Chapter 10: Is it Over?

This time, the silence lasted for several minutes as everyone tried to accept this unbelievable fact.

A moment later, Li Jingguan was the first to flip over his identity card, and sure enough, it read "Shuo Huang Zhe."

The others also turned over their cards one by one, and all of them said "Shuo Huang Zhe."

"You're very impressive..." Zhang Lvshi cast an approving glance at Qi Xia. "But how did you figure out that we're all already dead?"

Qi Xia pointed to his draft paper and said, "It's not that hard. I've been thinking: Why is the room sealed? Why are there lines drawn on the walls and floor? Why is there a clock placed in the center of the table? And why did the Yang Tou Ren force us to take a 'Zhong Chang Xiu Xi'?"

"A normal person's air consumption is about 0.007 cubic meters per minute, which adds up to 0.42 cubic meters per hour. There are ten people in this room, so the total air consumption per hour would be 4.2 cubic meters."

"According to what the Yang Tou Ren said, not only did we sleep in this room for 12 hours, but we also played the game for nearly an hour. If I multiply 4.2 cubic meters by 13, I get '54.6'."

Qi Xia circled the "54.6" on his draft paper and said, "That's the amount of air we should have consumed in cubic meters."

He looked around the room and said, "But how many cubic meters does this room actually have?"

The others followed his gaze.

"The organizers left us clues. They drew lines on the walls and floor, dividing them into many squares, each about 1 meter on each side." Qi Xia pointed to the marks on the wall. "There are 3 by 4 squares on the walls, and 4 by 4 on the floor and ceiling. So, the room's dimensions are 4 by 4 by 3, totaling 48 cubic meters."

"And how can a 48-cubic-meter room hold 54.6 cubic meters of air?" Qi Xia frowned, his expression somber. "After all this time, the air should be getting thin, but none of us feel any oxygen shortage..."

Zhao Yisheng thought for a moment, took Qi Xia's draft paper, pointed to the "49.14" on it, and asked, "What does this number mean?"

Qi Xia looked at Zhao Yisheng with a very serious expression and replied, "That's also the air consumption, but calculated for 'nine people.'"

"Nine people?"

Zhao Yisheng was stunned, since there were clearly ten people in the room consuming air, yet he had calculated for nine.

"I made a bold assumption," Qi Xia said expressionlessly. "Suppose the Yang Tou Ren 'is not human,' would our air supply be enough? Clearly, it still wouldn't be."

"What kind of lunatic are you?" Zhao Yisheng muttered. "Making such a bizarre assumption?"

"Is it that hard to understand?" Qi Xia pointed to the headless corpse on his right. "Zhao Yisheng, you should know about skulls very well. Generally speaking, can a human smash a skull with one hand?"

Zhao Yisheng didn't answer, because he knew it was completely impossible.

Not to mention a human skull, even a rabbit's skull would be hard to smash on a table with one hand.

Qi Xia withdrew his gaze and looked at the others. "Time is running out. I've already written down my choice. Now it's up to you, but remember, as long as one person's answer differs from mine, everyone here will be 'punished.'"

The others felt a bit afraid.

A monster that could kill at will was now going to be "voted out" by them.

Would it go along with that?

Qiao Jiajin glanced at the Yang Tou Ren out of the corner of his eye and saw that he hadn't moved, his deep gaze piercing out from behind the mountain goat mask, as if deep in thought.

"Dammit, let's go for it!" Qiao Jiajin waved his hand boldly and wrote down the two characters "Ren Yang."

The others hesitated for a moment but then quickly wrote down their answers.

Qi Xia looked around, and without exception, they were all "Ren Yang."

The clock struck 1 o'clock, and the game ended.

The Yang Tou Ren slowly walked forward and said, "Congratulations, everyone. You've survived the 'Shuo Huang Zhe' game. Next, I will personally 'punish' the loser."

Before anyone could react, the Yang Tou Ren pulled a gun from his pocket, turned the barrel toward his own heart, and pulled the trigger.

A deafening bang echoed in the narrow room.

In this enclosed space, the sound lingered, leaving everyone with ringing ears.

Then, the Yang Tou Ren clutched his chest and began to scream in agony.

The massive screams quickly overpowered the echo of the gunshot, reverberating through the room and making everyone's hearts chill.

As he screamed, the Yang Tou Ren vomited blood. It took over a minute for the screams to subside into painful groans.

"What the... what's going on..." Qiao Jiajin stared at the Yang Tou Ren in a daze. "Is he for real?"

A few more minutes passed, and the groans stopped.

The nine people suddenly realized they could move their legs again.

Zhao Yisheng was the first to stand up, walk over to the Yang Tou Ren, and feel his pulse at the neck. It had stopped.

"Hey!" Zhao Yisheng shouted at the Yang Tou Ren. "The game is over! How do we get out?!"

But a silent corpse gave Zhao Yisheng no answer.

The others slowly stood up as well.

The room hadn't changed at all, except for one more body.

"How strange... Are we really dead?" Tiantian seemed still puzzled by this question. She raised her slender hand and slapped herself hard across the face.

"Ow!" Tiantian cried out in surprise. "It still hurts! Why can I feel pain if I'm dead?"

Qiao Jiajin shook his head helplessly. "What, have you died before?"

"I..." Tiantian paused slightly. "I guess I really haven't died before..."

"So, who knows what happens after death? Based on this, maybe this is hell." Qiao Jiajin looked at the two bodies in the room and felt uncomfortable all over. "Not only can I feel pain, but I can also smell the stench."

"So, are we souls?" Han Yimo, the writer, asked.

Zhao Yisheng checked his own body and found that his heartbeat, body temperature, and pulse were all normal, and he was breathing as usual, yet they weren't consuming oxygen.

It seemed death was truly a mystery that no medical knowledge could explain.

"Whatever we are, I don't want to be trapped in this small room for the rest of time," Li Jingguan said. "Let's find a way out."

Li Jingguan walked over to the Yang Tou Ren and casually picked up the gun that had fallen beside him.

This action startled the others, and they subconsciously moved away from him.

Li Jingguan expertly opened the chamber, checked it, and then ejected the magazine. He found that the gun had only one bullet, and it was now empty.

This was both good news and bad news.

The good news was they didn't have to worry about anyone using the gun to harm others; the bad news was they couldn't defend themselves if other dangers arose.

Qiao Jiajin was bold; he slowly reached out and removed the Yang Tou Ren's mask, revealing a man's face that was completely decayed.

His eyes were rolled back, and there were no signs of life.

"What a terrifying face..."

Zhang Lvshi agreed from the side.