Begonia

"Ah!"

The Acrobat screamed as she found herself plummeting through the air the moment she returned to reality from the Supernatural Game.

She hurriedly adjusted her body, twisting her muscles and bones in a way that defied common logic.

After several mid-air rotations, she landed safely and steadily.

She didn't forget to strike a pose—arms wide open, facing her "audience" with the standard smile of a performer concluding a show.

An occupational hazard: performing anywhere, anytime.

She quickly snapped out of it and wiped the smile from her face.

Looking around, her expression turned to one of shock.

She remembered being in a hotel somewhere in Fluorite Valley before entering the game.

Why was everything in ruins now?

Did the game fail to return her to her original location?

Or had something happened in Fluorite Valley?

The Acrobat thought of that dangerous man—Yue Shi!

Could it be...

"This is no place to linger."

Her heart raced, and she wanted to leave immediately.

As she turned, she found herself staring directly into the eyes of a pitch-black raven on the ground.

One person, one bird, staring at each other.

I'm dead. The thought flashed through her mind.

Sure enough, a voice came from behind her a second later.

"You're finally back."

The Acrobat turned to see Yue Shi looking at her with a grin.

Her scalp tingled, but she forced herself to muster a smile.

"Hello there, Mr. Yue Shi."

Yue Shi nodded. It was worth returning to Fluorite Valley after his slaughter in Yujing.

"I saved you before. You haven't repaid me yet."

The Acrobat's smile was strained. "You're still as... direct as ever."

Yue Shi tilted his chin slightly. "I'm not the type of person to do favors without expecting a return."

Those noble virtues had nothing to do with him.

Anyone he helped had to drop some loot eventually.

"What do you want me to do?"

The Acrobat didn't want to waste time and got straight to the point.

Yue Shi started walking away. "We'll talk as we walk."

"First, tell me about that Supernatural Game of yours."

The Acrobat followed behind him and gave a brief account of her experience.

She had suddenly lost consciousness and woken up in a mountain villa.

Including her, there were eight other Players.

There was a note on a table with the mission requirements.

They were trapped in the villa and had to survive a game of hide-and-seek with a ghost.

Yue Shi didn't want to hear the fluff; he was more interested in the forbidden zones.

But the Acrobat said it was her first time in the game, and she was restricted to a specific area, so she couldn't investigate anything outside.

They walked and talked at a brisk pace.

As they moved, the Acrobat suddenly felt something was off.

She scanned her surroundings sensitively and then looked up at the sky.

"Why do I feel like a lot of people are watching us?"

Of course they were.

Yue Shi was now a super fugitive.

Unfortunately, the Acrobat had no idea what Yue Shi had been up to lately.

Otherwise, she certainly wouldn't be walking with him so openly.

"Probably just your imagination," Yue Shi said dismissively.

"Does your organization, the Circus, have any intel on Boss Pi?"

"Boss Pi? I've only heard of the name; I've never actually met him."

"I can ask the Troupe Leader when I get back. He's very knowledgeable," the Acrobat offered.

She looked Yue Shi up and down. "Why are you looking for Boss Pi?"

"A bit of a personal grudge."

"Oh."

The atmosphere fell silent. After a while, the Acrobat struck up a conversation.

"Have you seen a supernatural object shaped like a hairpin? It has a begonia flower on it."

"Is that thing in your hands?"

Yue Shi nodded. "It is."

The Acrobat looked like she wanted to say something but hesitated.

Yue Shi gave her a casual glance.

Startled, she immediately explained, "Don't misunderstand."

"I'm just saying, the Beast Tamer stole that from the Troupe Leader."

"Oh? So what? It's my trophy now."

Yue Shi was perfectly righteous about it.

The Acrobat gave a conciliatory smile. "I didn't mean anything by it. I'm just telling you where it came from."

"The hairpin originated from a forbidden zone called the Land of Equality."

"Anything connected to a forbidden zone might have unknown hidden dangers. You'd better be careful when using it."

"Another forbidden zone?" Yue Shi raised an eyebrow.

"The Land of Equality. How much do you know about it?"

The Acrobat shook her head. "Intel on forbidden zones is classified. I don't know much."

"I've only heard that the Land of Equality is considered a relatively mild forbidden zone. Its rule characteristic is absolute equality between men and women."

"Ordinary humans can apparently survive there, but they have to pay a massive price."

"Regardless of gender, once you enter the Land of Equality, your gender is immediately stripped away, erasing all physiological differences between male and female."

"Height, looks, skin color, voice—everything gradually changes toward a certain average value."

"Even personality, IQ, talent, and so on are forcibly adjusted to that average."

"All 'differences' are erased to achieve equality in the truest sense."

"Holy crap," Yue Shi said, somewhat surprised.

Truly a forbidden zone—each one was weirder than the last.

The Acrobat continued, "The begonia is the signature symbol of the Land of Equality."

"Whether it's a person, a supernatural object, or a creature, if it features begonia elements and targets things below the belt, it's basically related to the Land of Equality."

"It's supposed to be about equality, yet it insists on obsessing over what's in people's pants. I really don't get it..."

Hearing this, a face involuntarily surfaced in Yue Shi's mind.

A former colleague with white-streaked bangs and a bit of a rogue attitude.

"What are you thinking about?" the Acrobat asked.

"I have a friend who was thirsty and... well, loose-ended..."

Yue Shi blurted it out instinctively but shut his mouth before he could finish.

Certain mental contaminations were surging up from the depths of his memory again.

"Double-ended," "Being a man or a woman is equally exciting," "Begonia Alley"...

Crap, shut your brain down!

God, I can't think about this anymore.

Yue Shi shuddered, his skin crawling with goosebumps.

"Wait!" The Acrobat suddenly stopped.

She looked up at the sky again, then scanned their surroundings. Her face gradually grew solemn.

"It really feels like there are many people watching us from the shadows."

Yue Shi asked her a completely unrelated question.

"Do you have any means of escape, disguise, or concealment?"

"Why ask that all of a sudden?" the Acrobat asked, confused.

"Oh, nothing. Just a reminder. You might be hunted for a while."

As the words fell, space fluctuated.

Yue Shi vanished on the spot, and the Acrobat was also transferred to another location, temporarily escaping those prying eyes.

The Acrobat was bewildered, completely lost as to what was happening.

That was until she took out her phone and looked at it.

Her face instantly shifted through a palette of colors.

Phones didn't work in the Supernatural Game. After returning to reality, she hadn't had a chance to check it before being cornered by Yue Shi.

Her heart went cold. She would definitely be seen as an accomplice, wouldn't she?

Walking and chatting with Yue Shi for so long—whether she was an accomplice or not, those people probably wouldn't let her go.

"He actually dared to set me up like this?"

Without the slightest hesitation, the Acrobat immediately began to change her appearance and flee.

Fortunately, she was no innocent little lamb herself.

She had revealed a lot about the Supernatural Game Show earlier.

The more you know, the more likely you are to be invited.

"I'll remember this grudge!"

"I'll be waiting for you..."