Chapter Two: Rewards Can Bleed

“It deletes relationships, not all matter,” Zhou said. “Otherwise it would have to rebuild every room he entered. Reality gets patched, but seams remain.” Their coins grew hot. The sealed entrance opened onto a spotless platform with five black cases. Gu Chen found an old headset. Wearing it, he heard his teammates' breathing and felt the ache in Wanqing's injured shoulder. Lin Yao received a crystal that could preserve one memory, Zhou a signal-amplifying cane, Wanqing three instant-clotting needles, and Pei Jin a chain without a keyhole. 【Reality Echoes issued. After twelve qualifiers, your team must win the Boundary World Championship. Failure erases all five players.】