Chapter 11: Continue

Qi Xia remained in his seat the entire time, neither standing up nor searching for clues.

He still felt a bit off.

The psychologist, Lin Geng, also hadn't gotten up.

"What are you thinking?" Lin Geng asked casually, covering his mouth and nose.

"Me?" Qi Xia was taken aback. "Why? Are you going to give me a psychological evaluation?"

"Not exactly. Although someone as clever as you probably has some psychological issues, this situation isn't suitable for therapy." Lin Geng smiled slightly. "I just want to know what you're thinking."

Qi Xia pondered for a moment and said, "I'm thinking about the reason."

"The reason?"

Instead of answering Lin Geng, Qi Xia called out to Zhao Yisheng. "Doctor, how long can a person survive after being shot in the heart?"

Zhao Yisheng turned around and thought for a moment. "If I remember correctly, a shot to the heart causes a person to lose consciousness within seconds. But medically, 'death' refers to 'brain death,' so even after losing consciousness, the brain might continue to function for a few minutes."

Qi Xia nodded. "That sheep-headed man screamed for several minutes earlier, which means his body structure is much tougher than that of an average human, right?"

"Yes. He stayed conscious for a full few minutes after being shot in the heart."

Everyone fell silent as they listened to Qi Xia and the doctor speak.

After all, it was because of this con man's clear thinking that all nine of them had survived so far.

"So, what do you think is the reason?" Qi Xia formed his index finger and thumb into the shape of a gun and placed it against his temple. "Most people would choose to shoot like this for suicide."

He thought for a second, then pointed his hand upward from under his chin. "Or like this."

Qi Xia lowered his hand and pointed to his own heart. "No matter what, someone committing suicide would choose a way to die with as little pain as possible. So why did he aim at his own heart?"

Qiao Jiajin was fiddling with the sheep-headed mask in his hands, then flipped over the man's head and said, "Maybe this powder-filled skull is tougher—maybe one shot wouldn't kill him."

"Since he was spitting blood, that proves his body structure is the same as ours," Li Jingguan said. "Even if he's stronger, a shot to the head at that range would definitely kill him."

Qi Xia nodded. "In that case, I can only think of one reason."

He pointed to the mask in Qiao Jiajin's hands. "The sheep-headed man chose to shoot his heart probably to protect something. The 'game' isn't over yet."

Qiao Jiajin was startled. "Are you saying he was afraid of damaging his mask?"

"That's right."

Under Qi Xia's direction, Qiao Jiajin turned the sheepskin mask over, exposing the rough inner lining to everyone.

A rotten, sour stench wafted out from it.

Just as Qi Xia had suspected, the inside of the sheepskin mask was written on with black ink.

Some parts were stained with blood, but Qiao Jiajin didn't care—he grabbed his T-shirt and wiped it clean so the words became readable.

"What the heck?" Qiao Jiajin paused for a moment and began reading the words aloud in his non-standard Mandarin:

"I am 'Ren Gou'."

"You are all cursed."

"I hope you survive."

"The clock never stops; danger lurks on all sides."

"If you want to live, turn toward your hometown direction one hundred times."

"By the way, they say 'after the rain, bamboo shoots sprout,' but why aren't bamboo shoots afraid of the rain?"

"See you after the rain."

Qi Xia furrowed his brow slightly. It was indeed a hint for the next game...

The shadow of death looming over them refused to dissipate.

Had they already died, only to die again?

"Hey, con man, what does this mean?" Qiao Jiajin asked.

"How should I know?" Qi Xia snorted. "There are nine people here—do I have to do all the thinking?"

Zhang Chenze slowly sat down in a chair and said, "Though I hate to admit it, your way of thinking matches the 'organizer's' perfectly. If you have any ideas, you should share them."

"I..."

Before Qi Xia could speak, the walls around them suddenly began to change.

To everyone's shock, holes started appearing out of nowhere.

The originally concrete walls now looked like some kind of shifting, flexible material.

A moment later, rows of holes were neatly arranged on the walls, as if they'd always been there.

At the same time, the sound of chains pulling echoed from all sides.

"What's happening?" Everyone panicked in an instant.

"Look at the ceiling!" Someone shouted in alarm.

Everyone looked up and saw that the ceiling was also covered in dense holes.

Qi Xia finally stood up, took the sheepskin mask from Qiao Jiajin's hands, and examined the last line closely.

"'See you after the rain'."

"Rain...?"

Qiao Jiajin tiptoed over to the wall, peered into one of the holes, and jumped back several steps in fright.

"Damn!"

He yelled and tried to find a place to hide, but there was nowhere to go.

"What is it? What's inside?" Xiao Ran asked, a bit scared.

Everyone knew Qiao Jiajin had a lot of nerve, so if something made him retreat like that, it had to be serious.

"Holy crap!" Qiao Jiajin shouted. "It's harpoons! The holes are full of harpoons that are being pulled back!"

"What do you mean by 'being pulled back'?" Zhao Yisheng asked, confused.

"It's probably 'being cocked'," Qi Xia said. "From earlier, we've been hearing the sound of chains. Now, these harpoons are all cocked and could fire at any moment."

"Hey! Con man, think of something quick!" Qiao Jiajin rushed over to Qi Xia, anxious. "If they fire from all sides, where can we hide?"

Qi Xia thought carefully. Surviving himself wouldn't be hard—after all, there were already two bodies here.

The harpoons didn't have much penetrating power; he could just pile the bodies in a corner and hide behind them. He'd probably get injured, but his chances of survival would still be high.

"This time, it's going to be tough to keep everyone alive. I need to look out for myself, so I won't save you all anymore," Qi Xia said softly.

"You..." Qiao Jiajin trailed off, at a loss for words, and turned to Li Jingguan and Zhao Yisheng for help, but they looked even more helpless.

Qi Xia glanced again at the hints on the sheepskin mask.

Had he misunderstood?

Only if just one person remained would this "game" truly end.

If they kept everyone alive, these deadly games would just keep coming.

The room was incredibly strange—the walls could change at any time.

This didn't make sense scientifically; it was more like magic.

But if the organizer could perform magic, why target these nine dead people?

Was this some kind of twisted game run by an agency that manages ghosts?

While Qi Xia was lost in thought, Lin Geng looked at the mask in his hands and spoke up: "This says there's a way for us to survive—'turn toward your hometown direction one hundred times.'"

Everyone calmed down a bit and started pondering the words.

"Does it mean facing the direction of your hometown and spinning around?" Tian Tian asked.

"That doesn't seem right," Qiao Jiajin shook his head. "In this room, how do you even figure out the direction of your hometown? And spinning a hundred times yourself would just make you dizzy—nothing else."

"Forget it—I'll try it!" Tian Tian picked a random direction and started spinning.

Qi Xia thought for a moment and knew it couldn't be that simple.