Chapter 373: Joint Rescue

Su Shan double-checked the “tokens” held by each of them.

Now, there were only three tokens left capable of warding off “calamities”:

Qin Dingdong’s “Water Recedes Without a Trace,” Lin Qin’s “Spring Blossoms in Warmth,” and Zhang Chenze’s “Torrential Downpour.”

By deducing the problem from the answers, they could roughly predict the upcoming “calamities.”

Among the remaining natural disasters that hadn’t appeared yet, “Water Recedes Without a Trace” most likely corresponded to a “flood.”

“Spring Blossoms in Warmth” was a bit more ambiguous. On the surface, it resembled “Sunlight Caresses the Earth,” though the latter sounded more scorching.

Thus, the “calamity” it countered should be similar to a “cold wave.”

Given that, it was likely a low-temperature disaster like a “blizzard” or “snowstorm.”

Following this logic… Zhang Chenze’s “Torrential Downpour” probably countered “drought.”

Assuming the next three rounds would bring “flood,” “snowstorm,” and “drought,” the most dangerous seemed to be the “flood.”

Its effect was likely similar to the “sandstorm,” filling one of the “seasonal” rooms with water—a gradual process, meaning Earth Dog might deploy it first.

Next was the “snowstorm” countered by “Spring Blossoms in Warmth,” combining suffocation and freezing. Unlike drowning, being buried in snow wasn’t necessarily fatal.

The safest was “drought.” Since its nature involved prolonged dehydration and high temperatures, killing someone would take much longer. With only three rounds left at most, using “drought” to kill was practically impossible.

Having the three “Wish Tokens” split among three people was the best-case scenario. Combined with the “No Idle Fields in All Lands” token she could play at any moment, the “Four Seasons” faction could act every round.

At this point, “Four Seasons” seemed to have formed a net, trapping the “Nian Beast” firmly in the center.

“The first player’s ‘Wish’ has ended. Now, the second player will ‘Draw a Token.’”

Seeing that Earth Dog showed no intention of using a “Calamity Token,” Zhang Chenze followed Su Shan’s example and pressed down the “Neutral Token” as soon as it surfaced.

“The second player’s ‘Wish’ has ended. Now, the third player will ‘Draw a Token.’”

Su Shan slowly furrowed her brows. “Still not using it?”

She had a rough idea of Earth Dog’s strategy. This round would likely mirror the last—Earth Dog would unleash two “calamities” back-to-back at the end of one round and the start of another.

Sure enough, Lin Qin’s turn passed uneventfully. She, too, pressed down the floating “Neutral Token,” treating it as a “Wish.”

The sixth round was nearing its end, entering Qin Dingdong’s phase.

By now, Su Shan was fully prepared. She had a strong premonition that this time, the “calamity” would target her.

“Everyone…” Earth Dog finally spoke. “This round’s ‘calamity’ is called ‘Flood.’”

To Su Shan’s surprise, Earth Dog still didn’t target her—instead, he aimed at Qin Dingdong again.

“Damn it, you mangy mutt, are you serious?!” Qin Dingdong roared, coughing violently from the outburst. Between hacks, she yelled, “How many times?! Tell me, how many times?! ‘Sandstorm,’ ‘Poison Mist,’ and now ‘Flood’?! Do I owe you money or something?! Just rain knives on me already! I don’t wanna live anymore!”

Everyone could see Qin Dingdong pointing and cursing at Earth Dog inside her glass room. Though they couldn’t hear her, her expression and lip movements made it clear she wasn’t saying anything polite.

The next second, water began filling Qin Dingdong’s room.

This time, the flooding differed from previous “calamities.” Instead of falling from above, water surged in through a pipe at the bottom. At this rate, the room would be full in minutes.

Qin Dingdong glanced at her “Water Recedes Without a Trace.” Unfortunately, it bore another left-facing arrow.

Even she had thought Su Shan would be the unlucky one this time, so she’d kept this left-arrowed token in hand. But when luck ran out, there was no fighting it.

“I must’ve caught that bastard Chen Junnan’s bad luck…” Qin Dingdong closed her eyes, clutching her token.

To survive, she had no choice but to repeat her earlier tactic.

“Such a shame… this token… turns out to be fake too…”

Moments later, she frowned.

Her subconscious refused to cooperate. No matter how hard she tried to convince herself the token was fake, she couldn’t.

How could it be fake?!

Just seconds ago, she’d been ready to use it to save Su Shan—now she had to call it fake?

Even “Echo” couldn’t activate under such absurd conditions.

“Damn dog… are you really blind to our tokens?” Qin Dingdong couldn’t shake the feeling Earth Dog was orchestrating this from a higher vantage point.

Had he deliberately left Su Shan untouched just to shake her conviction?

If so, this guy was terrifying.

“Whatever… it’s just water.” Qin Dingdong muttered. “Takes minutes to fill the room. I can hold my breath for over a minute… Only two rounds left. Worth gambling.”

Without hesitation, she gifted her “Water Recedes Without a Trace” to Su Shan. The next move was up to her.

Before Su Shan could even “draw a token,” Earth Dog’s voice rang out:

“Seventh round begins. I act first.”

As Su Shan predicted, Earth Dog aimed to maximize the “calamity.” This time, it had to be her turn.

After all, if she was targeted during her own phase, rescue would take at least until the next player’s turn—or worse, a full round.

But once again, the situation defied expectations.

Earth Dog still didn’t target Su Shan. Instead, he aimed the round’s “calamity” at Qin Dingdong again.

“This round’s ‘calamity’—‘Hailstorm.’”

“WHAT?!” Qin Dingdong’s eyes nearly bulged out of her skull.

Earth Dog had adopted the simplest strategy: ignoring all other seasons to focus on killing “Winter.”

With no extra “firecrackers” left on the field, eliminating “Winter” would secure his victory.

Seconds later, a loud mechanical clatter echoed above Qin Dingdong as chunks of ice began pelting down.

The hail struck her body before splashing into the rising water.

“You’ve got combo moves now?!” Qin Dingdong shielded her head, furious. “All these ideas, and you use them all on me?!”

Su Shan knew her hand couldn’t save Qin Dingdong and quickly gifted “Water Recedes Without a Trace” to Zhang Chenze.

Zhang Chenze, already poised by the table, grabbed the token and placed it into the gifting slot.

Now, the choice fell to Lin Qin.

She held two tokens: “Spring Blossoms in Warmth” and “Water Recedes Without a Trace.”

Qin Dingdong’s room faced two “calamities,” but Lin Qin could only play one token.