"Boom!"

Max dragged Robin through the hole in the floor back into the Director's Office, then heard an explosion from below.

The floor trembled slightly. Max, still shaken, crawled under the desk and forcefully pressed the button, causing the floor to close again.

She collapsed on the floor, her fear gradually transforming into sorrow.

"The Seer... he..."

Max clenched her fists, her body trembling uncontrollably.

No matter how optimistic she tried to be, witnessing a teammate who had just been chatting and laughing suddenly die before her eyes filled Max with resentment and grief.

To be able to join the Night Watchmen, Max naturally had fairly upright values.

She understood that Lin Yu had sacrificed himself for her and Robin.

This was the Death Game... no matter how many times she experienced scenes like this, she could never get used to it.

"Damn it... damn it!"

Max cursed, pounding the floor with her fists.

But no matter how unaccustomed she felt, she had no choice but to accept it.

While Max was venting her emotions, Robin on the floor slowly regained consciousness.

"Ah!"

She jolted awake from the floor, trembling as she pulled out her paintbrush from her chest.

Discovering they had returned to the Director's Office, she looked at Max in confusion.

"You saved me? You actually weren't affected by that 'wraith'?!"

Max shook her head, smiling bitterly. "No... it wasn't me."

Robin's expression shifted slightly as she understood what had happened.

"He... how is he?"

Max pressed her lips together, her eyes slightly reddened. "The odds are against him."

Robin also fell silent.

After a long while, the young girl hugged her knees and buried her head in them. "What kind of Night Watchman am I..."

Watching Robin's state, Max opened her mouth but ultimately said nothing.

She simply remained silent with Robin, only speaking again after a long time.

"That... at the last moment, he told me he's actually May May from Order. What's that about?"

Robin lifted her head again, looked at Max, and let out a deep sigh.

"Alright, I think you have the right to know everything about this dungeon..."

Next, Robin briefly explained the matter of the "reincarnation cycles" to Max.

She also told Max the reason why Lin Yu had claimed to be the "Seer."

Upon hearing about the "reincarnation cycles," Max's eyes widened.

"No wonder some of those monsters had wounds... Wait, does that mean he might still be saved?!"

Max stood up, speaking excitedly. "As long as we trigger the 'reincarnation cycle' again, will he..."

"He won't."

Robin calmly interrupted Max.

"Although I wish that were true too... that wraith in the wine cellar absolutely will not be affected by the 'reincarnation cycle' mechanism."

"I've faced her before... she's likely an existence above the cause of this place's 'reincarnation cycle' mechanism."

Max was stunned. "What exactly is that wraith's background?"

"She's the previous Director—she originally guarded this place for the Misty Islands Master, extracting patients' souls and emotions to brew wine."

"But... she was betrayed by her former superior, the Misty Islands Master."

"The Misty Islands Master promised this asylum to someone and permitted that person to kill her and imprison her soul in the basement."

While explaining the reincarnation mechanism, Robin concealed the part about having been here before and didn't mention that the Psychological Society might be the cause of the reincarnation cycles.

Even so, Max understood.

"So that means..."

"Yes, he's beyond saving."

Robin lowered her head, her nails digging into her palms.

"This is my fault, but what's more important now is... leaving this place."

"We can't let his sacrifice be in vain."

She exhaled and took out a seal from her chest.

"This seal belongs to the previous Director... the current Director's whereabouts are unknown, so this might serve as our proof to leave."

Max took out the crumpled paper ball that Lin Yu had thrown to them.

"This is what he gave us... the permit for leaving."

Robin looked at the wrinkled paper ball, then slowly smoothed it out.

She slowly wrote her code name "Robin" on it, then filled in "Max" on another sheet.

Then, she stamped the Director's seal on them.

For the final sheet, Robin hesitated for a moment but ultimately wrote "May May" and stamped the seal.

Although she knew he couldn't make it out, Robin couldn't help but do this.

It felt like some kind of memorial.

"Let's go... let's leave."

Robin said, and she and Max walked toward the door carrying the completed "Outgoing Approval Slips."

Although based on their current memories alone, it seemed like they had just entered this dungeon not long ago.

But...

Both Robin and Max knew very well.

They had experienced many, many such reincarnation cycles already.

And in what might be the final cycle, even a teammate traveling with them had sacrificed his life.

Even if they were about to clear the dungeon, it brought no sense of relief.

It only made them feel...

Exhausted.

They carried the "Outgoing Approval Slips" to the asylum's exit, then stepped outside.

And the moment the two of them exited...

White light cascaded down like a waterfall!

In the next instant, before Robin and Max could react, they completely lost consciousness.

...

Jiang Lin opened her eyes in the hospital ward, sitting up in panic.

"Hah!"

She gasped for breath in large gulps.

Looking at the spacious, bright single-patient ward, a thought surfaced in Jiang Lin's mind.

"Did I still fail?"

But soon, she felt confused by her own thought.

What failed?

What... was she thinking about?

At that moment, the ward door was pushed open.

"Oh, you're awake just in time... time for your medicine."

The tall Doctor walked in smiling, holding a tray.

"Judging by your appearance, had another nightmare?"

"The adaptation to this new medicine still isn't going well enough."

Hearing the Doctor's words, Jiang Lin gradually came to her senses.

Oh right, she had just had a nightmare... in the dream, it seemed like she was playing some kind of game, which was why she had the thought of "failing" when she woke up.

She was completely awake now.

She was a patient currently hospitalized in this mental institution...

Because she had recently switched to a new type of medication, she often had strange dreams.

"Although it's related to the medicine, it might also be too depressing," Jiang Lin said quietly. "Living in the hospital, I can't even paint..."

As she murmured this, the Doctor smiled.

"There's no helping it. We need to wait until you're more stable before we can let you paint."

"After all, we can't be sure whether the act of painting might cause your condition to worsen... it could very well be a source of your stress."

"But it's alright, if you feel depressed, you can go out for walks. You can still participate in other normal activities!"