"......"

Xu Gou had genuinely considered rebelling before.

For no other reason than wanting to secure a privileged identity for himself...

However, seeing this brainless fool also attempting rebellion suddenly made him realize that his own idea, which was similar to this brainless fool's, might indeed be too naive.

Thus, the previously eager Xu Gou now calmed down.

He watched Tao Sheng's suicidal behavior coldly from a bystander's perspective.

kly counters Tao Sheng,

Then without question, the situation in their confined space would quickly cool down and stabilize.

But if the old woman takes that kick directly...

Then Xu Gou would simultaneously strike against the chubby guy.

He wasn't clear about the old woman's actual strength,

But instinctively felt that since the old woman gave the Ghost Valley Soul Shepherd Formation Array Disk to the chubby guy...

Then the chubby guy's strength should be slightly superior between the two.

In that case, he naturally would go after the chubby guy's privileged identity.

Thinking this way, Xu Gou held his breath and watched intently as Tao Sheng kicked forward...

However!

The outcome of this kick completely fell outside his two scenarios!

The old woman neither countered Tao Sheng...

Nor did she take the kick directly...

In fact, she didn't even dodge it!

Tao Sheng's kick inexplicably passed through empty air, and his whole body stumbled forward due to momentum!

He staggered, nearly falling face-first to the ground, but barely managed to regain his balance.

While he stabilized his posture, his expression turned horrified!

He turned to look at the old woman, his eyes wide as if he'd seen a ghost.

Unable to believe it, he reached out to strike the damned old woman.

The result was the same as his kick earlier—

Visually, his slap clearly landed on the old woman's face...

But from his tactile sensation, it felt like he'd slapped empty air!

This...

??!

Tao Sheng quickly tried striking the chubby guy too.

The result was identical!

This old woman and the chubby guy...

They seemed to have no physical bodies, leaving only what appeared to be incredibly realistic projections sitting there cross-legged!

This...

No wonder they showed no reaction when he was shouting earlier!

Perhaps they truly couldn't hear or see...

"Fuck! What's this?" Tao Sheng panicked momentarily.

Meanwhile, Xu Gou and the others who had been watching the show suddenly realized the severity of the situation.

They stopped their cross-legged meditation and gathered around the two powerful figures.

After various tests, they discovered—

These two powerful figures indeed only had projections remaining here!

They could see them but couldn't touch them!

Xiao Bai watched this scene, her expression darkening.

She quickly released a small black snake that slithered through both their bodies. After confirming they had truly become "projections" that physical objects couldn't touch, her face grew even more somber.

Here, everyone was ordinary.

Yet Xiao Bai could still command the small black snake, making the mutants view her with heightened respect.

The panicked Tao Sheng quickly asked her:

"What's going on? Did these two bastards abandon us and run off on their own?"

Before Xiao Bai could speak, Xu Gou shook his head:

"If they had the ability to escape, they wouldn't have needed to leave these two projections behind."

"So I suspect this might be some special method they're using to protect themselves..."

As he voiced this speculation, Xu Gou's expression worsened.

Peng Gu, also quick-witted, quickly understood:

"You mean—they used methods to protect themselves, while we...?!"

Hearing this, the others panicked.

After all, they had originally thought that since everyone was trapped by the heavy snow in this confined space, they were all in the same boat.

Either they'd escape together, or die together...

But now they discovered—

The two powerful figures deceived them into conserving energy.

Instead, they secretly used some unknown method!

They weren't in the same boat at all!

These two powerful figures likely only protected themselves, completely disregarding their survival!

For a moment, panicked and desperate emotions filled the air.

Xiao Bai quickly tried to calm them: "Everyone, please remain calm—"

"When the heavy snow was falling earlier, the two seniors also called for you to take shelter here."

"If they truly didn't care about your survival, they could have simply let you be buried by the snow!"

"Since we all..."

Xiao Bai was attempting to stabilize the situation.

But Xu Gou suddenly interrupted: "Wait."

Xiao Bai frowned but cooperatively fell silent.

Xu Gou stared at her for a long moment before suddenly saying: "You're not Zhou Yuling, right?"

