Yun Yao patiently explained the entire principle to Chen Junnan, finally helping him grasp the general idea.
“So you’re using numbers to represent each person?” Chen Junnan nodded, glancing at the words he had carved all over the wall. “That’s definitely more convenient than my method…”
“You’ve been a huge help, Chen Junnan,” Yun Yao said, closing her eyes to quickly review the earlier questions. Upon reflection, she realized it truly wasn’t about “right or wrong” but “left or right.” Their final answer each round would determine the direction the iron ball moved.
Understanding this, coupled with the ability to modify questions at any time, gave them a high probability of controlling the timing of the killings.
Chen Junnan’s unconventional thinking had indeed been invaluable. The two of them might be the first to uncover the real “answer.”
After all, the person who had previously altered the questions had twice changed them to “Should I sit down?” This showed that while they had modified the questions, their approach was rather ordinary and easily raised suspicion.
Chen Junnan chuckled and said, “I know I’m pretty handsome, but don’t fall for me.”
“Don’t worry, I’m not into men,” Yun Yao replied without hesitation.
“…Huh?”
That answer clearly caught Chen Junnan off guard.
After a moment of thought, Yun Yao asked, “So, you’re consistently choosing ‘No’ to try and shift the ‘death’ toward our right side, right?”
“Exactly, that’s the plan,” Chen Junnan agreed with a nod. “Let’s try to get the ball to land over there first, then see if there are any other rules to uncover.”
Yun Yao slowly nodded. “Seems like teaming up with you for this game was a good choice. As long as I don’t die—or if I gain an ‘Echo’—I can obtain this ‘Earth-level’ strategy in full.”
Chen Junnan suddenly perked up with interest.
“Big star, why is your organization collecting strategies like this?”
“Because we’re aiming to wipe out all the ‘Zodiacs,'” Yun Yao declared firmly.
“Whoa!” Chen Junnan hadn’t expected that answer. “That’s playing for some high stakes, huh?”
“It’s our driving force,” Yun Yao said with a long exhale. “If we stay here long-term without a goal… I’d lose my mind.”
“But is wiping out the ‘Zodiacs’ even meaningful…?” Chen Junnan asked, puzzled.
“Stop,” Yun Yao cut him off sharply, as if she already knew something. “Whatever the meaning is, this is the path I’ve chosen.”
“Alright then…” Chen Junnan nodded. “Got it.”
After hanging up, Chen Junnan dialed the next room.
Eleven rings later, the call was answered.
“Qian-jie, long time no see. How’ve you been?”
“Speak properly.”
“Got it.” Chen Junnan forced a laugh. “This round’s question is: ‘Are there five seasons in a year?'”
“What kind of dumb question is that…?” Xu Qian sighed. “Fine, got it. Hanging up.”
“Wait.” Chen Junnan stopped her.
“What now?”
“Qian-jie, three rounds.” He grinned. “Within three rounds, I’ll make sure one of the participants dies horribly—but you’ll live.”
That single sentence sent a chill down Xu Qian’s spine.
“Wh-what are you telling me this for?”
“I want to prove that I’ve fully cracked the rules and can control the timing of the killings at will.” Chen Junnan smirked. “Qian-jie, I’m threatening you. Start panicking already!”
“Wh-what the hell…?” Xu Qian was indeed rattled. “Are you saying you’ve figured out this game?”
“Exactly.” Chen Junnan nodded. “If things play out exactly as I described within three rounds… I want you to call Di She over. Otherwise, I’ll kill you right away.”
“You—” After a moment’s hesitation, Xu Qian retorted stubbornly, “We’ll talk after three rounds, then.”
The call ended on an unpleasant note, but Chen Junnan didn’t care. He leaned back in his chair and waited patiently.
Right now, the giant ball should be hovering over the girl to Yun Yao’s right. If the answer this time was “Yes,” the ball would return to Yun Yao’s position. If “No”—
He tapped the makeshift map he’d drawn on the wall.
“‘Silent Guy’… your turn.”
Words gradually lit up on the screen.
“The final answer to this round’s question is—’No.'”
Just as expected.
This was already the seventh question.
As the “first recipient” of the question moved further away from him, the impact of Chen Junnan’s modifications grew exponentially.
After all, everyone after that point would be influenced by his altered question, changing their answers in turn.
Now, there was an extremely high probability he could kill the participant to “Silent Guy’s” right—it was merely a matter of whether he “wanted” to or not.
The rattling of chains overhead signaled that the iron ball was now suspended above “Silent Guy’s” head.
But since there was still one more question before the “drop,” he wouldn’t die this time.
A few minutes later, Yun Yao called again. This round’s question was equally absurd.
“Are there twelve months in a year?”
Chen Junnan laughed and dialed Xu Qian—but with a slight tweak.
“Are there thirteen months in a year?”
The eighth round ended, and the answer was still “No.”
Though he couldn’t see the ball, his calculations suggested it had now moved far from Yun Yao, at least two rooms away.
To Yun Yao’s right were “Impatient Girl” and “Silent Guy.” The ball had already passed over them and was now above a stranger.
And the first recipient of the question, if his math was correct, should be roughly opposite him.
If it wasn’t the woman in the white dress, then it was the person to her left.
Chen Junnan roughly mapped it out in his mind.
According to Yun Yao, her position was “0”—the starting point.
The first question had appeared on her screen, and the first ball should have been above her.
Now, with the ninth question approaching, the next questioner’s position was “-8,” meaning the eighth person to Yun Yao’s left. Meanwhile, the ball was above position “3,” the third person to her right.
“Wait…?”
Something felt off to Chen Junnan.
Since the setup was a circular room with twelve participants, these two positions weren’t just “-8” and “3.”
“-8” was actually very close to “3”—because in a circle, “-8” could also be written as “4,” and “3” could be “-9.”
“Are they… neighbors?”
Now the situation had become straightforward: Had the “questioner” figured out the rules?
Would they pass the unaltered question—”Should it drop?”—directly to their neighbor?
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