Chapter 431: The Deceitful Leader

“Then who will be the ‘Commander’ next?” Saturday asked first.

Qixia turned slightly, his gaze sweeping over the group before settling on Sixteen Qiu.

“Sixteen Qiu, how about you?” Qixia said in a slightly firm tone.

Sixteen Qiu frowned and glanced at Qixia. “Me…?”

“Yes, please.”

“But I think…” Sixteen Qiu furrowed her brows, “the one assigned as ‘Commander’… should be the least useful person, right? Do you think I can’t steal the ‘fruit’?”

“Oh?” Qixia’s lips curled slightly. “My bad. I don’t know everyone’s abilities yet. So, who do you think should be the ‘Commander’ if not you?”

Sixteen Qiu felt like Qixia’s words had backed her into a strange corner—no matter whose name she mentioned, it wouldn’t sound right.

But then she reconsidered—there *was* one particularly annoying person in the room.

“Turtle…” Sixteen Qiu said. “Let Turtle do it. He’s definitely more suited than me.”

“What?!” Turtle, still fuming from Qixia’s earlier remarks, felt his anger flare up again. “Sixteen, are you saying I’m useless?!”

“At least I’m an athlete,” Sixteen Qiu retorted. “If the cat picks ‘Patrol,’ I might still have a chance to escape. But you? No way.”

“I…” Turtle’s expression darkened. “I—I think you all should wait a second…”

“What?” The others turned to him.

“Do you really think this guy Qixia’s plan is viable?” Turtle asked. “Why are you all so willing to follow his lead? What if—what if something goes wrong?”

“Fifth Brother said Qixia’s sharp,” Saturday replied. “I get it if you don’t trust him, but Fifth Brother’s never lied to us.”

“But…” Beads of sweat formed on Turtle’s forehead.

Saturday smirked. “Plus, every plan you suggest involves me kissing you. I’d rather not.”

After a few seconds of thought, Turtle sighed. “Fine… I’ll trust Fifth Brother…”

“But I don’t trust *you*,” Qixia cut in immediately, pointing at Turtle as he addressed the others. “Listen… this might sound harsh, but even though I need a ‘control hub,’ someone like him just won’t do.”

He sighed. “If we want to survive this game, I need someone competent. Not dead weight. Dead weight just won’t cut it.”

Turtle’s face visibly darkened, his glare at Qixia intensifying.

“Tch, no need to argue. Let Sixteen go first,” Saturday said. “According to this strategy, we’ll take turns being the ‘Commander.’ Everyone will get a chance.”

Turtle pressed his lips together, glancing at Saturday before turning back to Qixia. “Since Sixth Sister trusts you… fine, I’ll give you the benefit of the doubt. But don’t think this is over.”

Qixia acted as if he hadn’t heard, turning away to pat Sixteen Qiu’s shoulder. “Then it’s up to you.”

“I…” Sixteen Qiu met Qixia’s serious gaze and finally nodded. “Alright.”

Just as they finalized their strategy, the iron door beside them clicked open.

“Let’s go,” Qixia said.

With mixed emotions, the group pushed open the wooden door and stepped out of the “Mouse Room.”

Outside, aside from the absence of the “cat,” everything looked exactly the same as when they’d entered. The hallway showed no signs of change.

Apart from the “Mouse Room” and “Cat Room,” five colored doors stood before them. The dim lighting and faint scent of fruit created an eerie atmosphere.

“Pick your rooms,” Qixia instructed. “From here on, don’t announce your choices out loud. Use eye contact as much as possible.”

“Why…?” Eleven Luo asked.

“I don’t know, but something feels off,” Qixia replied. “The ‘cat’ only mentioned that those two rooms are soundproof—that you can’t hear the other side’s conversations—but said nothing about the hallway. So let’s be careful.”

“You really think things through,” Eleven Luo nodded, his gaze shifting slightly as he looked at Qixia.

“Enough talk. Choose your rooms.” Qixia signaled with his eyes, and the others quickly dispersed, each standing in front of one of the four doors.

Seeing their positions, Qixia frowned and shook his head, then gestured toward Saturday, who stood before the third door.

“What?” Saturday asked.

“This one’s no good,” Qixia said from his spot by the fourth door. “Switch.”

Though confused, Saturday nodded and moved to the last door.

Now, all doors except the third were occupied.

Qixia nodded again. By his reasoning, the middle door—the third one—was the most dangerous. With two doors symmetrically placed on either side, people tended to hesitate and default to the most neutral option: the center. So, the third door was theoretically the worst choice.

Once everyone was in position, they opened their respective doors and stepped inside.

Qixia left his door slightly ajar, walking a few steps forward to the altar table.

On it sat a plate holding four peaches—strikingly beautiful, with pink and green hues.

But according to the rules, he couldn’t just grab a peach and run. He had to wait in the room until nightfall ended.

A button labeled “Search” was embedded in the wall beside the altar.

Qixia approached and pressed it. With a click, the door locked shut.

“No red light…” Qixia murmured, nodding. “That means the ‘cat’ didn’t set a mousetrap this round. They must’ve chosen ‘Search’…”

He stroked his chin, a faint smile curling at the corners of his lips.

“This is perfect…” he whispered. “‘Search’ is exactly what we want…”

In the fifth room next door, Saturday paced nervously. She wasn’t entirely convinced Qixia’s strategy would work. Was having someone stand directly in the hallway really something a normal participant would think of?

By her estimate, all the rooms should now be locked. But with the soundproofing, no one could hear what was happening outside. Except for Qixia, everyone waited anxiously in their rooms for the “cat’s” arrival.

Ten minutes later, the locks on all the doors clicked open. After a cautious pause to confirm no one had entered, they pushed their doors ajar.

The “cat” wasn’t there.

“Tch, first round over…?” Saturday frowned, glancing around to see the others peeking out as well.

“Don’t wait,” Qixia said. “Grab the fruit.”

Saturday was about to agree when she suddenly realized something was wrong.

Sixteen Qiu, who had been standing in the hallway earlier, was gone.