"..." Xiao Bai remained silent but didn't deny it.

She knew this Xu Gou had some connection with Zhou Yuling.

And Xiao Bai's personality was indeed less arrogant than Zhou Yuling's.

In this life-or-death situation, her cover being blown wasn't surprising.

But it didn't matter much—Xiao Bai didn't think her identity would have significant impact now.

Except for Peng Gu, who had entered the White Tower with Xu Gou, Tao Sheng and Yu Mo only showed surprise at this news without additional reactions.

After all, they didn't really know Zhou Yuling.

As for Xu Gou...

He merely stated the fact without dwelling on it further.

Soon, his gaze turned to the four walls formed by snake bodies surrounding their confined space.

Finally, he looked back at Xiao Bai and said seriously:

"I don't care who you are, but given the current situation, we're probably all in the same boat."

"I admit your earlier reasoning might help calm emotions."

"But I think there's a logical flaw in your argument that's easily overlooked."

Realizing he wasn't just causing trouble, Xiao Bai nodded: "Go on."

Xu Gou continued seriously:

"In your logic—the two seniors had you create this confined space, saving us from the wind and snow, meaning they were saving our lives..."

"But what if this logic is wrong?"

"What if all of us hiding in this confined space actually leads to certain doom, while being exposed to the snow offers a slim chance of survival?"

"..."

Xiao Bai remained silent.

She felt Xu Gou's theory was too far-fetched and unlikely.

But had to admit the possibility existed.

Although as a Reincarnation Ghost from the Novice Apartment, she hadn't experienced as much human malice and schemes as her sister Zhou Yuling fighting in the Doomsday Apartment.

But even if she hadn't eaten pork, she'd seen pigs run.

She really shouldn't only consider surface appearances and oversimplify things.

Thinking this, she didn't state her position, only calmly asked Xu Gou:

"So you're saying you want to leave here now?"

But Xu Gou shook his head: "I only have this suspicion, but not the courage to act on it."

"I know you might not agree with my theory either. Actually, I just think this possibility exists, and we really shouldn't be too optimistic about placing our hopes on these two 'seniors'."

Xu Gou's tone carried subtle sarcasm when saying "seniors."

Hearing their conversation, Tao Sheng, still angry, kicked the damned old woman's projection again.

Seeing this, Xu Gou suddenly asked him:

"That shadow phantom is your father, right?"

Tao Sheng immediately became alert.

Although they were both mutants, he wasn't foolish enough to think all mutants were allies.

If he really fought Xu Gou...

Xu Gou had Peng Gu on his side.

He had Yu Mo, who had turned into Jiang Ye's face.

Seemingly a fair 2v2, but judging by physique—

Xu Gou and Peng Gu were clearly stronger than him and Yu Mo.

Though Tao Sheng had an arrogant personality, he understood basic situational assessment.

Not daring to confront Xu Gou, he nodded with a grim expression.

Xu Gou continued: "Don't you think the current state of these two seniors is quite similar to your father's shadow phantom state?"

"Both seem to lack physical bodies, unable to interact with physical objects."

"How much do you know about this situation?"

Hearing this, Tao Sheng's mind became active.

But as he was thinking, Xu Gou added with implied warning:

"If I were you, I wouldn't keep secrets at a time like this."

"After all, in life-or-death situations, no one knows how long we'll survive."

"And what you know about the shadow phantom might be the key to solving our current crisis!"

"..."

Tao Sheng remained silent for a moment, then met Xu Gou's sharp gaze when he looked up.

He sighed, about to say something, but glanced at Yu Mo first, then looked at Xiao Bai.

After pondering a moment longer, he said seriously:

"To find a way to survive, I can share information about my father."

"But this is too important—I'm not prepared to easily share my father's situation with everyone present."

Saying this, Tao Sheng walked toward Xiao Bai, his attitude sincere and friendly:

"You created this relatively safe confined space using your methods."

"So I'm willing to add you as a friend, then privately send you the information I know."

"If after reading it you still have no ideas and think we need Xu Gou's intelligence, then you can privately send it to him. I won't object."

