Chapter 832: Born in Early Summer

“Rosa sericea…” Earth Snake pondered for a moment before turning to Qi Xia. “Qi Xia, it seems you don’t know much about plants.”

“Indeed,” Qi Xia replied. “Though I’ve studied many subjects, I still can’t cover everything. Do you know about this flower?”

“Rosa multiflora…” Earth Serpent pondered for a moment before turning to Qixia and saying, “Qixia, it seems you don’t know much about plants.”

“That’s right. Although I’ve studied many subjects, I still can’t cover everything,” Qixia replied. “Do you know about this flower?”

“Rosa multiflora, also written as ‘荼靡花’ (tú mí huā), is pure white but only blooms during one season,” Earth Serpent said. “Do you know which season that is?”

“I don’t know.”

Earth Serpent sighed and said, “It doesn’t fit the saying ‘spring warmth brings blooming flowers’ because it blooms in ‘early summer,’ reaches full bloom in ‘midsummer,’ and withers away when ‘summer’ disappears.”

Upon hearing this, Qixia frowned slightly. “This flower appears and disappears along with ‘summer’?”

“Yes,” Earth Serpent nodded, then walked to the corner and began rummaging through some books.

Half a minute later, he pulled out a well-worn illustrated handbook of advanced plants from among many old books. The book looked poorly preserved, seeming as though it would fall apart with the slightest shake.

He carefully turned the pages until he found a picture of a pure white flower, then turned and handed it to Qixia.

The pages before and after this one had mostly fallen out, leaving only this yellowed picture loosely attached.

“Rosa multiflora…” Qixia murmured softly before taking the book to examine it.

The flower appeared to belong to the Rosaceae family, each blossom pure white with yellow stamens.

After staring at the flower for a while, Qixia asked quietly, “So, by the time the Rosa multiflora blooms, isn’t it already autumn?”

“Exactly,” Earth Serpent said. “The blooming of Rosa multiflora often signifies the end of the flowering season. After this flower blooms, no others follow. It represents ‘the end,’ as well as ‘the terminus.'”

Qixia nodded upon hearing this. “Thanks to you, I’ve learned something new.”

“But you must have noticed…” Earth Serpent said, “In this entire city, no plants can survive. The streets are filled with withered dead trees and dried flowers. There is no rain here, nor normal sunlight. It’s impossible to see living plants. So why did you suddenly bring up Rosa multiflora?”

“Perhaps it’s precisely because all the plants here are dried and dead,” Qixia sighed. “That pure white flower caught my attention all the more.”

Earth Serpent nodded and said, “Qixia, the language of Rosa multiflora is ‘the beauty of the end.'”

When these four words reached Qixia’s ears, a distant memory gradually surfaced in his mind.

At that time, Yan Zhichun softly said to Qixia, “Let’s use Rosa multiflora.”

“Yan Zhichun… ‘the beauty of the end’…” Qixia slowly narrowed his eyes. “When everything has vanished, what could possibly remain beautiful?”

“Hard to say,” Earth Serpent replied. “You’ll probably have to ask yourself for the answer.”

Qixia paused, then nodded to Earth Serpent before turning and walking out of the room.

The remaining people in the room glanced at each other. Qiao Jiajin and Qin Dingdong followed Qixia out shortly after, leaving only Chen Junnan behind.

“Old Snake,” Chen Junnan called out.

“What is it?”

“What’s your game?” Chen Junnan asked.

“My game? Want to give it a try?”

“Not really,” Chen Junnan said. “It’s just that your venue doesn’t seem to have any dangerous equipment. The only thing that could be used for a game here is books.”

“Books are indeed used in the game,” Earth Serpent said. “But I have many other props here as well.”

Earth Serpent walked to the wall and gently tapped it. A hidden compartment revealed itself, followed by a wave of foul, bloody odor.

The compartment resembled a large wardrobe, filled with an array of murder weapons hanging inside. They were stained with blood and rust, emitting a terrible smell.

