"So what are you going to do with… us?" Liu Jiayi shrank back into her seat, burying her head in her knees. "...Throw us out of the game, and then what?"
"I'm not throwing you out," Bai Liu said, looking at her. "You still have things to do for me."
Liu Jiayi slowly lifted her head, her eyes red as she looked at him. "...What things?"
"Since no one has cleared Ice Age yet — meaning no [End] route has appeared — the game's corresponding reality remains stagnant. The subplot hasn't been loaded into reality, so there's still room to change things."
Bai Liu continued calmly, "I need you to log out and stop that plane from crashing in Antarctica."
Liu Jiayi straightened slightly, realizing there might still be a way out. She frowned. "But based on how this game loads into reality, the plane is probably already over Antarctica. The moment we log out, time will resume in the real world. It won't take long before it crashes."
"We can't stop a plane that's about to crash in Antarctica."
Bai Liu smiled faintly. "No. Someone can."
Liu Jiayi tilted her head, confused. "Who?"
"Du Sanying."
At that moment, Tang Erda knocked on the helicopter hatch.
"I can already make out the outline of the metal box."
He exhaled a cloud of white breath, frost clinging to his brows and hair. But Tang Erda's expression was even colder than the frost itself.
"— It's a box from the Bureau of Heretics."
-----------------
In Reality — Over Antarctica
The five escorts onboard sensed something was wrong when the plane, preparing to land, repeatedly sent out communication signals that received no response.
They exchanged uneasy glances as a sense of foreboding washed over them.
"Aircraft — zzzz — calling ground comms — zzzz — encountering heavy clouds and turbulence, please respond…"
Only static answered.
The crosswinds battering both wings grew stronger and more erratic. The escorts drew deep breaths, bracing themselves for the worst.
"What's ahead?"
"The Ross Sea."
"Prepare for a forced landing."
…
Antarctica — Open Area Near Ice Dome A Observatory
A group of observers in conspicuous red cold-weather suits rubbed their hands and stomped their feet, staring up at the sky. They spoke in low, anxious voices.
"Weren't we told to check for ice fissures to assist the landing today? Why aren't they here yet…?"
"I don't know. I just came from the observatory. The liaison officer hasn't been able to contact the pilot for a long time. They've tried the satellite phone in every possible way — no signal."
"Nothing's going to happen… right?"
…
Bureau of Heretics Handling — Region I
Su Yang, exhausted and tense, wore a captain's uniform slightly too large for him. He walked through the brightly lit night corridors and turned into a mechanical communications room.
The room was in disarray. Coffee cups littered the tables. Several ground communicators with unshaven faces stared fixedly at the large display screen.
Their complexions were dark with fatigue, as if they might collapse at any moment.
Captain Su's insistence on prioritizing the transport of the body parts had naturally made everyone nervous.
From the moment the escort departed the port until it reached Antarctic airspace, ground communications had been maintained without interruption. They had worked overtime for days without sleep.
And yet, just as the plane neared the South Pole — just as everyone was ready to breathe a sigh of relief — something went wrong.
No matter what method they tried, they could no longer contact the five escorts.
A communicator turned back, pale-faced. "Captain Su… what should we do?"
Su Yang hadn't slept either. He stared at the pure white Antarctic snowfield displayed on the satellite feed. The glaring brightness left his mind blank for a moment.
A crushing sense of helplessness rose within him — the feeling that once something had been set into motion, nothing could stop it.
"So this is why [The Prophet] holds supreme authority in the Heretics Bureau."
Cen Buming had appeared beside the dazed Su Yang at some unknown moment.
Su Yang turned slowly. "Captain Cen…"
Cen Buming folded his arms, his hawk-like yellow eyes lingering briefly on the snow before he turned to Su Yang.
"Because seeing is far more important than doing."
"Fate has its own arrangements. We are merely pieces on the board."
He brushed past Su Yang without another glance.
"Prepare to retrieve the bodies of the five escorts."
"Captain Su, what should we do?"
