Chen Simiao appears to be in shock.

Eyes widened, he is looking at Xü Beijin with terror in his eyes.

He would scream, but his voice actually lowers in volume instead, creating an almost threatening tone, “how can you say that! How dare you… How would you even do it?!”

“I’ve done nothing yet, and you’re already saying I can’t?” Xü Beijin throws the question back at him, “why do you think I can’t do it?”

Chen Simiao just stares at him, like some kind of monster; after all these years, with humanity trapped in the Tower, too, someone jumps out to say, he can save humanity.

Chen Simiao finds it laughable.

How amusing.

If he could do it, why didn’t he do anything back then? Instead of now?

Humans have already lost hope, and are going to live and die in the Tower. Then he jumps out, and says, he will save the humans?

Wow. What a saviour you are. You jump out when you want to, but faff about when you don’t want to?

After that brief shock and disbelief, Chen Simiao is fuming instead.

Not just from Xü Beijin’s calm attitude, but also… because of a feeling of inferiority.

What Xü Beijin just said is ringing about his ears——Why did he immediately rule out his success?

What if he could? If he really could, then why is he, why is Chen Simiao trying to stop him?

So what if he told him about the gap?

Chen Simiao doesn’t believe anything other than ‘them’ could take advantage of it anyway… Or rather, he doesn’t believe humans would be able to exploit it at all.

So what’s the worst that could happen if he told Xü Beijin? If it’s all the same to humanity, then isn’t it the same if he told or didn’t tell him?

He says it’s useless so he doesn’t tell Xü Beijin, but…

Chen Simiao finally comes to a conclusion.

He, Chen Simiao, is a coward.

He can’t bring himself to face the fact that the student he is most proud of, is a traitor; he does not have the courage to go up against the ones who locked them up in this damned prison; he doesn’t even dare to help others in their struggles for freedom.

Xü Beijin looks at him in silence, before saying, “if you told me, and we succeeded, you’re part of it; if you didn’t, and we failed because of that, then, just like your student…”
You’d be a traitor to all humanity.

“Shut up!”

As if the words are threatening to trigger some trauma of his, Chen Simiao screeches, with bloodied eyes and popping veins.

No longer looking like an intelligent, educated professor, but more a patient for the psychiatric hospital.

He probably knows it, too, as he drags on his tie and collar. His tattered, dirtied suit becoming even more ragged after the brutal treatment.

Then he just sits on the ground where he stood, his head hanging low and watching the colours dance on the ground, which in turn, colours his expression changing and unreadable.

A bit later, he says, “I’ve never… I’ve never betrayed humans,” his tone turns sombre, “I love my species, I love Earth. I love my family, my friends, my students…”

“But that student never loved you. He betrayed you; he betrayed all humanity.”

Chen Simiao shudders like someone who just woke up from a nightmare. He stays quiet.

Xü Beijin continues, “I think you know what I want to say enough. You’re wavering, too. Why are you not willing to tell us where that gap… cough, gap, is?”

Xü Beijin felt a wave of dizziness washing over him as the sentence progressed. He coughed and forced himself to finish the sentence.

His face is as white as paint at this point.

Chen Simiao can’t see Xü Beijin’s plight, as he is too absorbed in his own thoughts.

He mumbles, “the gap’s whereabouts… whereabouts… is that even useful?”

He doesn’t hear Xü Beijin answer.

After a bit, Chen Simiao looks up, to see the man who has been sternly coercing his cooperation, all limp, having slipped down the wall, without so much as a whimper.

His eyes are shut. His head is hanging on his shoulders. The myriad of lights makes it impossible to tell the colour of his face, but it doesn’t hide how handsome or… weakened, he is.

Chen Simiao’s eyes widen, and he hurriedly stands to walk to Xü Beijin’s side. He doesn’t know what happened to this young man, or if it’s safe to touch him. He just asks, “what’s wrong? Um… Mr, Mr Xü? Are you alright?”

Though calling out to him doesn’t draw any responses.

Remembering that this man’s companions said to return in half an hour, he’s panicking a little.

Uncharacteristic for someone of Chen Simiao’s age, and certainly worse than how you’d expect him to react in such a situation.

Being trapped in the middle of this labyrinth for years has clearly and irreversibly hampered his brain’s logic and reaction capabilities.

His memories and his sanity have been slipping. He is behaving unlike a man his age should behave. He has become ignorant, easily triggered, and paranoid. So right now, he doesn’t know what he should do.

Then, Chen Simiao stares at the unconscious Xü Beijin, and says, “I’ll tell you where the gap is, so please wake up…”

He’s about to say it when he stops to mumble, “no, wait, that’s wrong. I should go look for your companions. You can’t hear what I’m saying right now. No…”

After saying that, he turns to leave the central, flat area of the labyrinth.

Leaving behind only Xü Beijin, with furrowed brows and ghostly pale face, half-leaning, half-sitting on the wall, trapped in whatever nightmares the mind has conjured.

Lin Qin’s heart skips a beat.

It makes him stop in his tracks and his expression clouds over immediately.

A-Two is with him; the two of them headed to the right at the end of the middle path of the labyrinth.

It’s been about ten minutes, but they haven’t run into anyone; Lin Qin has stopped, though.

Given Lin Qin’s inexplicably intact sense of direction in the labyrinth, A-Two is trusting the young man’s lead without question. So he asks him, “dalao, what’s wrong?”

It was a momentary feeling, but his danger senses are blaring in full force.

Lin Qin seems to fall into thought about how to describe the feeling, but gives up soon enough, and turns around without any hesitation.

Not even uttering a word to A-Two in the meantime.

Shocked, A-Two quickly follows, but unfortunately, he’s completely unable to keep up with Lin Qin’s rather inhuman speed.

Though he also has an inkling of what must be going through Lin Qin’s mind——What could cause Lin Qin to react so drastically and worriedly?

Of everything that is in this labyrinth, only Xü Beijin could possibly elicit such a response.

Though, Xü Beijin should be with Chen Simiao right now, so that conclusion is making him deeply concerned. What’s going on?

Why is Lin Qin hurrying back that way? Could something have happened to Xü Beijin?

While thinking like that, they’ve already returned to the middle of the labyrinth – here, he sees Chen Simiao lying on the side, whimpering, like he was thrown there.

Then A-Two sees Lin Qin and Xü Beijin, who is in his lap; apparently, he’s fainted. He thinks he is able to work out what happened.

It’s most likely that Xü Beijin fainted, and so Chen Simiao wanted to get help, running into Lin Qin who was rushing back, and was then dragged right back here.

Examining Chen Simiao closely, he can see him looking at Lin Qin with confusion and fear. It seems that is what’s happened.

Though that aside…

What happened, to Xü Beijin?