Seeing Song Qi end the conversation, the Earth Rabbit withdrew its head again.
It knew that the team before it was unfathomable—perhaps there were more “Echoers” than it had imagined.
Typically, “Echoers” tend to rely heavily on their abilities during games, which often leads to poor coordination with others and a lack of strategic planning.
But this team was different.
Not only did they have an unusually large number of “Echoers,” but they were also constantly experimenting with various strategies. To win this game, the Earth Rabbit would have to think more carefully than ever before.
At that moment, the Earth Rabbit happened to look up and noticed something unusual on the opposite wall—four words written in the grime:
**”All Maintain Silence.”**
“All… maintain…?” The Earth Rabbit squinted at the words on the wall and realized they were freshly written, likely just moments ago.
“Wait a minute…” The Earth Rabbit felt it had already considered many possibilities, but it still couldn’t decipher the enemy’s strategy.
Why had it been pulled into this room by some strange force?
Was it just to see these four words on the wall?
**”All Maintain Silence”?**
If it thought about it from this angle… could the whispers it had heard earlier have been part of a deliberate tactic?
Were these people trying to confuse and mislead it by planting false clues?
The Earth Rabbit narrowed its eyes in thought. The situation was indeed tricky. To figure out its bearings, it needed to head **”north”**—toward what it believed was **Room 14**. If the room it entered had no door on the opposite side, that would confirm it was at the very bottom of the map—a room with only three doors, where the far wall was solid.
Thus, this room was most likely **Room 14**.
But why would someone write on the wall in this room…?
“Ah…!”
Suddenly, the Earth Rabbit realized something. It lowered its head and began rapidly calculating in its mind. Though it had rarely needed to rely on strategy in past games, this time was truly different.
The enemy was trying to win through deception. If the Earth Rabbit didn’t sharpen its wits, it would be played like a fool.
“You idiots… I know the route you took to get back here…” The Earth Rabbit pressed a hand to its forehead, recalling.
Earlier, when eavesdropping at the starting point, it had heard a woman say:
*”We’ll take a winding path—from Room 16, through 12, 11, 7, and then reach 6.”*
“You’re messing with me…” The Earth Rabbit’s thoughts suddenly clicked into place.
This wasn’t **Room 10** at all!
It wasn’t in **Room 10** (south of **Room 6**)—it was in **Room 7** (east of it)!
This was an incredibly clever trick. If it had opened the door it thought was to the **”north,”** it would have seen a wall no matter what.
Because whether it was **Room 14** (the southernmost room) or **Room 8** (the easternmost room), both had only three doors, meaning one wall would always be solid.
“That was close…” The Earth Rabbit’s lips twitched slightly. “What kind of freaks are you… trying to make me get lost in my own territory? But you miscalculated—you didn’t expect I’d overheard and memorized your exact route. You never passed through **Room 10**, so how could words be written there?”
It rubbed its dizzy head, quickly organizing its thoughts.
When these people devised this tactic, they likely hadn’t known about its exceptional hearing. That meant they had written those words without any precautions. Even if they tried switching tactics now, the Earth Rabbit wouldn’t fall for it.
As long as it confirmed it wasn’t lost, everything else would fall into place.
Its only target was **Room 16**.
If it could cut off all the participants in advance, the current problem would be resolved.
What did it matter if they were a united team?
The biggest weakness of a united team was that they wouldn’t abandon their members. As long as even one teammate remained trapped, they would keep waiting in **Room 16**.
“If I’m in **Room 7**… that means your earlier whispers were also lies. From now on, I won’t be fooled by anything you say…”
Behind it was **Room 6**, and it had entered **Room 7** through a door. With these two rooms as reference points, it could mentally map out all the others.
“Forward, turn right, forward.” The Earth Rabbit visualized its path. “None of you can move faster than me.”
Just then, a distant bell tolled.
The Earth Rabbit realized it must be the tenth day—a day when “Echoers” frequently appeared, as if something extraordinary was about to happen.
It took a deep breath and turned its head.
“Song Qi, did you know?”
“What?” Song Qi asked.
“As long as even one of you hasn’t used up all your action points, the game will never proceed to the next turn.”
“Oh?”
“So what do you think?” the Earth Rabbit asked. “If you keep standing there doing nothing, time will just keep passing.”
“Isn’t that fine?” Song Qi brushed the hair from his forehead. “I just want my teammates to have more time to plan.”
“Aren’t you afraid of dying?” The Earth Rabbit’s voice softened slightly. “Your left hand is shattered, the flesh burned. How long can you last?”
“Doesn’t matter.” Song Qi shook his head indifferently. “Until I die—or you do.”
The Earth Rabbit fully understood this man’s stubbornness and changed tactics. “What about the kid, then?”
“The kid…?”
“That child is only holding on because of his **Echo**, right? Even if he lasts a day… what about his **belief**? If even a sliver of *’I’m really going to die’* crosses his mind… he’ll collapse instantly, won’t he?”
Song Qi’s lips pressed together silently. Though he knew this was the Earth Rabbit’s ploy, the words struck true. The longer this dragged on, the closer Jiang Shi was to death. Every second counted.
But if he didn’t stall for time and used his action points instead… what should he do?
“Got it…” Song Qi shook his head, realizing he was overcomplicating things, and grinned. “I’ll just walk into your room, close the door, and fight you to the death again.”
As he stepped forward, the Earth Rabbit suddenly lunged from the wall, clamping a hand around his throat.
“Oh…” Song Qi’s eyes turned cold, sensing danger, but he quickly regained his composure. “Reaching over now, huh? Isn’t that against the rules?”
The Earth Rabbit didn’t answer, only tightened its grip, choking Song Qi.
“I never said *hands* couldn’t cross into another room.”
Song Qi struggled to breathe, forcing out words through gritted teeth:
“But we’re not in the same room… How are you going to kill me?”
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