"Captain Su, do we keep trying to contact them?"
"Captain Su—"
Su Yang closed his eyes and steadied himself against the table.
His voice was hoarse but firm.
"We find them alive if they're alive. We bring back their bodies if they're dead."
"Notify the Antarctic station to prepare search and rescue teams… and body bags."
"No matter what, bring them home."
In-Game
Bai Liu and Mu Sicheng replaced Tang Erda and continued the work. The wind had weakened, replaced by blazing sunlight and harsh UV rays.
As they approached the buried heart, Mu Sicheng began sweating as the temperature over the ice continued to rise.
"Tch, what's going on?" Mu Sicheng tugged at his collar, sweat rolling down his neck. "Why is it suddenly so hot? Can this weather get any worse?"
Bai Liu crouched and examined the visibly melting ice.
"It's not that the weather suddenly warmed."
"It's because we need to dig out the heart to complete the main quest. The world is beginning to heat up."
Tang Erda leaned out of the helicopter and shouted, "—Bai Liu! The temperature's rising abnormally. It's already above zero!"
He jumped down and strode over. "At this rate, the ice will melt fast."
Bai Liu shook his head. "It won't just melt quickly. The heart is likely the core component of Edmond's global cooling device — and the final prop in the [True End] route."
"If we remove it, I suspect the warming will melt the entire Antarctic ice cap."
Tang Erda frowned. "Wouldn't that turn Antarctica into an ocean?"
"There's more trouble than that," Bai Liu replied.
"If the ice cap melts completely, Antarctica's landmass will shrink drastically. Massive climate changes will follow. Blizzards and other extreme conditions that obstruct movement and vision will lessen."
He paused.
"That will increase the speed at which Spades finds us."
The implication was clear: they had to hide the heart, or it was only a matter of time before Spades tracked it down.
Tang Erda frowned deeply. "But where could you hide it? With his speed and mobility, he can sweep the entire continent anytime. There's nowhere safe."
He exhaled sharply. "Aside from being terrible at decryption, he's the perfect lead attacker."
Bai Liu smiled slightly.
"Exactly. So let's give him a puzzle."
Tang Erda blinked. "What puzzle?"
"Hide the wood in the forest."
Scott Cottage
As temperatures rose rapidly, the snow around the hut melted into muddy slush. The boards were splattered with grime, making the cottage look weathered and stained.
When Bai Liu arrived again, Edmond stared in astonishment.
"You've dug up the heart?"
"Yes." Bai Liu handed him the metal box. "There's something I need to trouble you with, Professor."
Edmond accepted the box, suspicion growing in his eyes. "Is this the heart's container? Why give it to me?"
Bai Liu smiled.
"Professor, I'd like you to help me hide this heart from Spades."
Edmond let out a bitter laugh. "Son, Spades is the most frequent player here. He probably knows this terrain better than I do. I'm not sure there's anywhere in Antarctica he wouldn't find."
"I have a place in mind," Bai Liu said calmly. "It's not perfect — there's still a chance he'll discover it. But in this Ice Age game, it should be the place he's least familiar with."
Edmond looked surprised. "Where?"
Bai Liu met his gaze.
"In my body."
Edmond blinked.
"How can you have room for another heart when you already have one?" he joked weakly. "Son, love doesn't work with two hearts."
Bai Liu answered evenly:
"It does. Just remove mine."
Silence fell.
Edmond slowly realized Bai Liu wasn't joking.
His eyes flicked repeatedly between Bai Liu and the box before he looked up again, trembling.
"Are you insane? You want me to remove your heart and put this one inside you?!"
"You'll turn into a monster!" Edmond shouted, clutching the box. "You're a real person. You have a real life. You're not a game construct like me."
"Do you understand what that means?" he demanded, voice shaking.
"If I put this heart inside you, once it fully merges with you, you'll become a… a…"
He gasped for breath.
"A complete monster!"
Bai Liu raised his eyes slightly toward the box, then lowered them back to Edmond.
