Chapter 375: Belief

After pondering for a moment, the Earth Dog still spoke, “Now… I’ll take the first action.”

Su Shan knew the Earth Dog had no other choice left.

He slowly drew a stick, seemingly deliberating over the direction. After a long pause, he finally aimed at Qin Dingdong.

“This round’s ‘Calamity’ is called—’Mountain Fire.'”

He gently inserted the stick into the hole pointing toward Qin Dingdong.

“What?!”

Qin Dingdong paled in shock. Just as she raised a hand to curse the Earth Dog, several small pipes extended from the ceiling. Before she could utter a word, tongues of flame shot out.

Luckily, her body was soaked in water, so the sudden burst of fire didn’t harm her, but it forced her into the water.

Qin Dingdong covered her mouth and nose underwater, her eyes tightly shut in agony.

“First player, ‘draw a stick.'”

Su Shan was already prepared. Before the “neutral stick” in front of her fully materialized, she swiftly grabbed it, tossed it aside, and precisely inserted “Plenty in All Fields.”

Zhang Chenze waited anxiously. It took the Earth Dog several seconds before he slowly announced, “Second player, draw a stick.”

“Damn it! Stop stalling!” Su Shan slapped the glass. “I thought you were a decent person, but now you resort to such cheap tricks…”

While glaring at the Earth Dog, Su Shan kept glancing at Qin Dingdong from the corner of her eye.

Since she had plunged into the water too hastily, she hadn’t had time to take a full breath. The situation was worse than expected.

Her room was now a nightmare—freezing water below and scorching flames above. The glass walls, made of some unknown material, didn’t crack despite the extreme conditions.

Qin Dingdong felt the water heating up around her. Her lungs, already damaged by the earlier toxic gas, burned with pain as she struggled to hold her breath.

Would she be boiled alive or drown first?

Zhang Chenze quickly shoved aside the floating suit and pressed down the “Hoeing Grain at Noon” stick that had risen. Yet, the Earth Dog fell into another few seconds of silence.

She and Lin Qin immediately sensed something wrong and began pounding on the glass.

Su Shan’s strategy hadn’t been flawed. If they had countered “Flood” earlier, Qin Dingdong’s room would have only had scattered ice shards, and the flames from above would have been enough to kill her.

It seemed the Earth Dog’s rules prevented him from stalling indefinitely, but he could still drag out each action for about five seconds—likely his “limit.”

He must have also known that “Torrential Rain” was in Zhang Chenze’s hands, so “Mountain Fire” would be ineffective in autumn. At most, summer would rescue Qin Dingdong in ten seconds.

As for spring and summer, those seasons would act swiftly from the start. Even if someone died after using their stick, the Earth Dog would still lose.

Considering all this, the Earth Dog had no choice but to cast “Mountain Fire” in Qin Dingdong’s room—then resort to the ugliest tactic of all: stalling.

Qin Dingdong’s room was now the only one where “Mountain Fire” wouldn’t kill her despite the delay. The only hope was that she could endure.

“Second player’s ‘wish’ complete… Third player, ‘draw a stick.'”

“Damn you…” Zhang Chenze clenched her fists and slammed the glass. “This isn’t fair! We’re giving it our all! You won’t die if you lose, so why drag this out?!”

Lin Qin had already been waiting by the hole. The moment “Bountiful Rice Blossoms” floated up, she pressed it down.

All eyes were now on Qin Dingdong. She was grimacing underwater, kicking desperately—clearly on the verge of drowning.

“Hold on…” Su Shan’s palms were drenched in sweat. “Dingdong… you’re our only hope…”

But fleeting hope often breeds despair.

Though Qin Dingdong covered her mouth and nose, everyone saw a burst of blood erupt from between her fingers. Unlike ink dispersing in water, the blood spread like fireworks, staining the water crimson.

She was reaching her limit.

“Third player’s ‘wish’ complete… Fourth player, ‘draw a stick.'”

The stick in Qin Dingdong’s room slowly rose, but she couldn’t open her eyes. Both hands pressed tightly over her face, she knew that if she loosened her grip even slightly, she’d inhale water.

“This is bad…” Su Shan’s heart pounded. Once the stick floated to the surface, trapped between fire and water, Qin Dingdong would never reach it.

The other girls held their breaths alongside her, the silence broken only by their own frantic heartbeats.

Qin Dingdong forced one eye open, the murky water stinging painfully.

She couldn’t hear the broadcast, but she noticed something odd beneath her—the table.

Was the stick coming?

“But I…” Gritting her teeth, she let herself sink, though her vision darkened and her body screamed in agony.

Her last resort was to press down on the stick the moment she released her hands, even if it meant choking. That would end the game.

Diving toward the table, she reached for the stick—only for it to suddenly shoot upward toward the surface.

She inhaled water, her nose and throat burning, but she forced her hand forward anyway. Eyes shut, she thrust her arm toward where she remembered the hole being and slammed down with all her strength.

This time, she was betting everything on sheer will.

The others watched in shock. They had clearly seen the stick float upward, yet Qin Dingdong had still pressed something down.

Would they win?

Qin Dingdong had lost consciousness, her body drifting upward like another stick, floating lifelessly toward the surface.

Those few seconds stretched into an eternity.

Finally, a light above the Earth Dog’s head flickered out, and celebratory music blared.

Another year of abundance—the “Nian Beast” had been driven away for good.

All five doors swung open.

Game over.

The water in Qin Dingdong’s room gushed out, dragging her along as she crashed against the glass walls before collapsing on the floor.

Su Shan rushed to her. Lin Qin, though worried, could only hobble out step by step, her right leg numb.

Zhang Chenze shoved the flailing suit aside, slammed the door shut behind her, and frantically shook herself, sending a rain of locusts scattering to the ground.