I dominated the game from the start with cards.

Li Xuan carried the slightly recovered Bai Yao through the ruins of the building to a relatively intact room. In the dim light, dust swirled in the air, and the mottled marks on the walls told a story of the pre-apocalyptic world. He gently placed her on the makeshift bed, tucked her in, and then sat beside her, gazing at her sleeping face. "Why didn't you tell me?" Li Xuan's voice was soft, as if afraid of disturbing her, yet it carried a barely perceptible hint of accusation. Bai Yao's eyelashes trembled slightly, as if she were about to wake up. Li Xuan held his breath, waiting for her answer. Bai Yao slowly opened her eyes, a hint of confusion in them. "Li Xuan..." she called weakly, her voice hoarse. "Why did you keep it from me? What if something happened to you while you were investigating alone?" Li Xuan's voice held a suppressed anger; he couldn't imagine what he would do if something had really happened to Bai Yao. Bai Yao was silent for a moment, then said softly, "Some things...can't be easily revealed..." Her tone was tinged with helplessness and bitterness. Her voice was soft, yet like a pebble, it stirred up a thousand waves in Li Xuan's heart. He abruptly stood up, his eyes filled with suspicion. "You..." He hesitated, his unease and distrust clinging to him like vines. Bai Yao looked at Li Xuan's distrustful eyes, tears welling in her eyes. "What do you mean? Do you think I did this on purpose? Do you know how much pressure I've been under these past few days?" She choked back sobs, tears streaming down her pale cheeks. "I investigated alone, gathering clues bit by bit, every step fraught with danger. I was afraid, I was terrified, but I had to do it, for my sect, and for..." Bai Yao's voice trailed off, almost inaudible. Li Xuan looked at the weeping Bai Yao, his heart filled with mixed emotions. He felt sorry for her ordeal, yet he couldn't forgive her for concealing her secret. He sat back down on the edge of the bed, his tone softening, "I know you've endured a lot, but you should trust me, we can face this together." Bai Yao wiped away her tears, a hint of stubbornness in her eyes. “You don’t understand at all…” She shook her head, unwilling to say anything more. Just then, the door was pushed open, and Lin Yu and Mu Yang walked in. They had heard the argument earlier, and their faces showed concern. Lin Yu quickly went to Bai Yao’s bedside and asked with concern, “Bai Yao, how are you feeling?” Bai Yao forced a smile, “Much better, thank you for your concern.” Lin Yu glanced at Li Xuan, then at Bai Yao, seemingly understanding something. “Li Xuan, you two…” Before Lin Yu could finish speaking, he was interrupted by Li Xuan, “This isn’t the time to talk about this.” “But…” Lin Yu wanted to say something more, but Mu Yang stopped him. Mu Yang shook his head, signaling him not to press the matter further. He walked to Li Xuan’s side and patted his shoulder, “Calm down, the most important thing now is to find out the truth.” Li Xuan took a deep breath, trying to calm himself down. He looked at Bai Yao, his eyes filled with complex emotions. “I hope you understand, we are a team, we shouldn’t hide things from each other.” Bai Yao turned her head away, remaining silent. Lin Yu could no longer hold back. He stepped forward and confronted Bai Yao, "Bai Yao, your act of concealment is suspicious! What exactly are you hiding? We're a team, how can you do this to everyone?" Bai Yao sat up abruptly, her face pale but her eyes sharp. "Lin Yu! How I act is my freedom, you have no right to interfere! Do you know how much I've sacrificed to investigate our sect? Where were you when I was risking my life?" She pointed to her chest, her voice agitated, "Here, it hurts here! Not just the physical wounds, but also the emotional ones! You don't understand my pain, so what right do you have to criticize me?" "Of course we understand your pain, but..." Lin Yu tried to explain, but Bai Yao interrupted him. "Understand? What do you understand? You understand nothing!" Bai Yao's voice became shrill. "I went alone into the lion's den, every step fraught with danger, and you're here questioning my loyalty! Who did I do this for? Wasn't it for all of us, to find the murderer, and to avenge our sect!" The atmosphere in the room instantly became tense, so tense that you could hear a pin drop. Li Xuan's face was gloomy. He watched the two arguing, his frustration growing stronger. He rubbed his temples, feeling a headache coming on. Mu