His voice was calm.
"I've always been a monster."
Edmond took two steps back and stared at Bai Liu for a long time. Finally, as if drained of strength, he sank back into his chair.
"But even if you hide the heart in your body, that won't be enough," Edmond said, looking up. "Spades might still find it. That man is good at everything — except decryption…"
"I know," Bai Liu replied calmly. "So I've prepared a puzzle for him."
"Professor, can you create a large number of 'Bai Liu's'? Perform the same heart surgery on each of them, implanting my pre-surgery memories — and then let me hide among them?"
Edmond looked at him in disbelief. "You're… preparing a multiple-choice question for Spades? Hiding wood in a forest?"
"Exactly." Bai Liu lowered his eyes. "And it's a multiple-choice question with no answer."
"Because every 'Bai Liu' will believe he is the real one — and that the heart inside him is the real heart. Even I won't know whether I'm the original. I won't know which one is the answer."
He looked at Edmond steadily. "Just keep producing them. You can overwhelm Spades' hit rate. It'll be a puzzle no one can solve."
"We'll grind him down until he quits the game."
Edmond fell silent.
After a long while, he whispered, "Do you know what I see in your face?"
"I see myself on the eve of my experiment — the same frenzied madness of doing anything to save what I loved."
Tears welled in his eyes.
"I'll help you, son. Even if it's wrong."
Bai Liu bowed his head slightly. "Thank you, Professor Edmond."
The coastline rose higher as the ice melted under the sun's rays. The surface grew smoother and wetter until the last glimmer of sunlight dipped below the horizon.
Yet the temperature continued to rise.
"It's almost ten degrees," Tang Erda muttered, removing his outer layer. He scanned the horizon and frowned. "Why isn't Bai Liu back yet? Didn't he say he'd unlock the final plot at Edmond's place, destroy the heart, clear the game, and leave?"
Tang Erda hadn't gone to the hut. He didn't know what Edmond had told Bai Liu.
None of them knew what destroying the heart would truly mean.
Liu Jiayi pressed her lips together in silence. Mu Ke glanced at her.
Mu Sicheng echoed Tang Erda's concern. "Yeah… how long has it been?"
"If he doesn't come back soon, the waterline will reach us," Tang Erda said, eyeing the fractured ice floes beneath them. "Get on the helicopter first—!"
Before he could finish, a jet-black whip lashed through the air with terrifying force, wrapping around the helicopter's landing gear and yanking it backward. Tang Erda lost his footing mid-climb.
"Shit! It's Spades!"
Mu Sicheng immediately activated his skill, his hands transforming into clawed shapes as he reached to catch the incoming whip.
The whip struck his palm.
In that instant, he felt as if every bone in his hand shattered. Before he could properly warn the others, he was flung violently beneath a thick layer of ice.
The residual force crushed into his chest, knocking the air out of him. He coughed up blood as his ribcage caved inward.
Without hesitation, Tang Erda drew his gun and fired rapidly.
Through the mist, they saw Spades emerge, flicking his wrist. The whip danced before him in a near-impenetrable arc, bullets striking it with sharp crackling sounds.
Several shots landed — one in Spades' shoulder, another in his right hand. Tang Erda's aim was precise. He was trying to disarm him.
It was instinct — a professional main attacker targeting the opponent's primary weapon.
Blood seeped through Spades' clothes.
Logically, he should have retreated.
But Spades didn't stop.
He advanced steadily, expression cold and indifferent.
Tang Erda retreated while firing, a suffocating pressure crawling up his spine. He activated his monster form, [Rose Hunter], switching to his extended revolver to increase his firing speed.
Spades were hit again and again. Blood streaked across the ice behind him.
Yet he kept approaching — and his attacks intensified.
But he wasn't targeting them.
He was targeting the helicopter.
Spades smashed it apart, then used his whip to drag the wreckage across the ice, as if searching for something.
After a moment, he stopped.
He turned toward Tang Erda and lowered the whip.
"You don't have the heart?"
