Everyone's playing hide-and-seek: This crazy beauty has maxed-out third eyes.

Lina tried hard to compare the differences, but couldn't see anything too different.

Lydia and Sergei, seeing the two whispering to each other about the two trees, also began to observe them carefully.

"Hey! This round of the game only lasts 15 minutes! Let's stop watching and find a place to hide." One of the people following behind Lin Sui'an couldn't help but urge them on.

Lin Sui'an ignored the voice.

She knew that a group of people, about ten or so, were following her, speaking in various languages, and she couldn't understand a word of them.

As long as it doesn't affect her, she can't interfere.

Someone tugged at her sleeve. She turned her head and saw a brown-skinned man, rattling off words anxiously, his finger pointing incessantly at the distant dense forest.

Lin Sui'an brushed his hand away and continued looking at the tree.

Lina's expression changed after hearing a couple of sentences; her temper flared, and she turned around, snapping back, "She's observing the surroundings for you! You do nothing but follow along, and you still have the nerve to urge her?"

The other party was not satisfied and shouted again.

Lina pointed at his nose: "Fifteen minutes is too tight, is it? Then run by yourself! Who told you to follow me?"

The man choked.

The two people next to her were about to say something when Lina glanced at them and said, "We can look at the trees if we want, and stay as long as we want. It's none of your business if we stay until the game starts! If you can't wait, go find your own hiding place."

The dozen or so people fell silent, exchanged glances, and left one after another.

Lin Sui didn't turn around the whole way, squatting next to the gray-barked tree, staring at the horizontal lines on the trunk.

Lydia walked up to her at some point, squatted down, and reached out to touch the trunk of the gray-barked tree.

The hand was pulled back.

She reached out and touched the normal brown tree next to her.

She turned to look at Lin Sui'an and squeezed out two characters: "Dragon Kingdom".

"Lin, temperature."

Lin Sui'an paused for a moment, then reached out and pressed his hand against the trunk of the gray-barked tree.

It's icy.

The moment my palm touched it, a chill seeped into my bones from my skin.

She withdrew her hand and touched the brown tree next to her again.

It was at room temperature, with a hint of warmth from being in the sun.

Lin Sui'an stood up and glanced at Lydia: "Can you tell that these two trees are different colors?"

Lydia tilted her head: "Color?" She looked at the two trees, then at Lin Sui'an, and shook her head.

She said something in the Russian language.

Lina had just chased the group away when she turned to translate: "She said the colors look almost the same, all similar shades of brown."

Sergei also came over and saw Lydia touching the tree, so he reached out and pressed his hand on it as well.

He touched it, then pulled his hand back, and touched another one instead.

Then he looked at Lin Suian and said two words in broken Mandarin: "Ice."

Lin Sui'an nodded: "If nothing unexpected happens, these trees will be the hunters this time."

All three of them looked at her at the same time.

Lina ran over, her face full of disbelief: "The hunter is a tree?"

"Um."

"Trees?" Lina looked up at the dense forest around her, her voice booming. "There are trees everywhere! How can we hide?"

"It's all trees, that's true, but the hunters didn't target every single one; there were ten."

Lina's breathing quickened, but she forced herself to calm down: "Then let's get away, far away from these trees, right—"

"What if they could move?"

Lina's mouth remained half-open.

Lin Sui'an looked at her: "The last round was weird, with two legs, chasing people and cutting them down all over the garden. This round it's trees. Do you think the game will let them stand still?"

Lina's face paled. She opened her mouth, her voice trembling, "Then...then...can we still survive?"

Lin Sui'an shrugged: "I don't know, I guess I'll just have to leave it to fate."

Lina almost choked.

Lydia listened to Lina's stammering translation, her expression unchanged. She nodded and then asked another question in Russian.

Lina translated: "She said, regardless of whether you can move or not, just go first, don't wait to die in the same place."

"Yes." Lin Sui'an stood up, clapped his hands, and said, "Let's go."

The four of them walked quickly eastward along the forest path, the fallen leaves crunching under their feet. Lin Sui'an walked in front, his eyes constantly scanning the surroundings.

Lina was behind, her mind racing.

Happy New Year.

"Um?"

"I brought the firecracker you gave me in the last game."

Lin Sui'an paused for a moment.

Lina quickly walked to her side: "I tried it before entering the dungeon, and you can bring it in; the items in the game won't be confiscated."

She took the tinder out of her pocket and held it in her hand.

"Trees are afraid of fire."

Lin Sui'an turned her head and glanced at her.

Lina's eyes lit up, and she spoke faster: "How about we light another fire this time? The forest is full of flammable materials this time—fallen leaves, dry branches, bark..."

"You can give it a try," Lin Sui'an interrupted her. "We'll know if it works or not once we try."

Lina gripped the tinderbox tightly, and was pleased to hear that Lin Sui'an hadn't rejected her suggestion: "Then let's go now! Before the game starts, shall we try lighting a tree?"

"OK."

The four of them immediately sprang into action. Lin Sui'an led them to a nearby ice tree, and the group quickly gathered a pile of withered branches and fallen leaves, placing them around the ice tree.

"Smack."

Lina lit the dry leaves, which quickly burst into flames. The firelight illuminated the faces of the four people, revealing different expressions on their faces.

The dry branches and fallen leaves ignited quickly and burned just as fast. Soon, the pile of dry leaves was completely burned, leaving the ice tree unharmed.

"It's no use..." Lina said, somewhat disappointed.

Lin Sui'an glanced at what she was holding: "Don't be discouraged. Maybe the fire isn't big enough, or maybe the accelerant is wrong."

"Let's go, we don't have much time left." She continued walking forward.

Lydia caught up from behind and said in a low voice.

Lina translated: "She asked, 'If a tree could move, how would it attack? With its branches? With its roots?'"

"I don't know," Lin Sui'an said. "We haven't seen them move yet. We'll know once the hunt begins."

Sergei was at the very back and remained silent the whole time.

At this moment, he spoke, his Long Guoyu accent stammering: "Lin... that... ice tree... can we... use temperature... to find it?"

Lin Sui'an turned and glanced at him: "You mean, by touch?"

Sergei nodded: "When running... touch it... dodge if it's cold."

"You had time to touch a tree while running?"

Sergei choked for a moment.

Lin Sui'an snorted, raised his head, and took a deep breath. The air in the forest was damp and cold, carrying the smell of decaying leaves.

Footsteps could be heard in the distance.

There were many footsteps; the scattered players were looking for hiding places everywhere.

The system notification sounded.

[Five minutes remaining in hiding time.]

Everyone's heart skipped a beat.