After the answer time ended, Chen Junnan’s screen lit up.
“The final answer for this question is—**’Yes.’**”
As expected, the other party’s thinking aligned with his. Now, the iron ball hovered above Chen Junnan’s head.
The next seventeen rounds passed without suspense. Everyone unanimously chose **’Yes,’** and Earth Snake didn’t answer the phone—there was no longer any need for him to.
His individual strength was too limited. The best approach was still to conceal his location. By now, Xu Qian had most likely received his call and might have informed those behind her.
The only problem was that those behind her wouldn’t necessarily believe her one hundred percent.
For the eighteenth question, the answer predictably leaned toward **’Yes.’**
The sound of chains rattled, and the massive iron ball landed on **’-2.’**
But what puzzled Chen Junnan slightly was that the sound this time was different.
After all, the iron ball had landed on **’-2’** once before. Yet, the impact this time was far less deafening—just a faint tremor underfoot, with almost no other unusual noise.
**Was that even possible?**
Chen Junnan lowered his head in thought. Since Earth Snake’s body had been enhanced, there was indeed a high chance he could hold up the iron ball, preventing it from hitting the ground and thus drastically reducing the noise.
But something still seemed missing…
**Where were the deafening crash and the sound of shattered debris?**
Then it hit him. He instantly raised his head and looked at the ceiling.
**That was it—the problem lay with the purely wooden ceiling.**
The first time the iron ball landed on **’-2,’** it had smashed through the ceiling. But this time, it didn’t. The tremendous noise from previous landings had always been due to the ceiling breaking. This was the first time the ball had landed on a repeated position, so the sound was much quieter.
**”The iron ball is right next to me, yet the sound isn’t loud at all…”** Chen Junnan stroked his chin in thought. **”Then wouldn’t those farther away barely hear it…?”**
A few seconds later, an excited grin spread across his face.
**”Ha! This is hilarious!”** He clapped his hands and cheered. **”Damn, I’m a genius! I just came up with a brilliant move!”**
Sure, he had gambled first and thought of the strategy afterward, but at least he figured it out.
**Truly, “When you reach the mountain, there will be a path”—his life motto had never failed him.**
**”If you, old bastard, can catch that iron ball, then I’ll just have to pull this trick.”**
As the nineteenth round began, Chen Junnan symbolically answered Yun Yao’s call before dialing the person to his left.
He had expected Earth Snake, that old geezer half-stepping into hell, to pick up the phone so he could exchange a few fake pleasantries. But instead, Xu Qian answered.
**”It’s you…?”** Xu Qian sounded surprised.
**”Yeah, it’s me. What, not happy to hear from me?”**
**”Ugh… Did you hear it just now?”**
**”You mean ‘Slay the Snake Uprising’?”** Chen Junnan nodded. **”Yeah, I kinda heard it.”**
**”He… died?”**
**”Good question.”** Chen Junnan chuckled. **”I’ll step out later and check for you. Don’t worry.”**
Hearing his response, Xu Qian could only sigh. **”He called me last round. I already told the people behind me his location, but I don’t know if they believe me… Now that we’ve finally hit Earth Snake, we don’t even know if he’s dead. This is so frustrating!”**
**”Why rush?”** Chen Junnan grinned. **”If that old snake isn’t dead yet, he’ll call you in two rounds to reassure you.”**
Xu Qian paused. **”…You’re right.”**
**”Qian-jie, let’s keep up the rhythm—’Yes,’ ‘No,’ ‘Smash’—until we turn Earth Snake into minced meat.”**
They hung up and waited. Soon, the answer to the nineteenth question surfaced.
**”The final answer for this question is—’Yes.'”**
For the twentieth question, Earth Snake still didn’t answer. Chen Junnan briefly coordinated with Xu Qian before waiting again.
But when the answer appeared, his expectations were shattered.
This time, the answer was also **’Yes.’**
The cannon’s direction shifted, and so did the game’s momentum.
The iron ball didn’t return to Earth Snake’s position—instead, it moved away.
Chen Junnan checked his layout diagram. If they chose **’Yes’** this round, the iron ball would hover over the **”Nervous Man.”**
**What did he do to deserve this?**
Moreover, in the previous question, he, Yun Yao, and Xu Qian had all chosen **’No’**—so why was the final answer **’Yes’?**
The deafening clank of chains echoed as the iron ball undeniably moved away from Earth Snake.
**What caused this change?**
**What was different this round compared to before?**
If he had to guess… it was that Xu Qian had revealed Earth Snake’s location to those behind her.
**”Shit…”** Chen Junnan stood up, finally realizing.
That so-called **”smart person”** probably didn’t believe Earth Snake’s true position… **He wanted the iron ball to roll from ‘-2’ all the way back to ‘3’!**
That way, he could kill as many participants as possible while still severely injuring Earth Snake.
Just as he predicted, with a thunderous crash, the **”Nervous Man”** was voted out.
The entire process took no more than three minutes—swift, decisive, with no hesitation.
Things were getting strange again. No matter what Chen Junnan chose, it seemed he couldn’t control the iron ball’s path.
For the twenty-second and twenty-third questions, the answers remained **’Yes.’** The situation was spiraling in a bizarre direction.
Chen Junnan hurriedly re-examined the layout on the wall, mentally simulating the next few rounds.
**”You lied to them… You want a massacre…?”**
He carved the word **”Dead”** next to the **”Nervous Man,”** then skipped the man who refused to cooperate and marked the third man as **”Dead”** too. If his prediction held, that man would die in the twenty-fourth round.
Next, he skipped the **”White-Clothed Girl”** and marked the man behind her as **”Dead.”**
Following this pattern—**one dead, one spared**—
**”Wait a minute…”**
Chen Junnan frowned. Between the **”White-Clothed Girl”** and the two men beside her, one of them was Zhong Zhen. Were they both doomed…?
He had initially thought one of those two men was the mastermind orchestrating everything. But now, it seemed they were already trapped in the game, unable to escape.
**They had been deceived.**
**”I should’ve realized sooner…”** Chen Junnan smiled bitterly. **”I thought one of the ‘Even Numbers’ was the genius leading the slaughter of the ‘Odd Numbers.’ But the ‘Even Numbers’ were only getting their questions from the ‘Odd Numbers’…”**
He extended a finger and viciously circled the words **”White-Clothed Girl”** with his nail.
**”So, you’re the terrifying one…?”** His lips curled into a smirk. **”Now I want to introduce you to Old Qi even more. You two dating would be downright hilarious, wouldn’t it?”**
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