Tang Erda seemed to realize then that Spades had no intention of killing them. He fired two more probing shots, pretending his weapon couldn't instantly follow up.
Spades was struck again.
He didn't retaliate.
He simply looked at Tang Erda, waiting.
"The heart isn't with us," Tang Erda said.
"Oh." Spades stepped forward and lashed him twice without hesitation. "I know you could've stopped shooting earlier. Those two shots were yours."
Tang Erda: "…"
Spades turned and left.
Mu Sicheng was dragged back onto the ice, coughing blood and glaring furiously. "He just came to ask a question?! Then why did he hit me?!"
If Spades had been present, he might have answered bluntly: it felt right to hit Mu Sicheng first — otherwise he'd be annoying later.
Fortunately for Mu Sicheng, Spades was already gone.
Mu Ke watched Spades' retreating figure anxiously. "He's probably going to find Bai Liu."
"He'll be fine," Liu Jiayi said quietly. "All he has to do is destroy the heart and clear the game."
She lifted her head.
"We need to log out before he clears it. If we leave first, reality's time will freeze for us, and we can fix things."
Tang Erda turned sharply. "Bai Liu told you how to fix reality?"
"He did."
Tang Erda let out a long breath, relief softening his expression. "He always has a solution. Then let's log out."
Mu Sicheng forced a grin despite the blood at his lips. "You scared me earlier. I thought something had happened to him."
"As if anything could happen to Bai Liu in a game. If something's going to happen, it'll happen to me."
Liu Jiayi clenched her fists.
No one doubted Bai Liu. No one thought he could fail.
He was always in control. Always flawless. Always without weakness.
That was what she believed.
So she had always waited — just a little longer.
Maybe he would return, smiling, saying everything was handled, and they would all log out together.
But now Spades had appeared. The fragile peace she clung to shattered.
They had to prepare for the possibility that Bai Liu would lose. They had to leave before Spades turned back.
Bai Liu's familiar smile surfaced in her mind — warm yet faintly false. He gently ruffled her hair.
Jiayi, you're a smart girl. You know what to do. I'll leave the team to you while I'm away.
You were trained by Hearts as the second tactician. I believe you're fully capable of taking that role now.
There's no one more suitable than you.
Liu Jiayi gritted her teeth, looked up, and gave the order:
"Log out of the game. Immediately."
Coastside.
Scott's hut was completely submerged. Spades arrived on an ice floe and looked down at the abandoned cabin swaying beneath the water.
He removed his heavy jacket and spiked shoes, then plunged into the sea. Swimming toward the small wooden house, he passed through its doorway. A strange sensation struck him. He abruptly tilted his head—
A pure white bone whip shot past his ear from behind.
Bai Liu, dressed in a white shirt and trousers, smiled at him from underwater and followed up immediately with a second strike.
Spades spread his hand and noticed blood seeping from Bai Liu's chest. Without hesitation, he reached up and grabbed Bai Liu by the collar, tearing his shirt open in the process.
The buttons were scattered through the water, suspended in every direction. Across Bai Liu's pale, lean chest stretched a long scar spanning the entire right side.
The wound looked freshly made, not yet healed. Thick streams of blood unraveled from it like loose threads.
Spades studied the scar briefly, then looked up at Bai Liu. The instant Bai Liu lunged at him again, Spades seized him by the throat and tightened his grip.
[The corpse] sank downward.
Spades opened his mouth underwater, bubbles slipping from the corners of his lips as he remarked, "Poor quality."
He surfaced and rolled onto the shore.
Staring into the dark water, he frowned—a rare expression for him. "What a pain in the ass…"
This Bai Liu had countless replicas hidden beneath the sea.
And on a map like this—Antarctica in full meltdown, water everywhere—killing them was nearly impossible. Their weaknesses required fire or strong acid, conditions difficult to achieve here.
Worse, this Bai Liu had hidden his heart inside one of the bodies. These replicas were endless; kill one, and another would soon rise again.