Xu Gou frowned, wanting to say that time was critical and this would waste precious moments.

But seeing Xiao Bai immediately agree to this arrangement, and since this confined space was created by Xiao Bai using snake bodies, Xu Gou didn't dare oppose her too much, ultimately saying nothing more.

However, while watching Tao Sheng and Xiao Bai add each other as friends, Xu Gou's eyes suddenly shifted.

Just as Tao Sheng was sending Xiao Bai a private message, Xu Gou suddenly said:

"Earlier when you were enthusiastically planning rebellion, you said our guesses were all correct..."

"So you already knew that players in the Abyss Restricted Zone would revert to ordinary human states?"

Tao Sheng casually nodded, adding: "My father told me. He also said—"

"When players become ordinary in the Abyss Restricted Zone, mutants have greater strength, giving us the advantage."

Xu Gou asked further: "Did your father clearly tell you whether we players can still use our data panels within the restricted zone?"

This question made both Tao Sheng and Xiao Bai, who were privately messaging, pause.

Obviously, in their current situation, they could still use data panels.

Xu Gou had used the data panel's private messaging function to secretly discuss rebellion with Peng Gu earlier.

Right now, Xiao Bai and Tao Sheng were also using the private messaging ability.

Xu Gou and Peng Gu had also detected their strength degradation to ordinary levels through data panel anomalies.

But the actual situation...

Tao Sheng frowned: "My father didn't specifically mention the data panel situation. But since we can still use data panels now, they should be usable in the restricted zone, right?"

He said this as if it were obvious.

But everyone present had hundreds of schemes in mind!

Especially Xu Gou, who directly retorted: "That's not necessarily true!"

He didn't elaborate further, immediately checking with Peng Gu about their earlier private conversation to confirm it was accurate, then looked at Xiao Bai.

Even if Xiao Bai didn't have eight hundred schemes, she had at least six hundred.

So she immediately verified the private message content with Tao Sheng.

Tao Sheng belatedly realized: "You're not thinking our current data panels are problematic, are you?"

"But what could be wrong with data panels? Could they be illusions?"

Xiao Bai couldn't be bothered to explain, simply dismissing him with "Better safe than sorry."

Afterward, their "private messaging" turned into whispering together in close proximity.

It was then that Tao Sheng revealed information about his father...

Originally, he planned to disclose everything.

Since it might determine whether he survived.

But after Xiao Bai's "Better safe than sorry," he suddenly became conspiratorial—

What if those two bastards became projections not for any other reason, but specifically to trick him into revealing his father's secrets?

The more he thought about it, the more plausible it seemed!

Heck, maybe even Xu Gou and this snake woman were in cahoots with those two bastards!

As if infected, Tao Sheng also became more cautious.

Uncertain about his conspiracy theory, he still shared partial information.

He didn't specifically reveal his father's special privileged identity.

Only lowering his voice, he said:

"As you know, my father has no physical body—his form is just an intangible shadow. Most of the time, external attacks and all methods cannot lock onto this intangible shadow."

Xiao Hei, hiding in Xiao Bai's hair, also listened in.

But found it strange—

At first hearing, the shadow phantom's situation even seemed similar to the [Observer] clone.

Unable to be locked onto! What an incredible ability!

No wonder he couldn't perform body seizure on the shadow phantom even using the Guiwen clone.

But the problem was...

How could the shadow phantom interact with the external world while being un-lockable?

As he pondered this, he heard Tao Sheng continue:

"However, my father seems to have a monster-raising space. He can freely apply the Glyph Pattern Abilities of the monsters he raises."

"Simultaneously, he raises a particularly special type of monster..."

"That type of monster has no Glyph Pattern Ability, but it allows his intangible body to interact with the external world."

"So, although his hands are intangible, he can use that monster to affect physical objects, and slapping someone's face would create clear pain."

After saying this, Tao Sheng thought for a moment, lowering his voice even further:

"I think that mutation-failed Jiang Ye most likely became that type of monster... Otherwise, I can't understand why he could reside within my father's non-existent intangible body."