The next day.
Xu An and Zhou Haimei headed towards the arena early in the morning. Along the way, they coincidentally encountered Chu Yu again.
Chu Yu politely greeted them. Xu An, observing the man's conspicuous hood, immediately formed another conjecture in his mind.
Why was this man afraid to take off his hood?
For some reason, Xu An suddenly thought of his past life. To escape the sandstorms and hot climate, survivors on the surface would wear a sand-blocking mask.
Or, like the man before him, they would choose to wear hooded clothing. By simply lowering their heads, not only would their faces be hidden, but they could also prevent facial injuries.
An idea gradually took shape in his mind. Xu An stared at the man's retreating back, lost in thought for a long time. He instinctively felt the idea was ridiculous and absurd.
Yet, a quiet voice in his heart seemed to confirm, yes, this was the truth.
The man before him was a survivor from the surface.
If this man's appearance was undamaged, then why was he unwilling to remove his hood?
What if the man didn't remove his hood simply out of habit?
"What are you looking at? Get on the car." Zhou Haimei noticed Xu An standing still, her gaze fixed ahead, lost in thought.
The train had already arrived. As Zhou Haimei was about to board, she turned back and found Xu An still frozen in place, so she went back to find him.
With Zhou Haimei's call, Xu An snapped back to reality. When he looked ahead again, the man who had been standing there had vanished.
"What exactly are you looking for, An An? Are you not feeling well?"
Zhou Haimei's expression was concerned, her face full of worry. She feared Xu An was enduring something and not feeling well. She had never seen Xu An so absent-minded before.
"It's nothing, let's hurry and get on the train. I was just thinking about something,"
Xu An explained as they boarded the train and swiped their cards.
After finding their seats and sitting down, Xu An's interrupted thoughts seamlessly resumed.
From their first encounter, Xu An meticulously replayed every moment of their meetings, trying to find something amiss.
However, the man's every word and action were unremarkable, or rather, no one could find anything out of the ordinary about him.
His entire face was completely covered. If he were truly a surface survivor hiding amongst them, he wouldn't be discovered.
The timing of this man moving into the apartment Xu An lived in was also peculiar.
Xu An had initially thought that perhaps the man had found something valuable during his second descent from the tower, suddenly becoming rich, and thus had the means to transfer into Xu An's apartment from elsewhere.
But upon closer reflection, the second landing site was a desert. What could he have found there to undergo such a drastic change overnight?
But if this man was indeed a surface survivor, how did he end up here?
Xu An hadn't ruled out the possibility of Rats deliberately fabricating his identity.
However, shouldn't such stowaways usually keep a low profile?
Xu An knew of several people who had stowed away on the lighthouse; those individuals either lived hidden in dark alleys, scraping by, or risked staying in relief shelters.
It was rare to find someone as audacious as this man, daring to rent an apartment directly.
Xu An spent the entire journey contemplating their strange new neighbor, completely oblivious that the train had reached its stop.
It was Zhou Haimei who pulled Xu An's arm, preventing them from riding past their destination.
"An An, what's wrong with you today? You seem so distracted. Are you worried about the积分抢夺赛 (point-grabbing competition)?"
Zhou Haimei was still uneasy; Xu An was concerning today.
Xu An looked at the giant pillars around them and let out a long sigh, temporarily pushing thoughts of the strange man aside.
She had more important things to do now.
"It's nothing, Sister Mei. I was just thinking about something, and I apologize for making you worry."
Seeing Xu An's candid explanation, Zhou Haimei also asked curiously, "What were you thinking about that made you so engrossed? Is it troublesome? Do you need help?"
"My mother met a strange man when she went out yesterday. I was wondering if he had any ulterior motives."
Xu An spoke partially truthfully, not revealing all her speculations to Zhou Haimei.
Hearing this, Zhou Haimei's brow furrowed further, "Who is it? Do you want me to help investigate?"
Xu An was tempted. Compared to herself, Zhou Haimei's network of connections was far more powerful. Things she couldn't find were easily accessible to Zhou Haimei.
However, Xu An also had her concerns. She wasn't sure if this man was targeting her, or if he was indeed a surface survivor.
Most importantly, what was this man's purpose?
Xu An hesitated for only a second. After weighing the pros and cons, she decided to ask Zhou Haimei to help her investigate her peculiar neighbor.
...
Later, even Chu Yu himself never imagined that an unintentional action and a small habit of his would be the key to exposing himself.
After discussing the neighbor matter with Zhou Haimei, Xu An parted ways with her and headed towards their respective arenas.
Upon arriving at the venue, she noticed quite a few girls spontaneously holding signs and crowding around the arena.
Xu An, feeling curious, moved closer to see what the signs said.
[Protest! Please officially remove the point-grabbing competition rules!]
Almost all the signs bore similar messages. Xu An glanced at them briefly, then turned away silently, preparing to go on stage to continue her match.
Clearly, the announcement that had been in the corner yesterday was now seen by everyone, and it had sparked protests among the female contestants.
The girl who had been standing behind Xu An yesterday, looking at the announcement with them, was now in the crowd.
Yesterday, she had vaguely heard this girl advising other female contestants not to withdraw directly but to "seek salvation through a circuitous route."
It seemed this was their devised method of "salvation."
But would this approach actually be effective? Xu An looked to the side, at the indifferent enforcement team and the expressionless referees.
No one stepped forward to explain the girls' actions or show the slightest sign of emotion.
Their protests were like stones sinking into the sea. In this indifferent apocalyptic world, they seemed utterly insignificant.
Xu An's opponent for this match had been determined during yesterday's draw.
Just as both parties stepped onto the arena and the referee was about to announce the start of the match, a series of hoarse, desperate questions suddenly erupted from the crowd of girls who had been silently observing.
"How could you betray us and compete by yourself!"
"If you don't resist now, no matter how many matches you win, it will all be taken away in the end. Your current competition is meaningless!"
"..."