Chapter 1183: The Winner

“Since the decision is made, please wait a moment, leaders,” Mole said. “I need to confirm whether this will jeopardize my life.”

“Your life?” Qin Dongdong frowned, crossing her arms. “Little Mouse, do you think I have that kind of time?”

“I have no choice,” Mole replied. “Do you know what phase we’re in now?”

Chu Tianqiu also turned to look at Mole.

“It’s the ‘betting’ phase.”

Mole grinned, raising both hands—one with five fingers, the other with four.

“Vermilion Bird is selecting the right gambling table to place his bets. The table he chooses becomes his casino, and each of you leaders here has a one-in-nine chance of dying…” Mole bared his yellowed rodent teeth. “Such a dangerous game, yet all we can do is wait. Exciting, isn’t it?”

“Have you done nothing either?” Chu Tianqiu asked. “You seem to have known the plan longer than us.”

“Shamefully, I should actually take some pride in that.”

Mole chuckled, retracting one finger from the hand with four.

“Originally, the death probability was one in eight—a 12.5% chance per door,” Mole continued. “But through my efforts alone… I reduced everyone’s death probability to one in nine, or 11.1%. Do you know how significant a 1% reduction spread across so many lives is? It’s a monumental act of merit.”

Chu Tianqiu nodded. “You’re the ninth person, and you secretly opened a door. Such a risky move doesn’t seem like something you’d do.”

“Yeah…” Wei Yang chimed in. “Why are you suddenly so invested, you damn rat? When I was in trouble, why did you snitch on me immediately?”

“Oh, I really must explain that,” Mole said, lowering his head and avoiding Wei Yang’s gaze. “If I don’t clarify, you might think I’m not a ‘fence-sitter’ anymore.”

“You—!”

“Though the saying goes, ‘A fence-sitter sways with the wind,’ we must ultimately adjust our sails,” Mole said. “Your abilities were mediocre, and you angered the higher-ups. Betraying you was only natural. But the other Sheep… I still haven’t found any reason to betray him.”

“So you ‘single-handedly reduced everyone’s death probability by 1%’?” Chu Tianqiu laughed.

“Exactly.” Mole tapped his head. “Saving a single ‘door’ isn’t my style. This was the best strategy I could devise. Even if you hadn’t proposed a deal, I’d have found a way to lure ‘participants’ into my ‘door.'”

“Interesting.” Chu Tianqiu nodded. “A perspective I hadn’t considered.”

“The more people join this plan, the greater my contribution becomes,” Mole said. “If you meet Brother Sheep, put in a good word for me, would you?”

“I’ll try.” Chu Tianqiu then turned to gaze into the distance. “So… has the ‘betting’ ended?”

…

“Something feels off…” Tengu muttered, frowning as he whispered to Tianshe beside him.

Tianshe and Tengu had just finished their tasks and returned to the room, where Qinglong was already seated.

“What’s wrong?” Tianshe asked, then widened his eyes after glancing at Tengu’s. “What the hell is ‘boarding’…?”

“I… I’m not sure if I understand correctly, but that group called ‘Extremists’ seems…” Tengu looked up and met Qinglong’s gaze.

Qinglong, seemingly unaware of the conversation below, glanced at Tengu with slight confusion. “What about the ‘Extremists’?”

“I…”

Tengu had intended to let Qinglong handle the matter, but it seemed Qinglong couldn’t hear anything. Something must have happened to him, temporarily disabling his ‘Spiritual Hearing.’

“Speak.”

“Ah… well… the ‘Extremists’ seem to be ‘boarding,'” Tengu replied. “But I’m not entirely sure what this ‘vehicle’ refers to…”

“‘Boarding’…?” Qinglong pondered for a moment before speaking. “Others would require investigation, but the ‘Extremists’ don’t.”

With that, he closed his eyes and activated his masterful ‘Soul Seizure.’ A trace of his consciousness still lingered in Lin Qin’s mind. By extracting her thoughts, he could directly discern the movements of the entire ‘Extremists’ group.

“You destroyed the great bell, and now you’re ‘boarding’… White Sheep, you didn’t expect me to have a backup plan. Even if you knew about this needle, you couldn’t remove it.”

He scanned Lin Qin’s current mind but soon discovered something bizarre.

Her thoughts were empty—only mundane musings.

Like when to eat or when to drink water.

“What kind of thoughts are these…?” Qinglong slightly opened his eyes and looked at Tengu. “Are many people talking about ‘boarding’?”

“No,” Tengu said. “Only one or two.”

“It’s probably nothing.” Qinglong waved it off. “No matter how much they try to hide, a person’s thoughts can’t be concealed.”

Hearing this, Tengu silently lowered his head.

Normally, Qinglong would’ve immediately gone to investigate. But now, his eyes were bloodshot, and he sat motionless at the round table, as if further use of his ‘Immortal Arts’ would push him beyond his limits.

“If you say so…” Tengu nodded, avoiding Tianshe’s gaze.

But in that brief moment, Tianshe seemed to have glimpsed something unusual.

…

“Tch, can’t we just enter the door now?” Zhou Mo glared impatiently at Earth Pig.

“Not yet. I have a bad feeling.” Earth Pig stared into the empty distance, flexing his hands. “Our luck might run out here.”

“Tch, seriously? Hit the jackpot?” Zhou Mo smirked, pulling a flare from her waist.

“Hot-tempered lady, let’s make a deal,” Earth Pig said.

“What?”

“If you survive, tell Qi Xia to carry on with my convictions.”

“Tch, that’s way too edgy. I can’t say that.” Zhou Mo scoffed. “If we really hit the jackpot, survive and tell him yourself.”

Just then, a crimson feather drifted down from the sky.

The ‘Extremists’ all watched as the feather slowly descended. The moment it touched the ground, a figure cloaked in feathers floated before them.

Zhou Mo lightly pressed a finger to her ear and announced to the other ‘Extremists’ teams:

“Everyone, you’re safe now.”