps it was because Jiang Siyan didn't look down on her from a position of superiority.
On the contrary, he felt more like someone trapped in the abyss, staring up with fixed intensity.
"Johnny told me he wanted to propose to Penny."
Nan Yue let out a long breath. "He was so happy that they were finally going home."
"But they don't know—or rather, they don't remember—that they... can never go home."
Nan Yue's voice was very low as she spoke the last sentence, but Jiang Siyan heard her.
He let out a sigh that was almost heavy.
He had always thought Nan Yue was extremely rational and calm, which was why she could maintain hope in such despair.
But he hadn't expected the opposite; she possessed a very sensitive and soft heart.
When they first started missions, scavengers would often empathize with the NPCs to some degree.
But over time, especially after escaping death several times, those feelings would vanish.
It was good enough just to not feel hostility toward NPCs; most people ended up like Jiang Siyan or Gu Xiang Kai, viewing them with indifference.
They accepted that they were just puppets in a twisted world, mere mission settings. They no longer empathized or lamented.
They focused all their attention on how to clear the stage.
But because Nan Yue was perhaps too exceptional and powerful, she had the surplus energy to experience the emotions of the NPCs.
This allowed her to feel a strong sense of empathy for the mission world.
Jiang Siyan had seen people like this before; their endings were rarely good.
"I don't really approve of using external forces to interfere with psychological value because it's easy to turn someone into a machine. However, I must remind you that you have to control these emotions."
"Some people have underestimated the potential for an NPC to kill them because of empathy, leading them to violate rules and lose their lives."
Jiang Siyan continued, "I'm not too worried about that given your strength, but if you empathize too much, it's easy to lose sight of your own identity."
"I just joined this team. You can't let me lose out on my investment."
Nan Yue smiled, feeling the heaviness in her heart lighten slightly.
There were some feelings she didn't want to share with the others—not because she didn't trust them, but because she didn't want them to worry.
But Jiang Siyan was powerful and a healing-type. Even if her emotions caused him some fluctuations, it wouldn't affect him much.
One could say that Jiang Siyan was exactly what Nan Yue needed: an emotional outlet.
The two took what they needed from each other, perfectly aware of the other's requirements, making the scene quite harmonious.
"Do you know of any scavengers who stayed in a mission world?"
Jiang Siyan thought for a moment. "Theoretically, it's impossible. Mission worlds are contaminated and distorted. We enter to perform a purification of that contamination. Once purified, the world should collapse and vanish."
"So there is no situation where a mission world continues to operate after we leave."
"You remember, don't you? They taught us at the academy that mission worlds are like mutated viruses. They might have been normal cells before, but once contaminated, they are beyond saving. All we can do is eliminate them."
"Some missions have rich world-building and logic chains, which can create the illusion that the world could function on its own without scavengers."
"But you should know that a real world shouldn't have ghosts, infinite loops, or mental pollution. The presence of these things proves the world isn't real."
"Even if someone did stay behind, they would only collapse along with the world."
"There has never been a case of a mission world appearing twice."
"Never."
Nan Yue remembered everything Jiang Siyan said; she just needed someone to remind her one more time.
"Yeah. It seems this mission really did affect my mental stability."
Rate on N.U.