“My game is called ‘The Reader.’ No matter how many ‘participants’ there are, I’ll give them books to read aloud. Then, I and the other ‘participants’ will take turns asking each person questions about the book. Answering correctly means you pass. Of course, answering wrong isn’t a big deal—you just won’t get a reward.”

“Is that difficult?” Chen Junnan asked, puzzled. “How could someone die in this game? And how are those murder weapons of yours used?”

“The difficulty of this game isn’t related to reading,” Earth Serpent said. “There’s one death condition that runs through the entire game: from start to finish, until I say ‘game over,’ no one is allowed to show any expression. If your expression changes, I’ll kill you.”

“Expression…?” Chen Junnan still seemed somewhat confused. “In a deadly game like this where you could die at any moment, would anyone even feel like laughing?”

Earth Serpent pulled out a nearly falling-apart copy of “The Complete Book of Jokes” from the corner and handed it to Chen Junnan.

Chen Junnan took the book and noticed it was well-worn, clearly having been翻阅ed by countless people since it first appeared here.

“If you were reading this book, could you keep a straight face the entire time?” Earth Serpent asked.

Chen Junnan opened the book and skimmed through it. It was mostly filled with short jokes of a hundred or two hundred words. Unfortunately, they were all old, tired punchlines—aside from corny jokes, there were only some painfully awkward old memes.

“What, do people here have such low standards for humor?” Chen Junnan asked. “If I had to read these lame jokes for long, I might end up crying.”

Chen Junnan closed the book and turned it over to the back, noticing it had been published as far back as 2001.

“Listen, kid, this book has the highest success rate for me in terms of killing,” Earth Serpent said with a laugh. “Think about it: ordinarily, if someone finds a book boring, they can just stop reading. But in a life-or-death situation like this, even if they know the book is extremely dull, they’ll force themselves to read it through.”

“That makes sense,” Chen Junnan nodded. “But how would they end up showing expression? Under that much pressure, shouldn’t they become more and more expressionless the longer they read?”

“Blame it on people being too cautious,” Earth Serpent said. “This book is called ‘The Complete Book of Jokes.’ Even though the person reading it might find it devoid of fun, they’re still afraid that the next joke might be hilarious, causing them to slip up and lose the game—and their life. If it were you… how would you avoid that situation?”

Putting himself in that role, Chen Junnan realized that if he had to read jokes under such survival pressure while keeping a straight face, his solution would likely be to “think of something sad” to neutralize his emotions.

Earth Serpent knew Chen Junnan had already arrived at the answer in his mind. So he walked over to him, slowly reached out his hand, and said, “At times like these, I would gently pat the person on the shoulder and tell them, ‘Don’t be nervous.'”

“You’re something else…” Chen Junnan sighed helplessly and handed the book back to Earth Serpent.

“I don’t.”

Earth Snake sighed. “It doesn’t fit the saying ‘spring brings flowers,’ because it blooms in ‘early summer,’ peaks in ‘midsummer,’ and withers when ‘summer’ disappears.”

Qi Xia frowned slightly. “So this flower appears and vanishes with ‘summer’?”

“Yes,” Earth Snake nodded and walked to a corner to rummage through some books.

Half a minute later, he pulled out an old, poorly preserved *Advanced Botanical Atlas* from a pile of worn-out books. The book looked like it would fall apart with the slightest shake.

Carefully flipping through the pages, he stopped at an image of a pristine white flower and handed it to Qi Xia.

The pages before and after this one had mostly fallen out, leaving only the yellowed picture barely clinging to the spine.

“Rosa sericea…” Qi Xia murmured as he took the book and examined it.

The flower resembled something from the Rosaceae family, each bloom flawless white with yellow stamens.

After studying it for a while, Qi Xia asked softly, “So when Rosa sericea blooms, it’s already autumn?”

“Correct,” Earth Snake said. “The blooming of Rosa sericea often marks the end of the flowering season. After this flower, no others follow. It symbolizes ‘the end’ and also ‘the terminus.'”

Qi Xia nodded. “Thanks to you, I’ve learned something new.”

