On Terra.
On the third day after Rule Sixteen was announced, Wei Xuan and the other astronauts who had chosen to stay and continue the mission collectively moved aboard the Empire Pioneer.
Including him, six people had chosen to remain. The others took Dream Boat One back, bringing Robert and the others who had fallen into a state of acute stress for treatment.
As for the rules, they had nothing to do with them.
Everyone had a score of "1" above their heads. In this environment, no one had any interest in taking someone else's points—there were only a handful of people in total. Even if one of them killed everyone else, the total score would still be a single digit. There was no way to obtain a ranking reward.
After everyone had moved over, Wei Xuan held a meeting. During it, he encouraged them, saying, "Every one of us who chose to stay has undoubtedly prepared to sacrifice ourselves for humanity. But as your Team Leader, I promise you that if we encounter danger, I will do everything in my power to protect you."
"Team Leader, no need to say it. We all understand!"
"Yeah. Since we chose to stay, we won't regret it."
"It'd be too pathetic to go back just like this. Even if we die, we'll die on Terra!"
The team members who had stayed were all brimming with spirit. Their courage infected Wei Xuan as well, and he nodded heavily. "Hearing you all say that puts me at ease. Then we'll continue carrying out the mission according to plan: improving the survival site's construction while exploring Terra."
Someone asked, "Team Leader, aren't we going to investigate that 'demon'?"
"Don't worry about that thing. We have too little intelligence right now. Rather than waste energy chasing