Yang, who had been silent all along, finally spoke. His voice was calm and steady, like a bucket of cold water poured on a burning flame. "Alright, stop arguing." He surveyed everyone, his eyes sharp. "What is our purpose? It's to find out the truth behind our sect's destruction and avenge our fallen comrades, isn't it?" His gaze fell on Bai Yao and Lin Yu. "If we fight amongst ourselves now, it will only help the enemy succeed." Mu Yang walked to the center of the room, his tone firm. "Bai Yao, we understand your feelings, and we know you've sacrificed a lot. But you also need to understand that we are a team, and we need to trust and cooperate with each other. Your concealment will indeed make us suspicious, which is not good for you or for us." He then turned to Lin Yu. "Lin Yu, I understand your feelings too, but now is not the time to assign blame. We should unite and face the enemy together." Li Xuan felt that Mu Yang was right. He took a deep breath, suppressed his anger, and slowly said, "Bai Yao, I know you've been wronged, but the most important thing now is to find out the truth. We all need to calm down and talk things over." Bai Yao's breathing gradually calmed down. She looked at Mu Yang and Li Xuan, the anger in her eyes gradually subsiding, replaced by a trace of weariness and helplessness. She sighed softly, leaning weakly against the headboard, and fell silent. Lin Yu realized his tone had been too agitated. He went to Bai Yao's bedside and apologized softly, "Bai Yao, I'm sorry, I was too impulsive." A brief silence fell over the room, the atmosphere still heavy. Just then, Bai Yao suddenly moved closer to Li Xuan, gently stroking his face, and said coquettishly, "Don't you trust me at all? Everything I did was for us." Li Xuan avoided her hand, his expression cold.

“Some things can’t be explained away with just ‘for us.’” He stood up, walked to the window, and gazed at the desolate post-apocalyptic landscape outside, his back looking exceptionally lonely. Bai Yao moved closer to Li Xuan, her slender fingers gently stroking his face, her tone coquettish and tinged with grievance: “Don’t you trust me at all?”

"Everything I did was for us." Her eyes flickered, trying to soften Li Xuan's indifference with her usual tenderness. However, Li Xuan silently avoided her hand, his eyes as cold as ice. "Some things can't be explained away with just 'for us.'" His voice was low, trembling slightly. He turned and walked to the window, gazing at the gray sky outside. The desolate wasteland stretched as far as the eye could see, mirroring his current mood. Memories of his time with Bai Yao flooded Li Xuan's mind. His initial confusion and helplessness upon entering the infinite flow space had been met with Bai Yao's help, guiding him through the rules and teaching him survival skills. They fought side-by-side, supporting each other, forging a deep bond through countless crises. Those once sweet moments now seemed veiled in a thin mist, blurred and indistinct. Bai Yao's smile, once so warm, now felt strange and unsettling. He recalled Bai Yao's evasive explanations, her deliberately concealed whereabouts, and her ambiguous relationship with Zhao Hu… Once the seeds of doubt were sown, they grew wildly like weeds, devouring the last vestiges of trust in his heart. He closed his eyes in anguish, his heart aching as if being torn apart. He wanted to believe Bai Yao, yet he couldn't ignore the suspicions. The atmosphere in the room was stagnant and oppressive. Lin Yu and Mu Yang silently watched Li Xuan's back, knowing he was going through immense inner turmoil. They wanted to comfort him, but didn't know how to begin. After a long silence, Li Xuan took a deep breath, forcing himself to calm down. He turned around, his gaze falling on Bai Yao's pale face, his tone calm yet firm: "Bai Yao, I hope you understand, it's not that I don't trust you, but your actions have forced me to be suspicious. If you truly care about us, please be honest and tell me the whole truth." Bai Yao's face grew even paler. She bit her lip, a complex emotion flashing in her eyes. She seemed to want to say something, but ultimately said nothing. She slowly took a scroll from her bosom, gently placed it on the table, and pushed it towards Li Xuan. "Perhaps, this can prove my innocence." Her voice was low and hoarse, tinged with weariness. Li Xuan suspiciously picked up the scroll and slowly unfurled it. The scroll was covered with dense text and diagrams, a detailed investigation record detailing the clues Bai