“What the hell?!” Chen Junnan was taken aback. “You’re saying your ‘Echo’ is ‘Wall Penetration’?”
“Uh…” Seeing Chen Junnan’s exaggerated reaction, Cui Shisi was also startled. “Team leader, do you know me?”
“Ah, no, no, no…” Chen Junnan shook his head. “It’s just that I often fantasize about my ‘Echo’ being ‘Wall Penetration’…”
“Why?” Cui Shisi couldn’t help but ask curiously. “It’s not exactly a powerful ability. You might not know how many times I’ve suffocated inside walls…”
“Is that so?” Chen Junnan scratched his nose. “But I think ‘Wall Penetration’ is really practical—at least compared to…”
He stopped himself before uttering the words “Scapegoat.”
“Yeah, team leader…” Song Qi turned to Chen Junnan. “We’ve known each other for a while now, but we still don’t know what your ‘Echo’ is?”
Everyone looked at Chen Junnan expectantly. Logically, someone Qian Wu valued so highly must have an extraordinary ability.
Seeing their expressions, Chen Junnan smirked, slung an arm over Song Qi’s shoulder, and grinned unnervingly at the group. “Little Song, some things in life are better left unknown. And the rest of you, don’t even think about asking. My ability is so terrifying, even I get scared just thinking about it.”
“Huh?”
“Just don’t ask. If I say it out loud, it might stop working,” Chen Junnan said. “All you need to know is that my ability can save your lives at a critical moment…”
“Uh…” Now they were genuinely intrigued. An ability that could save lives in dire situations sounded incredibly rare—so why wouldn’t he reveal it?
“Alright, alright,” Chen Junnan waved dismissively. “I’ve got a rough idea of your abilities. Let’s start discussing tactics.”
“Wait…” Song Qi gave a wry smile. “Team leader, we haven’t even told you everyone’s ‘Echo Trigger’ yet…”
“No need, no need,” Chen Junnan quickly waved his hands. “If you tell me, I’ll just get confused. Let’s go with the flow. After all, ‘the cart will find its way around the hill when it gets there, and the boat will straighten itself when it reaches the bridge.'”
Song Qi, usually meticulous, was at a loss. The leaders of the other three teams—Qi Xia, Qiao Jiajin, and Qian Wu—all seemed far more reliable than this Chen Junnan. So why had he ended up in *his* group?
“Since that’s the case, I’ll share my thoughts first,” Cui Shisi spoke up. Chen Junnan recalled that when Earth Rabbit had explained the rules earlier, Song Qi had also sought her opinion first. It seemed she was the “strategist” of this game.
“Go ahead, Little Shisi.”
“I believe the most crucial element in this game is ‘vision,'” Cui Shisi cut straight to the point.
“‘Vision’?”
“Yes,” Cui Shisi nodded. “We and Earth Rabbit start from the same room. He knows the direction each of us takes—that’s fatal. We need to break free from his line of sight as soon as possible, so he has no idea which way we’re heading.”
“Hmm…” Chen Junnan rubbed his chin. “This kid’s got a bit of Old Qi’s vibe.”
“I don’t know who Old Qi is,” Cui Shisi replied earnestly. “But we must ‘lock doors’ as much as possible—don’t let Earth Rabbit see which door we enter. That’ll disrupt his pursuit later, giving us a higher chance of escaping.”
Song Qi pursed his lips, glancing at the room’s layout. “But our starting room only has two doors…”
“Right, so we need to split into teams,” Cui Shisi said. “From the very beginning, we six should divide into two groups to minimize losses.”
“Is that safe?” Song Qi asked. “Even if we split into two teams and take separate doors, Earth Rabbit will still chase one group. The odds of shaking him off aren’t great.”
“Splitting into two is just the first step,” Cui Shisi continued. “Mid-game, we’ll switch to three teams, making Earth Rabbit think there are still only two. Later, we’ll split into six, each acting independently, circling around him before scattering to escape.”
“I see,” Song Qi nodded. “That sounds like a solid plan. If anything goes wrong, we’ll just have to improvise…”
Chen Junnan, who had been standing to the side picking his nose and pondering the plan’s feasibility, suddenly patted Song Qi’s shoulder. “Hold on, Little Song.”
“Hey, don’t touch me with the hand you just picked your nose with…”
“Relax, just wait a sec.” Chen Junnan frowned. “Aren’t you all missing the point?”
“Missing the point?” Cui Shisi blinked her big, darting eyes. “How?”
“In this game… can we even afford to ‘circle around’ Earth Rabbit?” Chen Junnan asked.
“What do you mean…?”
Chen Junnan walked to a wall and scratched a 4×4 grid with his fingernail. In the top-left square, he drew a circle, and in the bottom-right, a triangle.
“Our goal is to move from the circle… through several turns… to escape at the triangle. Right?”
“That’s correct,” Cui Shisi nodded.
“And if anyone encounters Earth Rabbit along the way, they die,” Chen Junnan added.
“Yes.”
“Then isn’t there a possibility…” Chen Junnan pointed at the triangle in the bottom-right. “That Earth Rabbit doesn’t even need to chase us midway? He could just reach this triangle first, block the exit, and we’d all be trapped.”
“…” His words hit like a bucket of cold water, leaving everyone speechless.
The rules had never stated Earth Rabbit *couldn’t* guard the exit. If he got there first, they’d be doomed.
But Earth Rabbit’s “movement” only required one action—meaning he could easily outpace them. Why would he *not* arrive first?
“I’ve got a suicidal plan…” Chen Junnan suddenly flashed a wicked grin. “One so bold, even Old Qi would have to admit I’m a genius.”
The group shuddered at his smile.
“Team leader… what exactly is your plan?”
“Oh, nothing much,” Chen Junnan waved it off. “I just want to recruit two ‘door-closing disciples.’ Anyone interested in learning how to ‘shut doors’?”
“Huh?”
Song Qi was baffled. “What do you mean by ‘door-closing disciples’? What are you planning?”
“Exactly what it sounds like,” Chen Junnan said. “Since Earth Rabbit exhausts all his actions on ‘unlocking’ and ‘opening’ doors each turn, we need two volunteers to stay behind and keep shutting doors on him—trapping the bastard at the starting point.”
The moment he finished speaking, everyone’s faces twisted into expressions of sheer disbelief.
Tai Sui Yellow Amulet Paper FuLu Taoist Love Talisman Traditional Chinese Spiritual Charm Attracting Love Protecting Marriage