Chapter 364: The Year of Disaster Relief

Seeing Lin Qin clearly injured, Su Shan’s expression finally lost its composure.

Even though these people were “seniors,” even though they could retain their memories, even though they had crawled and stumbled here countless times, dying and reviving—they were still “human” after all.

How fragile were humans under these iron mechanisms?

If the Earth Dog’s trap had been set just a bit more ruthlessly, Lin Qin would already be dead.

But wasn’t this slow, torturous method of death just as cruel?

When Su Shan watched helplessly as Lin Qin was once again pushed into the air by the iron net, she gave up.

“Qi Xia, I’ve tried my best to follow your guidance… but I just don’t think I can do it.” Su Shan blinked. “If it means abandoning my teammates, I can’t see how we can win.”

Her gaze gradually hardened. “I want to save them…”

Now, they had arrived at the final phase of the second round—”Winter.”

Qin Dingdong stared blankly at Lin Qin’s room until a “lottery stick” popped up on her desk.

“Firecrackers Bid Farewell to the Old Year.”

She froze for a moment, then picked it up expressionlessly.

This was the real “killing move”—far stronger than the “Dense Smoke Scatters the Eight Directions” she had played in the previous round.

Just as she was about to insert the stick into the slot, she recalled what had happened to her in the last round.

When she was nearly buried in fine sand, it was Su Shan’s “lottery stick” that had saved her.

Following that logic, shouldn’t she now save Lin Qin?

But… was there even a way to save her?

As Qin Dingdong hesitated, Lin Qin fell twice more, one time nearly crashing into the table in the room.

Her situation was critical—who in this world had ever experienced being repeatedly dropped from three meters high, half-crouched?

Qin Dingdong looked at the sticks in her hand: one was “Great Wind Sweeps Fallen Leaves,” the other “Water Recedes Without a Trace.”

Judging by their names, neither seemed capable of saving Lin Qin. But if she did nothing, could Lin Qin survive?

Just then, out of the corner of her eye, Qin Dingdong saw Su Shan frantically pounding on the glass, as if trying to convey something.

Reading her lips, Qin Dingdong realized she was saying, “Pass.”

“Pass…?” Qin Dingdong frowned. “Could it be… you can save Lin Qin?”

Without another thought, she quickly inserted “Firecrackers Bid Farewell to the Old Year” into the slot.

Moments later, the Earth Dog’s room lit up with multicolored lights, and the cheap firecracker sound effects played once more.

This time, there was a clear difference—after the lights dimmed and the sound stopped, one of the lamps above the Earth Dog went out.

The Earth Dog scowled at Qin Dingdong, a glint of murderous intent flashing in his eyes as he muttered, “What a nuisance…”

Everyone except Lin Qin turned to look at the extinguished lamp.

This was their first step toward victory. Since Su Shan had once drawn “Firecrackers Bid Farewell to the Old Year,” she became even more certain of her idea.

The only way to use “firecrackers” to attack the “Nian Beast” was to pass the stick to “Winter” and let “Winter” make the wish.

After all, the card read “Bid Farewell to the Old Year,” and “Winter” was the end of the year.

The third round began.

Without hesitation, Su Shan picked up the “All People Aid the Disaster” stick and inserted it into the left slot on her desk.

This time, she wasn’t making a “wish”—she was “bestowing.”

Since the stick bore a left-pointing arrow, she guessed that if she “wished,” the stick would only affect Zhang Chenze’s room. But her room had no “earthquake,” so the stick wouldn’t take effect.

The only hope now was for Zhang Chenze to “wish” upon this stick.

After sending the stick, Su Shan received her new one for this round—a “neutral stick.”

This was the first time Su Shan had seen a “neutral stick.”

Now, she held “The Land Yields Bountiful Harvests” and a “neutral stick.”

“So there are… ‘neutral sticks’…?”

A sense of foreboding crept over her. If this game was designed to balance the odds of victory for both sides, then “neutral sticks” must make up a large portion of all sticks. In other words, every stick that could be “wished” upon was precious and had to be used wisely.

But now, there was a huge hidden danger.

Qin Dingdong had wasted a stick in a previous round—one that could produce thick smoke.

If every stick corresponded to a specific “disaster,” what “disaster” did “smoke” counter?

Would it mean that at the final moment, one disaster would be left unaddressed?

“Now isn’t the time to think about that…”

Su Shan moved to the glass, catching Zhang Chenze’s attention. She pointed at the newly surfaced stick on Zhang Chenze’s desk, then at Lin Qin’s room.

Zhang Chenze nodded, picked up the stick, and read it.

Yes, the words on the stick were clear.

Since Lin Qin’s room was experiencing an “earthquake”—an unstoppable, unpredictable natural disaster—the only thing people could do was “aid the disaster.”

Without hesitation, Zhang Chenze inserted “All People Aid the Disaster” into the slot.

Lin Qin was lifted into the air once more. She looked terribly weak, her hands and knees covered in blood. Weakly, she raised her head and glanced at the others in the room, her expression tinged with despair.

She had never imagined she would die under such bizarre torture.

If given a choice, she’d rather fall from thirty meters once than from three meters ten times.

The others in the room knew it too—if Lin Qin fell this time, given her current state, even if she didn’t die, she would never stand again.

And so, “Autumn” would vanish, breaking the most crucial link in the four seasons.

Just as the iron net was about to drop, the broadcast in Lin Qin’s room suddenly erupted with the shouts of thousands.

The overwhelming sound gave Lin Qin a glimmer of hope—she faintly sensed that someone had come to save her.

Though no one appeared, the iron net slowly descended amidst the crowd’s cries, finally settling safely on the ground.

Lin Qin was saved.

But her condition was dire. Every part of her ached, and her right leg had gone numb.

She raised her head, feeling something cold trickle down her forehead. Wiping it, her palm came away stained with crimson—she must have hit her head at some point, though not severely, as her mind remained clear.

“Second player’s ‘wish’ complete. Third player, ‘draw.'” The Earth Dog’s calm voice came over the broadcast again, drowning out the shouts in Lin Qin’s room.

Zhang Chenze looked at the stick in her hand and slowly furrowed her brow.

This round, she hadn’t “drawn”—she had instead received Su Shan’s stick.

In other words, the stick in her hand was unchanged from the previous round. Did accepting a “bestowal” mean forfeiting a “draw”?

“An ‘earthquake’ is truly terrifying…” Zhang Chenze said grimly. “This ‘disaster stick’ only targeted Autumn, yet it rendered the other seasons unable to act for the entire round…”