…Even if the real Bai Liu were dragged from the swarm, with all of them sharing identical memories, Bai Liu himself might not know which body contained the true heart.
It was a game designed to be insurmountable.
Spades disliked unresolved games of cat and mouse. He sat on the ice for a while, eyes empty, water dripping from his chin onto the frozen ground.
He wasn't good at this kind of situation—just as he wasn't good at dealing with tacticians.
This Bai Liu would have made an excellent tactician. He was the first one to trap Spades using his own body.
Usually, it was the tactician who ended up with a headache when facing Spades, both in and out of the game.
After sitting there for a long time, Spades finally stood. His gaze lingered on the calm surface of the sea.
[There is no such thing as an unsolvable game in this world.]
A man's chuckle echoed faintly in his memory. Someone had once leaned over his shoulder, dark eyes glinting with a strange mix of innocence and malice.
But Spades couldn't remember his face.
He only remembered the words.
[A game is designed and deliberately presented to someone in the hope that they can solve it. So there is no such thing as an unsolvable game.]
[You're bound to win my game. No one else here is playing it except you—you're the only player I have.]
[That is to say, my game is designed to give you victory.]
Driven by instinct, Spades dove back into the water, descending deeper and deeper into the unknown depths where countless Bai Liu bodies lay scattered.
Occasionally, one would revive and rise toward the surface—only to sink again from suffocation.
These Bai Lius all seemed to dislike the water. Whether floating or diving, there was a faint sense of resistance in their movements.
Finding the right one in this vast sea of identical faces felt like searching for a needle in a haystack.
Spades hovered in the icy water as Bai Liu attempted to ambush him, only to be swept aside. Eventually, Spades' eyes settled on one buried beneath layers of others.
—This one had not attacked him.
He lay peacefully at the bottom of the sea, eyes closed, the wound on his chest visible through his open shirt.
There was something strange about this Bai Liu—a blend of monster and human, like a transitional form caught mid-transformation.
Spades felt an inexplicable certainty.
This one was hiding the heart.
He dove swiftly downward. The instant his fingers brushed Bai Liu's skin, those closed eyes snapped open.
Bubbles spilled from Bai Liu's lips as he kicked hard and fled.
Like a startled school of fish, the surrounding Bai Lius surged toward him, engulfing him in a writhing mass. Within moments, the one Spades had targeted vanished into the swarm.
But Spades locked onto him again almost immediately.
It was as if he possessed an internal tracker—able to distinguish the one he knew from millions of identical faces and pursue him without hesitation.
Blue water shimmered with reflections from the melting ice above. Massive floes drifted from land into sea, the submerged bases of icebergs resembling islands suspended upside down in the sky.
Through this cold, white world, Spades and Bai Liu chased and evaded one another.
No matter how Bai Liu fled, concealed himself, or employed every tactic to interfere, Spades continued to find him among the countless replicas in this frozen underwater hell.
Beneath the melting Ice Dome A, in the darkest depths of the sea, Spades finally caught him.
Spades slid his hand gently into Bai Liu's unhealed wound.
Blood vessels twitched around his fingers, warm blood spilling over his skin. He grasped the misplaced, cold heart beating within the warmth of the body and looked down at Bai Liu, now restrained in his hold.
For a fleeting moment, a familiar sense of déjà vu crossed Spades' mind.
It felt as though, long ago, this same tactician had once looked at him underwater with calm, resigned eyes—had bound his rotting ankles and buried him beneath the sea, as though trapping himself in the process.
Spades slowly closed his fingers.
As the heart shattered between them, he bent closer, resting his chin against Bai Liu's shoulder. His lips formed a silent word:
[Sorry].
Bai Liu's eyes closed.
A vast cloud of blood blossomed in the water as his consciousness dissolved into nothingness.
Tawil. Xie Ta…
[Do not be afraid of the dead me, or the living me.]
[I will remain in the winter where I belong and wait for you.]
[No matter what choice I make, you will leave me, won't you?]
[Yes.]