“That’s the idea,” Qi Xia nodded. “If you refuse, your chance of death today is 100%. If you agree, it drops to 90%.”
“You…” Groundhog gritted his teeth, trying to compose himself, but felt fury overwhelming him.
“That 10% is my gift to you,” Qi Xia said softly. “If my plan succeeds, that 10% will grow—eventually reaching 20%.”
“You’re hopelessly naive,” Groundhog sighed. “Facing *that person*… the odds of survival can’t possibly reach 20%.”
He paused, murmuring to himself, “Probably not even 2%…”
“Time’s almost up,” Qi Xia said. “This round, I’ll cut off all your escape routes. If you don’t think fast, what comes next will be the final moments of your life.”
“You’re a master at playing with people’s minds,” Groundhog sneered. “I can’t fully believe you’ve deciphered this game—it’s something I poured every ounce of my intellect into designing.”
“Is that so?” Qi Xia smirked. “I even guessed ‘Papaya.’ Yet you doubt I can sever your ‘escape’?”
“I…” Groundhog hesitated, staring blankly before finally murmuring, “Better to die by the collar than by their hands.”
“Really?”
Qi Xia slowly furrowed his brows. He couldn’t understand why, despite his threats escalating to this degree, Groundhog still refused to yield. What was he resisting?
“Exactly,” Groundhog said with sorrow. “Dying here at least proves I fought to escape—even if I failed. I won’t regret dying chasing a dream, but I *would* regret crossing the line.”
As footsteps faded outside the door, Qi Xia knew Groundhog had made his choice.
“Such a shame…” Qi Xia muttered, a trace of melancholy in his voice. “A schemer like you… wasted as an unusable pawn…”
The footsteps vanished down the hallway, and Turtle’s voice crackled in Qi Xia’s earpiece: “Turtle’s safe.”
“As it should be,” Qi Xia replied.
“Tsk. But I never thought Groundhog would actually give up…” Saturday mused, baffled. “He could’ve just taken it back. Are the words ‘Papaya’ from Turtle *that* terrifying? Even if he guessed it, so what? If I were him, I’d have just captured him anyway.”
Qi Xia shook his head helplessly. Groundhog wasn’t afraid of Turtle.
He was afraid of *anyone* in this five-man team seeing through his game.
Once someone pierced through the layers of deception, he couldn’t win.
Qi Xia glanced again at the fruits on the table—three small oranges, three dragon fruits, three peaches, and one pomegranate.
He and Luo Shiyi had each consumed one small orange and one peach. Now, the priority was “rescuing” Saturday.
“Saturday,” Qi Xia called. “You still have one dragon fruit in your room, right?”
“Tsk. Yeah.”
“Bring it with you,” Qi Xia instructed. “Next round, I’ll come for you.”
“Bring it…?” Saturday hesitated. “But I’m stuck in a ‘Mousetrap’?”
“You’ve been misled by the rules,” Qi Xia explained. “Even though you’re trapped now, you were ‘searching’ before being caught. Logically, you should still get the fruit.”
“Will that really work…?” Saturday eyed the dragon fruit skeptically. “Wouldn’t that trigger ‘Transport’?”
“No,” Qi Xia shook his head. “You don’t need to transport it. Just hand the fruit to Turtle when he passes by.”
“So what do I do next?”
“Head to the second room,” Qi Xia said. “I’ll go to the third. This round, I plan to take *all* the remaining food.”
“Tsk… *All* of it?” Saturday rubbed his chin. “Wait—is that even possible?”
“Why not?”
“Tsk. Right now, the five rooms have fruits distributed as… one, one, four, zero, one. Aside from the pomegranate being depleted, the others have either one or four left…”
“And?”
“Tsk. So how do you take *everything*?” Saturday glanced at the dragon fruit in his hand. “Even if Turtle and I take two ‘ones,’ that still leaves one ‘one’ and one ‘four.’ If Turtle is on ‘Transport,’ we’d need *three* more people to clear those two rooms…”
“Oh?” Qi Xia raised an eyebrow.
“Tsk. Do we even have the manpower?” Saturday pressed. “Luo Shiyi’s in the ‘Cat Room,’ Turtle’s transporting. Next round, you’ll only have three people left—do you not need a ‘Commander’ anymore?”
“None of that matters now,” Qi Xia said. “This game won’t last six rounds. It’s ending soon.”
“Huh?”
Qi Xia pondered for a moment, then picked up a small orange from the table and turned to Qiu Shiliu.
“Take any fruit—except the pomegranate—to replenish one ‘Satiety Point.’ Next round, just wait here.”
“Wait?” Qiu Shiliu frowned. “You don’t need me to ‘search’ anymore? Didn’t this game just start?”
“Of course not,” Qi Xia said. “This game ended the moment the rules were explained.”
*Click.*
The lock on the “Mouse Room” disengaged with a crisp sound. The third round had quietly begun.
Qi Xia entered Saturday’s room and opened the door. At the same time, the “Cat Room” door swung open.
Saturday, holding a dragon fruit, locked eyes with Luo Shiyi, who was gripping a pomegranate.
“Wait…?” Both froze.
“What’s going on?” Saturday blurted. “Tsk. How’d you get fruit from the ‘Cat Room’?”
“I…” Luo Shiyi gave a bitter laugh. “Last round, Qi Xia ‘rescued’ me from the ‘Cat Room.’ Then, following his orders, I went back in to ‘search’…”
“Huh?” Saturday was stunned again. “‘Searching’ in the ‘Cat Room’…? Did the rules even allow that?”
“Whether the rules mentioned it or not…” Luo Shiyi sighed. “There *was* a ‘Search’ button in the ‘Cat Room.’ When the round ended, I left with the pomegranate, and Groundhog didn’t stop me.”
Saturday turned to Qi Xia. “Another part of your plan? Tsk. But why would the ‘Cat Room’ have fruit?”
“Because the ‘Cat’ also needs to eat,” Qi Xia said. “But its food isn’t just fruit—it could also be ‘Mice.'”
Tai Sui Yellow Amulet Paper FuLu Taoist Love Talisman Traditional Chinese Spiritual Charm Attracting Love Protecting Marriage