After leaving the cargo hold, where there was light and teammates, every direction through the wreck led into broad, pitch-black corridors—the kind where the echo of footsteps never stopped, making one feel as though something was following behind.
Second by second, the elves split up. The audience soon seemed to fall into a state of nervous tension as well. They might not know what a spaceship was, but this enormous all-metal artificial construct still gave them an indescribable feeling.
Perhaps this was a small taste of technological shock.
The streets, once rather noisy, were much quieter now. Perhaps their kin were worried about the players, or perhaps they had felt the cold outside. In any case, they were no longer as optimistic as before, because the surroundings of contestants walking alone through the darkness made their skin crawl.
Only now did the elves seem to remember that the National Destiny Game had a punishment system. Judging from the previous rewards, the rewards and punishments were likely equivalent.
In other words, if these five failed, their entire race would face penalties opposite to the rewards—for example, White Frost striking twice as fiercely, or everyone losing part of their lifespan.
The three hundred days of lifespan they had received for nothing did not make the elves overly happy, because that number was insignificant compared to their long lives.
But if three hundred days were taken away for nothing, it would be hard for them to accept. It was something that belonged to them being stripped away. No matter how many days were lost, it was an entirely different matter.
Yet no matter what they thought or said, none of their opinions could reach the contestants' ears. All they could do was watch helplessly as the players walked step by step into deeper