“But you must have noticed…” Earth Snake added, “In this entire city, no plants can survive. The streets are littered with withered trees and dried flowers. There’s no rain or proper sunlight here, let alone living plants. So why bring up Rosa sericea now?”

“Perhaps it’s precisely because everything here is dead and dry,” Qi Xia sighed. “That this pure white flower caught my attention.”

Earth Snake nodded. “Qi Xia, the language of Rosa sericea is ‘the beauty of the end.'”

As these words reached Qi Xia’s ears, a distant memory surfaced in his mind.

Yan Zhichun had once whispered to him, “Let’s use Rosa sericea.”

“Yan Zhichun… ‘the beauty of the end’…” Qi Xia narrowed his eyes. “When everything has vanished, what beauty could possibly remain?”

“Hard to say,” Earth Snake replied. “I suppose the answer lies within you.”

Qi Xia paused, then nodded at Earth Snake before turning and walking out of the room.

The remaining people inside exchanged glances. Qiao Jiajin and Qin Dingdong soon followed Qi Xia outside, leaving only Chen Junan behind.

“Old Snake,” Chen Junan called.

“What?”

“What’s your game?” Chen Junan asked.

“My game? Looking for a challenge?”

“Not exactly,” Chen Junan said. “But your setup doesn’t seem to have any dangerous equipment. The only things usable for a game are these books.”

“Books are part of the game,” Earth Snake said. “But I have other props too.”

He walked to the wall and tapped it lightly. A hidden compartment slid open, releasing a wave of foul, metallic stench.

Inside was a large closet filled with an array of murder tools, all stained with blood and rust, emitting a nauseating odor.

“My game is called ‘The Reader.’ No matter how many ‘participants’ there are, I’ll give them books to read aloud. Then, I and the other ‘participants’ will take turns asking questions about the content. Answering correctly means passing. Of course, getting it wrong isn’t fatal—you just miss out on rewards.”

“That doesn’t sound hard,” Chen Junan said skeptically. “How does this game kill anyone? And what’s with all those murder tools?”

“The difficulty isn’t in the reading,” Earth Snake explained. “There’s one death condition that runs through the entire game: before I say ‘game over,’ no one can show any change in expression. If they do, I kill them.”

“Expression…?” Chen Junan still didn’t fully grasp it. “In a life-or-death game like this, who’d be laughing or smiling?”

Earth Snake pulled out a tattered *Joke Encyclopedia* from the corner and handed it to Chen Junan.

Taking the book, Chen Junan noticed it was worn smooth from countless readings since its arrival here.

“Could you read this book without changing your expression?” Earth Snake asked.

Chen Junan flipped through it. Most were one or two-hundred-word jokes—mostly outdated, cringe-worthy puns and stale punchlines.

“Seriously? Do people here have such low standards for humor?” Chen Junan scoffed. “If I had to read this crap long enough, I might cry instead of laugh.”

He closed the book and checked the back—it had been published in 2001.

“Kid, this book has my highest kill rate,” Earth Snake chuckled. “Think about it. Normally, if a book is boring, people just stop reading. But in a life-or-death situation, even if they know it’s painfully dull, they’ll force themselves to finish.”

“That makes sense,” Chen Junan nodded. “But how would they show expression? Under that much pressure, shouldn’t they become more expressionless as they read?”

“Blame humanity’s over-cautiousness,” Earth Snake said. “The book is called *Joke Encyclopedia*. Even if the reader finds it unfunny, they’ll fear the next joke might actually make them laugh, causing them to slip up and lose their life. If it were you… how would you avoid that?”

Chen Junan put himself in that scenario. To read jokes under such pressure while keeping a straight face, he’d probably “think of something sad” to neutralize his emotions.

Seeing understanding dawn on Chen Junan’s face, Earth Snake stepped closer and slowly reached out his hand. “At that moment, I’d pat their shoulder and tell them, ‘Don’t be nervous.'”

“You’re something else…” Chen Junan sighed in resignation and handed the book back.