“I think you’ve lost your mind.”
The Shar-Pei completely ignored me and Zhang Qiang, immediately locking horns with Aries.
“Aries, do you even know where we are? This is the ‘Train’!” the Shar-Pei growled. “We’re not far from the upper levels… What you’re doing is way too reckless!”
“It doesn’t matter,” Aries replied. “I don’t need you to understand. I just don’t want to stay stuck here forever, so I’m doing something about it.”
Ram, who had been silent until now, finally spoke up. “And if we insist on stopping you… what then?”
Aries glanced at the clock on the table and said in a low voice, “It’s 12:01. Let’s take four minutes to vote. Everyone here has the right to vote, including for themselves. I’m betting against both of you. By 12:05, the one with the most votes dies.”
The Shar-Pei froze for a few seconds before his eyes filled with fury. “Explain to me—what do you mean by ‘the one with the most votes dies’?”
“Exactly what it sounds like,” Aries said. “We play by the rules. The loser can either take their own life or have someone else do it for them. As long as the goal is achieved, it doesn’t matter how. We’re no different from the ‘participants’—no exceptions.”
“Have you lost your mind?!” the Shar-Pei shouted. “Killing ourselves—or letting ourselves be killed—over some spur-of-the-moment game… That’s not in the contract! If we die here, we stay dead! No resurrection!”
“So what?” Aries countered. “Even if only one ‘Zodiac’ remains… it’s no big deal.”
“‘So what’?!” the Shar-Pei seethed. “Every room needs three ‘Zodiacs’ to run it—no exceptions! If one of us dies… how do you expect to keep things going?!”
“That’s debatable,” Aries said, shaking his head. “Frankly, I don’t think either of you are useful. I was promised the strongest teammates, but you two have been a disappointment.”
“What?!”
Aries turned his gaze to the Shar-Pei. “Dog, your game, ‘Bamboo Shoots After Rain,’ had potential, but your hint was just the word ‘hundred.’ Did you really expect the participants to figure out ‘turn the table right a hundred times’ from that? It’s absurd.”
“Then what would you have done?” the Shar-Pei snapped.
“Games test human nature. Why not embed the clue—’turn right a hundred times’—in their personal histories or the strokes of their names?” Aries said sternly. “That way, some would still lie, others wouldn’t trust, leading to more deaths. Even if no one dies, the despair alone would be worth it. Isn’t that better?”
“It’s not that easy…” the Shar-Pei muttered weakly. “My game is already hard enough… Your way would make it…”
“But I’m the one before you,” Aries cut in. “If a participant can rally eight others to solve my game, yours should be no challenge.”
Then he turned to Ram.
“And you,” Aries continued. “Ram, if anyone makes it past my game and Dog’s, how could they possibly lose to your ‘Death from Above’? Shattering the floor… really? Does that even guarantee a kill?”
Ram hesitated before replying, “How do you know about the floor? I’ve never told you my game. By the time my round starts, you’re long dead. Even Dog doesn’t know the details…”
“I guessed,” Aries said. “This room has no door. If participants need an exit, you either breach the ceiling or the floor. But smashing the ceiling wouldn’t cause casualties, so I figured you broke the floor, dropping them to the level below. They might die from the fall—but not you, since you’re enhanced.”
“You…” Ram didn’t argue. Instead, he looked stunned.
“Let me guess further,” Aries went on. “Afraid they’d die at the last hurdle and waste all your efforts, you probably tell them to stay near the center for safety. Your game looks deadly, but it’s rigged—follow your instructions, and they survive.”
Ram nodded slowly. “Yes… So what would you do?”
“I’d lie in the rules. I’d tell them the center is the danger zone and to stick to the walls,” Aries said calmly. “Remember, we’re ‘Sheep.’ Sheep can lie in the rules.”
“But that’s too risky… Most people aren’t that smart,” Ram said uneasily. “If we lie about the core rule… they’ll follow it and die.”
“Then they weren’t meant to go further,” Aries interrupted. “Our room is different. Both the start and end are ‘Sheep.’ They should deduce from my game that ‘rules can lie’ and use that to crack yours.”
Ram fell into deep thought at Aries’ words.
Seeing he’d made his point, Aries pressed on. “Do you really think just sending ‘participants’ through is enough? Do you want to die for nothing every cycle?”
The Shar-Pei tried to argue, but Ram stopped him.
“Aries… what exactly are you trying to do?” Ram asked.
“I’m paving my own path,” Aries said. “I want to toughen up the participants, send them into ‘Paradise’ at their strongest and most desperate. Only then can their ‘Echoes’ trigger. If they retain their memories, they’ll push into deadlier games, and we’ll rise to ‘Earth Rank’ faster.”
At the mention of “Earth Rank,” both the Shar-Pei and Ram’s expressions shifted.
“Isn’t it fast enough…?” Ram asked. “Our room already clears participants faster than any other… What more do you want?”
“Not fast enough,” Aries said. “Time isn’t on my side… I can’t afford delays.”
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