Chapter 440: The Deception

“Put a gun to my head?” Mole chuckled and asked.

“Yes.” Qixia also smiled. “Isn’t that the case?”

“As men, there are many things in this world that can make us bow our heads,” Mole said. “We can bow for survival, for family, for money. We can grovel for the most trivial matters, we can shed tears for a lonely child on the street, but we will never submit to force. That’s what makes us men.”

Qixia nodded after hearing this. “I’m growing more and more interested in you.”

“But this is the last time,” Mole said. “I’ve given up. Even if you put a gun to my head, I won’t struggle anymore.”

For a moment, Qixia didn’t know how to respond.

If Mole truly wished for death, was there still any point in trying to win him over?

“At this point… I have just one last thing to say,” Qixia said.

“What?”

“Behind the first room, I left a kumquat,” Qixia said. “You won’t die this round. If you surrender now and let us out, none of us will die.”

“You…?”

Even through the door, Mole’s expression darkened.

He felt like, even at the final moment, he was being led by the nose by this ruthless man. When you desperately want to live, someone tells you today is your last day. When you’ve decided to die, he hands the choice back to you.

“Why are you toying with my life…?” Mole gritted his teeth. “Is this fun for you?”

“No, no, no…” Qixia shook his head. “I’m just a liar. You can never be sure which of my words are true. But right now… the kumquat is real, and your survival is real.”

Qixia paused, then added, “Since you’re not afraid of death, I have no reason to kill you. Let’s end this here.”

Luo Shiyi, hearing Qixia’s words, blinked in surprise. “End it here?”

Everyone in the room looked at Qixia in confusion, feeling as if he’d genuinely forgotten something.

Mole sighed outside the door. “Can you and I… really just end it here?”

“The choice is yours,” Qixia said. “I don’t want to lose teammates, and you don’t want to die. But the food isn’t enough for all six of us to survive. So let’s compromise and end it here.”

After a long moment of thought, Mole finally walked slowly toward the exit and pulled the lever on the wall.

All the doors in the room opened at once, and the collars around everyone’s necks fell off.

Qixia led the four out of the room and stood face-to-face with Mole.

“I surrender,” Mole said. “I’ll give you the ‘Dao’ and the fruit. You can go.”

Qixia found Mole’s state intriguing. “Mole… I have a question for you.”

“What?”

Pointing at the door of the first room, Qixia asked, “Guess—is there really a kumquat there?”

Mole’s brow slowly furrowed. His gaze shifted past the group to the table in the “Rat Room,” where not a single piece of fruit remained.

“You…”

At that moment, Mole felt the man before him was terrifyingly formidable. Even in that situation, could he still lie without batting an eye?

Seeing Mole’s expression, Qixia stepped closer and whispered in his ear, “Remember—I’m a liar.”

“Hah…” Mole let out a cold laugh, as if donning his mask once more. “Leader, your visit today is over.”

He walked to the exit, pulled out a bag of “Dao” from under a table, then retrieved a bag of fruit from a wall compartment and handed both to Qixia.

“Take care, leaders. I won’t see you out.”

Qixia accepted the two bags and passed them to Saturday. Then, with a meaningful glance at Mole, he said, “I’ll remember you.”

“I’m flattered,” Mole replied. “It’d be best if you all died out there. Please don’t remember me.”

Without another word, Qixia gave the group a look and walked out of the room.

“Hey… wait, hold on!” Luo Shiyi felt like Qixia had genuinely forgotten something. “You’re just leaving?”

Ignoring him, Qixia pushed open the wooden door and stepped into the street, forcing the others to follow.

Mole watched them go, then turned to look at the door of the first room, his expression unreadable.

…

Qixia walked down the street, glancing up at the sun to gauge the time. The game had lasted a little over an hour—acceptable, all things considered.

“Hey…” Luo Shiyi pushed past Saturday, Turtle, and Qiu Shiliu, planting himself in front of Qixia.

“What?” Qixia frowned.

“Did you forget something?” Luo Shiyi asked.

“Me?” Qixia looked genuinely puzzled. “What did I forget?”

Luo Shiyi couldn’t tell if Qixia was pretending or truly oblivious. He pressed, “My ‘Echo’! Weren’t you supposed to trigger my ‘Echo’?”

“Did I say that?” Qixia blinked. “Did I promise you?”

“You…” Luo Shiyi was momentarily speechless. “Are you serious? Wasn’t the whole point of bringing us out here to train? And if it’s training, wouldn’t you need my ‘Echo’?”

“Right,” Qixia nodded. “It was training. Turtle and Qiu Shiliu both ‘Echoed.’ That should be enough, no?”

“E-enough?” Luo Shiyi’s voice rose. “Are you saying they’re more useful than me? And here I thought you were someone worth following… but you don’t even acknowledge me?”

Qixia’s lips curled slightly. “I didn’t want to say it… but since you brought it up.”

“What…?”

“I do look down on you, ‘Forgetful’ Luo Shiyi,” Qixia said. “You lost to us once before. I really don’t see the point in triggering your ‘Echo’… What use do I have for someone like you?”

“You… you…”

Qixia stepped closer, his voice dropping to a whisper. “Once, someone who followed me made you die in agony with just a few words. Tell me yourself—what good are you to me?”

**DONG!**

The clear, resonant toll of the “Forgetful” bell—triggered by sheer defeat—echoed through the street.

…

Mole raised his head, listening to the distant chime before exhaling slowly. He walked into the first room, nudged the door aside, and hesitantly peered behind it.

There lay three kumquats.