“I…” The serpent-man froze for a moment, trying to choose an answer, only to realize any response would be futile.
“Ha ha ha ha ha!”
Suddenly, the serpent-man burst into laughter, bending over with amusement before abruptly stopping. “You’re really something,” he said.
“Something?” Qi Xia gave him a cold glance. “What do you mean? Haven’t I already won?”
The serpent-man slowly walked to the wall and pulled down the lever.
Everyone felt a sudden drop as the ceiling began descending.
Qiao Jiajin looked utterly confused and turned to Qi Xia. “Cheat, what’s going on? Why does this count as winning?”
Seeing they were indeed descending, Qi Xia exhaled in relief. “Think about it. The moment that question was asked, we were already saved, no matter what.”
“If my next question is ‘Will you pull the lever,’ would your answer be the same as this one…” Qiao Jiajin muttered, repeating the question, still baffled.
“So that’s it…” Dr. Zhao nodded thoughtfully. “If he answers ‘yes,’ then the next question can only be answered ‘yes,’ saving us. After all, the next question would be ‘Will you pull the lever.'”
“But what if he says ‘no’?!” Qiao Jiajin felt he’d found a loophole. “Couldn’t he just say ‘no’?”
“If he says ‘no,’ the next question can only be answered ‘yes,'” Han Yimo said weakly. “The brilliance of the question is that if he answers ‘no,’ he admits he’d give different answers to both questions. Remember? This serpent-man said he never lies.”
Qiao Jiajin froze, then turned back to Qi Xia. “Did you think of all this just now… What kind of monster are you?”
“Monster is too generous,” Qi Xia shook his head. “I’m just a wandering cheat.”
As they spoke, the group slowly descended to the ground.
After being suspended for so long, their hands burned with pain, and the two injured were in even worse shape.
“Congratulations, everyone, for surviving the ‘interview.’ Push open this door, and a new world awaits you,” the serpent-man said, hands behind his back, standing beside the wooden door.
“You bastard…”
Qiao Jiajin stormed forward, seemingly ready to unleash all his pent-up fury toward the “sheep-man” and “dog-man” onto the “serpent-man” before him.
The serpent-man turned a cold eye toward him but didn’t move an inch.
“Are all of you freaks?!” Qiao Jiajin roared, grabbing the serpent-man’s collar. “Wearing these creepy masks, trying to kill us over and over—now I’ve got you!”
The serpent-man smirked and whispered, “I’d advise you to let go while you’re still alive.”
“What did you say?!”
Qiao Jiajin raised his fist, about to strike the serpent-man’s face, but Officer Li grabbed his arm.
“Hey, remember the guy whose skull got smashed?” Officer Li hissed. “If they’re all the same, how do you plan to beat them?”
“I…” A flicker of frustration crossed Qiao Jiajin’s hardened face. He gritted his teeth and spat out, “But these goddamn…”
“Relax, we’re getting out, aren’t we?” Officer Li cut him off quietly. “Once we’re out, I’ll make sure they pay.”
The group fell silent, slowly approaching the serpent-man.
Up close, his eeriness was undeniable.
The air around him was colder, and the musty stench of his old suit and mask was nauseating.
His eyes, peering through the mask, were unmistakably human. Yet the reek of decay clinging to him was like a long-dead snake.
“Welcome to the new world,” the serpent-man’s muffled voice came from behind the mask as he turned to open the door.
With a creak, light flooded in—but it wasn’t the outdoors. Instead, a corridor stretched ahead.
“Where does this lead?” Qi Xia asked.
“I told you—the new world.” The serpent-man slowly raised his hands. “The future ‘god’ will emerge from among you! From the new world! How exhilarating!”
“God again…” Qiao Jiajin growled. “What the hell are you planning?”
The serpent-man perked up at the question. “An omnipotent god…! One who can realize any desire!”
“Omnipotent?” Qiao Jiajin’s brows knitted together.
Dr. Zhao subtly motioned for him to stop, then said to the serpent-man, “Understood. Now let us leave.”
The serpent-man paused, then nodded and stepped aside.
Qi Xia took the lead, the others quickening their steps to follow.
The moment they stepped into the corridor, a peculiar odor overwhelmed them.
How to describe it?
Heavy—an unbearably heavy stench.
Like the entire world’s billions had died, left to rot in the open air, attracting swarms of insects feasting on them.
They bred en masse, died in droves, and rotted in turn.
This suffocating decay settled over time, muting its sharpness into something dense and oppressive—the very air they now breathed.
It took Qi Xia a long moment to recover. When he opened his eyes, the sight before him was even more despairing.
They stood in an endless corridor, its low ceiling pressing down, stretching into the distance.
On either side, countless wooden doors slowly swung open—just like the one behind them.
Soon, figures emerged.
Most were masked individuals drenched in blood. Only a rare few doors disgorged “normal” people—exhausted, trembling survivors.
Like Qi Xia’s group, they had lived.
“What’s happening…” Han Yimo asked weakly. “We weren’t the only ones taken?”
Qi Xia’s expression darkened. This was far beyond anything he’d imagined.
This organization had abducted countless people… for death games?
“But… so few survived…” Zhang Chenze murmured.
Among the thousands of doors, only a handful yielded living souls.
Not a single group had made it out intact like theirs.
“Proceed,” the serpent-man gestured ahead, then stood motionless by the door, clearly not intending to follow.
“Let’s go.”
Knowing they couldn’t stay, the group formed a line and moved forward.
As they passed the decrepit doors, they glimpsed the masked figures up close.
Oxen, horses, dogs.
Sheep and serpents, like before.
All exuded the same eerie aura, reeking of decay. Behind the doors lay scenes of carnage—corpses strewn about, remnants of unspeakable “games.”
A dozen steps later, two masks startled them.
To the left, a man in an enormous rat mask leaned against the wall; to the right, another in a rooster mask stood with arms crossed.
These masks weren’t fabrications—they were real animal heads.
But where could such gigantic rats and roosters exist?
Like the others, the two merely glanced at Qi Xia’s group before looking away.
“What are these creatures…” Lin Qin recoiled, instinctively stepping back.
Qi Xia frowned slightly, as if realizing something.
Sheep, dog, serpent, rat, rooster…
“The zodiac,” he murmured.
The group froze, eyes widening.
Indeed, every masked figure in tattered suits wore an animal from the twelve zodiac signs.
Tai Sui Yellow Amulet Paper FuLu Taoist Love Talisman Traditional Chinese Spiritual Charm Attracting Love Protecting Marriage