Yao had been secretly tracking during this time. These clues all pointed in a direction they hadn't expected—the administrator of the Infinite Flow Space. Lin Yu and Mu Yang also leaned forward, carefully examining the scroll's contents. Silence fell in the room again, broken only by their rapid breathing. "This…" Lin Yu stared wide-eyed in disbelief, looking at Bai Yao, then at Li Xuan, unsure what to say. Mu Yang frowned, his gaze grave. After a moment's hesitation, he slowly spoke, "It seems things are more complicated than we imagined…" Li Xuan gripped the scroll tightly, his knuckles white. He raised his head, his gaze fixed intently on Bai Yao, and said, word by word, "You knew all along…" He paused, his tone suddenly turning icy, "Who was it?" “The administrator of the Infinite Flow Space…” Li Xuan murmured to himself, the scroll slipping from his limp hand and falling to the floor with a dull thud. He had been searching for the truth behind his sect's destruction, but he had never imagined that the mastermind behind it all might be the administrator of the Infinite Flow Space, who stood above all explorers. Bai Yao smiled bitterly, a single, crystalline tear sliding down her cheek. “I know you won’t easily believe me,” her voice hoarse, “but everything I’ve done is to find the truth, to give you, and to give myself an explanation.” Her slender finger pointed to a passage marked in red on the scroll, “Look, this records evidence of the administrator’s secret contact with Zhao Hu, and…” She paused, taking a deep breath, “and the truth about the destruction of your sect.” Lin Yu picked up the scroll from the ground and carefully read the passage Bai Yao had pointed to. His expression grew increasingly grave as he read, until finally he abruptly looked up at Li Xuan. "Li Xuan, this…this says that your sect was…" He paused, seemingly finding it difficult to speak, "…and was… wiped out by the administrators." "Impossible!" Li Xuan abruptly stood up, slamming his fist on the table with a loud thud. His eyes were bloodshot, and his breathing was rapid. "My sect has always been peaceful and unassuming, how could it possess such power! This is clearly a frame-up!" Mu Yang remained calm, carefully examining every detail of the scroll, trying to find clues. "Li Xuan, calm down," he said in a deep voice. "While the information on this scroll is astonishing, its authenticity cannot be fully confirmed yet. We need more evidence." He looked up at Bai Yao. "Bai Yao, what other evidence do you have to prove this?" Bai Yao shook her head. "I risked my life to collect this evidence. To avoid alerting them, I can't investigate too deeply. But I believe that as long as we continue our investigation, we'll definitely find more of the truth." Li Xuan slumped back into his chair, covering his face with his hands, lost in deep anguish. He had always firmly believed his sect was innocent, but now he learned they might have been wiped out by some unfounded "power." How could he accept this? Silence fell again in the room, only the heavy breathing of the four people echoing in the air. The contents of the scroll exploded in their hearts like a thunderbolt, completely overturning their original worldview. The administrator of the Infinite Flow Space, this originally high and mighty being who maintained the order of the space, had now become the object of their suspicion. After a long while, Li Xuan slowly raised his head, his eyes filled with pain and confusion. "I... I need to calm down." He stood up and staggered towards the door. "Li Xuan!" Bai Yao wanted to call out to him, but ultimately could only helplessly lower her hand. She watched Li Xuan's departing figure, her eyes filled with complex emotions. Li Xuan walked outside, took a deep breath, and the cold air cleared his head slightly. He looked up at the gray sky, his mind blank. The destruction of his sect, the secrets of the Infinite Flow Space, Bai Yao's betrayal and confession… all of this was like a giant net, tightly binding him, making it hard for him to breathe. He suddenly felt a chill, as if an invisible pair of eyes were watching him from the shadows. He subconsciously activated his mental perception ability, but detected nothing. "An illusion…" Li Xuan muttered to himself, but the unease in his heart grew stronger. He glanced back at the room; Bai Yao was standing in the doorway looking at him, a hint of worry in her eyes. Li Xuan ignored her and turned to walk into the darkness. He had a feeling that something was about to happen…